Low temperatures and opening that NBD.....

[Maxdusty]

I have a delivery of a bass scheduled for next week - from LA California to Hell-has-frozen-over-Michigan.
With the recent cold temperatures, has anyone in the East Coast had any problems with the condition of the basses you received recently? Do you wait the 24 hours before opening up the box as recommended on some of the stickers they put on the boxes?

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine had the horror of opening up a delivery box in a heated room after waiting about 5 hours -(it was way below freezing outside at the time) and noticed a finish crack down the front of his new Sterling SUB bass. He wasn't 100% sure if the crack was of his doing and due to the drastic change in temperature and opening the box too soon, a defect in the new bass itself, or something that perhaps happened during delivery in the warehouse.

What do you think?
Any other horror stories out there?

 

[Moving Pictures]

I'm north of you and I always wait 24 hours before opening bass after delivery in the winter. That always worked for me. No horror story to pass on.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

6 hours in a cold corner
6 hours in a warmer spot
6 more hours out of the box, but not out of the case/bag

or only buy instruments that haven't got a solid finish:

 

[Salicete]

I have to say it, shouldn’t matter one bit on any decent bass, period.

If your bass shatters like a frozen glass put under running hot water, the bass is the problem, not the temps. Send it back.

So if your gear is in the trailer for a few hours in freezing temps, and you get to an indoor gig, you make the client wait 24 hours?

Thought not.

 

[BassAndReeds]

Assuming the bass is in a case or gig bag, id open the box and leave the bass in the case for 2 hours. Should acclimate to room temp on that time.

If no case, don't open the box for 2 hours.

But 24 hours seems a bit excessive.

 

[lz4005]

Trying to put an arbitrary number on it is useless.

Use your hand.

If the box feels noticeably colder than room temp, don't open it. Same for the case inside the box.

And that's only for instruments with thin, fragile finishes. Oil or thick poly isn't going to react to temp changes hardly at all.

Besides, people pay extra for fake nitro crazing now days. I mean, I don't, but other people do.

 

[Johnny Crab]

Sweetwater even puts a sticker on the outer box saying DO NOT OPEN FOR 24 HOURS SO INSTRUMENT CAN ACCLIMATE TO NEW ENVIRONMENT. DOING OTHERWISE MAY RESULT IN INSTRUMENT DAMAGE.

Of course we have no case queens here. They go from hot car to air condition or air conditioned 2 hour drive to outdoors-in-August-100 degree plus gigs. If they can't function properly in all situations, they usually get sold.

 

[Mowbro]

Well from personal experience I've had no issues. I'm in the southeast region of Michigan. Had a bass delivered a couple days ago from guitar center. Looks like it was shipped out of Ohio. I brought it in the house immediately. Waited roughly 4 hours, then opened it up and inspected/played it. Bass wasn't cold or even cool to the touch at that point. Only thing I noticed was some sharp frets which is pretty normal this time of the year. A couple days in my basement which I keep humidified around 45% and the frets are already noticeably a lot less sharp. It was a schecter stage 4, which is a neck through with a thick poly finish. So this can vary case to case depending on shipping location and the specific bass to whether or not there will be issues. Just my experience.

 

[dxb]

If its bitter cold outside and the box is in the back of a UPS truck all day, I do wait a few hours before opening it. More than that seems unnecessary since it warms up pretty quickly once you bring it inside, and I've never had any issues doing it that way.

 

[LinusKarlsson]

I'm from a cold region, and I've bought and sold many basses and other instruments during the cold months of the year. I've never had any problems exept for maybe having to adjust the truss and string height, but that's something that my older basses require in the winter as well.

 

[catcauphonic]

I'm originally from a very cold region roughly 4 months out of every year. Additionally, the summers were sticky with humidity. The solution was the same for any object, during either unpleasant season ... I moved away to an area with a more pleasurable median and stable year round climate

 

[India_Sierra]

I usually give fhe case a few hours to warm through if it's cold. I live in Northumberland so winter temperatures can often be a little above or below freezing point, and a lot of freight with the big couriers is either shipped to local depots overnight or left in cold depots until loading in the morning.

The few hours wait builds anticipation and I get my wife to start the unboxing for me if I'm not home.

 

[Nev375]

If temperatures have been below freezing you need to be careful.
My advice is to give it at least a week to adjust.

Joints between wood and screws will contract at different rates and put stresses in the grain.
Over the course of 24 hours you need to bring the strings up to tension gradually.
Keep a humidifier running in the room during this time
If you hear a creek in the wood while tuning, your neck is damaged. Send it back immediately.
Never ever place warm hands on the finish during this week. It will crack poly.
Go back and read the first letter in each sentence on this post.

 

[Cowboy in Latvia]

Meh, just open the thing. It's already going through some issues due to thermal/humidity changes so it won't do much worse than it would in your car for a couple hours. I've worked with wood for decades and have not had much issue with temperature changes when delivered by major carriers. This advice changes a bit if it was not delivered by a standard delivery service and instead was taken to you by dogsled or on foot...uphill...in the snow.

 

[el murdoque]

I literally fetched a bass out of a snowstorm.
The Parcel Service it was in was recalled due to the roads getting worse. I work in retail and know all the parcel guys and have their numbers, so I called him and told him to drop it off at a shop that's on his route. I got the car keys and
waited for the next plow to pass my house and made it there in its wake.
I took the next plow back and took it out straight away. I had to tune it up three times while playing it warm.

 

[Spidey2112]

I'm originally from a very cold region roughly 4 months out of every year. Additionally, the summers were sticky with humidity. The solution was the same for any object, during either unpleasant season ... I moved away to an area with a more pleasurable median and stable year round climate

Hilarious...

 

[Spidey2112]

If temperatures have been below freezing you need to be careful.
My advice is to give it at least a week to adjust.

Joints between wood and screws will contract at different rates and put stresses in the grain.
Over the course of 24 hours you need to bring the strings up to tension gradually.
Keep a humidifier running in the room during this time
If you hear a creek in the wood while tuning, your neck is damaged. Send it back immediately.
Never ever place warm hands on the finish during this week. It will crack poly.
Go back and read the first letter in each sentence on this post.

Awesome...

 

[Ryan L.]

I’m in ND. It gets cold here. Really damn cold. I’ve never had an issue, ever. My basses have to ride to gigs in the back of my pickup, with the only protection being the tonneau cover over the pickup box. They go into a venue, and are taken out of the case within an hour.

 

[Spidey2112]

@Maxdusty, central Ohio... over the past couple of years, I've received a couple of instruments (from major retailers) during the lovely winter months we both share...

... I do exactly what they say, regarding reception during less than optimal conditions. I'd follow these guidelines for person-to-person transactions, as well... better safe than sorry, I always say.

 

[Ryan L.]

If temperatures have been below freezing you need to be careful.
My advice is to give it at least a week to adjust.

Joints between wood and screws will contract at different rates and put stresses in the grain.
Over the course of 24 hours you need to bring the strings up to tension gradually.
Keep a humidifier running in the room during this time
If you hear a creek in the wood while tuning, your neck is damaged. Send it back immediately.
Never ever place warm hands on the finish during this week. It will crack poly.
Go back and read the first letter in each sentence on this post.

You got me.

I had just typed out a long response about how ridiculous this was.

Then I read your last sentence.....nicely played, sir.