Loosening Strings to Ship YOUR bass....

[BassHappy]

Hey Folks of the TB

This could absolutely be the wrong place for this post, so Mods, feel free to steer it where it belongs. I have no idea where a topic like this should reside.

I have heard over the years the two schools of thought about shipping basses tuned up to pitch, or shipping basses with the strings loosened to take the tension off the neck. Gard over at Roscoe has mentioned the following in the Roscoe Thread for all those shipping basses to the Roscoe Shop:

"Aside: the slacking the strings thing, never got it. "They" say you are supposed to do that. Who are "they" (and Dan Erlewine doing his imitation of Dan Ackroyd imitating Julia Child is not a good enough "they" )? Here's a hint - I worked for 5 years at Bass Central, and in that time I received (unpacked & QC'd) literally thousands of brand-new instruments from dozens of custom high-end boutique bass builders. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. WAS. TUNED. TO. STANDARD. PITCH. when it arrived. Every one. If it's good enough for the guys that build 'em, let's go with that version of "they", hmmkay? There is a reason why, for the record, and the tl/dr version is this - a proper neck setup is a balance between the string tension and the trussrod tension, and slacking the strings, without taking all of the tension off the trussrod will potentially force a back bow into your neck, not to mention completely foul up the nice setup on the bass that the build did just before shipping the bass - whether you loosen the trussrod or not. "

I have a lot of respect for Keith and the Roscoe guys, and I own two Roscoe basses. In taking it a step further, In 1976 Paul Reed Smith was also a big fan of never taking the tension off the neck. He told me - "Never under any circumstances - do you take all the strings off my bass all at once." He taught me how to take the E off, clean that part of the fingerboard, then put the new E string back on, Then move to the A string - and so on. I have done that religiously with all of my instruments since that time. It has become standard operating procedure for me. Overkill? Perhaps, but I have never had a problem, knock on wood...

So, as Gard mentions above, who are these "THEY" and what is going on with this loosening the strings thing? I heard at one time that it had to do with air pressure in an airline baggage compartment, which is not pressurized. I actually heard, if you are shipping ground keep the tension up to normal pitch - if it's going Air Freight, take the tension off. Right or wrong that is what I have heard, but I have never shipped a bass with the strings loosened, also never had a problem.

Seems that it'a a pretty divisive topic worth discussion and clarification.

Comment if you see fit.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

They are folks who've had Gibson/Epiphone headstocks snapped right off in flight, due to string tension.
When the instrument goes into the hold, it's not climate controlled. Steel strings shrink faster than wood, causing extra tension, and fast.

 

[Gard]

They are folks who've had Gibson/Epiphone headstocks snapped right off in flight, due to string tension.
When the instrument goes into the hold, it's not climate controlled. Steel strings shrink faster than wood, causing extra tension, and fast.

Double whammy - I am not only well-versed in shipping basses from the builder/seller side, I'm the son of a retired military/commercial airline pilot, as well as very close friends with many professional aviators today. None of them will support this claim. While the cargo hold in a commercial airliner is not kept at the exact same condition as the passenger cabin, it is NOT just exposed to the elements at 35,000 feet. Depending on the aircraft type, the cargo hold is pressurized (particularly in Boeing aircraft), and is never below freezing: Invalid Link Removed

I assure you those snapped headstocks were from mishandling, not from temperature changes. The only thing you'll get from drastic and rapid changes in temperature are shattered lacquer finishes. Not trying to be argumentative or contrary, just stating facts.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

If they had been mishandled while not under over 100 ft/lbs of tension, they might not have broken.

 

[Luckydog]

I believe Sadowsky ships basses tuned to pitch. That settles it for me.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

When I change strings, I always take them all off, even with my Floyd Rose style vibrato bridge guitar.
I've never had any adverse impact from doing it this way.

 

[Tanner5382]

I've had a ton of instruments shipped to me, all but one were in standard pitch. The loosening strings thing is bull.

 

[Tanner5382]

When I change strings, I always take them all off, even with my Floyd Rose style vibrato bridge guitar.
I've never had any adverse impact from doing it this way.

Yeah, the "only remove one string at a time" thing is ridiculous.

 

[jlepre]

The only other thing that I have seen was putting a piece of paper between the strings and the fret board. I suppose to protect the strings from smashing into the frets?

 

[Immigrant]

I never ship a bass with strings completely slackened, but I do tune down a little, not even a half step. I dunno why, I just do.

I have also removed all the strings for short (very short) periods of time. I'd never leave them off for even a half hour with tension on the rod.

Tension on the rod.

Sorry. I'm 12.

 

[Gard]

If they had been mishandled while not under over 100 ft/lbs of tension, they might not have broken.

That isn't the fault of the temperature or atmospheric pressure within the cargo hold, it is the fault of mishandling combined with inadequate packaging . This does not support the claim that you should ship with the strings detuned, but that you should make sure to properly pack your instrument for shipping.

