Anyone ever have any issues with shipping synths (including older vintage synths with older electronics, wood paneling, etc.) when it is COLD. Like -5F (-20C) or a bit colder. It is below the minimum storage temperature I see in most synth manuals, but it would only be for a few days (maybe a week at most). Is it possible it could cause any long term damage or just let it warm back up inside before turning it on and it should be ok?
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Simply going below the storage temperature shouldn’t hurt a synth in principle, but indeed shipping is a little different because you’re not just subjecting the hardware to low temperatures, but you’re combining that with inertial shocks.
Plastic ribbon cables are going to be just a little less flexible, key mechanisms are going to be slightly less forgiving; everything that might otherwise flex harmlessly in normal transit is at just a little higher risk for snapping.
That said, I really have no idea how much higher the risk is. It might be negligible. The newer the gear, the less likely it is to be a problem. And a little extra padding will probably go a long way.
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Just don’t open it after delivery. Leave it in the box until it comes up to room temperature. And remember that cardboard is an insulator, as is the trapped air inside, which will slow the warming.
Otherwise you’ll get instant condensation inside and out, which can ruin everything
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Well the synth has been “out for delivery” in the -15F weather here for three days now. Maybe today will be my lucky day and it will actually arrive lol. Thanks for the comments, I’ll let it warm to room temp in the box before opening, but I am still a little worried. I told Sweetwater 3 times to ship it 2-day and they still shipped it ground :-/.
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Just got one from a fellow naught and waited a day to open it. I’m not sure you need to do that but I was not feeling well that day so it made more sense to wait a bit.
I had a beautiful PL-570 ruined from the cold a few years ago, FedEx signed for me and left the box. That turned into a pretty large deal.
Funny, this thread made me realize I just ordered some PCBs from Australia right about on the summer solstice there, and now it is very much the dead of winter (-30F with the wind chill this week) over here. This should be interesting.
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My new employer shipped my laptop the day before the storm. I’m hoping it’s functional when/ if it arrives.
I got a pioneer ddj in the post the other day from eBay, when the opened it up it was actually wet with condensation, left it on a shelf above a radiotor overnight and all was fine…