Taylor guitars and winter shipping

[tj_mangum]

Any worry for shipping a Taylor to an area with cool temps? Just sold a nice 814 to the midwest. Should I tell the buyer to let it acclimate?

[RockerDuck]

Tell him to open it and check it first. It might be delivered in a warm truck. Checking and cracking happen with more extreme weather shifts. Like playing in a warm place and take the guitar outside at low temps and setting it down for awhile.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by tj_mangum

Should I tell the buyer to let it acclimate?

Yes. He should let the box sit in the house unopened for 12-24 hours. Opening the box too soon could result in finish checking.

[KenL]

I have family in both Omaha and ST. Louis. Both cities had a brutal ice storm blow though yesterday, with cold temperatures. They are in the deepest, darkest part of winter right now.

So, yes, acclimation would be a good idea. I would bring the box in the house, let it sit for 6-8 hours, and then take the case out of the box for another 10 hours or so, or overnight before opening it.

Can't be too careful, and all it costs is a little time.

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by RockerDuck

Tell him to open it and check it first. It might be delivered in a warm truck. Checking and cracking happen with more extreme weather shifts. Like playing in a warm place and take the guitar outside at low temps and setting it down for awhile.

Say what? It's colder than all get out in the midwest right now and if he opens the box right away who knows what issues will happen. Just tell him to let it sit for 24 hours before opening.

[musicman1951]

He's lived his whole life without this guitar, he should be able to handle one more day. Let it acclimate.

[1Charlie]

While erring on the side of caution is wise, Taylors have a poly finish, which is much less susceptible to cold checking than a nitro finish.

[mawmow]

I am from eastern Canada, (-20 Celcius this morning) :
I do not ship any guitar from November to April !

I heard from a local dealer that Martin would not ship up here either.

[B. Adams]

In cold weather, you should definitely let a guitar acclimate for AT LEAST a few hours, preferably about 24 hours, before opening it. Not only can the finish (or wood) crack, if the guitar was super frozen right before you opened it, it would almost immediately be completely covered in ice crystals and/or be soaking wet once it's exposed to the interior environment.

And not just guitars, this goes for anything the least bit sensitive. Furniture, electronics, microphones, tools, guns, anything that would be affected by an extreme shift in temperature or humidity. Give them some time to adjust when it's cold out.