travelling with a guitar

I have a question for you, especially for the professional guitarists.

Are there any good tips for packing a guitar to take on a air plane? I'm going to be doing quite a bit of travelling in the near future and want to take my guitar with me to keep up my playing. I'll bring my acoustic guitar and leave my electric and all the expensive stuff at home. If you have any tips on how to get a guitar ready for air travel it would be great!

and...are you ever worried your guitar might get wrecked while on the plane?

Hi,

I don't have any experiance in your question, however there is a company that specializes in travel guitars. http://www.travelerguitar.com/

I travel with my EG-1 by Traveler Guitar. Very easy to carry on and I play it with headphones on long flights.

Three words: Hard-shell-cases.

They are your best bet in keeping your guitar safe while traveling. Also stuff any open areas in between the guitar and case with either Bubble rap or some sort of packing material. Don't use soft cases or leather gig bags for air travel. I've heard too many stories where musicians have had there guitar destroyed beyond repair because they had it in a soft case and the flight tech guys improperly stored the guitar, causing it to fall off of shelves or the flight guys dropped it and broke the neck.

Here a link GT recently posted in FACEBOOK..
Makes ya think...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

Originally Posted by: compart1Here a link GT recently posted in FACEBOOK..
Makes ya think...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

That is AWESOME! Did you see his other two follow up videos?

hard shell case with locks. some people actually tape the case shut. detune the strings, especially for acoustic guitars. the altitude changes and temperature changes will wreak havoc on the tonewoods and ideally you'll want to relieve as much tension on the neck and body to keep from premature cracking of finishes or worse the woods themselves. also allows the wood to expand and contract naturally preserving the life of the wood.

Thanks for the tips! I'll be sure to try them. Ya, that's the only thing I'm worried about my guitar getting wrecked while travelling...my cousin just got back touring with his orchestra he plays in, he plays the tuba and his tuba got totally wrecked on the flight home from their trip.

I just had to go through this when I flew down to Mexico to play. I checked my bass and my guitarist checked his guitar. Both in hard shell cases. I wouldn't dare check a soft case. Everything came back great. Not a whole lot can happen if your guitar is tucked away in a hard shell case with good padding. They even make cases specifically to travel with on planes so if you are willing to drop some money for a new case that's an option.

Don't lock the case because TSA will most likely unlock it and check it.

Also, if it is a REALLY expensive guitar that you absolutely don't trust to check, some airlines let you purchase another seat just for your guitar. More expensive obviously, but less expensive than a broken $10,000+ guitar.