Help me! I sometimes have to travel for work, sometimes for a week or two at a time- and HATE to be that long without practicing. How can I travel with a guitar? I only have a soft gig bag, but could buy a case if you'll recommend the kind that I need...
Many thanks,
Ande
At first I thought you wanted to fly on the guitar...
You can try some Gator hardshell cases for checking in your guitar.
But, if you ask me, its best to take the guitar on the board, rather then checking it in. You never know what royal treatment it gets by the handing of 'baggage' attendants.
Good Luck.
Ande,
Much like you, I travel a great deal for business. Often I'm required to arrive on the weekend but I don't have to be at the client site until Monday morning. And since I don't care to sit in a bar all night I usually just sat in my hotel reading a book or watching the idiot box until time to go to bed.
That is until I started playing guitar.
Now granted, I don't take my "good" equipment on the plane with me. I have a Squier '51 that I payed $99 - GREAT guitar but if the airline damages it, I'm only out a C-note. I bought one of these from Musician's Friend http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Musicians-Gear-Electric-Guitar-Metal-Flight-Case?sku=541696 which works just fine for transporting the guitar. I also bought one of these http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Smokey-Mini-Amp?sku=483005 which allows me to play my electric guitar in the hotel through headphones. The case is big enough that it will hold some songbooks, the amp, guitar cords, a chromatic tuner, and a set of iPod type headphones. I check it at the airport ticket counter and pick it up on the other side.
The up side is everyone at the airport looks at you like you are a rock star or a mafia hit man because the case looks like a) a guitar case or b) a machine gun case. Either way - it is cool! And you have less money invested in the entire setup than the typical weekly bar-tab.
/dwayne
I had a thread on this a little while back here:
http://forums.guitarnoise.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=36639&p=339346#p339346
I ended up unbolting the neck from the body, and just wrapping both pieces as best I could in my luggage. It seemed to work just fine, but i'm not sure if its just a luck thing, or if that would work consistently. I think it would depend on how much the guitar cost, and how much it means to you. I'm quite sure the guitar would make it, but i think the question would be whether or not there are any dents or scratches.
Thanks Everybody!
May be importing one of those cases quite soon. I'll probably have to check it, as when I'm travelling for work, I'm usually already carrying a laptop, many books and papers of a non-checkable/lose-able nature, and sometimes a fair amount of additional obscure electronics. (Don't ask. :wink: )
I'm not too worried about the guitar(s) itself- all my equipment is, so far, on the cheap side. I have a stratocopy that I'm thinking would make a nice travelling companion, and it's worth virtually nothing, though it plays alright. But I'd be sad to go to all the trouble and wind up with nothing to play in the evenings. :(
Around here, I've seen a lot of people travelling with just a gig bag, but it doesn't seem right to me somehow...
Best,
Ande
I bought a case special order (still waiting for it) at guitar center. it's an SKB case. They said (and I hope it's true) that only the TSA agents have the key to open the case after you lock it and it wouldn't be as easily accesible to the regular baggage handlers. I really don't fly with a guitar but I figure for the extra few dollars it was worth it. Anywho...my two credits on the subject.
"I use heavy strings, tune low, play hard and floor it. Floor it, that's a technical term." - SRV
Around here, I've seen a lot of people travelling with just a gig bag, but it doesn't seem right to me somehow...
Those people are most likely carrying their guitar on with them.
A gig bagged guitar fits in the cabin a lot better than one in a hard case.
I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep
I'm in the same boat as you... I have to travel a lot for work. I bought a cheap guitar and a Gator flight case. I check it in with my luggage and have only had it lost once (I got it back about a week later). No damage to the guitar ever. I love it.
I play through a Guitar Trainer GT1 in the hotel room and it wrks out great.
"There won't be any money. But when you die, on your death bed, you will receive total conciousness. So, I got that going for me. Which is nice." - Bill Murray, Caddyshack ~~ Michigan Music Dojo - http://michiganmusicdojo.com ~~
I took one from the UK to Texas and back - the guitar survived, the case didn't. Burst open on the baggage carousel at Gatwick on the way back, spilling picks, strings, slides etc everywhere. Moral of the story? If you're buying a hard case, DON'T buy a cheap one! Baggage handlers don't give a hoot if something's marked "Fragile" or not - everything gets launched through the air by chain relay anyway, and so what if the occasional item gets dropped? That's what insurance is for, isn't it?
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
I took one from the UK to Texas and back - the guitar survived, the case didn't. Burst open on the baggage carousel at Gatwick on the way back, spilling picks, strings, slides etc everywhere. Moral of the story? If you're buying a hard case, DON'T buy a cheap one! Baggage handlers don't give a hoot if something's marked "Fragile" or not - everything gets launched through the air by chain relay anyway, and so what if the occasional item gets dropped? That's what insurance is for, isn't it?
:D :D :D
Vic
Bummer man. You didn't mention but I hope the guitar wasn't damaged at all. Picks, strings and slides are easily more replaced. :(
"I use heavy strings, tune low, play hard and floor it. Floor it, that's a technical term." - SRV
I took one from the UK to Texas and back - the guitar survived, the case didn't. Burst open on the baggage carousel at Gatwick on the way back, spilling picks, strings, slides etc everywhere. Moral of the story? If you're buying a hard case, DON'T buy a cheap one! Baggage handlers don't give a hoot if something's marked "Fragile" or not - everything gets launched through the air by chain relay anyway, and so what if the occasional item gets dropped? That's what insurance is for, isn't it?
:D :D :D
Vic
Bummer man. You didn't mention but I hope the guitar wasn't damaged at all. Picks, strings and slides are easily more replaced. :(
Yea. Vic's lucky that the guitar survived. In most of the cases, nobody surives. :evil:
