snow/cold weather and tuning!

**jim_n_virginia** · Feb-12-2010, 8:32am

<rant on>

OK I've had enough! This snow, rain, ice and cold is killing me and my instrument!

Takes me 15 minutes to even get her in tune when I walk in from outside THEN I have to tune up 10 times during the night fer crying out loud! And it STILL doesn't sound right!

The reason I moved to Virginia was for their mild winters and summers! We have had MORE snow here than in 25 years! 8"s so far and more coming Sat!

I don't see how you guys up north take it! LOL!

<rant off>

**tcapps** · Feb-12-2010, 9:39am

Agree with you Jim. Don't know how they stand it. Sitting here in Nacogdoches Texas with 6" of snow. I had to brush off my satellite dish to have internet. Not going on the roof so I can have TV. Life is tough. LOL

**JeffD** · Feb-12-2010, 10:18am

Well....

The good thing about winter is that you cannot be working on the outside of the house or the lawn, so nobody gives you the hairy eyeball for staying inside and playing music.

**MikeEdgerton** · Feb-12-2010, 10:22am

I generally brush the snow off the fretboard before I tune. If we only had 8 inches of snow on the ground I'd be real happy right now

**Fred Keller** · Feb-12-2010, 10:24am

Tuning is what happens between May and September up here in MN. Winter is for playing with abandon and no regard for pitch at all

**mandroid** · Feb-12-2010, 1:14pm

Gotten spoiled, since I got one of Peter Mix's Carbon Fiber mandolins .

Relative humidity and Temp changes stopped being an issue.

OK, I still like the nice wooden ones too, hard to think of parting with those ..

**aphillips** · Feb-12-2010, 2:49pm

Well Jim you'll just have to move out here where the humidity is usually 40-50% all year and the only time you see snow is a couple times a year at the highest mountains. And you can look at that snow while playing your mandolin on the beach. Sorry, I know that this is an evil post. Hee hee.

**aphillips** · Feb-12-2010, 2:50pm

I am from Buffalo though so I can definitely sympathize.

**Coffeecup** · Feb-12-2010, 3:25pm

It's terrible when sweat keeps running into your eyes and dripping all over the mando.

**pager** · Feb-12-2010, 3:41pm

Jim:
We just need to move you to Boulder Colorado, where the weather is much warmer!

jillian

**Mandolin Mick** · Feb-12-2010, 4:13pm

Except for 3 months that I spent in Texas, I've lived in Wisconsin all my life. I guess brushing the snow off of the mandolin, not being able to see the neck because it's so cold that your breath looks like a fog, tuning up all the time, etc., is just a way of life up here.

I heard on the radio today that tomorrow will be first time on record that all 50 states will have snow simultaneously!

**John Kinn** · Feb-12-2010, 4:18pm

In my parts you could have buried a double bass in the snow at the moment. Or a couple of mandocellos. A mandolin you wouldn't find until end of April.

**allenhopkins** · Feb-12-2010, 7:01pm

Originally Posted by Mandolin Mick

I heard on the radio today that tomorrow will be first time on record that all 50 states will have snow simultaneously!

Where in Hawaii is there snow?

**Greg H.** · Feb-12-2010, 7:45pm

Originally Posted by Mandolin Mick

I heard on the radio today that tomorrow will be first time on record that all 50 states will have snow simultaneously!

I agree, I realize that there some higher altitudes in Hawaii, but I remain doubtful of it snowing. I could be wrong here but....?????? How about 49 having snow simultaneously???

**Ole Joe Clark** · Feb-12-2010, 7:52pm

On top of the mountains/volcanoes there is snow even in Hawaii, possibly all year.

Joe

**Greg H.** · Feb-12-2010, 7:55pm

Teach me to stop relying on the Weather Channel (on line)

**MikeEdgerton** · Feb-12-2010, 9:04pm

Well, that made me curious so here is the answer.

Does it snow in Hawaii?

Old Joe Clark is the winner kind of, I don't think it's year round but I could be wrong.

**Arve Hermundstad** · Feb-12-2010, 9:26pm

I thought I was smart when I moved down from the mountains of Norway and out to the west coast. The coast of Norway is at the recieving end of the Gulf stream, so it should have a fairly stable and mild climate, but noooooooo!

As soon as I get here, it's the coldest winter anybody can remember.

This is actually the first time I've had to adjust my mandolin because of humidity and temperature changes.( It's also the first time I've had a mandolin good enough for me to notice such changes.)

Hawaii sounds pretty good now.
( SOS zouk?)

**...and Master of None** · Feb-12-2010, 10:31pm

Yeah, here in the DFW area we just had a record-breaking accumulation of global warming - I haven't personally seen this much snow south of the MD line ever.

I was raised in snow country, but down here two inches of snow pretty much paralyzes the city, and we just got 12-1/2 inches...

John

**Ivan Kelsall** · Feb-13-2010, 1:01am

I don't have that much trouble because my Mandolins rarely venture outside in cold weather. I have noticed that even indoors,if it does get really cold,they go sharp & when warmed up they then go flat until they get stabilised. I can imagine however,the problems that any of you folks that 'gig' & have to transport your Mandolins around experience. I have to say,that if i had to experience the huge temp.changes that you folks in the USA & Canada experience,i'd be looking to thermally 'lag' my Mandolin case,even to the extent of making my own 'lag-bag' from roofing insulation,
Ivan

**Mandolin Mick** · Feb-13-2010, 1:42am

Mike-

Thanx for the info! Yeah, they said it snows on top of a few of Hawaii's mountains.

I took a picture of my new Gibson F-9 in the snow yesterday because I just couldn't stand it anymore ... the proud father ...

**Rob Gerety** · Feb-13-2010, 8:09am

I'm fairly new to mandolin. Is it my imagination or are mandolins generally a lot more fussy and sensitive to temperature and humidity changes than a typical acoustic guitar. My mandolin is seems very sensitive to these things and to be honest it is a bit of a pain in the butt. The tuners are very old vintage tuners and while they work pretty darn well, it ain't like tuning up with a new set of Waverly tuners.

**Stanley Cox** · Feb-13-2010, 9:56am

Mandolin Mick, They call that Synchronized Snowing. Nice looking mandolin by the way.

Stanley

**Coffeecup** · Feb-13-2010, 4:22pm

Originally Posted by Rob Gerety

Is it my imagination or are mandolins generally a lot more fussy and sensitive to temperature and humidity changes than a typical acoustic guitar.

It seems that way to me. Then my twelve string guitar is less sensitive than the six string. However my mando is in the cheap range and the guitars are more towards mid range pricing.

**Charlieshafer** · Feb-13-2010, 5:19pm

Violins and mandolins go out at the drop of a hat, thanks to the arched top. It only takes a couple of percentage points of humidity to cause the top to shrink or expand .005 of an inch, enough to make all go wacko. Flat tops go sideways, not up and down.

But just remember all you mid-atlantic guys, snow is temporary, you'll be laughing at us again soon enough. Actually, there's a good reminder from us northern guys in this. Loosen the strings on the mandolins you don't play often, at least a semi-tone or two. If you tune them up in low humidity and cold weather, a few months of warm wet weather can potentially cause a cracked top with the expansion. If you use the instrument and tune it regularly, there's no issue at all.