Gigging in a cold climate

[egosheep]

I have always seen members here who live in a cold climate receive guitars in the mail, and give them time to acclimate before they open the box or the case. But what about when you have to take a guitar out of your warm home, drive to a gig, and it's freezing cold outside? Is there a protocol, or any risk of finish problems in these situations?

[cjj]

Well, I suppose it depends on just how you transport your guitar. In the case, it's relatively well insulated from temperature changes, so unless it's sitting in some unheated truck for several hours or days, you'll probably be fine (this is why we let them warm up for a while when we get 'em). If you transport them inside your car, where there's heat, the short trips between the vehicle and the gig won't be an issue at all.

Now, if it's an outdoor gig in sub freezing temperatures, well, you're probably nuts for taking that job...

[egosheep]

Thanks CJ! That seems to make sense. I'm going to be moving from Atlanta to Toronto later next year, and when I see some of the bands offloading from the van in the snow, I think about those beautiful RIC finishes and get nervous. Glad to hear theres not a lot to worry about.

[Folkie]

I have always seen members here who live in a cold climate receive guitars in the mail, and give them time to acclimate before they open the box or the case.

I don't recall seeing any threads suggesting how long to let a shipped guitar sit in its box after arrival during the winter season. Could somebody please answer this question or direct me to the proper thread?

Robert

[rikk]

I don't think there is one right answer, but I've heard from 6-24 hours. I bought a RIC a couple of Decembers ago and waited 6 hours and it was fine. Your mileage may vary.

[cjj]

I have always seen members here who live in a cold climate receive guitars in the mail, and give them time to acclimate before they open the box or the case.

I don't recall seeing any threads suggesting how long to let a shipped guitar sit in its box after arrival during the winter season. Could somebody please answer this question or direct me to the proper thread?

Robert

Well, there's the box that comes from the RIC factory:

Which has the following warning:

[teb]

If you're actively gigging, to some extent you'll probably have to take your chances. Luckily, most guitars seem to be somewhat tougher than one might think. Situations arise where you may have to leave the instruments in the van overnight or parked for a few hours and then need to set up to play or record without much of a warm-up period - and there often isn't a lot you can do about it. We used to travel with a bunch of Martins (mostly D-28s and D-35s, sixes and twelves) and another pile of electric guitars. When we got to the club, hall or studio, the guitars always went inside first. Then the amps and sound system were hauled in and set up. The guitar cases didn't get opened until we were ready for a sound check, so they typically might get 30-45 minutes to warm up and then it was time to start playing them. I don't remember ever seeing anything on any of our instruments that seemed to be caused by cold/warm shock. No obvious finish cracks, tuning problems, etc.

One year, we were driving back about 2:00 AM from a recording session on a dark back-road short-cut and hit a big black angus cow that had escaped and was standing in the road. It did a pretty good number on the van's front and after that, the heat didn't work. Naturally, being a band of that era, we used the insurance money to buy food, instead of fixing the heater. We spent that winter driving all around the midwest in an unheated van. The instruments survived fine, but we needed the 45 minutes of set-up to get our fingers working before we could play. Ah, the joys of youth. It's certainly not the scenario that I would choose to subject my instruments to, but unless modern bands make a lot more money than bands used to make, there may not always be much choice at times.

[egosheep]

If you're actively gigging, to some extent you'll probably have to take your chances. Luckily, most guitars seem to be somewhat tougher than one might think. Situations arise where you may have to leave the instruments in the van overnight or parked for a few hours and then need to set up to play or record without much of a warm-up period - and there often isn't a lot you can do about it. We used to travel with a bunch of Martins (mostly D-28s and D-35s, sixes and twelves) and another pile of electric guitars. When we got to the club, hall or studio, the guitars always went inside first. Then the amps and sound system were hauled in and set up. The guitar cases didn't get opened until we were ready for a sound check, so they typically might get 30-45 minutes to warm up and then it was time to start playing them. I don't remember ever seeing anything on any of our instruments that seemed to be caused by cold/warm shock. No obvious finish cracks, tuning problems, etc.

One year, we were driving back about 2:00 AM from a recording session on a dark back-road short-cut and hit a big black angus cow that had escaped and was standing in the road. It did a pretty good number on the van's front and after that, the heat didn't work. Naturally, being a band of that era, we used the insurance money to buy food, instead of fixing the heater. We spent that winter driving all around the midwest in an unheated van. The instruments survived fine, but we needed the 45 minutes of set-up to get our fingers working before we could play. Ah, the joys of youth. It's certainly not the scenario that I would choose to subject my instruments to, but unless modern bands make a lot more money than bands used to make, there may not always be much choice at times.

Great story, Todd! Thanks for sharing.

