Rics and Frozen Temps.

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 10:46 am

Ouch. It hurts to read stories like that.... I would never, ever put a guitar in the trunk. I remember very clearly when I was taking guitar lessons what my instructor told me: "Always treat your guitar like you would your own child--don't ever leave it alone in the car for more than a few minutes, and don't ever transport it in the trunk!" I have always heeded his advice, and have no regrets. Extreme temperature changes can do bad things to guitars..... In fact, it was about a year ago that I was on pins and needles about the arrival of my 325, which came when we were experiencing nighttime low temps of -25 degrees fahrenheit.... Although it was tough, I let the box sit for a full 48 hours before I dared to open it. The guitar was fine, and my peace of mind was well worth the wait.

lowendbob · Post by **lowendbob** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 11:13 am

Ya, I think the next time I buy one I'll wait for warmer weather. Right, who am I kidding

It's tough waiting it out!

00soul · Post by **00soul** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 11:55 am

i ordered my guitar on december 31st. its is ariving on the 7th of janruary. 48 hours it will be the 9th. thats 10 days, will they except my warranty card? i heard they dont accept warranty cars after 10 days since purchase

jeff_ulmer · Post by **jeff_ulmer** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 2:05 pm

Ric does accept cards after ten days, so don't worry about that. I've sent mine in long after ten days, and they were still talking to me about warranty.

Scastles · Post by **Scastles** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 6:09 am

As long as we've had horror stories with cold weather and finishes...here's a bad combo, UPS and cold weather. A Ric traveling via UPS Air (which is like placing your guitar in cold storage)and eventually delievered, was left outside of the home it was delivered to in sub-freezing temps for about five hours before the owner came home to find it. The finish was cracked in two places on the body. So moral, don't ship via air and don't let the guitar be left without someone there to receive it when it is delivered. A learned lesson.

beatlefan · Post by **beatlefan** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 6:38 am

I've been lucky so far....no weather-related damage to any of my instruments....I've shipped them overseas and had them shipped to me from the west coast area via air and regular truck....the longest I've been able to wait to open a new bass or guitar has been a couple of hours.....I know I'm dodging bullets here....

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 8:15 am

I'm the same Chris, I just use my head, I try not to use the trunk unless I have to, and if I do I wait as long as I can to take it out. I'm not a collector I'm a player, I can't afford to get to the gig two days ahead of time, hahah! I will open and reopen the case to feel the bass if I'm really worried about it until it's at a reasonable temperature. A few times I've had condensation on them they were so cold, but try explaining that to a club owner. (I can't play yet my bass is too cold) Those times I do consider myself lucky.
When I've flown to Lima I usually wait overnight but that's because I'm so tired from flying all night. That's 8.5 hours in a plane. They're always at room temperature when I open them.
the only Ric I have ever owned that was checked was from Arizona and had checked from the dryness there before I had bought it. (I was told).

thx1955 · Post by **thx1955** » Thu Jan 06, 2005 8:19 am

You can wrap the bass in one of those emergency mylar blankets, they're very flexible, and won't damage the finish, but they will help maintain the bass at an even temperature