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November 2003
Posts: 231
| I currently have a guitar enroute to me via U.P.S. It's an old Legend in real beautiful condition, but I am worried about the extremely cold/dry weather we are having right now. It started out in Northern Ohio, and is heading to Missouri. It will be spending the weekend sitting somewhere in a warehouse, probably. Anyone had any problems with a guitar shipped in cold weather? Once it gets to me, I will let it get to room temperature before opening the case, but I am concerned about what the temperature and humidity may have already caused. I would suspect some finish checking, or possibly the wood cracking, but i'm hoping for the best. I won't get the guitar until Monday, so probably won't know if there is any damage until Tuesday sometime. I've got my fingers crossed.
Mike |
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December 2004
Posts: 1673
Location: SoCal | I've had three problems... a 1537 that developed a finish crack down the middle, an EAB68 that developed tiny finish cracks on either side of the bridge about a week after I received it, and a SST right out of the Gibson Custom Shop arrived with finish cracks all over.
Three is a small percentage.
I let them acclimate slowly before I even open them up.
I have received guitars with issues that the seller "claimed happened in shipping"... those get refused and I let the seller deal with it. |
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September 2007
Posts: 108
| Had the same concern with my pacemaker I just got back from Mothership. So picture me pacing back and forth torn between wanting to see the guitar,which was fantastic btw, and not wanting to damage the finish or worse.
My routine is :let the case warm for 20 mins, open the latch and raise the lid an inch or 2 for 5 mins, and open the case but let it sit in the cold case for 10 mins.
NOTE: Actual times may vary depending on what other distractions can tear me away from the instrument. |
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January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | I did a custom order a few years ago and the dealer called me to say they had good news and bad news. The good news was that my guitar was done at the (non ovation) factory. The bad news was that the factory will only ship custom orders if the next 3 day temperature forecast falls within their "go" range over the entire delivery route. I had to wait a week and a half for a favorable weather window to open up. But it was worth the wait and it was comforting to know that they cared about such detail. Dave |
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Posts: 1673
Location: SoCal | "acclimate slowly" to me... is measured in days.
Balancing moisture content in wood is not a ten minute exercise.
When I do finish trim in a room, I let the wood acclimate in the room for a few days before cutting. |
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December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | open the lid to the box.
let it sit 4 hours or so
take the case out of the box
open the latches
let it sit a few more hours
open the case
good luck |
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December 2004
Posts: 1673
Location: SoCal | open the lid to the box...
let it sit 4 hours or so...
take the case out of the box...
open the latches...
let it sit a few more hours...
open the case...
good luck... that's how I ended up with a finish crack down the middle of your 1537 :D |
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January 2008
Posts: 58
Location: west | don't mean to alarm you, but it is very very likely that your guitar will sit in a trailer all weekend... and possibly move from a trailer to a building for a little bit, then into another trailer... |
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December 2004
Posts: 1673
Location: SoCal | Our UPS depot stores shipments in secured trailers overnight and over-weekend, but your shipment might be in-transit. Check the tracking. |
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September 2002
Posts: 153
| If it is possible for your guitar to arrive in six days, always ask the shipper to ship on Monday during winter months. It's worth the wait.
If it is a valuable instrument and takes more than six days to arrive by ground, it's well worth the extra cost to ship by air.
Nevertheless, with anything that leaves the security of the factory, or your house, or someone else's house or business, there are inherent risks involved. |
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November 2003
Posts: 231
| I just checked the progress of the guitar, and it has reached it's weekend home at the U.P.S. hub in Earth City, Mo. This is about 60 miles from me, but it won't get here until Monday afternoon. If it were FedEx, they deliver on Saturday. Bummer. I've been advised that in really cold weather to let the guitar stay in it's case for at least 24 hours, so it can slowly come up to room temperature before opening. It's this sudden change that causes the top to crack, i've been told. Guess it's going to take a lot of patience, especially when there's a concern that there may already be damage. I'll post back when I get it opened up, and hopefully will be sending along some pics, without any cracks. |
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September 2002
Posts: 153
| P. S. Upon receipt of the instrument, follow the various safeguards mentioned in the previous posts to insure that you are not the cause of the damage. |
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October 2005
Posts: 4073
Location: Utah | My used 6778 arrived just fine across the country in cold cold weather earlier this winter. It took a week to crawl across the country in a truck. After arriving at the house, it sat for an hour in the unopened box, then the case was pulled out and it sat another few hours before opening the case. No problems at all.
I do wonder how many finish cracks are caused by physical shock during shipping, rather than thermal shock. The rate of change in temp or humidity is going to be very very low in a properly packed guitar. |
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November 2003
Posts: 231
| FlySig, I agree. I think the big shock comes when the guitar is exposed to heat too quickly, after being cold. I would suppose that proper packing would be a key factor here, also. A guitar being handled roughly at extreme temperatures would surely be more likely to receive damage, also. Guess it's a combination of undesireables, and I'm hoping to get lucky. |
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Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I came home to this today... :eek:
This traveled from Indianapolis, IN to Portland OR! USPS! :mad:
And it survived!
