Flying

Trey

Trey

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Well, I'm about to fly out to Rhode Island tomorrow. I need to bring my corvette $$, but I'm worried about it getting damaged! I have the Warwick flightcase specifically made for warwick basses, but I'm still worried about what the baggage people will do to it! What if they see the two GIANT magnets hooked to a bunch of wires while it's in the X-Ray and think, "OMG bomb! Lets take this thing out of the case and examine it! While we're at it, lets bang it around carelessly because we don't insure luggage! Let's not forget to put it back the wrong way!"

I'm so worried!!! Does anyone have experience with flying with their beloved Wick?

EDIT: By the way, It's going to have to go in the cargo hold with the rest of the baggage
 
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Naahh Nothing happen! ;) past months i went to New York (A city with a lot of prevention and fear) with my streamer jazzman (at least have one of these Bucks) and the only thing that happened was that the guard take it out of the bag and said, "nice guitar" 8:
 
Did you bring it on as a carry on? Or did you give it to them to put in the cargo hold?
 






This topic has been up so often
on TBL [NOT TB] that I suggest
you ask there as well:

Discussions - The Bottom Line | Google Groups

These guys are largely working
pro's, and their general rule [or
most important warning] is:

No matter who else has been
fortunate enuf to be allowed to
bring their bass as carry-on, do
NOT assume you will be equally
as fortunate.


Now HERE'S A WINNER:

That "who else" in the above
statement can be yourself on
a different leg of the journey !

IOW just cuz you were allowed
carry-on flying from city-A to
city-B, on airline-C, at 7:00 AM
on a tuesday ... do not assume
that when you fly the reverse
leg, from city-B back to city-A,
on good old airline-C, on the
following tuesday at 7:00 AM ...
don't expect the same "rules"
will still apply ! They MAY still
apply ... or they may NOT.

Discrepencies in rules can arise
if you just change planes on the
same day with the same airline !


There are no reliable rules, and
you must never be suckered by
any airline personel who may tell
you that there ARE reliable rules,
and that includes the CEO of the
airline, even if she's your mother.
A letter from the CEO specifically
guaranteeing you carry-on status
for your ax is just ass-wipe to the
airport-level staff of the airline.

​



 
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Have no worries :) It's going with the rest of the baggage in the cargo hold. My concern is the TSA agents taking the bass out and banging it around, and then not knowing how to put the bass back in the case. It seems pretty straight forward to put a bass in it's case, but the Warwick flightcase that I have has little pillows that you can move around so you can mold it to your Warwick. When you take the bass out of its case, the pillows kind of go everywhere. Would the TSA agents take the bass out of its case?

This isn't my bass, but this is what the case looks like.
RC_10830_B_W_Detail5.png
 
Experience 1
Airline: Virgin

I went on tour in Australia a few years back. Had two Streamers in flight cases (as shown above).

Flew to Sydney.

On arrival, flight case 1 was trashed. Bass was ok. Flight case 2 seemed ok, and bass was intact. 2 days later a crack appeared in the body of one of the Streamers (it has a high polish white finish) from where the control cavity cracked due to pressure on the volume knob.

I blame the airline. They weren't careful with my stuff at all.


Experience 2
Airline: JetBlue

Flying from NYC to Houston... I had 2 basses in a padded Monocase Dual bass gig bag. These bags are STURDY, but they're still softcases. Our singer turned up late so we checked on last. No cabin room for my bag, so they 'cabin checked' it. I.e. it went under but was stored up front of the baggage compartment and not at the back with the rest of the stuff.

My heart was in my throat the WHOLE way but everything turned out ok. On the return flight we got to there earlier and I could put the bag in an overhead locker. Much safer.


I would never check my basses again. Not even in a flight case.

Insist on taking it on board in a gig bag, turn up to your flight early so you can get it in an overhead locker before all the other creeps fill them up.

If you do board late and you're on a smaller plane and they INSIST on cabin checking it, then allow them to, and be nice about it. Stress that it's very fragile but don't patronize... I'd even slip the baggage guy a few bucks tip to take good care of it.

The other thing I do now before flying is remove the volume knob from the bass. I know that the corvette has a slightly different design but the streamer volume knob is a target for being hit...


Anyway that's my two cents... and even with my experience above, flying is always a gamble.


