Should I open my new bass immediately?

[707GK]

Even if the bass did come from a great distance, somewhere with a different temperature and humidity…the bass likely has traveled that far over a number of hours, if not days or weeks. So it’s not like it’s going to go through some dramatic shift.

Now if the bass was instantly teleported to you, maybe, just maybe we would have a different story, but then I would be more interested in your teleportation device anyways.

 

[Black Out Jazz]

 

[bobyoung53]

When I was younger I have a 68 CAR Nitro P bass that was my main bass for close to 20 years and I played a lot back then, full time for part of it. I mean if the bass had been in a trunk or a truck in 0 or 10 degree weather for hours I would try to let it warm up in the club but if you have to play in an hour there's not a whole lot you can do. I was told to open the cover for a couple of seconds and let some warm air in then close it again and do that a few times but there were a lot of times the bass was still cold when we started playing. The bass did check a little over that period of time but it was barely noticable. If I get a new bass delivered to me as long as the case doesn't feel like it's doubling as an ice chest or it's got steam wafting off it, it's open before the truck leaves.

 

[Killing Floor]

As a guy who spent years in QC for a big guitar brand the real risk was with certain basses/guitars that came in during very cold days because sudden condensation could mess up the finish. If the guitar is hot (it's really hot here today) and you bring it indoors which might be a 15-20 degree delta, cooler, you should be OK. Maybe split the difference - take it out of the box, leave in case for an hour. Could you live with that?
You really should not have anything to worry about in the summer, it's more of an issue in the winter.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I'm pretty sure if you open the box immediately upon receipt, evil spirits are released into your home and the only way to get rid of them is to perform an exorcism.

 

[JRA]

don't do it.

 

[BassFalcon]

The concern with the cold as has been noted is the opportunity for condensation (forgot about that one) and finish checking. Not that it will every time, but extreme cold to warm or hot is how it happens, why invite that potential. The main concerns with heat are melting glue and softened nitro. Back when I did instrument repair re-gluing acoustic guitar bridges was bread and butter in the summer months. Leave it in the sun, usually takes prolonged direct sun in a car to hit those temps, the glue softens and the tension from the strings makes the bridge slide or come off completely. There are no glue joints like that on an electric bass. As far as the nitro softening, if I remember correctly it was a very old instrument with a softish nitro finish to begin with, sitting in the car in the sun just helped that along, left an imprint of the velvet lining in the finish. That wouldn’t happen to poly. These things do happen, they aren’t just myths, but as far as this situation, dive right in man. Open it up and enjoy!

 

[jd56hawk]

I open it up immediately before the delivery truck gets too far away from my house

(Posted before I noticed!)
I open every new bass I get before the UPS or FedEx truck even makes it off my street!
Other than that, was your bass shipped in a refrigerated truck and are you opening it in your steam room?

 

[Jefenator]

I think some large stores slap a warning sticker on the box to cover their butts. It might be worth doing if it prevents that 1 in 1000 times something might actually happen when the parcel comes in from a cold delivery van in the dead of winter.

 

[growlypants]

Short answer: Don't wait, just open it. (Now, in the winter time, when it's below freezing out, I would absolutely wait 6 hours or so, for the bass to gradually warm up in the box!)

 

[Real Soon]

If it was shipped from outer space, the shuttle's payload bay might be a little chilly, but that'd be rectified by it heating up when entering the atmosphere. Open that puppy up

 

[TreySonagras]

My theory is this was dreamed up by lawyers. An extra layer of protection for the seller in case someone tries to make a warranty claim.
“Oh, the finish is flawed? Can you PROVE you waited 24 hours to open the box? Sorry, no warranty for you”
‍

 

[spencejm]

I opened it! See the NBD - G&L L2K post.

 

[DrMole]

It is not a hand-carved acoustic guitar, mandolin, violin or bass.
As others have said,: it will be fine and we cannot wait 24 hours.

 

[red_rhino]

Absolutely not! You should re-route the shipment to me. I'll inspect the bass first to make sure it's safe for you to play.

 

[bearhart74]

only reason to hold off is to practice delayed gratification.

 

[wmhill]

Open it. It's made of trees, it'll be fine.

 

[InhumanResource]

I'm having a new bass delivered this afternoon. It should be in a hard case inside the shipping container. I've heard I should not open it right away to allow the temp and humidity to stabilize. I understand the reasoning for this but is it really necessary? I REALLY want to at least look at it!

Thank you for your advice.

Joe

Yes. The temperature stuff is nonsense.

 

[NoiseNinja]

Do it!

(Just for the sake of avoiding a tragic outcome and an eventual following trial against me what I mean by that is opening that package as quickly as is responsible in terms of not damaging the bass, your self or anyone or anything else in the proximity of the package, to get your build up anticipation saded, for God's sake, and not least your own, your family, and mine for that matter, please don't kill yourself, and even less just because you thought that was what I meant to suggest, I assure you that wasn't it)



(and for the sake of avoiding getting banned for that precautionary bracketed comment, I was humorous referring to the trial against Judas Priest)

 

[31HZ]

I watched a fresh thin-nitro finish crack right before my eyes when the still-cold guitar came out of the case too quickly after a winter delivery.

But a poly or oil finish? Zero problems ever.