LP on an airplane; need advice on packing

EMwhite · Post by **EMwhite** » Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:37 pm

Am heading down to Asheville next week to bring my LP to the factory for the 2.x upgrade. (I say 2.x because I have a secret hope that they'll make the CV outs available and I can be the first to get it !!).

Anyway, as my moniker suggests, I live in NJ and am flying into Charlotte then driving to Asheville. I've read that the factory box is not sufficient for shipping. What advice do you all have for me short of buying ATA case (which I have neither the time or $$ for right now).

Ideally, I'd like to sneak it onboard an squeeze it onto an overhead but no doubt, I'll get busted. I've read passages about how Victor Wooten (I play bass also) is a pro at sneaking his bass onto the plane and I've seen plenty of people w/Acoustic guitar cases on planes. A synth in a non-descript box? I don't think they'll have any sympathy for me. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to have them insist on disassembling it as it goes through security x-ray and I try and tell them (as Bob Moog once told naysayers), it makes music... honestly.

Thanks

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:48 am

Have you considered paying for an extra seat on the plane and letting the LP sit next to you? Expensive sure, but IMO well worth the peace of mind. Might want to use a gig bag if you decide to go with this idea.

Mumpbeak · Post by **Mumpbeak** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 7:37 am

I travel often with my phatty as hand luggage in the soft bag (minus the zipper which fell apart very quickly but with baggage straps).It just about weighs the max for hand luggage and in terms of size fits into all overhead lockers.I send my Moogerfoogers, cables etc. together with clothes as normal luggage in the planes hold.I would not dare send the Phatty in a flightcase as
a) I've had keyboards stolen by airport staff before.
b) a friend of mine had his Voyager in ATA case smashed by luggage handlers.
Softbag in cabin is the way!

http://profile.myspace.com/roypowellpeakexperiencetrio

mancy · Post by **mancy** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 7:51 am

flight case

patobrujo · Post by **patobrujo** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:05 am

Mumpbeak wrote:I travel often with my phatty as hand luggage in the soft bag (minus the zipper which fell apart very quickly but with baggage straps).It just about weighs the max for hand luggage and in terms of size fits into all overhead lockers.I send my Moogerfoogers, cables etc. together with clothes as normal luggage in the planes hold.I would not dare send the Phatty in a flightcase as
a) I've had keyboards stolen by airport staff before.
b) a friend of mine had his Voyager in ATA case smashed by luggage handlers.
Softbag in cabin is the way!

http://profile.myspace.com/roypowellpeakexperiencetrio

+1 on that!

EMwhite · Post by **EMwhite** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 1:45 pm

Thanks for that feedback. Trick for me (after calling all music stores and NOT being able to find an ATA case [this included NY City]) to find the gig bag for the trip down, and to find a way to box it up for the way home.

Moog may be able to help me with the return shipping, will have to call.

I have one follow-up question. Has anybody taken the wood panels off the side of a TE? Am thinking that if it gets roughed up in transit, I'd rather have the metal case stand up to the shock then crack the wood. Will taking the side panels off void the warranty, or cause the unit to otherwise come apart?

Thanks again

wavcatcher · Post by **wavcatcher** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 2:28 am

I've got the Moog soft case and it seems that would be fine for a carry-on. The padding seems pretty durable and the zippers seem pretty strong. So if you can find a Moog LP soft case and carry it on that might work.

I don't know what your time frame is here, but seems to me the best thing to do would be just to ship it. Get it double boxed at a reliable, local shipper and have it sent UPS 3day or FedEx. You can even get it insured if you need the peace of mind.

It may cost $60 or so but it will be cheaper than buying a seat on the plane for your keyboard. And you won't have the hassle of going through security or the fear of it getting stolen or lost in baggage.

And as a final thought, I can't stress enough having it double boxed. My LP arrived with both it's styrofoam side panels cracked. I purchased via a catelogue and they didn't double box it. I was worried but talked to Moog tech support and it's been working for 3 weeks just fine so it's probably ok. Apparantly the build quality on these Little Phattys is very, very good.

