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Hi,
I will be making a move back to Wisconsin from New Mexico in a couple of weeks and would prefer not to have my instruments go with moving company. I just don't really imagine the greatest care will be taken plus our stuff will be stored for a couple of months with access being very difficult if I need something, so...

There will only be so much room in our two cars and I have a host of wooden instruments that will be in there. My question is:

Is it safe to transport brass instruments (sousaphone, two baritones, and a tenor sax) in pod above car in cold temps (possible freezing)?

None have been played in over a year and being in Santa Fe, I would assume that all moisture that might expand in cold would be long evaporated.

The two horns I use regularly will have to go in car I suppose as I wouldn't want moisture to freeze and they won't fit in pod anyway.

Whaddya y'all think?

Craig

If I were in your circumstance the wooden instruments would be in the car with me and any brass that was dry I would consider safe in the cold. Maybe remove the slides and pack separately.

Cold isn't bad for brass instruments.
Just make sure you empty out the 'spit' valves before putting them up there. Water/condensation is only a little bit of a concern for them. If you haven't played them for over a year, I agree that they're probably bone dry already.

You're right to put the wooden instruments in your car. Try to keep them with you when you stop for the night to keep from experiencing too much temperature or humidity changes during the trip. It'd be a shame to have one crack from an overnight temperature swing during your trip.

I don't know much about tenor sax pads, but you might need to re-glue some pads on if they get too cold. That's the only issue I can think of.

Remember - Most of these instruments see big temperature changes for marching band this time of year. Stored in a heated building, then marched in cold (sometimes extremely cold) conditions just a few minutes after they get pulled from their cases.

bloke wrote: If a brass instrument is subject to extremely cold temperatures, I might be tempted to remove the pistons and/or rotors.

I woun't bother removing valves or slides, if the instrument is dry and lubricated. Brass and monel have almost same temperatur expansion coefficients, so they grow/shrink the same amount in warm/cold weather.

I transport wooden instruments in an otherwise empty picnic cooler, having "bottled" the room ambient on departure. It's an extra step to buffer against temp/humidity extremes. Cars don't have even HVAC circulation - heater vents you normally don't think about such as those for the back seats can inadvertently create hotspots while you're trying to keep your toesies from freezing up front. Put the cooler on a seat and in the middle, away from drafty doors. And yes, definitely take inside for overnights, cold or hot.

Brass? I agree with the others' advice, and like bloke I wouldn't worry about much beyond the valves, and then only in super-cold. We're not talking about house plumbing here. Unless you're an impossibly "moist" player, any condensate will not be filling the tubing enough to expand to the point of causing trouble. (However, I would personally make it a point to pull & drain valve slides on a French horn before departure. I swear that FHs are miniature stills. At least when I play 'em. )

If it’s cold enough you could do a little do-it-yourself cryogenics...

Back when I played for a larger band, my tuba would stay in their trailer, only coming out to go on stage. That being said, immediately when we finished each gig I would try and remember to drain the slides (that didn't always happen) and the horn went right into the case and into the trailer. I traveled and played most of the midwest with that band for about 6 years, and I never experienced any issues whatsoever with my horn. It's a 1938 Martin 4 valve "monster", if that matters any.

Pack the entire tuba with dry ice -- inside the tuba, inside the case, everywhere you possibly can. Then, when you go outside in the 20-degree weather, your tuba will actually be warming up, not cooling off.

Is dry ice safe for tubas? Uuhhh..... you didn't ask that.