How long to open a shipped acoustic? (cold weather)
 

If a guitar coming from being shipped in 20° weather, how many hours should I let it slowly warm up in a 70° apartment before I open the box and guitar case to be safe?

1952 Gibson J-45
Thanks in advance for the help!

You're probably going to get a lot of different opinions on this but if it were me I would be opening it and sticking my case humidifier in there and wait a few hours for it to get adapted to normal conditions before I played it.

Most say leave the box be for at least 12 hours. Then take the case out and give that another 6 at least. But I have been told a few hours of esch is fine. A gloss finish is more at risk from what I hear.

My Guild M-20 yesterday I gave a couple hours in box, couple more in case and it wasn’t cold at all despite cold temps in Michigan. But it is satin varnish so I wasn’t worried.

It is an agonizing wait!

Opinions vary. I don't know the finish on this guitar, but certainly part of the answer depends on how upset you'll be if you can't wait and ruin the finish.

When my 000 arrived under those conditions I left the box in a cooler inside space for a few hours. Then I moved it to a warm room in the house and left it overnight. In the morning I took the case out of the box and waited another 4 hours.

Was that being overly concerned? No doubt. But I was going to be extremely upset if I ruined the finish, so I decided I could actually survive and even thrive waiting one more day to play the guitar. Others have reported only waiting a few hours and being fine.

You pays your money and you takes your chances.

If it's a nitro finish leave it overnight to acclimatise to avoid checking. If it's any other finish I suggest you're safe to open it any time you like.

If you're getting many guitars shipped, it's good to invest in a non-contact infrared thermometer. You can find them on Amazon for about $15 or so. Here's one:

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Lase...ed+thermometer

Open the box when the box is the same temperature as your house. Open the case when the case is the same temperature just in case the case is not the same temperature of the box.

This is my method.

I will add that I just opened my case that came yesterday and the Humidipaks got shockingly solidified during the first night.

I’m not worried about the finish. It’s a 1952 Gibson J 45 with plenty of play where and finish checking already. I just don’t want to damage the wood by opening it prematurely.

You won't; a 66 year-old guitar has already pretty much done all the moving it's going to do. What may hurt it is extremes of humidity or dryness. Temperature, not so much.

That is it already has finish checking is no reason to add more unnecessarily. You are being prudent.

When I lived in Anchorage, I had several guitars shipped to me in winter. (in colder temps than you are dealing with) The flight had landed about 4:00 am, and I had ti held at the airport warehouse for pickup. Local temps were around 0, but the plane may have been colder in flight. I picked it up before work, took it home. Once there, I left the room at about 60, opened the end of the box away from the body, and left it on the floor away from the heater vent. And then I went to work. Driving to and from, lunch, and 8 hour day and a stop at the store probably added up to 10 hours. Once home and settled in, I pulled the case out of the box, opened it. Other than the cat probably having investigated this odd thing on the floor (it was a box after all. She probably spent all day there) the guitar was fine. Still is.

OMMV

TW

Thank you all for your replies.
The 8 or so hours that I plan on leaving it unopened will most likely seem longer than the week it took to get shipped here! :)

Wait till Spring!

My new Bourgeois is being delivered today. I won’t get home until late and have to work a long day tomorrow, so I’ll be right at the 24 hours to acclimate mark! Then it’s game on!!

I've typically let the box sit in my living room for about 12 hours before opening it up during cold weather.

typical scene for me is; Package arrives at 5PM and sometime after breakfast the next day, I start the "unboxing".

:)

Seventeen days! :eek: :D

Seriously, waiting for the case to be at room temperature and then a few more hours is about right. A nitrocellulose finish is far more sensitive to cold-checking than UV cured polyesters, but why take chances? I would also get some humidifiers in there promptly once it is warmed, remembering that the case padding is a reservoir of moisture too. Expect your humidity devices to dry out quickly for the first couple of days.