and they asked me about what guitars or amps travel the best? the answer is the ones packed and in the the best cases! Simple as that.. any sturdy and well built guitar and bass is gonna take a hell of a beating in a gig bag or a case thats way, way ,way past its best before date. Even tho I still constantly start tours with guitarists cases with missing latches, missing or loose bottoms barely held together by gaffer tape, or missing handles, people just don't think about it until its too late saddly.
If you try travel with a guitar case with no handle.. make sure you don't see how they throw them on the plane..haha
So I'm gonna try help you out with a few tips to get everything ready to travel with that great piece of musical gear you love and cherish. And heres my disclaimer. I'm a guitar tech, a roadie, so i travel a lot with guitars and see them go on and off planes and in and out trucks and up and down off stages I've covered Hundreds of thousands of miles with guitars , this is ''MY" personal experience and what I've been taught and learnt and found out the hard way. so if you disagree then comment I'm more than glad to hear your view. but its mostly common sense stuff.
1. Check over your gear.
Look over your case. First look at the handle, is it fitting tight at the mounting plates? is it dangling off one clip and about to fail. Remember a drop from waist height is enough mark up a guitar if it hits something hard in a loosely fitting case. or even worse if the guitars being swung up into a van or plane hold and the handle gives way then that guitars going flying... on its own, I have found Show repair stores often do suitcase and general case repairs so these guys can fix simple problems,.
Are the latches working.. a Guitar case held closed with tape is just simply unacceptable! it should have working latches that hold the case closed and rain out and your guitar safe inside. you may scoff but I constantly see missing latches and cases with tape from top to bottom show up first day of tour, a your that will send this guitar half way round the world and back again.. Again check your local shoe repair store for latches and repairs..
Check the framing of the case. is it intact? do the corners all attach to the sides? a guitar in a loosely fitting case will move around inside and after constant pushing against the bottom -body end of a lose case the guitar can break the case suddenly you can have your guitar fall out the case. I have seen it happen and its not something you wanna ever see, haha if the case has loose sides or a loose bottom then its time to invest in a new case if you plan to travel with your guitar, Again you all maybe be laughing at these comments thinking who would even think about traveling with a guitar case that doesn't close, doesn't hold together and is missing a handle.. well I have seen as many cases like this as i have seen decent flight cases.
If you have a rectangle case with the neck support inside then check that is it still held in place securely- meaning it will hold your neck in place? these things are generally held by small pin studs and will come loose over time, you can just re screw these in yourself , but make sure your guitars not in the case when you do this.
If all these things are intact and working then its time to look inside more closely.
lay your guitar case on a nice flat surface and open it and put your guitar inside, with your hand gently try move the guitar inside, if there is a lot of movement inside then thats a fast track to a broken guitar. Remember if your about to travel a thousand miles yourself then that guitars going to travel the same distance and is not built as sturdy as you or I.
If your guitar does have movement in the case even minor, theres is an easy fix. beg, borrow, steal or scrounge some sheet foam.just your average foam and you can take an marker pen and draw the shape you need to fit in the spaces that your guitar is not filling, and then an exact knife or craft knife and cut this out. a little bit of extra foam in a case will prevent the guitar from sliding around inside and hold it safe and snug. I've cut out a complete Les paul style guitar shape from a large section of foam for a case once 7 years ago and that guitar is still traveling the world intact in that snug soft surrounding. It may just be around the headstiock if its on the old tweed style rectangular fender cases or just some more support under your acoustic neck if you have a general acoustic case that wasn't made as an exact fit for your guitar. Also there may be space round the body in the shaped cases and i like to draw the the shape of the case then the guitar body and cut that shape out and fit that inside the large body end and that holds the guitar snug.. If theres only an inch of space around a guitar after constant shaking inside the guitar can take a bunch of knocks it doesn't deserve or worse brake the jack plug plastic if it keeps knocking. and when you place it down the body drops putting more pressure on the neck in the cradle position.
The guitar should be so tightly held within the case that it has no movement.. A few simple pieces of foam can save your guitar years of abuse you never see done to it.!
All that being said, if your serious about traveling with your prized instrument then theres nothing better than a properly made flight case. with alloy corners and proper Penn fabrication Latches. End of story!
