Letting the Guitar Acclimate in the box for 24 hours

[Troubador222]

That is just so hard to do. I bought it from Sweetwater and they recommend it. I'm going to do it, but it's just cruel. Almost as bad as when I had to have some medical tests the other day, they would not let me have coffee first. I'm reverting to my inner two year old.

 

[jxe]

if you have a walk-in fridge you can open it in there.

 

[4406Pack]

Always wait especially if your new Baby has traveled through cold climates on its way to your door!

 

[Troubador222]

Oh yes, I am going to wait! Sweetwater is in Indiana and I am in Florida. Humidity is much higher here as well and we're in the high 80s today. I just want to play it in the worst way.

 

[4406Pack]

Oh yes, I am going to wait! Sweetwater is in Indiana and I am in Florida. Humidity is much higher here as well and we're in the high 80s today. I just want to play it in the worst way.

It will be worth the wait!

 

[tbp0701]

It's tough, I know. For some reason all the guitars I bought that needed shipped were bought in January or February. So I had to wait to open all of them. I'd do a silly process, though. The full box would sit a while. Then I'd open a flap. After a number of hours, if it felt acclimated, I'd take the case out of the box. Then after 24 hours finally open the case.

Maybe it would be better to leave it be, put a bow on it, then wake up in the morning, run to it yelling wildly, and open it up.

And in the meantime you can check that your camera's battery is charged to share photos.

 

[alantig]

I just want to play it in the worst way.

I can take care of that part. There are others that can play it well, though.

 

[ElrytNamrogo]

I think the most I've ever waited has been 8-10 hours....most of the time less.

Then again, most of my purchases happen to fall in the Spring/Summer months.

 

[IRG]

I think the warning applies mostly for nitro finished bodies. Reality is, I'm not sure 24 hours in Florida is necessary. It's going to warm up fairly quickly anyway, naturally. Maybe 3-4 hours, remove it from the big box. Maybe wait another hour or two in the case, then open and enjoy. I had a Gibson LP (nitro) from SW that I had delivered in winter months, left it in the box for a few hours, until everything seemed like it was at room temperature, removed, all fine. No nitro hazing, which in some cases looks kinda cool anyway, lol. If it's a poly finish, I'm not sure you need to wait very long at all. It's too hard to wait!

 

[rwandering]

I did this recently with my Paul's Guitar. It was hard. Made a little easier because I didn't actually have any time to really play with it until the next day anyway . . . but I was so excited to get it, it felt weird to leave it alone.

 

[archtop]

If you don't wait and the guitar's damaged you'll be regretting your decision for more than 24 hours.

 

[rwandering]

New core guitar: $5,000; avoiding unnecessary finish cracks in the first 24-hours: priceless (ok, well, maybe closer to $5,000).

 

[Troubador222]

It's an SE Pauls, but I am still going to wait. I'm just going to keep complaining loudly while I wait. The big thing is probably a huge humidity difference this time of year.

 

[4406Pack]

Here is a little tune to make you feel better for waiting

 

[watelessness]

meh, i only do it when there are extremes or when it's been sitting on a truck for several days. there are a whole lot of physics involved in the temperature and humidity equalizing such that the 24-hour rule is not an exact science.

 

[nussbajh]

It's tough, I know. For some reason all the guitars I bought that needed shipped were bought in January or February. So I had to wait to open all of them. I'd do a silly process, though. The full box would sit a while. Then I'd open a flap. After a number of hours, if it felt acclimated, I'd take the case out of the box. Then after 24 hours finally open the case.

Maybe it would be better to leave it be, put a bow on it, then wake up in the morning, run to it yelling wildly, and open it up.

And in the meantime you can check that your camera's battery is charged to share photos.

I love the idea of running into a guitar you bought yourself like it is Xmas.

 

[veinbuster]

meh, i only do it when there are extremes or when it's been sitting on a truck for several days. there are a whole lot of physics involved in the temperature and humidity equalizing such that the 24-hour rule is not an exact science.

24 hours is really just safe butt coverage. I can’t think of any real life situations where it would take 24 hours for every part of the guitar to warm up to room temperature. And I lived in a place where we spent a month without the outside temperature going above -20. I brought lots of things inside.

 

[rwandering]

If you live in a place like that, don't you have to keep all of your outdoor clothes on for 24-hours to avoid cracking your finish?

 

[veinbuster]

If you live in a place like that, don't you have to keep all of your outdoor clothes on for 24-hours to avoid cracking your finish?

Not quite. You switch from your outside parka to your inside parka. But you have to do it really fast inside an air lock.

 

[aphantomvaper]

Last axe I received from Daves I used a thermal camera to track the warm up. When the case was unity color for 5 hours I opened it. Right at around 20 hours after receipt.