hey guys.
a week from today i am flying to australia to play a show. the closer the date gets, the more nervous i get about the thought of packing up and checking my guitar for the flights (short flight to LA, loooooong flight to AUS). i really think i'm just being paranoid, but my guitar is pretty unique and would be very hard to replace if something happened, and getting prepped using another guitar won't be so easy since i've been spent the last few months getting accustomed to my #1.
i'm looking for some advice / experiences from those who have flown internationally with their guitars before. any pitfalls to avoid or helpful tips will be most beneficial and should help to boost my confidence in this matter.
here are the options i've come up with so far; please give me some opinions or better ideas:
1. gig bag / carry-on
for domestic flights, i've always just put my guitar in a gig bag and put it in an overhead bin. i think i've been lucky in that i've never been forced to check / gate-check it. i'm not sure if the same overhead-style bins will be available for this flight, and risking the possibility of a gate-check in nothing but a gig bag sounds like a disaster.
2. hard-case only
this is my most likely option. most everyone i know who has checked a guitar in the past / regularly checks guitars just puts them in their hard case and stuffs in some t-shirts and such to keep the guitar stabilized, cushioned, and in its place. i've got a standard gator hard case (one that i bought from a former member of my band who bought the case specifically for out-of-state / country shows) that fits my guitar pretty snugly. in addition i have some modular foam inserts from an amp flight case that could certainly be worked into the case for extra support, plus some t-shirts and whatnot to fill in any gaps.
3. hard-case packed in a box
i've considered taking the extra-stabilization steps listed above within my case, then packing the case into a cardboard box full of foam / packing peanuts / what-have-you. this would require finding a box large enough to accomodate, as well as taking the extra time and effort to get everything packed up (and removed for the show, and packed up again in a foreign land where i may not be able to get additional supplies easily). this option may actually be overkill - just typing it out even seems arduous.
4. take a beater instead
i suppose the best way to keep my guitar from getting damaged on the flight is to leave it at home. i pulled out an old mutt guitar last night that has always played well, and decided i could try taking it instead. not that i want anything to happen to it, but if it were to get damaged, i would be a lot less distressed than if my gp took a fall. the problem with this is that there are a lot of differences with this guitar (longer scale length, flatter & wider fretboard, higher action on the high notes, etc) that will take a lot of adjustment and practicing over the next week. some of these are actually good changes, but some of them could be detrimental to my playing (unless i can get used to everything really fast). i kind of hate this idea because i've really gotten familiar with my main gutiar, and i just don't think i'd have the time to get fully acclimated to something else. in addition, this guitar definitely doesn't sound as good, so i'm pretty sure i'll need to change the bridge pickup (i've got a couple lying around so its not a huge deal, but that's more time taken away from practicing) as well as change the switch and clean up some wiring issues.
again, i really think i'm just being overly-anxious about this. i'm sure the second option will be absolutely fine if i take the right precautions and make sure everything is nice and stable within the case. any input will be much appreciated.
a week from today i am flying to australia to play a show. the closer the date gets, the more nervous i get about the thought of packing up and checking my guitar for the flights (short flight to LA, loooooong flight to AUS). i really think i'm just being paranoid, but my guitar is pretty unique and would be very hard to replace if something happened, and getting prepped using another guitar won't be so easy since i've been spent the last few months getting accustomed to my #1.
i'm looking for some advice / experiences from those who have flown internationally with their guitars before. any pitfalls to avoid or helpful tips will be most beneficial and should help to boost my confidence in this matter.
here are the options i've come up with so far; please give me some opinions or better ideas:
1. gig bag / carry-on
for domestic flights, i've always just put my guitar in a gig bag and put it in an overhead bin. i think i've been lucky in that i've never been forced to check / gate-check it. i'm not sure if the same overhead-style bins will be available for this flight, and risking the possibility of a gate-check in nothing but a gig bag sounds like a disaster.
2. hard-case only
this is my most likely option. most everyone i know who has checked a guitar in the past / regularly checks guitars just puts them in their hard case and stuffs in some t-shirts and such to keep the guitar stabilized, cushioned, and in its place. i've got a standard gator hard case (one that i bought from a former member of my band who bought the case specifically for out-of-state / country shows) that fits my guitar pretty snugly. in addition i have some modular foam inserts from an amp flight case that could certainly be worked into the case for extra support, plus some t-shirts and whatnot to fill in any gaps.
3. hard-case packed in a box
i've considered taking the extra-stabilization steps listed above within my case, then packing the case into a cardboard box full of foam / packing peanuts / what-have-you. this would require finding a box large enough to accomodate, as well as taking the extra time and effort to get everything packed up (and removed for the show, and packed up again in a foreign land where i may not be able to get additional supplies easily). this option may actually be overkill - just typing it out even seems arduous.
4. take a beater instead
i suppose the best way to keep my guitar from getting damaged on the flight is to leave it at home. i pulled out an old mutt guitar last night that has always played well, and decided i could try taking it instead. not that i want anything to happen to it, but if it were to get damaged, i would be a lot less distressed than if my gp took a fall. the problem with this is that there are a lot of differences with this guitar (longer scale length, flatter & wider fretboard, higher action on the high notes, etc) that will take a lot of adjustment and practicing over the next week. some of these are actually good changes, but some of them could be detrimental to my playing (unless i can get used to everything really fast). i kind of hate this idea because i've really gotten familiar with my main gutiar, and i just don't think i'd have the time to get fully acclimated to something else. in addition, this guitar definitely doesn't sound as good, so i'm pretty sure i'll need to change the bridge pickup (i've got a couple lying around so its not a huge deal, but that's more time taken away from practicing) as well as change the switch and clean up some wiring issues.
again, i really think i'm just being overly-anxious about this. i'm sure the second option will be absolutely fine if i take the right precautions and make sure everything is nice and stable within the case. any input will be much appreciated.
