Hollowbody and outdoor weather

[Roving_Drummer]

Sorry for nube question but I am a drummer lol.

I was asked to sit in on guitar(first time ever) at an outdoor patio gig tonight. Low temp tonight is 43 degrees(Fahrenheit). There will be a couple heat lamps but those are scattered. We will be plugging into a PA. My acoustic doesn't have pups so I plan to use my SE Hollowbody ii Piezo. Piezo only. I expect to have some tuning issues at first. Is this a bad idea. I LOVE this guitar and don't want to mess it up with a rookie mistake.

 

[Boogie]

It’s a great idea! Outdoor gigs are a blast and, as long as you have clothing to match the weather, the guitar should be fine once it acclimates. Give it time.

This is what I took to an outdoor gig in 29F degree ambient temperatures. It performed admirably.

 

[RickP]

Agree with @Boogie on that. I’ve played in gigs where my hands took much more abuse than the guitar! Just make sure you give the guitar time to come to temp; I’ll often just crack the case open on a latch during setup to let it acclimate slowly. Even more important is to let it come up to indoor temp slowly. I’m not sure about the newer finishes, but when I was learning the ropes just popping the case open on a frozen guitar in a warm room was a way to get instant relicing, back when relicing was considered a sign of instrument abuse!


Speaking of your pic Boogie, that van paint is awesome!

 

[Roving_Drummer]

Thank you both for confirmation and advice. I'll play the gig worry free now.

This thing has been in my finished, always 68 degree, always 50% humidity basement since it left China in March lol.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Best of luck for tonight. All good advice above.

If anything (to begin with), your strings will go sharp as they contract in the colder air. Play your guitar a bit, with volume down, to allow the strings to warm up with the touch of your fingers.

Keep a tuner to hand for any minor changes needed.

 

[WEDGE]

@Boogie that van is awesome! Are you running the Kemper into the loop return of the Mesa to just power it? Never considered that, how sit sound compared to an FRFR?

 

[Boogie]

Speaking of your pic Boogie, that van paint is awesome!

That belongs to the bassist. Who here is surprised?

@Boogie that van is awesome! Are you running the Kemper into the loop return of the Mesa to just power it? Never considered that, how sit sound compared to an FRFR?

Yep! That was my first attempt at a non-FRFR FRFR solution. With the graphic EQ, which is post preamp, right in front of the power stage, it gave me reasonable control. It certainly had enough grunt! Even with the EV12L speaker, it only came somewhat close (as in, not close!) to full range. It was its own thing and people dug it.