I have a 4004Ci bass coming to me (hopefully by the end of the week). These have an oil finish and none of the usual conversion varnish.
One key thing i've learned from this forum is all about letting guitars sit in their shipping cartons for a while before tearing 'em open, as it does damage to the finish. When my 4004 comes, would there be any problem with me opening it right away?
I suppose the real question is, does not giving an instrument proper time to adjust cause any structural damage, or is it strictly finish damage?
The waiting...
Moderator: jingle_jangle
-
sloop_john_b
- Rick-a-holic
- Posts: 13843
- Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:00 am
-
jingle_jangle
- RRF Moderator
- Posts: 22679
- Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:00 am
- Contact:
This is temperature-related, and has to do with thermal shock. Wood and paint both expand and contract with the ambient temperature, but at different rates.
As it turns out, wood is much more elastic than most finishes, especially thicker plastic finishes like RIC conversion varnish. It is also more quick to respond.
When a guitar is in the cold (as it is during shipping in wintertime or in very cold climates), the entire item contracts, including the finish. If it is warmed too quickly (as happens when it's pulled out of its cold case and exposed to heated air in a house or venue), the wood will expand faster than the varnish skin, leading to finish checking. I've heard it said that in extreme cases, the checking can actually be heard as it occurs.
It is most likely to occur with new finishes, but older finishes can also suffer in extreme circumstances.
Oil-finished instruments don't have this problem, as the finish is more a penetrating type, existing within the wood cells, than a coating which sits on top of the wood as a separate layer.
As it turns out, wood is much more elastic than most finishes, especially thicker plastic finishes like RIC conversion varnish. It is also more quick to respond.
When a guitar is in the cold (as it is during shipping in wintertime or in very cold climates), the entire item contracts, including the finish. If it is warmed too quickly (as happens when it's pulled out of its cold case and exposed to heated air in a house or venue), the wood will expand faster than the varnish skin, leading to finish checking. I've heard it said that in extreme cases, the checking can actually be heard as it occurs.
It is most likely to occur with new finishes, but older finishes can also suffer in extreme circumstances.
Oil-finished instruments don't have this problem, as the finish is more a penetrating type, existing within the wood cells, than a coating which sits on top of the wood as a separate layer.
“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
― Kurt Vonnegut
Wood and paint both expand and contract with the ambient temperature, but at different rates.
Tell me about it. Living in the desert-like conditions of deep South Texas, the finish on my gloss black StingRay 5 just (audibly) POPPED one day... right down the backside near the "belly" carve. It wasn't any hotter than usual the day it happened... only about 101 F.
The difference (I think...) is that I went straight from my nice air-conditioned home to the blazing hot outdoor gig, and didn't pull the bass out of it's black colored plastic case. I guess all that black-colored material absorbed more than it's fair share of the sun's warmth and passed it on to the wooden body of the instrument. The finish popped open like the skin of an overcooked kielbasa (hmmm, kielbasa...).
The only good news is that the ugliness of the crack (which has only gotten worse with time...) is (and hopefully always will be) limited to the backside of the guitar.
The bad news is that the manufacturer refins damaged finishes for about $800. When about $1200 gets you a new bass, a factory refin just don't make sense.
My first bass was a Rickenbacker...
My best bass is a Rickenbacker...
My last bass may very well be a Rickenbacker
My best bass is a Rickenbacker...
My last bass may very well be a Rickenbacker
I'd like to get in on this one, if I may.
If a new guitar is shipped from the US soon, which I'm guessing would be late spring, then spends 20+ hours in the cargo hold of a plane at? temperature, then sits in quarantine for a day in Australia before delivery to me, and it's late autumn (fall) here, (average temp 7 to 16 degrees Celcius), would you still apply this rule of not opening the box for a couple of days. (Big breath) Or do you think it safe to just open the case slightly for a couple of hours, to let the guitar normalise?
If a new guitar is shipped from the US soon, which I'm guessing would be late spring, then spends 20+ hours in the cargo hold of a plane at? temperature, then sits in quarantine for a day in Australia before delivery to me, and it's late autumn (fall) here, (average temp 7 to 16 degrees Celcius), would you still apply this rule of not opening the box for a couple of days. (Big breath) Or do you think it safe to just open the case slightly for a couple of hours, to let the guitar normalise?
Life wasn't meant to be easy
-
jingle_jangle
- RRF Moderator
- Posts: 22679
- Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:00 am
- Contact:
It will hopefully come packed in a corrugated container. If the air between box and case feels definitely chilled when you open the box, leave it for a day and check again. You can also open the case a bit for only a second to see how cold the air inside it is. If it feels like a freezer, best wait. Keep the case closed. Slow is the rule.
7-16 Celsius should only take a day or so anyway; it's below that that you need to worry in this situation.
7-16 Celsius should only take a day or so anyway; it's below that that you need to worry in this situation.
“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
― Kurt Vonnegut