Transporting guitars?

[dogwomble]

Hey guys,

In a few weeks, I'll be going interstate for a few days by bus, and want to take my baby (the Washburn) with me. Now, I've got a hard case for it, so that should prevent a lot of impact damage.

Two questions for ya though, because I don't want to see my lovely baby damaged..

1. I've had it recommended to me that I detune the strings before I leave to prevent neck warping/damage. What are the pros & cons of doing this?

2. Are there any other things I should be cautious of before I take it on board?

Cheers

/DW

 

[Gnash5150]

I would NOT detune all your strings like that! Just leave it the way it is, with the normal string tension on the neck. Your going on a bus? Watch yo shit!

 

[Light]

Yes, DO detune the strings. Some people will tell you that the truss rod can cause the neck to warp, but they don't have a clue what they are talking about.


The NUMBER ONE cause of damage to guitars, particularly while traveling, is string tension. You've got a few hundred pounds of tension on the neck, and so any blow to the guitar is amplified by the strings pull. So, pros; it increase the likelyhood of your guitar surviving a blow, and the cons would be; none. Detune the strings.

Other than that, if you can take it on the bus with you, do so. If you can't, at least try to put it on and take it off the bus yourself. And keep an eye on it.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[c7sus]

Absolutely detune the strings, and take the bridge pins out as well and put them someplace you can find them later.

Last thing you need is a bridge pin splitting your bridge because it got jammed in too far by a bump.

Next, pack socks or hankerchiefs around the neck and peghead so when you close the case the guitar can't move in the case. Dropping a hardshell case backwards while it's standing on end can snap a neck right at the peghead. I also put hankerchiefs around the upper and lower bout to keep the guitar body from shifting in the case.

Use your lock, and top it off with duct tape if you really don't want anybody opening it without some effort.

 

[dogwomble]

Thanks for the suggestions guys ... I particularly appreciate the one about the bridge pins, it's one I hadn't thought of. It's not just splitting the bridge either, come to think of it - these aren't the standard run of the mill plastic bridgepins I'm using, these are somewhat more expensive wooden (balsa wood I think?) bridgepins ... cost a bit more to repalce if they got damaged.

Incidentally ... with the sock around the peghead ... I've got a strap fitted, and if I pack it right, the guitar doesn't move that much at all in the case. Would that be enough, or would socks still be recommended?

 

[Dani Pace]

Check with the bus line to see if you can count your guitar as "carry on" luggage. Baggage handlers ARE NOT the most carefull people in the world and are likely to just toss your guitar in the luggage compartment and wont care what gets tossed in on top of it. "Checked" luggage dosen't allways travel on the same bus as it's owner, and dosen't allways arrive at the same destination at the same time. The last time I traveled by bus (several years ago) I was allowed to carry a guitar on with me, but the driver gave me a stern warning, "Don't be playing that thing on my bus."

 

[dogwomble]

Check with the bus line to see if you can count your guitar as "carry on" luggage.

Grumble grumble. Just done exactly that, and I am unlikely to be able to bring it on board. The size of the thing, and the hard case, mean that it's unlikely to fit in the overhead bays so I'd need to stick it on a seat or at my feet - which they claim from a legal perspective would be a safety hazard in the event of an accident.

However the person I spoke to over the phone seemed quite understanding of my problem, and advised that I speak to the driver when packing the luggage - she said most of them are pretty good and would help me pack others luggage around mine so that it wouldn't move around/flip/whatever. Would people think this is an acceptable solution?

I know I'm probably sounding like a n00b, but considering this is a Washburn Rarewood that would be nearly irreplacable if it got damaged, lets just say that I'm showing a healthy amount of paranoia

 

[dogwomble]

Hey guys and gals,

Sorry to revive this thread, but I thought I'd share this idea with you.

I took the padding the headstock with socks on board .... however, I'm actually not using socks. My stepdad had to transport some of his models for a competition and packaged them in foam to protect them. Now that he no longer requires the foam, I thought I'd massacre it with a stanley knife and use it to protect the acoustic.

Here's the final result:
Headstock and body (I only did one side of the body becaue the other side is being held in place by the strap).

I'll let you guys know how well it works ... doing a bit of idea sharing though because this took me all of about 15 minutes to do and although I got the foam for nothing, I would imagine that being such a small quantity needed it wouldn't cost much to protect a really nice instrument.