To Greece and back with my J-50

[Boyd]

Just returned from a 10 day visit with a close friend in Athens Greece and my experience travelling with a dreadnaught acoustic guitar may be of interest. I tried to read every discussion I could find on the web of international travel with a guitar before going. Started thread on another site and got a lot of opinions and some real world experiences. After much thought, here's what I did.

 

Originally I wanted to bring my 1974 J-50 Deluxe. This was my first acoustic guitar and it's really beat up. Sat in the closet for many years, then gradually became unplayable after I took it out. But a year ago I got everything fixed and it sounds fantastic now. I think it would have travelled fine in a hiscox case, but in the end I decided that a newer guitar would be better suited to rough handling.

 

So I decided to bring my 2011 Martin D-15M, which feels really well built and solid while being very lightweight. Only problem was, I just don't like the Martin sound much for the blues I play now, mostly in Lightnin' Hopkins style. As luck would have it, a couple weeks before departure I found a 2008 J-50 Modern Classic at a nearby Guitar Center. This is a guitar I've wanted for awhile so I got it and it has quickly become my favorite. :)

 

The Gibson case looks nice, but there's no way I would use any standard guitar case for air travel. After a lot of research I purchased a Hiscox LiteFlite Pro II Dreadnaught Case from Elderly Instruments. Cost was $280 but a 10% coupon popped up one day on their site so I pulled the trigger, Final cost $252, shipping to my home in NJ was $28.

 

http://www.elderly.com/accessories/names/hiscox-liteflite-%22pro-ii%22-guitar-case--HPGC1-BK-R.htm

 

Now Hiscox also makes the much more expensive "Artist" case for $529 at Elderly:

 

http://elderly.com/accessories/items/HAGC1-BK/R.htm

 

Initially I thought about getting this model, especially if I was going to bring the old 1974 J-50. But aside from the cost, I found some discussion/comparison of the two cases with a Google search. A couple people said they had both kinds of cases and the Artist was definitely stronger with more cushioning. However it's also heavier and larger, so most of the time they just use the less expensive/smaller/lighter "Pro II" case. Here are some shots of mine. This is a really nice case and incredibly light. Have not weighed but it clearly feels lighter than the standard Gibson case

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to the tough exterior, the interior is different from a regular guitar case. There's a dense foam liner under the fabric, and there are a number of soft foam pads that protrude from the liner. Here's a close up shot of one of these pads. The result is that the guitar is suspended inside the case. If there's an impact, it shifts and recoils inside the case while the cushions support it instead of slamming against the side of a hard case.

 

 

 

 

 

Here's what it looks like with the J-50

 

 

 

 

Just to play it safe, I used bubble wrap for further protection - especially of the headstock. Honestly, I don't know if this was needed, but I wanted to feel like I'd done everything I could. I also loosened the strings and removed the internal battery from the pickup, so it wouldn't bounce around inside (also so it wouldn't look suspicious in the x-ray machine). I've read standard advice to remove the endpin when shipping. Of course, the new Gibsons have jacks for endpins so I didn't want to mess with that. Not necessary anyway, two pads in the Hiscox keep the endpin out of contact with the case.

 

 

 

 

Finally, I got a PacSafe TSA approved luggage strap to secure the case, cost was $25 from REI.

 

http://www.rei.com/product/856573/pacsafe-strapsafe-100-tsa-accepted-luggage-strap

 

I didn't want to use the built-in luggage lock on the case itself, since TSA would just bust it if they wanted to get inside. This is really my only criticism of the Hiscox case. I wish they provided a TSA approved lock, or at least a hasp so we could use our own TSA approved padlock. Before I travel again, I might install my own hasp of some sort. The luggage strap works fine, but is just kind of awkward looking.

 

I had to mod the luggage strap because it was way too long - I cut off the excess and removed the end that was anchored to the buckle. One nice feature of that strap is that an LED will glow to alert you if the TSA uses a key to open it. They did not open it. I only packed the guitar in the case. In the storage compartment, I put photocopies of my purchase receipts for the guitar and case along with my contact ino. Wanted to be sure that scan showed only a guitar inside the case, so the TSA wouldn't open it. I also had some custom luggage tags made by Staples, they look nice, were cheap and printed on very heavy PVC plastic. I attached one of these to a d-ring on the case that's intended for a carrying strap.

 

 

 

 

I was flying from Newark NJ to Athens Greece on United via London. Arriving at the airport, I said I wanted to check the guitar through to Athens, didn't really want to carry it between terminals in London. But the nice woman at the baggage counter said "Why do you want to check it? Just carry it on and save your money". She said there should be room in the closet on the plane. I asked if it would be a problem on the flight from London to Athens (ticketed as a United flight but actually Aegean Airlines). She said it shouldn't be a problem. Note that I didn't have another carry-on, just a small pack that qualified as a "personal item".