[video=youtube;5YGc4zOqozo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo[/video]
 
Removal of any stacked knob might be a good idea, although on the streamers its in a particularly bad place.

Golem that group looks like a great source of info, I have subscribed!

Other than that my basses haven't flown yet so I can't be much help, but great information so far.
 






Stack knobs are always risky, even
in local use or home practice. When
in my gigbag, my stack knobs wear
a block of rigid foam "armor" that
fits over the stack and the nearest
other knob via two "finger holes".

URB players play whatever grade of
rental bass is waiting for them when
they arrive ... often enuf not the most
pleasant sooprize. OTOH, we electric
bass guitar players are sooooo friggin
picky about our tone and playability.

I'm quite the homebody. I've played
over 1000 [1K] nites in the same old
restaurant in the past few years. I'm
not even wanting to travel, but I still
hang onto my 3 headless all-graphite
Moses and Bergers, and I play a 41"
EUB with "quick release" neck. Just
makes me feel good, I guess ....

​



 






I think the cheapest good travel bass
would be a Fender Jazz with machine
thread inserts for the neck joint. It's
got beefy tuners and that metal plate
instead of thin wood over the controls
cavity. There's a zillion affordable ways
to mod it for tone, it comes in 4- or 5-
strings, FL or fretted. You remove the
neck to travel. A quick-load bridge is a
near necessity. Goes in a 3 ft long soft
case in the cabin overhead lockers and
the whole deal costs about $1500. Is it
a perfect bass ? It can be a truly great
bass, and is a whole lot better than a
busted Warwick !

------------------------------------------


If you wanna try the same trick with a
Wick, I'd suggest a custom machined
metal controls plate, a bolt-neck model
is obviously required, switch to Sperzel
tuners, and from my limited experience
some slight sanding of the neck heel is
good idea cuz Wicks are waaaay tight.

OOhhh ... you can't travel widdout your
binky ? Your neck-thru SSII ? Well, yes,
you can. Just don't forget all those URB
guys, who get to play whatever POS is
waiting at the next stop.

​



 
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BTW some frequent flyers swear that the
best bass armor for the checked baggage
method is found in sporting goods shops
in the golf section.

Another ploy is a hardshelled 76-key KB
case, which holds your bass already in a
gig bag. IIRC, the golf thing also allows
your bass to wear its gig bag.

Both the golf bag vault and the KB case
can be found with wheels, and with ATA
approved hardware.

​



 
Thank you all so much for responding to this. I feel a lot more confident about bringing my Wick on a plane. My flight leaves in the morning at 6:55 eastern time (USA) :D
 
Lotta good info here, but personally, I'd evaluate the statment "I need to bring my corvette $$". The Ibanez or Squier would be much easier to replace... Just a thought.
 






Uh huh .... and GC is still open
so you can run down there and
pick one up on sale !

​



 
@Golem: I can't afford a new Jazz bass! I would if I could tho ;) hehe

@EVOLVEBASS: I hear ya man. I'd bring one of those, but I don't have a case for any of them lol. They're too big for the wick case too.
 
Then you should buy a second ticket so your $$ has a safe place to sit... ;)
 
Hey guys. Got to RI safe and sound.

I actually wasn't really that worried about the bass being thrown around in the case that much (even though i watched in horror from the window as the baggage guys flung my bass on the conveyer belt hahaha. That can be tough to watch).

The only thing I was worried about was the baggage monkeys taking it out haha. no need to worry though, because The TSA agents didn't even look inside. Actually, They didn't even X-Ray it! They just made sure the latches were secure, asked me what it was, and put it on the conveyer belt to the tarmac.

Come to think of it, that's actually kinda scary haha. I could be a terrorist and they just put my "bomb" on the belt without looking through it lol.

Anyway, I'm playing my bass now :) The case is scuffed to hell, but it held up very well! Go Rockcase!!!!
 
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Trey said:
Hey guys. Got to RI safe and sound.

I actually wasn't really that worried about the bass being thrown around in the case that much (even though i watched in horror from the window as the baggage guys flung my bass on the conveyer belt hahaha. That can be tough to watch).
Click to expand...

lol i can imagine that would be like watching your only child getting rugby tackled for the first time
 
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