ANY headstock can snap if mishandled enough - I have seen the headstock of a Zon Sonus (graphite/composite) broken by FedEx, while it was in a hardshell case wrapped with bubble wrap, inside of a double wall cardboard box. The reason it broke? The case was not properly fitted for the instrument, it obviously took a "header" from a significant height, and landed headstock first, the bass slid in the case, the headstock hit the end of the case hard enough and at the correct angle to crack the composite material. It wouldn't have mattered one whit if the strings had been at tension or not - and the same is true for a Gibson or other instrument.

 

[Gard]

The only other thing that I have seen was putting a piece of paper between the strings and the fret board. I suppose to protect the strings from smashing into the frets?

I can see the logic for this, even though we don't do it, and have never had any issues with inordinate fret wear during shipping - in either hard cases or gigbags. FWIW.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Sure, but IMHO under the same impact, a Gibson style headstock is apt to break faster than a Fender style headstock, especially if the Gibson headstock is under the strain of tension of the strings & the Fender is relaxed.

 

[Gard]

I never ship a bass with strings completely slackened, but I do tune down a little, not even a half step. I dunno why, I just do.

I have also removed all the strings for short (very short) periods of time. I'd never leave them off for even a half hour with tension on the rod.

Tension on the rod.

Sorry. I'm 12.

12 or not, you don't gain any advantage by detuning the strings, even just 1/2 step - it's truly unnecessary.

As for taking off all the strings when restringing/cleaning - I don't completely agree with the postion that Paul Reed Smith holds: we typically remove all of the strings at one time and restring here in the shop, and I've done it all my playing days (I started playing in 1980), with zero issues. 10-15 minutes won't harm anything, it takes longer for the trussrod and wood to interact in any permanent fashion. Now, leaving it overnight, that I'd avoid, without removing the tension on the trussrod first.

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

I believe Sadowsky ships basses tuned to pitch. That settles it for me.

Every major manufacturer ships tuned to pitch. With that kind of track record I do not think there is a debate here, just people who refuse to acknowledge they're wrong.

 

[Gard]

Sure, but IMHO under the same impact, a Gibson style headstock is apt to break faster than a Fender style headstock, especially if the Gibson headstock is under the strain of tension of the strings & the Fender is relaxed.

Well, isn't that a flaw in the headstock, not the string tension? Seriously, you are far more likely to damage your neck by removing string tension and leaving the trussrod under tension - with ANY brand of instrument - than you are to have a cracked headstock in shipping. Unless, you do a poor job of packing - and the only real issue with packing is to make sure that the exterior of the case is well protected (double wall cardboard box, bubble wrap), and that the instrument inside the case can't move and make contact with the side of the case. That's IT. If you do that, you will reach a very high level of security (nothing is ever 100% fail safe) for shipping, and won't screw up your neck or setup.

 

[BassHappy]

As for taking off all the strings when restringing/cleaning - I don't completely agree with the postion that Paul Reed Smith holds: we typically remove all of the strings at one time and restring here in the shop, and I've done it all my playing days (I started playing in 1980), with zero issues. 10-15 minutes won't harm anything, it takes longer for the trussrod and wood to interact in any permanent fashion. Now, leaving it overnight, that I'd avoid, without removing the tension on the trussrod first.

Hey Gard

Old habits die hard I suppose....

Just got used to it and have always done it. By the way, I haven't asked Paul is he still subscribes to it, but I will. This was his advice in 1976 after all..

I can also see where examining a broken headstock could reveal no sense of certainty as to how it happened - only intelligent speculation.

 

[Mosstone]

Rickenbacker and a lot of other manufacturers ship with the instrument tuned to pitch. The only times I ever received a guitar or bass detuned was when the seller thought it was the right thing to do (most times it's only detuned by a half or whole step, not completely slack). I believe that you should maintain tension on the neck. I change my strings one at a time and if I have to take all the strings off (for a fret level or thorough cleaning) I try to be quick about it.

Honestly though, if you develop back-bow, all you have to do is losen the truss rod a bit and let the strings pull it back where it should be. I recently had the neck off my Jag for several weeks to refinish it, and it developed severe back-bow. I just loosened the truss rod and let the strings do the rest. After a few minor tweaks, it's right as rain.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I've only ever had an instrument shipped to me with the strings & truss rod slacked one time.
At first I thought something was wrong with it, because when I adjusted the truss rod, I couldn't get any neck relief. The strings were flat on the board.
After standing up against the wall overnight, I was able to adjust it to taste in the morning. BTW, it was REALLY cold when it arrived & it was a Warlock bass, possibly the lightest bass I ever owned.
It was the same straw that broke the camel's back so to speak with me & UPS. They left it out in the rain at the wrong building w/o getting a signature.
So, from now on I set my packages to Will Call & pick them up myself at their depot.

 

[bikeplate]

No.