Guitar arrived, now the wait to open the box..ughhh

Russ73

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Well its 20 degrees here in NY and the guitar came from 5 degree Wisconsin, from Daves, so I guess I have to wait the 24 hours to open the box....for the record the guitar is bursting out of the tiny box they shipped it in I really hope its not damaged by those animals at UPS, I guess well find out tomm....
 
It shouldn't take 24 hours for your guitar to come to room temperature. That is overly cautious. Especially if the guitar is sticking out it is going to warm in a hurry!
 
Its been in the 40's the last two weeks here in San Francisco and people are talking like they are going to file a formal complaint with mother nature. Your post really reminds me how glad i am that this is about the worst it gets around here.
 
Its been in the 40's the last two weeks here in San Francisco and people are talking like they are going to file a formal complaint with mother nature. Your post really reminds me how glad i am that this is about the worst it gets around here.
I grew up in NY but I went to school in Madison Wisconsin and when it was 40 degrees we were out playing basketball in shorts...lol
It shouldn't take 24 hours for your guitar to come to room temperature. That is overly cautious. Especially if the guitar is sticking out it is going to warm in a hurry!
I don't think I can wait 24 hours but I will def let it sit overnight...
 
I always proceed cautiously, but......It is usually cool-ish in the house and usually somewhat higher than 20 outside. The box and contents are not going to be as cold as the exposed outdoors. It is not as if it has been sitting in your car trunk overnight in subzero temps....I bring it in, open the end of the box and give it a chance for the warmer air to slowly penetrate a while, wait, then gradually pull out packing material. You can get a pretty good feel for temps just by touching the guitar case. Wait. Pull out the guitar case. Wait. Crack the case open just a bit and place something small to prop it open an inch or so. Wait. Stick your finger in to touch the guitar and see if it is chilly to the touch.

I have never had a problem. But it never hurts (except anxiety) to wait a little extra. 24 hours, or even overnight, is probably not necessary.
 
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I've never waited. The biggest issue is not temperature, it's humidity.
But even like that, an closed box cannot absorb outdoor humidity to actually damage the guitar.
YMMV but I've owned more than 300 different guitars over the years and never had one single issue regarding this subject.
 
I just opened the top of the box and it was cooler in the box but not freezing in there..its warm in my apt right now so I removed some of the packaging and ill let it warm up...I cant freaking wait already!
 
Well I took the guitar out of the box and opened the bag, it was warm in the box, and the guitar is a little cold but not freezing so I left it in the bag open to warm up some more, I have to say it a gorgeous guitar and its flawless, very lightweight and I'm psyched to plug it in a couple of hours from now, if the gig bag didn't smell a little funny I would have thought it was new but played a bunch of times in a store....kudos to Daves...
 
For future reference, you should definitely open it as much as possible (I have cats, so I'd take it out of the shipping box, unlatch or unzip the case, and then let it sit. The important thing when a cold guitar hits a warm room with any humidity is that that humidity will condense on the guitar, so you want that condensation to have a chance to evaborate (or sublimate, if it's really cold).

That's one school of thought. The other school of thought is that you want it to warm up before opening the protective layers of packing, so that the humidity can't get to the guitar, as you seem to have done.

I'd be curious which school of thought people lean towards. Me, I usually have to pick up my packages before work, so I get the package, take it inside, leave it there for 9-13 hours, then open it when I get home. It's just a function of my schedule.

PS It's been really freakin' cold here in the DC area as well, so I completely understand exactly your concern.
 
Am of the school of keep it closed and wait for it to warm up. But a couple of caveats - I live about 150 miles north of Dave's shop. And I've actually seen the "blue smoke" come out of a case being transported in -20F and opened immediately in a warm shop. Only once have I ever heard the finish crack on an instrument. No thanks.

That being said, modern electric instruments probably don't need a full 24 hours. What you did was fine, IMO.
 
Much like a bad doctor, I have no patience. I'll wait an hour or two, but after that, nope. Can't do it. I haven't really had the extreme temperature swings that some of you have. I'll let the box or case get close to room temp, but that about all I can takes.

When my PS arrived, it was a cold day I think it came about an hour and a half before I was going to lunch. Told my wife the timing was good - I'd pop it open after lunch. She got ready to go, walked out to the living room and said, "So much for waiting, huh?" Technically, I left it in the case. I just didn't keep the case closed.
 
Just open and play it. I think it's stupid to wait for 24 hours. If there is any damage, it's already been done and you can do nothing about it. Imagine you are at a gig and the guitar just arrived, you want to tell your audience that you can't play the show cause the guitars haven't been warmed up yet?
 
Just open and play it. I think it's stupid to wait for 24 hours. If there is any damage, it's already been done and you can do nothing about it. Imagine you are at a gig and the guitar just arrived, you want to tell your audience that you can't play the show cause the guitars haven't been warmed up yet?

+1

If I can't take my guitar from a frozen trailer to hot stage lights, WTF is it good for?
 
Ive been playing it the last hour, great guitar, I had to set it up and put 9.5s on there but there is a little bit of buzzing but the neck looks straight so Ill let it settle in, looks great glad I went with this color...I'm a big fan of the S2 guitar they are more comfortable to play standing up than my Core model and they play great!
 
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