But I realize these are out of the average musicians league, money wise as there not cheap, when you think about it as a safety insurance for your prized instrument they do make sense, even if your just traveling to a local jam night. But a good solid case thats as close to the shape of the guitar/bass and has as little room inside for the guitar to get up to mischief inside.
NOW THE GUITAR
Take a minute to look the guar over, closely.... real closely... i mean hold that guitar up to your nose and look at it.. any little ding or crack that could get worse over its travels is best found out now, and fixed or remedied. also you need to check things from the top of the head stock to the bottom. check the machine heads, are they secure and all held in place tight by the right amount of screws? check the actual turning knobs, are they tight and screwed in well. if you lose one of those end knobs on the road, your gonna have to replace the whole machine head with something you'll be lucky to find similar.
Check the string guides , are they intact and screwed in tight. Check the nut, is it glued on still? also is it intact? take a close look. is it chipped or missing that last little bit of nut to hold the high "E" in place.. these things do chip and can be more stress down the track..
Now check the fretboard. is it gunned up and covered in that appetizing black and dark green finger grease and sweat that does clog up the board after long sessions playing..? a little lemon oil oil on an old tooth brush brushed inline with the grain back and forth will shift that crap and re condition your board.. but make sure you mark that tooth brush as a work brush.. I made that mistake once and brushed lemon oil and lord knows what onto my teeth one morning and it ruined my whole day..haha
Dunlop makes a good lemon oil as do most guitar polish companies these days. even if your guitar isn't gunked up it can dry out and the normally dark rose wood or ebony top will take on that light brown grey colour. this is the sign its on its way to drying too much out and starting to show tiny cracks along the grain.. NOT A GOOD THING.. it only takes a few seconds but its worth the care and attention. while you are checking and cleaning the neck check the frets and fret ends, if you run your finger nail along the end of the fretline you can feel any sharp or raised frets. for minor fret issues like the ends lifting. I have a tiny pin hammer that is great to just tap back down the offending fret GENTLY - BUT BE CAREFUL! for anything serious fretwork I suggest you contact your local luthier. like I always say "Don't fret about the frets look to your local Luthier" actually I never say that but it sounds like something i'd like to more often..haha In new zealand I suggest the best gun out there Mr Glyn
for your local luthier check at your guitar store.
If you play a guitar with a bolt on neck check the screws there are all in place and tight, if its a fixed neck, get down close and make sure there isn't any little cracks starting from the neck joint. you do get finish cracks on the surface but always get a second opinion before you suddenly open your guitar case after a long trip and find its gone "gremlin" on you and turned into two pieces, if you know what i mean. Again if you see any cracks, go see a luthier, I'm not knocking any guys at your local guitar store, but i wouldn't trust the 17 year old metal kid with the ten facial piercings and the Cradle of Filth T shirt to tell me the neck on my 73 les paul is either "totally sweet bro" or "its nothing dude, just a scratch"
Ask the professionals.
Now check the scratchplate screws and pickup surround rings and screws, all this care to detail will pay off in the long run. check the screws holding the height of the pick ups, over time they can just shake loose then suddenly your pickup is dangling inside the cavity and your guitars sounding alike balls. A little trick to keep things in place is to take a little bit of that good old foam again and you can place it under the pickup and it gives some padding in that cavity to stop things shaking around. not to much its pushing back out the pickup but just a little to fill the gap.
Check the bridge and saddles, with the strings out again take your finger nail and and run it down the string groove you will quickly see and tell if there are any Bur's then a little wet and dry sand paper can smooth off any sharp edges that guaranteed will break a string mid song . For some reason, maybe economy the more modern gibson style bridges have been made from worse metal than ever before and I see more modern Les Pauls and such with madly burred saddles than any old 50's-60's style guitars with those bridges.
I have always been a strong believer and personal user of the Graph tech saddles. http://www.graphtech.com/
for constant playing these things will save you pain and grief later on. They make them for every kind of bridge, I even have them on my JAZZMASTER and they rock. It also pays to check the mounting plugs that hold the bridge and tail piece in the body, if they look like there starting to pull out, again call your luthier.
