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NBD waiting for it to thaw out. Happy post?

D.A.R.K.

D.A.R.K.

Supporting Member
Aug 20, 2003
5,753
3,629
Virginia
www.dougkallmeyer.com
#1
Ok, made a sad post about a bass while waiting for a delivery, so hopefully this counters that and balances it with a happy post- but will it?
Shot my day waiting for this, figured I'd see if anyone was down for some unboxing fun and suspense.
Considering the below freezing temperatures, varying humidity and having just had a bass damaged from those factors being neglected by moi, I will have to try to be an adult and let this thing acclimate for quite a while before opening. Always a risky thing to do, as any potential shipping damage should be reported as close to delivery time as possible.
Thankful for replacement value insurance, though care way more about instruments not getting destroyed.
With the last few days being trials, I wonder what could be waiting for me inside this box?
I do have an appetite for lots of strings and fine woodworking, and dark woods and black paint.
And I like to take risks with checking out instruments by builders I have never picked up before. I'm a walking beta test.
This is one of those.
Anyway, packing looks good. Undamaged.
Gonna be hard to hold out.
Wildly varying opinions on wait time, anyone got any thoughts on that?
 

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#2
Sure, I'll go first.

Up here in the Upper Midwest, if it's been outside for extended periods of 20 below, I'd give it a couple days. If it's coming in from only 30 degrees, shouldn't need more than a day.

50 years ago, we'd throw the instruments into the van last, drive a few hours in sub-zero, bring them into the bar first and just unlatch the cases. Unloading the van and setting up the stage and PA killed a couple hours and by then, it was OK to open the lid without causing finish cracks.

Oh, to be young again...
 
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#3
6 hours, figured I could take the case out of the box to inspect it. Case is room temperature- I'm starting to think this instrument never reached outside temperatures when in transit. Was a 2 day trip for it, so not too long a journey. Case shows no signs of any stress.
I did open the zipper just enough to stick my finger in the case and touch the bass, which seems to be room temp as well- definitely not cold. Still, gonna wait to tomorrow to open it up. Damn, it's hard to be patient.
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#6
All my instruments have been poly, made in Mexico or Indonesia and then shipped to the dry and cold winters of Poland, so I've never waited to open a package. I reckon byt the time I got them they'd experienced thermal shock several times already.

The one nitro bass I bought already came from Poland but was a relic anyway so I ripped it open immediately.

6 hours seems plenty to me.
 
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#9
Although I certainly understand that some people would want to take every measure possible to preserve their instrument, I've never subscribed to this type of thinking or understood this phenomenon. Artists tour constantly in the winter months. Their basses and guitars are rarely kept in climate controlled vehicles while on the road for long periods of time.
 
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#10
BaltBass5 said:
Although I certainly understand that some people would want to take every measure possible to preserve their instrument, I've never subscribed to this type of thinking or understood this phenomenon. Artists tour constantly in the winter months. Their basses and guitars are rarely kept in climate controlled vehicles while on the road for long periods of time.
Click to expand...
It's a matter of degree... I recently got a new bass from the west (Sweetwater) and found the bass on my doorstep only after 20 min sitting in what has gone up to 22 degrees from the near zero we've had lately, so I waited just a few hours. I did not perceive that the package had been sitting in a deep freeze for hours or that the bass was hard frozen.
If it's Really cold, on tour bands will bring instruments into where they sleep because you really don't want to have your guitar/horn outside all night...horns do get unplayable until repair if frozen with condensation still inside.
 
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#14
I've never waited to open a new bass, regardless of how cold it's been. Last bass delivery it was outside for a while in -25C. Brought it in, cracked it open immediately, no issues. I also regularly walk to jams and shows and friend's places in the -20s with my basses and never seem to have any issues (other than condensation as it warms up - but I just use a fine cloth to sop up the moisture). Maybe it's just me, but if an instrument can't deal with Northern Ontario winters frankly I don't want to own it. Basses seem tougher in my opinion than people think, although perhaps this is a holdover from the olden days when temp mattered, an urban legend based on a snippet of truth that keeps perpetuating...
 
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#18
Just wait the recommended time irregardless of temperature. Consider the big picture. If the bass comes in anything but what you expected condition, you know you followed protocol so the seller can’t try and throw it back at you that it might be your fault. Sweetwater puts a big sticker on their boxes advising to wait. Just do it. CYA is what I say.
 
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#19
The thing I find humorous about all this, is that the bass has been through several temperature changes during shipping. If it was damaged by temperature, it would be during shipping. A cardboard box isn't any real protection from the temperature outside of the box. I see posts about waiting the recommended time. Recommended by who? What is that recommended time? IMHO, just open the box and play your new bass. Enjoy!!
 
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#20
Ok ok, opened it up before coffee and ended up playing it for an hour. It was shipped with the strings loosened (we can argue about that one later, I don't think it is necessary, or even a good thing in more extreme weather conditions).
We have been experiencing such long bouts of extreme temperature that I have been a bit paranoid- however, if you saw my other thread yesterday about a bass that cracked on me due to the environment here over the last couple weeks, you probably get why I just wanted to be stupid cautious.
What a nice build- about as hippy sandwich as you can get. The bass is a year old (I am the second owner- thanks Bernie!!!), but is showroom condition. The travel definitely whacked the setup - probably mostly due to the extreme temps and not being under tension. Will let it stabilize for a couple days, adjust the truss and give it a setup with my preferred strings. I was incredibly relieved that it was really, really comfortable on first play- my body did not reject it. No way to try one of these out, so I made an educated roll of the dice. 16.5 mm spacing, 33" scale, mandolin frets- all things I prefer, but you never know... I tried a Fodera MG mini, and really did not like it at all. Anyway, here's a couple pics of this fine instrument. You gotta be nuts to build stuff like this, it's as much artwork itself as it is a high level functioning tool, which I am a sucker for. Builder is St Germaine, from Canada
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