Mailing a guitar or taking it on the plane.

[midi_in]

I'm going to be moving from Florida to Delaware in a few weeks and I was wondering what the best method is for gettin my bass guitar there. It's fairly thin and lightweight. Its about 42" long. It's vintage and very important to me('65 hagstrom I). I don't have a case for it, only a gigbag. I don't really want to bring it on the plain for fear of them putting it in cargo. And shipping it seem to be the answer. What should I do?

Should I remove the neck from the body and ship them separately? Ship it in one piece? should I just fly with it and hopefully it will fit in overhead and hope I wont be hassled by airline people? Any advice or personal experience would be mug appreciated!

[masked elwood]

all airlines treat you differently but in the states it's usually not a prob.
it would prolly be too large to fit in overhead (depending on the aircraft though).
you could ship the whole thing...or ship it taken apart to ease your mind of it being broken and it'll be a bit cheaper.

depending how much luggage you have, it may be cheaper to ship it. if you have to pay for a second checked bag then it'll be at least 50 bux.......and overweight charges are pricey too. be prepared for that.

if it's a solid body, i'd take the neck off.....pack the body in my suitcase surrounded by fresh fashion choices to keep it protected...then just carry the neck with me...that would be the easiest way. plus you'd have it with you.

[kosta]

I fly with guitars in gig bags all the time. Usually plenty of room in the overhead bins or sometimes the flight attendants will be awesome and offer to throw em in the closet for me. Have shipped em too and been ok. Neck on seems ok if it's packed well.

Edited to defer to Elwood who has waaaay more experience.

[midi_in]

I like the idea of that last part. Putting the body in the suit case and carrying the neck.

[masked elwood]

I fly with guitars in gig bags all the time. Usually plenty of room in the overhead bins or sometimes the flight attendants will be awesome and offer to throw em in the closet for me. Have shipped em too and been ok. Neck on seems ok if it's packed well.

Edited to defer to Elwood who has waaaay more experience.

but i have zero experience in traveling with a bass. ..... the size issue will make a diff.
with guitars it's never a prob......the hag is a bit smaller (for a bass) but still larger than a guitar. that's what would concern me.
fuk man.......i go through this shite constantly.
it's getting really tough to travel through europe with a cabin checked guitar for some reason.
they just made me check a guitar IN A GIG BAG last week. they assured me they would hand carry it and treat it nicely. they did....but i was freaking for the entire flight.

[symbolique]

The thought of a vintage guitar going into the sub-zero (?) temperatures of a plane's hold is scary. Charm the stewardess' for their locker.

I like the idea about removing the head and neck from the body to fit in a case, I take it that is post-mortem?

[insubordination]

I've carried guitars onto planes a few times without incident, but they typically make you gate check it, so it goes under the plane, but is only out of your possession as long as you are in the air. If you beg and plead, they may let you stick it in the closet near the cockpit if you tell them it's worth a lot of money or something.

[thezeng]

I've checked in a guitar from Japan to Indonesia to Australia
It was in a soft case, so i made a box and stuffed in bubble wrap and newspaper. It was all fine!
I must say I was a bit apprehensive to do so, but there was no other way.

[MEC]

This may not be an option for you but it'd probably be just about the same amount of money($200-$300) to rent a car and drive to Delaware as it would be to fly.
Then you can bring whatever you want.

Added Bonus: Truckstop Hookers

[midi_in]

This may not be an option for you but it'd probably be just about the same amount of money($200-$300) to rent a car and drive to Delaware as it would be to fly.
Then you can bring whatever you want.

Added Bonus: Truckstop Hookers

That would be my first option but I have no credit card

A plane ticket to Delaware is 135. A bus is 200+. and a train is 200+. and both the train and the bus have hieght resrictions on baggage.



And truckstop hookers don't clean their vaginas. I'll pick me up a craigslist milf when I get there.

[MEC]

Suit yourself.

[smallsnd/bigsnd]

call the airline and ask them directly.

[Fuzzy Picklez]

call the airline and ask them directly.

Isn't that like, cheating though?

[cheesecats]

call the airline and ask them directly.

This is crucial. That said, a friend of mine bought a guitar in the States and took it on the plane back to Scotland, no problem. The BA cabin crews stowed it in the closets. He said it was a great experience--he felt like a rock star going through the airports.

[smallsnd/bigsnd]

just call. it'll be the easiest thing and you can ask them about stowing it in the overhead compartment or the other cabin stow.

i've flown with gear a lot (full band with keyboards, guitars, basses) and the band has never had any problems getting things through, but we thoroughly checked out the restrictions, etc. before ever trying it. since it's a domestic flight it probably won't be so bad, but there may be length restrictions you need to be aware of because if you can't fit your bass or it's too big for their limits, they'll put it in cargo and if you don't want it in cargo you'll need to either find another way to get it there or buy it a seat.