Best,
Chris
wavetrap

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 5:31 am

MikeWfromNJ wrote:Will taking the side panels off void the warranty, or cause the unit to otherwise come apart?

Thanks again,

-Mike

Seeing as how the side panels keep the front panel from collapsing on the rear panel, I'd have to say removing the side panels is not an option. This coming from someone who removed the rubber side panels one at a time to replace them with wooden ones, and still had a time lining everything up right.

Johnny_Cradle · Post by **Johnny_Cradle** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 5:01 am

Hi there

I was in the same position a month ago and although I would never recommend this, I flew with mine in the factory box and pleaded with the check in lady and asked her to please make sure they take very good care of it as it costs 10s of thousand Rands... 1000s in US.

Sure enough we landed with it in one piece, though I promised myself never to do that ever again.

EMwhite · Post by **EMwhite** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:21 am

Well I made it. Not sure if I mentioned this on the last post but I called every single Moog dealer within a 2 hr. radius from my house in New Jersey and not a single one of them had the ATA case or a Gig bag. So I ended up buying a generic 61 key keyboard bag labeled "deep" from Guitar Center for $29. It has only modest padding and was about 10" too wide at each end but did the trick.

I wrapped corners, etc w/bubble wrap then took straps to fold back the loose ends of the bag. Step 1 a success.

Airport morning (yesterday 5:50am). I arrive at Newark expecting a ghost town. Hope. Mile long lines at all 3 check in points of terminal C. The packed keyboard berely fit through the xray machine. Waiting in anticipation for the TSA employee to say "what the fu..", he turned and pointed. A 2nd guy says "what's this!". I say "a 'vintage' synth" (HA!). He took some cotten swabs and checked for GSR, didn't even bother to open it, I was on my way (Step 2 completed).

Arriving at the gate with about 10 mins of time before door closing, a pair of business me in suits out hustle me to to the podium. The steward busts one of the guys because his laptop bag is too 'thick', she points to the steel "if your bag fits here..." thing in the corner, I figure I'm screwed.

I exercise Victor Wooten style ninja technique by placing my other bag to the side (it just barely would fit in the overhead), turn slight sidewise (so it looks like a sharks fin!) and manager to make my way through "have a nice flight". (step 3 done).

Walk down gang plank, this thing is getting heavy (good thing it's not a Voyager or a Matrix 12). Plane is packed, but way in the back (i'm in front of plane) there is a spot in the overhead that is perfect except it's ontop of two pieces of lugage). Sliding the my prized possession in, I sit in my seat. (step 4 in the books).

Just before landing, I asked the nice lady if I can move to the free seat I saw in the back of the plan. Goodness. After landing and the "ding" sound, I jump up, carefully pull my Moog down and onto my lap just before the animals break loose.

Talk about stress. Maybe if I was made of money and could just buy a new Stage at Guitar center it wouldn't be such a big deal but I got this TE in perfect condition from a guy on eBay that was 1 hr. from my house and he never even played it.

In retrospect, I think I would have done better and with alot less hassle shipping in a well wrapped box. I fully expect that Moog will wrap and do that for my LP's journey home after the upgrade.

Irony: I saw about 5 other people in the airport with Guitars (one 5' short woman even had a full scale bass on her back); They were all calm cool and collected. I think a modular in 41 pieces would be easier to transport!

Thanks for the tips guys. Really looking forward to the factory tour, the demo room and meeting a few of the good people that do what they do for us.

Mumpbeak · Post by **Mumpbeak** » Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:00 am

Welcome to the world of a traveling musician! Stinks huh?Ha Ha!
Nice one Mike!
Not exactly glamorous is it?
I sometimes think that music colleges
should be taking students on road trips for weeks at a time to check that this is really the lifestyle for them!
Also makes you think next time you attend a show
What did these guys just get through to play for us?

Voltor07 · Post by **Voltor07** » Wed Aug 26, 2009 2:44 am

That's one epic story for the books, that's for sure!

Glad you and your baby made it okay.

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