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Could a lamp cause a bass neck to warp


knoxy26
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Hey,

I was just wondering about whether the heat coming off of a lamp with a halogen bulb would be enough to warp a neck?

I have moved to a new flat and I have limited space to but my basses.

I have my bass hanging on the wall but there is a lamp underneath it (technically a few inches in from of it but shining from underneath) 

I don't particularly want to move everything around in the room and I am not allowed to drill more holes in the wall. 

But would the heat from the bulb be enough to warp the neck or cause damage?

Clearly, it is not like a radiator but is a minor heat source none the less.

But as I said, I like where it is positioned and I like the light shining on my bass so would prefer not to move it. See pics below.

Many thanks 

Matt

Also.... don't worry, the radiator in the pics is turned off.

 

 

 

IMG_2590.jpg

IMG_2591.jpg

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Ahhh... Yes. It's unlikely the LED lamp would like dimming in the same way. 

You say it's tungsten halogen. What wattage is the lamp?

How long is the lamp on for?

How warm does it get?

The situation of the bass over the lamp isn't great for the bass. But if it doesn't get very warm, maybe it's ok. Just keep an eye on it and go and feel the strings and the bottom of the bass occasionally when it's on. If it's a 25w lamp it might be ok.

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43 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Can someone who actually knows something about physics and tension forces prove or dispel this for once and for all?

We need to write to myth busters. Ideally you would want two identical basses  and do a back to back test or use the same one in two controlled environments. When this came up before I had a search as I almost exclusively use Hercules stands which hold by the neck so wanted to know either way. The simple answer is that there was nothing conclusive either way that I could find. A lot of anecdotal stuff both ways which suggests to me there is actually no problem as long as it’s well held and supported. What is proven to cause problems is big swings in humidity, high humidity, big temperature changes, high temperature, strong sunlight but I think we probably all know those (of possibly not based on the amount of basses on eBay photographed in a garage).

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In my experience, if the bass encounters big changes in humidity or temperature, it will bend it slightly enough to put it out of tune - not much but detectable. And once its returned to the previous conditions, it will bend back into tune, ie it will return to precisely the previous position without any hysteresis or 'sticking' or 'cracking' or 'jolting' as it does so. If your bass doesn't do this, there's something wrong with it, or its neck or its truss rod (installation).

I'd be more concerned about scorching my genitals on the lamp when I reached over to take the bass off the wall.

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My feeling re hanging a bass by the neck is that the force acting on a neck is string tension. If a bass is stood on a stand then the string tension is trying to pull the head  towards the body as the body is supported, gravity will also be helping the neck move towards the body, only fractionally but still helping. If the bass is hung then the string tension is trying to pull the body towards the head as the head is supported, gravity will be trying to prevent the heavy body being pulled towards the head, only fractionally again, but still resisting. 

So with that in mind, surely it's better to hang a bass by the neck, no? 

Edited by Maude
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On 2/16/2018 at 09:08, ped said:

Personally I'm not 100% convinced that hanging a bass by the neck is very good for it. 

It's not a problem.

I've never known of it causing a problem.

As long as the bass is hanging vertically then the forces will be (essentially) symmetrical.

The tension on the bass is dominated by the string tension.

If the weight of the bass were to be an issue then there would be something seriously amiss with the design of the instrument.

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37 minutes ago, rmorris said:

It's not a problem.

I've never known of it causing a problem.

As long as the bass is hanging vertically then the forces will be (essentially) symmetrical.

The tension on the bass is dominated by the string tension.

If the weight of the bass were to be an issue then there would be something seriously amiss with the design of the instrument.

I used to hang mine, too - but for some reason I still don't like doing it. 

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39 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Every music shop I've ever been in hangs their guitars/basses....

Every music shop also hopes not to be keeping any bass for very long.

Just sayin'  but can't say I know ths t much about the weight and effects of stress on rhe wood.

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