flying with a guitar

sorry if this has been covered before.

At the end of the year i'm flying back to aus with my pretty expensive guitar (expensive for me). I've got a really strong hard case that set me back 80 pounds (wich is about $160). Is there anything else I should perhaps know? I've found plenty of forum posts on the net about flying with guitars but most of them are for acoustic guitars, and most for us national flights (there is no way i can check a guitar in as hand luggage for a 30 hour international flight).

Any advice? I'm thinking of filling the insides of the case with that polysterene foam stuff to make sure the guitar doesn't suffer whiplash, and perhaps even covering the outside of the case with bubble wrap (? is that a good idea?).

I'm not sure if they will let you do the bubblewrap on the outside. Be sure your case locks and instead of checking it in you should be able to hand it off to the airline folks just before you get on the plane, at the gate. The same way people do baby strollers and such. You may also want to slack the strings a bit to reduce neck tension in case of too much turbulance or the airline tossing your guitar around like a football, you know how they are.

cool cool. yer ie neva had to hand anything in rite b4 checkout, it's a bit new to me. good news is that the case i have is really awesome so it's pretyt much bullet proof but still i'm gonna overprotect my gtar.

You need to pack it the same way you would for shipping. That means you have to pack something around the guitar to keep it from moving around in the case. Pieces of high-density foam work well for this. You will aslo need to protect the finish from bruising, by wrapping the guitar in soft cloth, like a fluffy towel.

Do NOT slack off the strings. The neck is happiest when it has balanced tension on it from the strings and the truss rod. If there is a trem bridge, pack a foam frame around it so that there can be no pressure placed on it. This will help to prevent changes in string tension during the trip.

If you care about the appearance of the outside of the case, you should cut some pieces of 1/8" (3 mm) masonite to cover the outside with. This stuff is good for protecting against scuffing.

Call the airline about how to arrange to check-in your guitar at the loading gate. That way, it will be put on board just before departure, and it will be one of the first things off-loaded at the destination. Items given this treatment tend to be handled more carefully than the usual baggage-gorilla stunts that happen for the rest of the load-in.

Would it help if he took the strings off altogether? :confused:

Originally Posted by: Vegas WierdoWould it help if he took the strings off altogether? :confused:[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Lordathestrings]...Do NOT slack off the strings. The neck is happiest when it has balanced tension on it from the strings and the truss rod. ...

Uhh, hello??

You probably could carry it on. I know most most airlines say it's too large of an object, but I got away with it twice. Just make sure you're one of the first people boarding and shove it up there.

which part of aus will u be living in moose?

If it helps, I fairly regularly fly between Heathrow and LAX on Virgin flights.

For one, they let you take your guitar on as hand luggage if the flight isn't full (and then it gets it's own seat! - no room in the overheads). Last time I went I felt like Jimmy Page with my guitar strapped in to the seat next to me!

If the flight is full, the guitar goes on as 'Fragile'. Gets loaded separately and comes off again by hand rather than down the ramp. You can also ask for additional insurance should you require it.

I've never had a problem just leaving the guitar in it's case as it is. Obviously, the more care you take the better, but try not to worry too much. Sadly, they are more likely to lose it entirely than they are to damage it. Hard cases are for scuffing, so unless you like all your kit brand new and shiny, let it get beat up a bit - it adds character!

I'm assuming it isn't only Virgin that will help you out like this - flirt a bit with the (hopefully attractive) check-in staff.... it all helps.

Mr LordatheStrings - I've always slackened my guitar strings, previous wisdom having been that they'll break with the change in air-pressure. Is this a myth?

Originally Posted by: zreynoldsp... Mr LordatheStrings - I've always slackened my guitar strings, previous wisdom having been that they'll break with the change in air-pressure. Is this a myth?

Myth. With the strings slack, the truss rod is unopposed in bending the neck back. For a day or so, with gentle handling,that is unlikely to cause prroblems. It can't be good for it to have that kind of tension on the neck while its getting bashed about during shipping.

Air pressure change? Regardless of what the absolute value of the ambient air pressure happens to be, that pressure will be equal on all parts of the guitar. Temperature is another matter, though. The baggage hold under the aircraft is unheated, and it can get damn cold in there. Even so, the neck is less likely to do something strange if it has its normal balanced tension on it from the strings and the truss rod.

I've bought several guitars on eBay, and I always insist that they be shipped with the strings tuned to pitch. All of them have arrived with the strings still in tune. I take that to be evidence that the guitars were undisturbed by whatever conditions they encountered during the trip.

a couple of years ago i did a few shows in canacda, i flew from miamai florida to chicago on to winnapeg, and toronto, i used two guitars a '74 fender strat and a Bonnie Raite singnature, i had no problems at all not even with intonations being thrown off, all you need are flying cases, which are available for most instruments, little costly, but worth the peace of mind.

Lats, once again you amaze me.

Im getting ready for a long plane flight tomorrow, and Im bringing my acoustic. So I was going to go an untune it tonight, but it doesnt look like that'll be a good idea anymore.

well, less work for me. :rolleyes:

Be sure that it can't slop around in the case.