Loosening Strings to Ship YOUR bass....

[Gard]

How many necks broke in shipping?

Zero due to string tension, and in all of that number TWO due to mishandling (never had a poor packing fail, thankfully - I'm OCD about things that matter, like getting a bass or guitar safely packed).

 

[BassManKK]

I use to ship tunned in D G C F...
I don't know if this is good or bad but the fact is that I never had problems with that...

This is what I've done. I figured you still need tension from the strings to offset the tension from the truss rod but I figured, apparently incorrectly, that by loosening the strings a little it could better withstand changes in the environment.

Good to learn from the Pros

 

[rogerbmiller]

I don't personally have a strong sense of conviction on the subject. And for the record, I usually detune a quarter of a turn when I ship something for no good reason other than I was always told to do so and it's now a habit.

But I make no representations either.

To your point, it appears to do no harm, so sure - why not?

My only point was that 250 damage free shipments with detuned strings doesn't establish the fact that detuning was a contributing factor in why they all arrived at their destination undamaged. That's all.

And who knows? Maybe that guy in the story's mongoose really is what's keeping the cobras away from the city he lives in. But it hasn't been established. The absence of snakes - and the presence of a mongoose within the city - doesn't establish cause and effect.

Science doesn't attempt to prove something isn't. Smart move on science's part since you can't logically prove a negative.

So when somebody says "there ain't no such thing as ghosts," the burden of proof falls on the people who insist there are. In science, the absence of proof that something exists means it does not exist, until positively proven otherwise.

All good. But my sample is more like 400 because when I buy from a store or an individual, I insist that they take tension out of the neck.

For the record I have never bought from bass central. Or Roscoe. But if I did, I would insist they detune for boxing and shipping.

 

[BassManKK]

These weak head stocks were in hard cases that were stood on end and fell over. Instantly upon hitting the floor, all momentum was transferred to the last thing that can move, the headstock. Snap! Never travel with a vintage style hard case. They don't protect the headstock at all.

We were playing in my guitar player's guest room with thick plush carpet one day. I was standing on the other side of the room but looked up as his all stock 1971 Gibson SG tipped over in it's guitar stand. I watched as it slowly hit the carpeted floor and bam, the headstock cracked through Those Gibson headstocks are extremely fragile. I would not generalize about shipping axes from the example of old Gibson's.

 

[Gard]

But if I did, I would insist they detune for boxing and shipping.

No.

(Edit: Well, I no longer work at Bass Central, so I really can't speak for them, but we won't here. It is pointless, has no positive attribute, and utterly destroys our factory setup)

 

[darwin-bass]

The safest way to ship is to take the neck off the body (assuming bolt-on) and dial the truss rod to zero. If you leave the neck on the next-safest way is to take all tension off the strings and the truss rod. The least-safe way is to ship with full tension on the neck.

BUT...

Even the least safe method has proven to be more than safe enough. From a business perspective partially disassembling a bass for shipping creates hassle for the shipper and receiver to a far greater extent than it improves safety. Just not worth it for most.

Now, if you're shipping my bass across country and you want to take the neck off and have me put the neck back on and do a setup I'm 100% fine with that. Most would not be.

 

[stacker]

 

[inanimate_carb]

Based on TB standards, the amount of boutique basses I've bought is embarrassingly low, but none of them arrived from the shop they were built with loosened strings.

 

[darwin-bass]

I once bought a used Fender Jazz that had been without strings for 10+ years. The neck was seriously back-bowed. I put loosened the truss rod, put strings on and over the course of a few days put tension on the truss rod, keeping the action at a proper level. Once things settled down the neck was fine.

But that does not mean I'm gonna repeat the experiment!

 

[Gard]

View attachment 935743

You're a Scot I see. Proper response.

(I lived in Ayr-by-the-Sea back in the dark ages, also known as the mid 1960's )

 

[Chico Ruger]

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.

Does Gibson ship them tuned to pitch?

 

[Gard]

Does Gibson ship them tuned to pitch?

I can answer this: Yes, they do.

 

[DWBass]

I have shipped and received basses all tuned to pitch. Not a single neck issue in over 10 years.

 

[stacker]

You're a Scot I see. Proper response.

(I lived in Ayr-by-the-Sea back in the dark ages, also known as the mid 1960's )

I'm enjoying the opinions sans popcorn.

Doubt Ayr has changed much since you were there, mate!

 

[darwin-bass]

...when I buy from a store or an individual, I insist that they take tension out of the neck.

Bad idea - Taking tension off the strings without also reducing truss rod tension by the same amount puts the neck into a unbalanced tension situation. Well, OK, maybe a bit of detuning would be OK but it would be tough to tell how much. I suspect having unbalanced tension (side force) in the neck would make it EASIER to break a neck.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

We were playing in my guitar player's guest room with thick plush carpet one day. I was standing on the other side of the room but looked up as his all stock 1971 Gibson SG tipped over in it's guitar stand. I watched as it slowly hit the carpeted floor and bam, the headstock cracked through Those Gibson headstocks are extremely fragile. I would not generalize about shipping axes from the example of old Gibson's.

You can risk it if you want. Vintage style cases basically protect from scratches on the finish. There is zero impact cushioning.

 

[Ric5]

Depends on the definition of "a while". I tend to put that at between 12 and 24 hours, maximum. I prefer less than 15 minutes whenever possible.

On restringing, one at a time is being a bit overly cautious for my world, take 'em all off, clean the instrument up, restring it to pitch, and you should have a minimal amount of setup to do - if any at all.

I have no problem with a couple of weeks

 

[Gard]

I'm enjoying the opinions sans popcorn.

Doubt Ayr has changed much since you were there, mate!

I'm certain it hasn't - I was back in the early 80's for a few days, same as it ever was.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

This is a non issue.

 

[fourstringgirl]

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

The Gibson headstock is not the best example as they have breakage issues anyway. One of my guitarists' girlfriend knocked his Les Paul over while it was in it's hardshell case and the headstock snapped off.