 

They were happy to put the guitar in the closet when I got on the plane (I was flying economy plus, but I don't think that mattered). At the gate for the Aegean flight though, they said "no way, you have to check that, it's a very full flight". They had to consult each other, etc. to figure out what kind of paperwork to fill out and what to do. I had to sign a waiver of some kind for fragile items. But it was fine in the end. Arriving in Athens, the guitar was on the conveyor along with my suitcase. No damage, not even any scratches on the case. There was no charge for checking it.

 

At my friend's home in Athens, I let it sit for a couple hours, then tightened up the strings and started a long process of tuning. It took about a day for the guitar to feel like it truly "settled in" and started to hold a tune well. It was fine for playing before then, just had to constantly mess with the tuning though.

 

It was just great to have the guitar there. I have seen many posts where people say "bring a cheap guitar" or "borrow/rent a guitar when you arrive", etc. That just isn't the same thing at all. I wanted *my* guitar to be there, and I spent hours playing it every day, providing sort of a soundtrack for all the crazy things going on around the house and heated discussions in Greek that I didn't understand.

 

The night before I left, relatives came over and we partied until 1:00 AM. Then afterwards, I tried to remember and play songs from the 1960's that my friend's father and mother requested, like "House of the Rising Sun" and "Sounds of Silence". They sang along (as best they could with limited English vocabularly) until 3:00 AM.

 

Another time I was playing some Lightnin' Hopkins blues and my friends mother said "That sounds very beautiful. Is this what you call 'country music'?". :)

 

The whole experience convinced me that bringing the guitar was well worth any risk involved. Of course, this is all a very personal thing. If you're on a vacation staying in a hotel and just want a guitar to fool around with every now and then, that's a different scenario. For me it became an integral part of the visit and something I'll always remember.

 

On the trip home I figured that Aegean wouldn't let me carry the guitar on and didn't really feel like arguing. More than that, the connection was fairly tight in London and you have to go through security again when you get to the departure terminal. It was OK on the way over, but I did enjoy not having to deal with the guitar on the return trip. Cost me $100 though, since I already had one suitcase. Again, I had to sign a waiver for fragile items.

 

Arriving in Newark (right on time), my luggage was just coming up on the conveyor after I had passed through passport control. The guitar appeared in the oversized luggage claim area by the time I had walked over there with my suitcase. There were a few scuffs on the case but no damage. TSA hadn't opened the lock. The guitar was fine when I got home.

 

The Hiscox case really inspires confidence. I wouldn't think twice about doing this again. In the event of a loss, I checked with my insurance agent and have partial coverage under my homeowners policy. American Express provides secondary coverage that I think would cover the deductible. Hopefully I'll never need to find out. ;)

 

Here's the irony though. After the guitar was safe at home, yesterday I carelessly knocked over a chair that hit it and made a big ugly scrape right down the front. Kind of ruined my whole day. A few hours in my home is more hazardous than 10,000 miles of travel and a week in a foreign country.

[MorrisrownSal]

I love your guitar and you post. Sorry about the very end...

[chasAK]

Maybe the scratch could be buffed out.

 

[Boyd]

Thanks guys. Unfortunately, it's more than a "scratch", more like a gouge almost 3" long. "It is what it is" though, my 1974 J-50 is incredibly beat up, so I guess this one is headed the same way, haha. Planning to take the guitar in to get a proper pro setup and have the piezo removed soon anyway. I will see whether he can do anything about it.

[j45nick]

You flagged on interesting point that I would like to reiterate. I frequently travel with a carbon fiber guitar with a built-in pickup powered by a 9-volt battery. The guitar was almost always pulled off the x-ray conveyor for further inspection at security, which left me scratching my head a bit.

 

In San Francisco, a TSA agent gave me a further explanation. It seems that 9-volt batteries are flagged as potential power sources for explosive detonators, and as such, TSA is required (although it clearly does not always happen) to physically inspect items containing 9-volt batteries. Ironically, he told me to remove the battery and put it in my checked luggage, which didn't inspire a lot of confidence on my part.

 

In any case, forewarned is fore-armed. Glad your guitar made it there and back safely.

 

Despite having one guitar damaged by an airline many years ago--which was largely my fault for having an inadequate case--I still take a guitar with me on business trips lasting a week or longer, or I suffer withdrawal symptoms: irritability, lethargy, and a compulsion to seek out a guitar store to ease my cravings.

[Boyd]

Maybe the scratch could be buffed out.

 

 

I dropped the J-50 off today for a proper setup and also to have the electronics removed (I really dislike the sound of the under-saddle pickup). He says he should be able to restore the damaged area to about 70% of its original condition - not bad! The most noticeable thing is that the wood is compressed (dented) and he feels much of that can be steamed out. Cost for the repair will be in the $40-$50 range which seems very reasonable. So that's good news.