Flight case vs. Shipping

[pmckee]

Hey everybody. I am going to have to get my bass from San Diego to Boston at the end of January and was wondering how I should do this. I am tempted to buy a flight case, but they are so expensive and it seems like they'd be such a burden when you're not using them. Are there any airlines that let you buy an extra coach ticket for a bass? I asked Jet Blue and they said you can only buy a first class ticket for the bass. I guess the other option would be to ship it.........seems a bit scary. Does anyone do this? What about renting flight cases? Any answers to these questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.
Pat

[mchildree]

You'll find many folks here who have shipped basses in a trunk, via freight lines (trucking). I have done it myself 4 times without incident. In fact, I have developed much more confidence in this means of transportation than I'll ever have with FedEx or UPS.

You should be able to rent a trunk, and pay for return shipping of the empty trunk.

[bribass]

Originally Posted by mchildree

You'll find many folks here who have shipped basses in a trunk, via freight lines (trucking). I have done it myself 4 times without incident. In fact, I have developed much more confidence in this means of transportation than I'll ever have with FedEx or UPS.

You should be able to rent a trunk, and pay for return shipping of the empty trunk.

Which company have you shipped with?

I need to get a bass down to Miami I need to decide quickly wether i should fly w/ it on Continental (from Newark, NJ) or ship it w/ freight lines.

I have a pretty light weight flight case to use either way.

Cost wise I've heard DHL would be approx. $225 and flying to Miami from the NY area is about $100, but know, you never know 'til you're at the mercy of the check in agent.

What to do?
BG

[mchildree]

I used Yellow Freight 4 times, mainly because that's who Arnold used to ship my New Standard. They worked well, and their terminal is near my home so I've used them since. I also recall that ABF Freight shipped my first URB, and it was in a cardboard crate on a skid...again, no problem at all.

Generally, the charges from central AL to NY were in the $200 range, depending one the weight of the trunk. Apparently a bass in a trunk teeters on the verge of some overweight charges that I had to pay once, but not on all occasions.

[kurt muroki]

I think I've gotten to the point that I'm going to have my neck on my 2nd bass made removable by mario lamarre http://www.lamario.ca/ so I can transport the bass in a much smaller case. I traveled to japan and was charged $1600 one way and just flew to paris to play and had to borrow a bass there. I needed an extension bass for the piece I was playing, but alas there are no basses with extensions in paris. I just wish there was someone willing to chop off my neck who is closer to nyc and willing to do it for less money heh...

[John Sprague]

The best luck I've had from coast to coast would be UPS Freight, they recently bought Overnite Freight. They are very fast, meaning fewer handlings, and it stays on their trucks, not handed off to other companies along the way. For shorter distances, FedEx freight is doing a great job for us.

[pmckee]

Does anyone ever ship a bass in a crate without a flight case (but with lots of paddding) or is that completely unheard of?

[mchildree]

When you buy a new Englehardt or similar economy bass, they ship from the factory in a huge corrugated cardboard container, well-padded, and palletized.

[John Sprague]

Here's one of those tidbits that helped us with packing decisions.

A trucking company makes its money by filling a trailer as best they can. What will happen sometimes, and maybe even often, is that they will get the trailer full, but will have a pallet that's too far back to close the door. So they pull their forklift up to it, and give it a push to close all gaps in the material ahead of it. They tend to keep gong until they have the room they need. So you need to pack in a manner that addresses this squish factor. Pallets = good, flight cases can take it too, boxes off a pallet no way. Crates are the best, but heavy/spendy.

[bribass]

Originally Posted by bribass

Which company have you shipped with?

I need to get a bass down to Miami I need to decide quickly wether i should fly w/ it on Continental (from Newark, NJ) or ship it w/ freight lines.

I have a pretty light weight flight case to use either way.

Cost wise I've heard DHL would be approx. $225 and flying to Miami from the NY area is about $100, but know, you never know 'til you're at the mercy of the check in agent.

What to do?
BG

Update: I ended up checking the bass as baggage in a lightweight fiberglass hardcase on my flight from Newark to Miami. The bass and case weighed in at only 68 lbs. so they charged me $80 for oversize, but NOT overweight and the bass arrived undamaged. I think made out really well...this time.

BG

[mchildree]

Regardless of cost, if your bass made it in one piece on an airline, you've done well!

[Freddels]

Originally Posted by kurt muroki

I think I've gotten to the point that I'm going to have my neck on my 2nd bass made removable by mario lamarre http://www.lamario.ca/ so I can transport the bass in a much smaller case. I traveled to japan and was charged $1600 one way and just flew to paris to play and had to borrow a bass there. I needed an extension bass for the piece I was playing, but alas there are no basses with extensions in paris. I just wish there was someone willing to chop off my neck who is closer to nyc and willing to do it for less money heh...

I've heard of this removable neck but I always wondered how you keep the soundpost from falling over when you remove the neck.

[Freddels]

Originally Posted by kurt muroki

I think I've gotten to the point that I'm going to have my neck on my 2nd bass made removable by mario lamarre http://www.lamario.ca/ so I can transport the bass in a much smaller case. I traveled to japan and was charged $1600 one way and just flew to paris to play and had to borrow a bass there. I needed an extension bass for the piece I was playing, but alas there are no basses with extensions in paris. I just wish there was someone willing to chop off my neck who is closer to nyc and willing to do it for less money heh...

Originally Posted by Freddels

I've heard of this removable neck but I always wondered how you keep the soundpost from falling over when you remove the neck.

No idea? Gee, let's start some controversy then . . . must be glued in with super glue . . . or . . . brad nailed from top and back of bass . . .

[kurt muroki]

Originally Posted by Freddels

I've heard of this removable neck but I always wondered how you keep the soundpost from falling over when you remove the neck.

well he has some type of strap that goes arround the belly of the instrument which holds the post in place. I've seen 3 basses which have had this done and all three have not had any problems in any way.

[Freddels]

Originally Posted by kurt muroki

well he has some type of strap that goes arround the belly of the instrument which holds the post in place. I've seen 3 basses which have had this done and all three have not had any problems in any way.

I had heard about it a little while back. A friend of mine played a gig in New Brunswick and the bass player had one of these detachable necks that had been done by Mario. I sent the bassist an email asking about it but he never responded to me inquiry. Sounds like a great idea.

[Kristin Korb]

Hi Gang. I'm new here to Talk Bass. I'm the chair of transportation issues at the International Society of Bassists. We talk about this stuff all the time. Be careful of Continental. They have recently lowered their weight restrictions to 70 pounds. I know of a recent incident where someone bought the ticket before the change and tried to fly with his bass after the restrictions came down...not pretty.

Northwest Airlines has the bass in their computers. Jet Blue and Southwest are also great bass friendly airlines. As far as cases go, you can probably rent one from a local bassist or bass shop.

KK

[scottice]

Originally Posted by pmckee

I asked Jet Blue and they said you can only buy a first class ticket for the bass.
Pat

Jet Blue has first class???
Is that the seat next to the bathroom that offers free nuts and soda water?