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Subject: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: Wesley S Date: 19 Nov 03 - 05:36 PM I was wondering with wintertime coming on if many of you have any criteria for taking your best instrument out in the cold weather. Do you leave your favorite guitar at home when the weather gets below freezing ? Do you play your "second fiddle" when it gets cold ? Does your harp stay by the heater when it gets nippy ? Down here in Texas we don't have that many days when we have to worry about such things but I would guess you yankees and furriners have to take the weather into consideration more than we do here in the south. This came up when the members of my group had an outdoor performance and the temps were in the high 50's. That might not seem bad to y'all but a few of us were worried. Aside from the fact that we couldn't keep the durn things in tune. |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: Alaska Mike Date: 19 Nov 03 - 06:09 PM I travel with my Martin Guitar all year long. Alaskan winters can be quite brisk at times (this morning it was -6 F at my house). in winter, I keep my guitar packed in a Calton Flight Case for storage or travel. If the guitar has gotten cold during travel I wait for it to warm up gradually before opening the case. I keep a humidifier in the case along with the guitar all the time, especially in the winter when the cold intensifies the dryness of the air. I try not to leave the guitar out of the case in a room where a fireplace or woodstove is blazing as this also dries out the air. Occasionally in winter I rub a light coating of guitar oil over the entire outside of the instrument. I bought this Martin in 1993 and have used it extensively winter and summer in Alaska. There are a few dings and dents on the surface, but so far no damage from cold or dryness. Hope this information helps. Mike |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: GUEST,Big Mick Date: 19 Nov 03 - 06:20 PM One of the worst experiences I have ever had was when I played a festival the first weekend in June a few years back. For the most part, I was playing a vintage Guild 12 string. The weather was in the mid 40's (fahrenheit), misty rain, and wind. You could tune the instruments, and by the end of the song they were out of tune. I resolved to look into the Rainsong guitars (carbon fiber, not a lick of wood in them) as soon as I could. Their tone is pretty good, a little weak on the bass end, and would be much less vulnerable to this and dampness. But I do these gigs so infrequently that I never did. Mick |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: maire-aine Date: 19 Nov 03 - 06:46 PM I just take normal precautions with my guitar. I have a hard-shell case with lots of padding on the inside. And I keep it in the car with me, which I usually warm up anyway, not in the trunk. And I bring it inside with me. And when I finally get home late at night, I'll leave it inside the case until morning, so it comes back to room temperature. I'm a little more careful with my bodhran, and usually don't take it outside when it's real, real cold (I live in Michigan, too). My old drum warmed up to fast and went rrrriiiiiippppppp, right across the skin. Of course, I was looking for an excuse to buy a new one, so it worked out okay. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: Bobert Date: 19 Nov 03 - 06:57 PM Well, cold or hot, I don't take my '64 Martin D-18 out much unless it is a special gig and I'm playing inside. I bought a Hohner HW-640 last year and it sounds great and takes a beatin' for iffy weather gigs... Bobert |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: Midchuck Date: 19 Nov 03 - 07:01 PM I've been pretty lucky with Vermont winters just by using a hard case with a Climate Case over it, and being careful to let the instrument warm up in the case slowly, not bringing it in from being in the cold for a long time and taking it out of the case immediately. Of course, it's hot weather that does the real damage. The worst that cold - or rather, the transition from warm to cold to warm - is likely to do to a good wood acoustic is to craze the finish; and some folks believe that a crazed finish improves a guitar's tone, by letting the top vibrate more freely. Mick, you get to Elderly, have you checked out the CA guitars? Same approximate idea as Rainsong, but the word on the flatpick list is that the tone quality approaches that of a good wood acoustic. Peter. |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: Bee-dubya-ell Date: 19 Nov 03 - 07:12 PM I live in northern Florida where it seldom gets cold enough for instruments to be damaged from actual low temperatures. Winter evenings in the 30's are the norm. So, since Mother Nature won't destroy our instruments for us on her own, we have to help her along by having outdoor jam sessions around huge bonfires in the 30 degree weather. That insures that, in vain attempts to keep our bodies warm, the tops our instruments are heated to near-lacquer-melting temperatures while the backs remain just below freezing. The resulting temperature differential gives us ample opportunity to find out just how good a job the guys who finished our tops and/or glued our braces did. But seriously, folks... I do have a couple of "cold weather" guitars. One is a J-45 Gibson that already had some finish cracks when I bought it. The other is a 00-15 Martin with one of those indestructible acrylic finishes. If I'm going to be playing outside in cold weather they're the ones I take. If it's an inside thing I take whatever's got new strings on it. Bruce |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: GUEST Date: 19 Nov 03 - 07:31 PM Steam Organ :) |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: Jen M Date: 19 Nov 03 - 07:37 PM Try listening to a marching band playing cold instruments in near 0 temps--there is no such thing as in-tune when there's an icicle hanging from your spit valve! |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: Leadfingers Date: 19 Nov 03 - 08:17 PM Try playing Scottish Bagpipes in really cold weather - It gets to your lips and you cant keep the pressure up in the Bag. I played an aluminium whistle at a Christmas do a year or so back and I could feel the heat being drained out of my fingers, it was so cold. |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: Cluin Date: 19 Nov 03 - 09:33 PM My most expensive guitar is my Guild electric/acoustic. It's my working guitar and I take it out no matter what the weather, indoor or outdoor gig (though I've had no real "outdoor" gigs in winter here where I've had to plug in). It's finish is pretty crackled now as