Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Well here I am waiting impatiently like a little kid on my 4003 MB. My Ric has been on the UPS truck all day, and the temps here have been around 10 degrees all day. It figures any other time the UPS driver would have delivered in the morning. It's now 5:10PM EST. I'm hoping there won't be any damage to the finish at all.
Has anyone heard of any problems with Rics being exposed to brutally cold temps for extended periods of time?

I've seen major laquer checking on a guitar kept in a trunk overnight before. I wouldn't worry too much, but the important thing - as much as it hurts - do not open the case for a couple of hours after you get it into the house. It's not the temps as much as it is the shock of going between the two.

Bob - follow the instructions on the box. DO NOT open the box right away!

cheers and enjoy

I got the bass about 10 minutes after I posted the thread. It had indeed been on the truck all day. I promptly took it downstairs to my basement where it is about 60 degrees and I am waiting anxiously to open it after a few hours.
Andy, I don't think I can wait 48 hrs to open it.
If any damage was done, would I notice it right away, or does the damage occur gradually?
Thanks guys for your advise

Man, 48 hours??
That's rough.

So let's hear all about it....

Bob, with those temperatures you MUST wait before you take the bass out of its crate. I've always obeyed the 48 hour rule, and I've never had a problem with checking or finish damage as a result. (You should also wait for the neck to adjust itself.) I know of people who haven't followed the 48 hour rule, and, in the depth of the Canadian winter, they've ended up with a brand new finish-checked instrument. Not fun. I doubt that there will be any damage from the bass's exposure to the cold. The crate and the case provide sufficient insulation that the cooling process (despite the wickedly low temperature) will have been gradual. Now you need the warming process to be equally gradual. If you just can't stand the wait anymore, you can probably check the instrument out after twenty-four hours, but don't have it out of the case for too long. Let it acclimatize. Also, those UPS trucks aren't as bad as you think. They'll have been much warmer than ten degrees, so try not to worry too much.

Checking and hazing occur as the wood and the finish expand or contract over time as a result of changing temperatures and humidity. If the instrument has been in transit for a number of days (usually the case with UPS), then any checking that occurred during shipping will be immediately apparent. Contact the shipper and the dealer. If the instrument checks over the next week or so, it'll be because you didn't wait for the instrument to adjust to the climate of your home.

Also, get it out of the basement. Sixty degrees is still too low for a wooden instrument. Sixty-eight is the minimum you should be exposing it to, IMHO. Again, do it slowly! I know it's hard, but think about how disappointed you'll be if things go bad.

Man, I was sweating that one out for a while. Spencer, if I lived in Tampa I wouldn't have had to worry so much, but all appears to be well. When I finally opened the case the chrome of course was fogged up, but I wiped it all down and the finish looks fantastic. I just hope there won't be any damage that occurs later. I couldn't be more pleased. Thanks for your concern, and Merry Christmas to all

Doh, Now I'm freaking out again after John's post. John, thanks and advise taken. Back in the case and upstairs to warmer temps. I only had the bass out to take the picture and wipe it down. This sucks, but I don't want a damaged instrument. I just want to put new strings on it and play it

I know, I know. It's agony. I hate it, too, but it's the price we pay for living in a cold climate. Sorry, Bob. I didn't mean to frighten you. Chances are that it will be fine regardless -- Rics do pretty well in cold weather in my experience -- but it's also a chance you don't have to take. If you're careful, I guarantee that nothing will happen, and if I'm wrong and something does go wrong, Rickenbacker will take care of it for you. Send that registration card in!

Lovely bass, by the way. That Montezuma Brown finish is the best ever. I've got a 4004Cii on order in that colour, and there will be some itchy playing fingers when that thing arrives, I tell you.

In the meantime, you need distractions! Get out of the house or do something that involves total concentration. Call me immature, but a new video game always works for me.

Well it's been 4 days now and everything looks fine with the finish. I consider it safe. Put new flats on it, adjusted the truss rods a bit, and she sounds sweet.
Thanks for the advise guys.

http://photobucket.com/albums/v324/lowendbob/

I drove to Quebec (8hours) with my 370 in the trunk and it was -20C out all the time.
And it's fine... You just have to give it time to warm up in the case.

I never really had a problem doing this and I've done it 4 times up till now.

Patrick, phew. Fortunately, you are lucky. I will leave the scientific details to the chemists and physicists, however, I can tell you that there have been sad stories, especially with new instruments.

Early trauma can show its lasting effects for the remainder of the life of the instrument's finish.

My new MB 660-12 came to me Next Day Air from Dave's in Wisconsin (+70 F to -10F to +60F in a twelve-hour period!) plastered with stickers which said "do not open for 24 hours", the idea being to allow the guitar to acclimate as gently as possible to the temp and humidity changes. After 24 hours (TOUGH WAIT for my first glimpse!!!) I opened the case and gently lifted the guitar out. I could literally FEEL the cold air from around and under the guitar--after 24 hours! I inspected it closely and could see a change in the highlight across the back, where the two body pieces were joined to the through-neck. I held it close to my face to sight along the highlight and could again feel the chill. I put it back into the case and let it sit another 24. This time when I pulled it out, it was at room temp and the highlight was straight and the plane flat.

It's worth the trouble of not putting your prize through Temperature Trauma. Wood, even dead wood, acts alive. The finer a finish something made of wood has, the less it takes to put it off-kilter and the greater potential for climate-related damage which is difficult to put right.

Just wondering...
Could a temperature change cause the chrome on the R tailpiece to have small cracks in it?
Its always had them when I got it and I never really asked the seller if it had them when he shipped it but he said the guitar was mint, whatever that means...

I must say that you were lucky, Patrick. My 650 wasn't as forgivable as yours. I drove down home last winter with the guitar in the trunk at temperature around -20 and had a very bad surprise when I open my case as soon as I got there! All the finish was cracked. I wish I would have known at that time that you should wait a while before opening the case!