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Wait to open my bass in cold temps?

Open it or wait?

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    265
#143
sgiacomo said:
Actually it does slow it down. It is double boxed and the inner box is bubble wrapped. Thermodynamics 101
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#148
soulstew said:
This is one of of those topics, like bass weight, whether to bring a backup, playing sitting down, and music stands on stage, that always provoke a raft of dismissive and sometimes strangely aggressive posts that go out of their way to challenge the OP.













What is it about these questions that makes some red-blooded males on this site rush to their keyboards to dismiss a question as, in this case, based on an "internet myth," the implication being that the OP is gullible or overly nervous about a wee wittle change in temperature. I would argue that even worse than an internet myth is an internet poster who considers anything he hasn't personally experienced, or that involves circumstances other than his own, to be an "internet myth," and feels the need to inflict his lack of experience or awareness on someone who actually has skin in the game and asks for accurate information about something that matters.



In this thread alone there are a number of posts describing actual cases of finish cracking/checking from rapid changes in temps, both with nitro and poly. I've had it happen too, with a thick-poly-coated Fender p-bass brought in from a subzero band trailer into a warm hotel banquet room and opened immediately. I live on the Minnesota/North Dakota border, 70 miles south of Canada, and it gets cold here. If you leave your poly-coated bass for a several hours in the band trailer in subzero weather and then bring it indoors and open it immediately, there is a very good chance you will get some finish checking. Will the finish be "destroyed"? No, but does it need to be "destroyed" to be a legitimate concern? In my case, the bass was only two years old and now had some some finish cracks. I didn't really mind--they became part of its character for me, but they were still there. If that had happened the first time I opened the case when I got the bass, I might not have felt the same.

Would the shift from 32 degrees to the warm interior of the OP's house cause finish checking or cracking if he were to open it immediately? My guess is probably not, but it's not my bass nor my money that paid for it, and I couldn't rule out the possibility, especially if it has sat in the unheated truck overnight due to the ice storm he mentioned. So I'd say at least wait a few hours. Delivery trucks that get delayed by weather can sit overnight, powered down, so that everything in the hold is down to outdoor temperature when it gets dropped off. Ask me how I know. The answer involves frozen wine, corks forced out of the bottles, boxes full of purple slush.

This is a bit of a derail, maybe, but why is it these topics generate so many of this kind of swaggering, dismissive, condescending post. Some of my female friends would say it's a macho/masculinity thing, like a bunch of adolescents bragging: "My dad is so tough, he plays a fifteen pound bass, never plays sitting down, and never brings a backup. And when he got that bass, he never even waited before opening the box. That's how tough he is."

Would these female friends be right? I don't know. Is playing a light bass, bringing a backup, and waiting to open a cold box a sign of weakness for some of you? Or are you just unable to conceive of somebody having different circumstances or experiences than your own? Why the need to post about things you don't have expertise, knowledge or experience with when there are people who do, who can give good advice based on experience? Why not just read along and maybe learn that you don't have an informed answer to every question asked on an internet forum, and that you can learn from those whose circumstances and experience is different than your own?

Sorry everyone for the preachiness, I got a little wound up. And sorry, OP, for the slight derail.

Edit--last paragraph edited to replace "they" with "you" in a few spots. I felt that it was better to be honestly confrontational than to turn this into an artificial "us vs. they" scenario.
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I was trying to inject humor but honestly...I can't count the times I've pulled my bass out of a freezing trailer into a warm room to do a gig and I've never noticed anything negative except tuning issues. Then again I play with a player who wears a sock on their arm to keep the finish perfect...to each their own.
 
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#149
coy garcia said:
I was trying to inject humor but honestly...I can't count the times I've pulled my bass out of a freezing trailer into a warm room to do a gig and I've never noticed anything negative except tuning issues. Then again I play with a player who wears a sock on their arm to keep the finish perfect...to each their own.
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That's totally fair, and your comment was funny and true. In the long run, yeah, all the finish cracks and dings and run-ins with mic stands, ceiling fans, ride cymbals and the like take their toll on the newness of a gigging instrument. I was thinking more of the OP's first look at a pristine new bass. It will eventually not be new again, and minor flaws will add to the charm.

Your experience is valid, even though mine is a little different. And I'm not obsessive about keeping instruments pristine, but I do try to avoid battle scars when I can.
 
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#152
sgiacomo said:
Look at that polish on those frets! Setup is amazing, the bass feels so much better than new. I’ve only played a few scales up and down to make sure everything is good. Now off to give it a thorough run thru! Just thought I better drop a pic off what was inside since you all were kind enough to lend your thoughts. Thanks!
View attachment 5328730
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Beauty. Play it well.
 
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