[360girl]

One year, we were driving back about 2:00 AM from a recording session on a dark back-road short-cut and hit a big black angus cow that had escaped and was standing in the road. It did a pretty good number on the van's front and after that, the heat didn't work. Naturally, being a band of that era, we used the insurance money to buy food, instead of fixing the heater. We spent that winter driving all around the midwest in an unheated van. The instruments survived fine, but we needed the 45 minutes of set-up to get our fingers working before we could play. Ah, the joys of youth. It's certainly not the scenario that I would choose to subject my instruments to, but unless modern bands make a lot more money than bands used to make, there may not always be much choice at times.

That must have been before my time in Madtown (UW alum - Class of '87) Todd. The only recording studio I remember being in Madison back in the day, was Butch Vig's, Smart Studios. And no, the money for gigging hasn't gotten any better over the years, here in Cheesehead Land!

[bassduke49]

Todd, how long have you been in Madison? Perhaps I never noticed that you're almost "local." Hope you can make it to the Midwest Rick Confluence in June here in Milwaukee.

[grazioso]

Thanks CJ! That seems to make sense. I'm going to be moving from Atlanta to Toronto later next year, and when I see some of the bands offloading from the van in the snow, I think about those beautiful RIC finishes and get nervous. Glad to hear theres not a lot to worry about.

the finish doesn't like sudden change but that's all. what you should worry about more is the relative humidity in toronto - that is quite a change from atlanta and winters are very dry in that area (i was just across lake erie) and the dry spell in winter is amazing - late januray and early february it's easily only 20% humidity or less. the only workable solution i could come up with was big humidifier and setup twice a year on those instruments that i was using a lot.

[teb]

...great story for everyone except the cow His heater didn't work after the crash either.....or any other parts of him for that matter. I've been in Madison for about 19 years now, though I'm not really in touch with any part of the Madison music scene. I wander into GC every once in a while to see what's new, but usually have much better stuff to play on at home. Back when the band was active we were based out of Champaign/Urbana, Illinois, which was kind of a mini-music-Mecca at the time with a lot of good players and songwriters.

We started recording at a little four-track studio in Urbana, did our first album for Elektra at their studios in Los Angeles and when we came back we shifted over to Golden Voice Studios in Pekin, Il (near Peoria). There isn't much in Pekin, but the studio owner was a dealer for professional recording equipment and had a very modern 16 track studio. He tended to get newly invented equipment early for demo use and that's where we first got to try some of these new gizmos. We did a lot of low budget studio sessions for local people who wanted to make their own albums, many of them the worst music you have ever heard, with one run-through, followed by rolling the tape. Instead of cash, they would pay us in free studio time for recording our own stuff. The last session we did at Golden Voice that I remember was backing up Joe Dowell (Wooden Heart, Little Red Rented Rowboat, etc.) on some commercials he was making. Joe had just become a born-again Christian and was planning on heading over to Africa. He was going to walk right up to the lions and was sure that Jesus would make sure that they wouldn't eat him. We tried to convince him that this might not be the best plan in the world, but he was convinced. I see that he's still around on the web, so either his plan worked, or he took our advice. I heard that Golden Voice burned down a few years later.

For big-time commercial accounts like Heinz, Kelloggs, AC Delco, etc. we always recorded in Chicago, but I can't remember the name of the place. All I remember was that the hotel we stayed in was really nice, had a great restaurant and we could order just about anything on the menu and somebody else paid for it. By band standards, we were actually pretty mellow compared to some, but we did manage to come away with some pretty fun stories.

Our lead player (Billy Panda) is a Nashville studio musician and the other day somebody mentioned the old Golden Voice days and those horrible quickie/one-take country and gospel albums that we had to play on to earn recording time. He sent us this message: (he's the grey-haired, bearded guy playing the acoustic, and one of the best "groove-masters" I've ever heard).

"Here's a nice little number some of my buddies and I cut a couple of
weeks ago-- and the singer/writer had her friends put together a lil
video of the session. From our first listen to the performance you hear
here-- 1/2 hour (not counting the mix).
Sometimes I love my job.
Billy"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO6_Kl7dx8s

Any way, this poor thread is drifting like the Flying Dutchman, so I'll shut up with the old stories, but guitars for gigging musicians can, in many instances, survive cold weather without damage. Just do what you can to protect them and warm them up slowly when the circumstances allow it. Many times though, it may not be your call because somebody else is calling the shots and making the schedule.

[johnallg]

Todd, thanks! Man, what are we gonna do when all the old steel players retire. When I was in Nashville and checked out the bars, all the steel players were older. Someday they will all be gone......

[wittyair]

I'm still here......tho I dont even own a steel anymore.......hmmm, might be time!!

[cjj]

Well, I'm a new steel player... Oh wait, you meant old vs. young...