Hi folks, new here, I just received my 2011 57 reissue strat delivered by courier to my door. I have read about when opening an instrument case that has seen different weather it is good to slowly let it aclimate. I was planning to let it sit in my office for an hour before slowly opening. However there is a RED tag on the case handle which reads to leave instrument alone for 24hrs prior to opneing.

Is this tag from the factory to the dealer? This strat came from Tampa Fl to Pa. I am assuming this is for dealers who receive right from factory. Do I need to leave it for 24hrs or can I peek?

Yes, you should leave the guitar sit in the unopened case for a while. How long depends on a number of factors:

1. How cold the guitar got.
2. How long it was cold.
3. How warm it is in your office.
4. The finish on the guitar.

Let's look at #4 first.

The 57 Reissue Strat is finished in nitrocellulose lacquer which is more sensitive to temperature and humidity changes than polyester or polyurethane. Exposing a very cold guitar to warm air suddenly can result in a nasty checking of the finish. More so with nitro than poly.

The temperatures have been fairly moderate for the last week or so on the East Coast. I would guess the average outdoor temp on the trip from Florida to PA has been in the upper 40s/lower 50s (I live in Virginia). What is unknown is the temperature at any interim stops the guitar may have made in its journey, but I would guess they were mild. Since it should only have taken a few days, 1 week max, from Florida to PA, I don't think the guitar was exposed to any extreme temps for very long.

I am guessing your office is probably about 70 degrees F.

So bottom line: I don't think conditions warrant a "nap" of 24 hours in the case for your new guitar, but I would probably let it sit for maybe about 6 hours undisturbed. Your choice. Of course, you could always be a good little boy and wait until Christmas to open things up.

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Bill

Thanks for the reply

Well, did you take the guitar out or are you waiting 5 more hours per the red tag?

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Bill

Please tell us how things turned out!

You also might want to wait a while before attempting to do any set-up operations on it.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

Hopefully the OP is busy playing his new guitar and not just blowing us off.

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Bill

Great wisdom .... I bought my third and final EJ Strat from MF ..... the truck arrived on a warm spring day .... Before pulling the case from the delivery box, I checked with a thermometer how cold it was inside the box was .... 63 F against a house temp of 66F - 68F. I left it a good hour before opening and I have had NO issues with the finish.

My first EJ was a second hand guitar from GC .... wasn't certain I wanted to keep it - returned it after a week because I felt it was over priced - my third EJ from MF was $300 less new (a rare 20% distcount day).

My second EJ (blond) spent three summers and several winters gigging around Florida, Jackson, Tampa & Miami .... after three years the nitro had all but gone and it had a matt finish like a white undercoat. Not helped by Dunlop polish which assisted the stripping process.

Good info. Though I'm getting a poly in the mail. In the past I've opened Fender guitars right after they came UPS and not had a problem (classic series '50s strat OCT., squier duo-sonic FEB.).

Looks like the OP blew us off.

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Bill