I let it sit around in the case for a coupla hours after I took the bubble wrap off... Until the case got up to about room temperature.
Then I cracked the lid open and let it sit for alitte while longer.
It lived!
[FYI; Takamine G330 Taiwan] |
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November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Congrats Arthur. Glad it survived. I can't believe people would think of shipping a guitar like that. |
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November 2003
Posts: 231
| The U.P.S. website has updated my shipping information. It has gotten within 25 miles of my home, but I can't do a pickup since it is Saturday. It hasn't had a arrival scan yet because no one is working over the weekend. It will be sitting overnight in a trailer, and probably tomorrow, as well. Only good thing today is that it is in the 40's here, but will probably drop into the 20's tonight. Could be a lot worse. Last week we had temperatures around 12 degrees. It's going to be a long weekend for me. |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | I'm sure that there is a special little corner in hell where your only purpose is to sit and wait for your most precious guitar to arrive via UPS.
Just like there's a room chock full of banjo players.
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Guitars are hell.
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sometimes. |
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November 2003
Posts: 231
| Well, i've been through the agony many times, but usually it's the heat more than the cold. When I received my Anniversary, I remember having the same concerns, and luckily it was in pretty good shape. It was shipped in cooler weather, and the only thing that I noticed was that the fret ends were really sharp all the way up the neck. I humidified it for several days before it went back to normal. I've had numerous Martin, Santa Cruz, as well as Ovations arrive without any damage, but it still makes me a bit nervous playing the waiting game. Especially since this is the first one that has had to sit over the weekend somewhere. I didn't plan it this way. It got rescheduled for some reason. It was supposed to arrive here on Thursday, originally. |
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Someone in a more temperate climate ought to set up a little service where the guitars people buy are "stored" over the winter and reshipped in the spring. I'd do it if I lived down south. Then I could try out everyone's guitars all winter as part of the shipping inspection service. An extra $40 should cover the unpacking, inspection, testing and reshipping. Maybe even through in some picture taking.
Brad, over 3 feet of new powder on the local ski slopes this week. Best skiing in years and less than an inch in town. Wish I had someone to go skiing with. Tomorrow would be the best day ever. |
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Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | And there is also a special place in hell for those folk to tease us poor Michiganganders with reports of Rocky Mountain powder and "best skiing days ever". |
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December 2004
Posts: 4394
Location: East Tennessee | Originally posted by Mark in Boise:
Someone in a more temperate climate ought to set up a little service where the guitars people buy are "stored" over the winter and reshipped in the spring. I'd do it if I lived down south. Then I could try out everyone's guitars all winter as part of the shipping inspection service. An extra $40 should cover the unpacking, inspection, testing and reshipping. Maybe even through in some picture taking.
Tennessee would be a better location. :D
""
DON'T SEND THEM TO FLORIDA. "The OLd Trader" lives there). Too much humidity anyway. |
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Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally posted by g8r:
Congrats Arthur. Glad it survived. I can't believe people would think of shipping a guitar like that. Hey... My Pacemaker originally came with a Sticker slapped on the case!
At least these guys wrapped it in bubble-wrap, then shrink-wrap, then stickers.
[The Post Office charged $28 to mail it, but the shipping company charged the seller $57.
So, $29 for bubble-wrap... I gotta get in that business :p ] |
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December 2001
Posts: 7237
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Temperature by itself doesn't cause as much problem as "fast and dramatic change" in temperature does.
If I get a guitar that I know has been in transit in freezing weather, I do as Alpep posted with one modification. First.. I don't bring it directly into the 70 degree house. I put it inthe pantry or garage, closer to 60 degrees and I open the box and let it set until the box and packing it up to that rooms temp. Then I take it out of the packing and leave the case closed overnight.
Then I bring it into the house, let it set for a few hours, open the latches, let it set a bit longer, then open the case fully.
This may sound extreme, but the slower you let it change temperature the better. That's just common sense. It's not as much of an issue on the east coast, but in parts of the Northeast, Mid-West and and of course in the North West, there is a real chance this time of the year guitars (or any package) can be exposed to near or below freezing temperatures for a day or more. The packing and the padding in the case holds the temperature longer, so it probably wont be affected by temp changes along the way. But popping it open in a 70+ degree house can't be good. |
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November 2003
Posts: 231
| That's exactly what I plan on doing. Let it come up to room temperature very slowly. After all, this guitar has survived for 27 years without a crack at all. I would hate to see one now, especially from carelessness on my part. |
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Question About Shipping/Cold Weather
