10 or 20 degrees too cold for guitars, amps and pedals?

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RockNSoul

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Hey,

I just moved to Nashville and its gonna be getting into the 20's in a day or so and then the teens soon. I have a vintage 70's vox and a few guitars, pedals, mics, etc in my new jam spot. I'm wondering if this is too cold for any of these things? I used the search function here but didn't find much info on it. Theres not any insulation in the place and it gets as cold in the room as outside. I'd hate to try to move things up and down the stairs daily.....

Also I do know it would be an issue if I was moving things from a cold room to a warm room without letting them adjust. What about just leaving them in 20 degree weather for a few months and using a heater to warm it up when I go in there, is that an issue as well? It doesn't heat up that fast....

I'm doing what I can for humidity on guitars, what about my 70's vox, do I need to try to keep something in there for humidity, I'd have to get a case for it if so.....

Any thoughts on this would rock!
Thanks,
-Chase
 
I probably wouldn't leave guitars there. Electronic gear I wouldn't worry so much about. I leave all my amps and PA gear in the garage between gigs year-round. I don't think it gets down to below freezing but it gets cold. The guitars come inside.


lou
 
I wouldn't leave a guitar anywhere I wouldn't leave a cat, or a baby.-Richie
 
I understand about the baby, but not the cat. Or did you mean dog? :confused:
 
cold isn't gonna affect the electronics really, as long as you let them warm up somewhat gradually ..... don't just turn on a 20 degree amp.
But I wouldn't leave any axes there.
 
Yeah...but there's something unsettling about leaving even the electronics out in 10-20 degree cold.
When it gets that cold, materials will tend to shrink/dry...and some things will even crack.
I think about all the caps and stuff that's been heat-glued and stuff with lubricants in it, like switches, rubberized gaskets/grommets…. :eek:

Personally...I would avoid leaving anything of value in such sub-freezing temps.
You can always leave a couple of light bulbs on or a small heater on (one of those sealed type with no fire-hazards) just to keep things from going so cold.
 
Wish14 said:
I understand about the baby, but not the cat. Or did you mean dog? :confused:
Click to expand...

Well, some people have babies, some have cats. Either one bites in a hot car in July or at 20 degrees Farenheit. Dogs are more variable. A Husky or a Malamut will be begging to go out at 20 degrees, and you'll have trouble getting them to come in. Feels like a nice day at the arctic circle. Cats are brighter, though. They know 20 degrees sucks.-Richie
 
Yall rock! I love this place. Thanks to all the regulars who share their time and knowledge! I'll look into heaters and bring the strings inside.

-Chase
 
Would it be feasable to go ahead and insulate the jam space? That would make even a small heater much more efficient at keeping the place at a more acceptable temperature.

And the same goes for keeping it cool in the summer. Oh man, Tennessee in the middle of the summer is so hot and humid that you're going to want some air conditioning in that space or else you and your gear will suffer just as much as you would from freezing temperatures.

As was mentioned above, bringing things up (or down) to normal temperatures should be done gradually, especially with wooden instruments and instruments that have clear-coat finishes on them. Sudden changes in temperature can do terrible things to wood and to the finishes that make most of our stringed instruments look so pretty. Finishes tend to crack when their temperature or the temperature of the wood underneath them changes suddenly.

And if you have a tube amp, be sure to let it sit on standby for a few minutes before playing through it if it's been out in the cold. It'll prolong the life span of your tubes by keeping them safe from sudden temperature changes. Thin metal and glass don't seem to like going from 10 degrees to (whatever the operating temp is of an amplifier) in a short time.

Some people swear by letting a tube amp cool off a little bit indoors after it's been played before exposing it to cold temperatures outdoors as well. And some people think this is not important.

So as you can see, it might be worth the time, effort, and money to insulate the jam space just to make life easier on you and your instruments.
 
One time...many years ago...I got home from a gig in the winter. I was driving a pickup truck and was so tired I felt like a zombie when I got home. I was gigging with my '66 stratocaster and put in the back of my pickup for the trip home (yeah I know...I wouldn't put a baby or a cat back there:rolleyes:) but anyway...
I forgot to take it out of the truck bed when I got home and it came a freezing rain that night. There was close to 2 inches of ice on everything the next day. I got to looking for my old strat and thought "Oh my God...I left her in the back of my damn truck!"
I went out and the guitar is frozen under a sheet of thick ice. I shit you not.

