Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Allowing warmup.

This, I'm assuming, represents the legendary
"24-Hour waiting period"

OK- I'm listening-
Please explain the rationale for this-
De-humidifying?
String re-tensioning?
Lack of Immediate Gratification for Discipline's sake?

No Box-cutter?

I simply put MY basses in my PHC- personal hyperbolic chamber.
Problem is solved.

Don,

I hope you took it inside after you took the pic. Judging by the shadow on the bottom of the box you were wearing a cowboy hat and a fur coat so it must be cool outside.........

Elnjaybass wrote:This, I'm assuming, represents the legendary
"24-Hour waiting period"

OK- I'm listening-
Please explain the rationale for this-

The 24 hours (or as much as 48 hours for the most devout) before opening the box are generally reserved by the faithful as a time of prayer and fasting. During this time pictures of the British Invasion stars are put up and venerated, incense fills the air, ancient chants are resurrected and rendered with great gusto, and each seeker is beholden to cleanse his or her soul of all things Fender, Gibson, and Gretsch. Devotees of the cult are known to lose all desire for food and sleep during this period and and frequently can be seen rummaging through the house for a box cutter. Sadly, when the whole process ends with the new Rickenbacker being assimilated into the fold, the follower is no more at peace than when the last UPS truck rolled away. He or she will repeat the process over and over ... This is a ritual that is not for the faint hearted.

That's what I thought.
I know I have my "Ferry 'Cross the Mersey" LP somewhere,
I can run & get some incense at the local Walgreens & then I can crank up "Hippy-Hippy Shake" by the Swingin' Blue Jeans.

Now- When my Laredo, Rickenbacker Bass #1 arrived, I was not really aware of what was UP...
So I rather cavalierly opened it, and the rest as they say is her-story.

As I awiated the arrival of FireGlo 4003---I have a pet name for it, hee-hee...I call it "FireGlo 4003"...
When "THE BOX" came, truthfully, I GNASHED it open with my bare teeth, and with packing tape and paerwork frothing from my mouth like a rabid animal, I opened the case.. AND ...
Now I'm actually pretty sedate about it all, and 'twere I to order yet another, No big!

Hey remeber this---The pic that started it ALL...

The British Invasion.. I rmember those days. I was in 6th Grade when Ed Sullivan did his thing....

Okay, the straight answer:

If you bring a cold bass suddenly into a much warmer environment, finish checking can occur. The case and box provide insulation against sudden warming so people let a new box acclimate from 24 to 48 hours before opening. Not to worry too much about if you live in LA. The folks up North and out Midwest and the East Coast and Europe are practicioners of this ritual, by and large.

Is that right, guys?

winston wrote:Don,

I hope you took it inside after you took the pic. Judging by the shadow on the bottom of the box you were wearing a cowboy hat and a fur coat so it must be cool outside.........

I just stopped long enough for a picture. It was 36 in the shade.
The shadow is a bush. I don't own a kaboy hat.
I'll unbox the cased item after dindin.
I'll surely have a hard time waiting 24 hours to sneak a peek.
Were it not for the sage advice from board members, Id have probably torn into it like Ralphie and Randy on Christmas morning.

kiramdear wrote:

Sadly, when the whole process ends with the new Rickenbacker being assimilated into the fold, the follower is no more at peace than when the last UPS truck rolled away. He or she will repeat the process over and over ... This is a ritual that is not for the faint hearted.

No, happily.
And the ritual is fated for repetition in about two weeks

Kira's ,correct, taking a bass that's been shipped and spent considerable time in the cold, e.g. the UPS or FedEx loading docs and / or the unheated hold of an airplane then exposing it to a sudden change in heat and humidity can cause significant issues to the finish as well as the neck itself.

In some cases even the yearly changes to humidity is enough to warrant truss rod tweaks, Ted Staberow can talk to this in more detail as I think his neck of the woods lends itself to this.

Personally, when I moved from Palm Springs to Seattle it took me weeks of careful patient adjusting to get the necks of my Rics acclimatised to the Seattle humidity.

They are such sensitive creatures, indeed. I hadn't even thought about humidity re: the neck

I am so impressed with the engineering of stringed instruments on the whole and a bass seems to me about the most ambitious of designs. The whole notion of so much power in so fine a bow seems as unfeasible as a bumblebee, yet here we have them in our hands for our pleasure.

kiramdear wrote:They are such sensitive creatures, indeed. I hadn't even thought about humidity re: the neck

I read on the RIC site that the necks are 11 laminations? I always thought they were solid (they look like one piece) but if this is so then they must be godly strong and this would explain why my basses really only have one type of relief they like and always return to that ballpark area if I adjust outside of it. This is a good thing fortunately...

I am so impressed with the engineering of stringed instruments on the whole and a bass seems to me about the most ambitious of designs. The whole notion of so much power in so fine a bow seems as unfeasible as a bumblebee, yet here we have them in our hands for our pleasure.

Very poetic Kira.

Makes sense, for those in wide-ranging temperate zones.

I ordered some special Chocolate truffles for my sweetie once, and the lady (it was from San Francisco) wasn't going to ship them here Next-day-Air to LA until she checked what the Weather was going to be.
For the record, the Raspberry-Chocolate ones were outstanding; the "Earl Grey Tea" truffles were a dismal failure, according to Nancy Lee who is nothing but a Chocolate raconteur... And giving that candy has saved my A** many a time!!

11-Piece Neck??
Is that a fact??

I WISH I had a Bass Player magazine I believe that did a story on the Rickenbacker "Plant"-
By any chance does someone recall the issue? It was very interesting. and I'd like to see about ordering one...

Of course, if the shipment has been in the cold, you could open it outside in the cold to have a look-see (and make sure you got the right guitar, and nothing untoward happened in shipping), then put it back inside the cold case and the cold box and bring it inside to warm up gradually. There. Safe and instant gratification. Hmm, that seems ribald . . . .

I like the way sister Kira talks..........all poetry and stuff thats smart like.........If I only had a brain

Paul has made a valid point, but one wouk\ld have to be sure that the treasured item was as cold as the ambient outdoor temp.--another assumption to be made.
The conservative course is still to be followed.