The best thing you can do is build up a good relationship with your local guitar luthier, he can save you money in the long run and at the extreme end completey rebuild your favorite guitar the one night you decide to go a bit "townsend" and smash it thru your guitar cab mid solo.. believe me these guys can work magic! time and time again.
If all these things are in place then lets look at my bugbear when it comes to touring guitars.. The strap buttons.
Ok heres how it goes..
Guitarist buys Gibson les Paul $5000 takes it on tour. Says he doesn't need strap locks as it never falls over. ....
.... One night it does, broken headstock and broken neck.. all for the cost of $20 dollars worth of strap locks..
Not only do guitars fall off straps they can pull the small strap buttons out the guitar. So if your smart, you'll shell out a few bucks for a good set of strap locks, and make sure the strap they are going on is not a worn out piece of old webbing. I was teching for a band last week that had strap locks but they were on a strap that had such a large split in the end hole that it pulled clean off the strap lock still attached to the guitar. So make sure its in great shape as well.
and even if you have strap locks fitted already just take time to check the screws holding them in. if there loose then tighten them, if they've been over tightened and are spinning inside the hole, you can unscrew them and take a matchstick or two and gentley dab a tiny bif of glue on them then tap them back in. i use the little Pin Hammer for this job and it gently gets them down the screw hole . You can then re screw the straplock/button back in. and you'll be set.
the last thing i like to check is the jack. check its securely in place the nuts tight. also if its on a gibson style guitar with a plastic surround check its still all in one piece and not broken. I have found a problem with the plastic surrounds on those guitars, if your a guitar that likes to jump around and swing your axe around, a shrpk knock on the jack end can completely shatter the surround and oust the jack into the guitar. I like to normally replace these with the gibson metal surrounds. its where the tires hit the road- so to speak so its important that its held in place well..
It also pays to check the inside of the jack socket, you can clean the points where it hits the cable male end and a little rub with some fine wet and dry sand paper or a light file can clean off any gunk and grime that does build up on those points over time, you can also look to see its tightly holding the jack enough. they can spring out of shape and over time they won't grip the jack and be loose and start making that crackle noise as it intermittently makes contact as you move around.. so plug it into your amp and gently jiggle the cable and see if its secure and not making any "odd " noises.
Depending on the kind of volume knobs and dials check them out. They may have the allen key or tiny screw told toehold them in place, so take a look and screw them in tight, also check to make sure the actual nut holding the pot under the knob is held in place.. if its loose and the whole thing is spinning not just the knob, then you'll have to gently remove the knob and tighten the nut. DONT TIGHTEN THE NUT WITHOUT HOLDING THE POT FROM BEHIND. or you'll over tighten the nut and actually spin the pot underneath and sheer off all the small delicate wires held to it. so make sure you have one hand round the back, this is easily done if the guitar is on its side edge so you can grab both sides of the pot, or its easier if its all in a complete scratch plate like a strat.
With all these in place and tight check the pots in motion, if the pots are scratchy thru the amp then a little spray with some contact cleaner from your local electronics store will clean them up, if there past saving then once again, go see your luthier. ok, we're almost done.. check all the wires are attached and soldered into place. you;d be surprised at what you find inside a second hand guitar, especially if you know there have been new pick ups fitted. so check them out. you may have never taken a close look and find one pickup wire is just finger wound around a pot.. I've seen that too in my travels.
Now screw the scratch plate back together and tight, or the rear service plate, give your guitar a good clean, and polish and restring it with some nice new strings and a final clean and your ready to take it to the world, or the man... or just your local jam bar.
Your guitar will last you and your next in line a lifetime if its taken care of and looked after, think about the distance it travels with you and remember you get your car serviced every so often so plesase do the same for your guitar/bass its like a physical for your instrument. It will last longer and play better and hold its value better..
and remember if you swap out pickups and strap buttons and machine heads, keep all the original pieces , wrap them really really well and store them in a safe secure box with some bags of Silica gel so if you decide to sell the guitar or retire it off the road you can convert iota back to original spec and get its value back or just return it to its original beauty.. you'll be happy you held onto all the stuff in the long run.
well I think I'll wrap it up on that.. stay tuned for more tips and tricks and I'll write up something from my festival show in Korea this saturday
Gavin
