Settling in after the effects of humidity

[frankpc]

Hey everybody i got a question, a bought a bass a few weeks ago, its a ken smith, they shipped from florida to NY, when i got the bass, the bass had a muddy dead sound,...now im talking acousticly, (yes its an electric bass !!the electronics are fine and the batteries too) so i found out that the bass was in stock for more than 6 months, and acording to the maker (yeah..ken) the wood and the tone, got affected by humidity and that the bass needs to 'settle back and dry out' ,..now my questions:
1. Does the wood swell and expands?
2. Does the bass dry out as the time goes by?
3. As the bass settles into its new enviroment are changes gonna take place to the action and neck profile?
4. And what do you recomend to do as the "settling in" period goes on?
I would love to know ur opinions on this matter, i dont know anything about wood and how affected can get by the climate,.. by the way when the bass arrived to new york we had the strongest snow storm ive seen in my whole life!!
Thank U.

 

[JHorstmann]

1. Rapid climate change sucks for any musical instrument. Yes it does, and it should settle back in.
2. Haha yes it does, if you live in a pretty static environment though it usually doesn't need too much attention.
3. Yes. How much? Depends on the bass. My MusicMan hardly changes at all while my '62 P Bass doesn't do so well with the changes at first but settles in pretty quick.
4. Leave her be, try not to change the tension on it too much. Change of strings might be needed after settling in. Besides that, just let her be.

 

[251]

Now is a good time to refine your set up skills. The bass will dry out until June & swell again until September & start to dry out & ... It may take a month or 2 for it to settle into the rhythm of New York weather.

I suggest you keep the tools needed to raise/lower the bridge with you so you can keep playing it without adjusting the truss rods all the time. In the Fall, you & the bass will know each other well & having the action just the way you like it will take just a few minutes.

The KSD is a really sweet instrument. Enjoy!

 

[frankpc]

Hey guys thanks a lot, for ur opinions and sharing ur knowledge, so, i guess the bass is in a distressed condition to judge it sound right? and the only thing i can do right know is wait and have patience? should i leave it in the case or let it be in the stand for some time?... and Jhortsmann how did your musicman sound when went trough this situation?
it sucks when you save money for an instrument and when you get it it sounds terrible, i even changed the strings 2 times in one week,.

Thank U guys

 

[251]

Hey guys thanks a lot, for ur opinions and sharing ur knowledge, so, i guess the bass is in a distressed condition to judge it sound right? and the only thing i can do right know is wait and have patience? should i leave it in the case or let it be in the stand for some time?... and Jhortsmann how did your musicman sound when went trough this situation?
it sucks when you save money for an instrument and when you get it it sounds terrible, i even changed the strings 2 times in one week,.

Thank U guys

Play it. Adjust it so you can play it, often. Do a setup with intonation in a month.

If it is unplayable, consider resetting it to factory condition. Release the string tension, release the truss rod tension & let it sit for 3 days. Restring, do a complete setup with intonation & a setup without intonation every other day for a week. Then put on new strings, 1 string at a time & play, play, play.

That bass is too nice to let it sit in the case for a month. Besides the case will put a barrier between the bass & the weather, slowing down the adjustment.

 

[boyet]

Let it acclimate for a week or two then do the set-up. As a travelling bassist this always happens to my basses. I even went opposite to what you experienced...from winter wonderland to a tropical paradise. An enormous change for the bass. I have my Bongo MusicMan with me and I have the entire set-up of the bass changed to make it feel normal again for my playing style. The bottom line here is that you need to learn how to set-up your bass to your playing style all on your own.

 

[dj5]

I'm not sure how the climate change could affect the sound of the bass, unless the action became so high that it had no "plink" or whatever you'd like to call it?
Even so, a set up NOW ought to make the bass sound as good as it can - I'm a bit worried about the "leave it for a while and wait for it to improve" thing - as i said, if it's set up right, it will sound as good as it's going to NOW
And the neck profile isn't goint to alter either. This "wood and the tone got affected by humidity" sounds like salesman talk to me I'm afraid, unless it's the action change that we're talking about.

 

[frankpc]

Hey bass brothers!! thanks for the attention to this matter, its amazing how succeptible the instrument is to the effects of humidity, and ive been learning a lot about this situation and never thought how bad this could get!! even pianos get affected by this!!,...i performed a setup and adjusted the neck and feels real good man!! now my concern is more the acoustic sound (tonal wood sound), i had notice a diference on the tone now, after three weeks of receiving the bass,.
When i first took the bass out of the case and try it i got pissed man!! what a dead sound!! but the difference is noticeable,..its a bolt on, tiger maple top and back, walnut core, and tiger maple center block, paufero fretboard and hard maple neck,i hope ill get the full tonal potential out of the wood in a few weeks,....any other advice please let me know! and check my music page when you get a chance :
Link Removed

 

[dj5]

All I can say is that you must have good ears. The accoustic sound change caused by the moisture content of the woods' in your bass changing over three weeks would, I would say, be neglibable, unless we're talking about action height. I'm not trying to be awkward, but I think you're just getting used to the sound of the bass. If it sounded horrible before, then surely those basses would never be any good in Florida, or anywhere humid?
Still, if you're happy with it, that's ok. Perhaps you just needed time to get used to the sound of it!

 

[frankpc]

I'm not sure how the climate change could affect the sound of the bass, unless the action became so high that it had no "plink" or whatever you'd like to call it?
Even so, a set up NOW ought to make the bass sound as good as it can - I'm a bit worried about the "leave it for a while and wait for it to improve" thing - as i said, if it's set up right, it will sound as good as it's going to NOW
And the neck profile isn't goint to alter either. This "wood and the tone got affected by humidity" sounds like salesman talk to me I'm afraid, unless it's the action change that we're talking about.

Hey whats up bro!! according to ken the bass was in stock in florida (bass central) for more than six months, and got affected by humidity, according to him and other guys the bass needs to settle in to the new enviroment and dry out of the moisture that sucked, the instrument came from super high humidity weather to a 3 day snow storm we had here in NY,.. and believe me it sounded redicously when i first heard this theory, im the type of guy that buys a bass for a good feel and sound regardless of the wood combos, i try it ,and if i like it ill buy it!! but this is a crazy experience specially for a $4,000 instrument.

 

[frankpc]

Let it acclimate for a week or two then do the set-up. As a travelling bassist this always happens to my basses. I even went opposite to what you experienced...from winter wonderland to a tropical paradise. An enormous change for the bass. I have my Bongo MusicMan with me and I have the entire set-up of the bass changed to make it feel normal again for my playing style. The bottom line here is that you need to learn how to set-up your bass to your playing style all on your own.

Hey Bro when you say "LET IT ACCLIMATE FOR A WEEK OR TWO" what exactly do you mean??