well as getting dinged and schipped all over and one time the strap let go backstage and the guitar bounced three times before coming to rest. Still plays great and I don't much care if it gets scuffed up then. Didn't stop me from cutting a hole in the side to install a battery box this summer either. Should have done that years ago... Of course if I had an 8,000 dollar Gibson or Martin, or a custom job from an independent luthier I might be a bit more concerned about it, but I figure a good instrument should be able to take a bit of abuse and besides they are for playing anyway, right? Not for looking at. |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: GUEST,Les B. Date: 20 Nov 03 - 05:44 PM Living in Montana I have to put up with winter or cold weather for about 9 months of the year -- and the other 3 months relatives visit! I've learned to be real careful about getting involved in outdoor gigs in early spring and late fall. I don't have any special outdoor instruments, but leaving a guitar, or banjo or fiddle in their closed cases until they have time to get used to the ambient temperature is an extremely good idea. Years ago I threw a little classic guitar in the trunk of my old car, with no case (I was poor, and ignorant), drove 30 miles on a 20-below night, and hauled it in to play at a nice warm houseparty. I couldn't figure out where all the jillions of cracks in the finish came from next morning! I've found that the cold generally affects my fingers before it affects my banjo. Below about 50 degrees they just won't roll. I think that fiddlers may be able to handle temps below that. I remember one gig we did for a trail ride group up in the mountains. The evening temperture really dropped, and we were playing around a roaring camp fire. If you stood facing the fire, your face and fingers roasted and your backside froze. Every so often I'd turn around and play outwards; then my banjo head would change tension and my fingers wouldn't roll - it was so miserable I finally quit playing. But the fiddles (and fiddlers) didn't seem affected. The guitars seemed somewhere in between. Cold is no fun. |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: Liz the Squeak Date: 20 Nov 03 - 06:12 PM Melodeons are great for cold weather - just pile 'em up and set light to 'em, not cold any more! LTS |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 20 Nov 03 - 07:25 PM Not a double entendre in sight, with a heading like that! Well, maybe one. Amazing. |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: Mark Cohen Date: 21 Nov 03 - 03:54 AM No, I don't. Aloha, Mark |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: Dave Bryant Date: 21 Nov 03 - 04:37 AM (OK Kevin just for you) My favourite instrument doesn't work well if it's too cold - Linda's good at warming it up though. |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: greg stephens Date: 21 Nov 03 - 06:13 AM Many periods of my life I've been short of gigs and busked, and obviously January is a time when you have to go out and earn a few bob, replenishing stocks after Christmas. Keeping guitars and fiffles in tune is a problem till theyve settled, but I've played plenty in freezing conditions(down to -5C I think), and while it isnt fun I've never felt it damaged the instruments. And it's very character-forming, I think I have an extremely formed character as a result of it. |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: Dave Bryant Date: 21 Nov 03 - 07:18 AM One venue that I used to frequent (The Coach House at Farningham) used to be bloody cold in the winter - even by the time they got the big log fire going and had run the LPG/electric fan heater for while. Didn't affect the instruments much - the main problem was the beer was always too cold. I've busked Christmas Carols with a guitar too Greg (Argyle Street between Oxford Circus and Liberty's was my favourite pitch) - it's surprising how you can still play even though you can't feel your fingers. The pitch of some instruments can change radically with temperature though. I remember a production of "Messiah" - we had a good rehearsal with organ and orchestra in the afternoon, but the the churchwarden was too stingy to put the heating on - there was frozen water in the font. When the church had been warmed up for the evening - the pitch of the organ had moved so much that the orchestra was unable to tune to it and we had to use an electric one instead. |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: GUEST,noddy Date: 21 Nov 03 - 07:27 AM take a few banjos along in case it get cold then set fire to them. |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: Willie-O Date: 21 Nov 03 - 09:17 AM Bears repeating--cold does absolutely no harm to an instrument. Sudden temperature changes do. From a woodworking point of view, it's not so much temperature as humidity. Wood swells in high humidity and shrinks in dry conditions. It's shrinkage that is by far the most dangerous, because joints loosen and can come apart. And extreme heat of course is much more dangerous than cold. I have wood heat so a lot of temp variation in the house in an Ontario winter. Leave the guitar in its case in the coldest part of the house--that was one good repairman's advice to me. Not near the woodstove where the temperature changes a lot. My O-18 had a lot of finish crazing when I got it, so I've not noticed much change in 22 years. I'm rather delinquent about humidifiers, but I have a silk bag to wrap it in inside the case--an excellent idea, it's a moisture barrier so I don't get condensation on it, and again it helps ease the transition between cold and warm. El Cheapo plywood top mandolin is my best cold weather instrument. Nothing fazes it, ever, and I can juggle it--well I can't really juggle, but anyway do stupid mando-tossing tricks. I have only one fiddle and cold doesn't bother it...but my fingers don't work well enough in winter temperatures to play it outside below 50's anyway. W-O |
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Subject: RE: Do you have a cold weather instrument ? From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 22 Nov 03 - 05:43 PM Piano Accordions can suffer - no comments about the listeners, we've heard them all before. :-) The wax that holds the reeds in the reed blocks can melt if you leave the instrument in the car - causing the reeds to fall out, the wax can crack in very low temps, allowing air leaks, and high humidity can cause the leather valves to get upset, and cause the reeds to rust. And as Mr harris can testify, to much heat - from stage lighting - can cause the whole thing to self immolate... |
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