Travelling with equipment

SeanHurley

Ok guys might be slightly off topic in this forum, but my band are playing in Liverpool next weekend and we are travelling with that famous Irish budget airline.

Given the experience Richard from SSL had with his X-Desk, I was looking for advice on how best to ensure our guitars, snare/cymbals etc arrive intact.

We have booked all the instruments in as "Musical Instruments" as we are not allowed carry them on as hand luggage. We will have them all in flight cases but is there other precautions like loosing strings on guitars etc. we should be taking?

Cheers

Welease

Flight cases should do the job, but to be on the safe side I used to pack clothes in the flight case also, to stop any move of items inside.. just an extra level of protection..

and if it comes to the worst, and least Dolphin have a branch there

Where are you playing? I lived there for 5 years in the late 80's... great city...

SeanHurley

Cool thanks for the advise!

We are playing the International Pop Overthrow Festival, doing one slot in the Carern Pub, and one lot in the Cavern Club.

To be honest it is hardly SWSX but it will be nice to play somewhere new and we may sell a few of our new single while over there.

It'll be a booze up if nothing else:D

PaulBrewer

Plan for everything to get dropped from a great height !

In ye olde days the story was loosen all guitar strings to prevent breakages.

I don't understand the science behind that and used to loosen some and not others in my touring days with no breakages. Some of that would be longhaul too.

I do recall looking out of the plane window in BumFeck , Nebraska and watch whilst a bass guitar case was thrown onto a belt to load it to the hold. As it moved up the belt it worked it's way closer and closer to the edge until , when it was nearly at the top ..... Bang! She fell ....

All was well in the end though!

old gregg

re the loosening of strings, I've had plenty of folks tell me it does not matter any more and all that but a few years ago I was buying a 2nd hand Martin in Don Mackrill's in London just before catching a flight back to Ireland and the guy doing the deal insisted on loosening the strings and packing newspaper into the case because he reckoned that air pressure changes in the luggage hold could cause the neck to warp unless the strings were loose. He also said that the newspaper would help dealing with moisture.

Dunno if it's true and I'm sure there will be plenty to find empirical flaws in the logic but there you go

PaulBrewer

old gregg wrote: »

re the loosening of strings, I've had plenty of folks tell me it does not matter any more and all that but a few years ago I was buying a 2nd hand Martin in Don Mackrill's in London just before catching a flight back to Ireland and the guy doing the deal insisted on loosening the strings and packing newspaper into the case because he reckoned that air pressure changes in the luggage hold could cause the neck to warp unless the strings were loose. He also said that the newspaper would help dealing with moisture.

Dunno if it's true and I'm sure there will be plenty to find empirical flaws in the logic but there you go

The thing that always confused me was that a tuned strung neck has a string force on it and a counter force i.e. the truss rod plus the neck wood , so it's balanced.

Without strings one might be able to argue that it's now imbalanced and may be more susceptible to a knock.

However I don't know ....

The newspaper thing sounds like a load of cock though ... if you take your axe out from a cold hold and open it in the warmth of a gig etc condensation will take place either way I'd suggest?

SeanHurley

See this is the thing, some guitar manufacturers say you should loosen strings, some say don't?

I have heard about the newspaper thing just as a means to keep everything nice and tight in the case not for moisuture.

It is all very confusing, maybe our bookings/tour manager guy will know the dealio. He has done a lot of this stuff before.

Once everything gets there (and back) in one piece (unlike Richard's X-Desk) I am happy.

PaulBrewer

SeanHurley wrote: »

See this is the thing, some guitar manufacturers say you should loosen strings, some say don't?

I have heard about the newspaper thing just as a means to keep everything nice and tight in the case not for moisuture.

It is all very confusing, maybe our bookings/tour manager guy will know the dealio. He has done a lot of this stuff before.

Once everything gets there (and back) in one piece (unlike Richard's X-Desk) I am happy.

Yes, Newspaper used as packing does make sense, ok.

tweeky

SeanHurley wrote: »

Given the experience Richard from SSL had with his X-Desk, I was looking for advice on how best to ensure our guitars, snare/cymbals etc arrive intact.
Cheers

I would also ensure you are insured! Also check the weight as excess on airlines is painful.