im going on holiday for 2 1/2 weeks. The first week I'll be abroad and leaving the car in a secure car park at the airport. I'd like to have my practice bass (cheap Ibby GSR 180) around for the other week and a half. Would leaving it in the car be a bad idea? I'm not worried from a security point of view as it will be out of sight and in a 24 hr patrolled fenced off car park next to the terminal. It's more from a neck point of view. Will the day/night temperature change affect it? It'll be in the Northern UK so daytime max mid 20sC (70sF) nighttime around 12C (53F) a change if around 10 degrees C (20F) in reasonably humid conditions. Is this a really bad idea?
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Leaving your bass in a car
- Thread starter Yonni
- Start date
Sitting out in the sun? I wouldn't.
Yobboes won't get near it as it's an international airport right next to the terminal so in a fairly high security area. Lots of surveillance and patrols and in a fenced in compound.
Nope. Leave it tuned. Don't use this opportunity to mess it around. Less is better.
Still, swaddle the gig bag with a blanket. It'll be insulation and smooth out temperature changes.
I know what you mean. We've had a lot of hot weather recently but the forecast is for it to be a but more consistent and even over the next week.
Let's find out if bass woods can be "roasted" after the fact! 
(Though with the humidity, it may be more "steamed" than "roasted". 
)
(Though with the humidity, it may be more "steamed" than "roasted". )
Where my extra fretted neck for the Jazz is currently.
Getting a tan.
Getting a tan.
That won't be any worse than the shipping box it traveled in to cross the ocean to get to you in the first place.
so, you're worried about the effects of temperature/humidity (not worried about theft). i get it! i'd remember to put the truss wrench and maybe the bridge saddle wrench in the bag in case you need to make any minor adjustment(s). good luck! 
You'll be ok. I wouldn't do it with a high end instrument, but one that is not your #1 is ok. Extreme cold is a bad idea. I used to stop off for a couple beers on the way home from early gigs in the 70's and 80's.
My 76 stingray and 81 GL 2k suffered serious checking (including the neck) because of single digit, New England winters. It took me adding mojo to 2 instruments to learn.
My 76 stingray and 81 GL 2k suffered serious checking (including the neck) because of single digit, New England winters. It took me adding mojo to 2 instruments to learn.
I keep a bass in my work truck 24/7. Hot/humid to cold/dry in the mid-Atlantic area; sun, rain, snow...don't matter. I never had problems with the neck. Sure, it will move over the seasons, just like when you keep it at home. Nothing a truss rod adjustment won't fix.
The only issue I encounter is the strings seem to go dead quickly in the high-humidity summer season.
For only two weeks, I wouldn't worry about it at all.
The only issue I encounter is the strings seem to go dead quickly in the high-humidity summer season.
For only two weeks, I wouldn't worry about it at all.
No.I would not leave it at all.
Pansies. It's wood and metal. Nothing will happen that wouldn't happen normally for seasonal changes. Want proof? Look at 60-year old Fenders that have been abused much more thoroughly and are still going strong.
As has been said before, wrap it in a blanket and don't even think about it. I traveled across country from San Diego to New Jersey with my Carvin in a hard shell in the back of my covered pick up bed and it was fine. Five day trip.