I got a phillips screwdriver and a hammer and proceaded to chisel the guitar out of the ice...on the verge of tears. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the guitar was going to be screwed up. I'm railing at myself while i'm picking ice away from the guitar "DUMB ASSED MORON!!!! LEAVE A VINTAGE GUITAR IN THE FREEZING RAIN YOU STUPID FUCK!!!" So fourth and so on.

To my amazment the guitar was perfect...the freeze did NOTHING whatsoever to it. In fact it was still pretty much in tune. I couldn't believe it.
So I guess the lesson here would be that freezing weather is pretty bad for newer guitars but when it comes to collectable vintage peices like my '66 strat....put that sucker in sub-zero wether and don't even think about sweatin' it! That old wood has done all the warping, twisting, buckling, and bending it is ever going to do a LONG damn time ago.

I also left it in the trunk of a chevy impala in 100+ degree August weather one time...the guitar was sweating like a fat assed human being with high blood pressure...but I will save that story for the "Does extreme 100+ degree heat hurt a guitar" thread.
 
jimistone said:
One time...many years ago...I got home from a gig in the winter. I was driving a pickup truck and was so tired I felt like a zombie when I got home. I was gigging with my '66 stratocaster and put in the back of my pickup for the trip home (yeah I know...I wouldn't put a baby or a cat back there:rolleyes:) but anyway...
I forgot to take it out of the truck bed when I got home and it came a freezing rain that night. There was close to 2 inches of ice on everything the next day. I got to looking for my old strat and thought "Oh my God...I left her in the back of my damn truck!"
I went out and the guitar is frozen under a sheet of thick ice. I shit you not.

I got a phillips screwdriver and a hammer and proceaded to chisel the guitar out of the ice...on the verge of tears. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the guitar was going to be screwed up. I'm railing at myself while i'm picking ice away from the guitar "DUMB ASSED MORON!!!! LEAVE A VINTAGE GUITAR IN THE FREEZING RAIN YOU STUPID FUCK!!!" So fourth and so on.

To my amazment the guitar was perfect...the freeze did NOTHING whatsoever to it. In fact it was still pretty much in tune. I couldn't believe it.
So I guess the lesson here would be that freezing weather is pretty bad for newer guitars but when it comes to collectable vintage peices like my '66 strat....put that sucker in sub-zero wether and don't even think about sweatin' it! That old wood has done all the warping, twisting, buckling, and bending it is ever going to do a LONG damn time ago.

I also left it in the trunk of a chevy impala in 100+ degree August weather one time...the guitar was sweating like a fat assed human being with high blood pressure...but I will save that story for the "Does extreme 100+ degree heat hurt a guitar" thread.
Click to expand...
I could mount skateboard trucks on mine and let Tony Hawk take it for a spin on the ramps,and it would still be in tune.
 
Back in '96, I played a New Year's Eve party...OUTDOORS! :eek:
It turned out to be the coldest night of the year (12ºF)!
The lady who hosted it, rented 2 space heaters and build a very large bonfire.
But still, it was cold.
So cold that the guitars (and bass) wouldn't stay in tune for 5 minutes (one song).
By the time we were halfway through each song, it sounded crappy.
We quit after 6 songs and by the time 12 midnight came, most of the crowd was gone. (too smart to be outside)

It was the last "winter" outdoor gig I played. (too smart to fall for it again)
 
I bought a 1968 gibson sg special in the early '90's and played it regularly up until about 1999. At that time, we bought our house and my wife had our first child, followed by another child in 2002. With a new house and two tiny children, I had no time to play and just got away from music almost entirely.

From about 2000 - 2005, that guitar sat out in my detached, uninsulated garage (in a hardshell case) year-round. In Maine, it gets into the mid-'90's in the summer and well below zero in the winter. So that guitar spent 5 years exposed to some pretty extreme temperatures.

In 2005 I finally got back to playing/recording - went out to the garage and found the guitar to be exactly as I'd left it. No discernable changes whatsoever. Not that I'd recommend storing a guitar in those temperatures, but they certainly are pretty durable when it comes to that. Maybe because it was an older instrument?

Also kept a 1965 ampeg amp and a bunch of pedals out there as well - none the worse for it.
 
Wouldn't worry about the temps, worry more about moisture.
 
Post your address to where all this gear is and I'll come by and check on it for you.
 
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