Going on tour in the US, what to take.......

TaySte_2000 · #1 01-07-2009, 03:53 AM

My band is going on tour at the end of January in the US till the 24th Feb and I'm not sure what I should take.

I'm currently unsure as to if weight is an issue on the gear we take but at max I'm taking a bass in a flightcase and a pedalboard.

Toasted said I should just take a tuner.

Minimum I think I can get by with is CPD and Tuner but it does limit me quite a bit and I don't know what my back line is going to be.

So I can make a new band board on my PT Jr and transport that in a flightcase or in the softcase and stick it in my suitcase but will it look like a bomb when going through the x-ray????

So band board consists of

Peterson StroboStomp 1
Tone Factor Cream Pie Deluxe
Tone Factor Bass Fuzz Saw
Modded Tone Factor Pulp Mill
Boomstick Bottom Feeder
ABY Box for channel switching on my Mesa 400+ (This can come off)

What I have at my disposal
2nd Tone Factor Bass Fuzz Saw
2nd Cream Pie Deluxe
2nd Boomstick Bottom Feeder
Catalinbread Hyperpak
Catalinbread V8
2x EB Volume Pedals
Sinister Analog Ultra Lord
Subdecay Noise Box
Subdecay Prometheus
Subdecay Echobox
Subdecay Echobox Proto
Source Audio Tri Mod Wah
Boss OC-2
Boss PS-5
Boss LS-2

Now I use boost/od alot because I have a tube amp but if the backline is SS do I need a boost and maybe a distortion to cover the same ground? The only other thing I do is fill gaps between songs with noise and synthy sounds so I use my Bottom Feeder and Fuzz saw for this so maybe I could just take the Noisebox instead?

So what I can get by with is

Tuner - Boost

What I want is at minimum

Tuner - Boost - OD - Synth - Comp

Opinions, idea's, thought's?

The BurgerMeister · #2 01-07-2009, 03:56 AM

bring money.

Toasted · #3 01-07-2009, 04:08 AM

Take a few hundred dollars and buy a MIM fender the moment you arrive. Take it back to a shop when you leave and sell it.

TaySte_2000 · #4 01-07-2009, 04:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The BurgerMeister

bring money.

I was hoping to only bring things I actually have already

AlembicPlayer · #5 01-07-2009, 04:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toasted

Take a few hundred dollars and buy a MIM fender the moment you arrive. Take it back to a shop when you leave and sell it.

oh no no no..
keep your cash in your pocket..
that's what credit cards and 30 day return are for!

but excellent idea!

katri · #6 01-07-2009, 04:17 AM

I say take the band board minus the ABY and bottom feeder and plus the prometheus and noise box.

Then send me the second fuzz saw

Also sounds like the band is going well if you are touring the US, best of luck.
If you ever play in birmingham or Wolverhampton let me know and I'll definately come see you play.

katri · #7 01-07-2009, 04:19 AM

Also die to the crappy exchange rate, it's not gonna be as cheap to buy stuff over in the states

rratajski · #8 01-07-2009, 04:40 AM

Whatever you're doing w/ your pedals, make sure they are small enough to take in your on-flight bag. Never trust the friendly skies w/ your beloved musical gear.

Southwest "lost" my friends guitar flightcase and pedalboard flightcase which were in separate cases...seems fishy that two musical flightcases were "lost"............

TaySte_2000 · #9 01-07-2009, 04:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rratajski

Whatever you're doing w/ your pedals, make sure they are small enough to take in your on-flight bag. Never trust the friendly skies w/ your beloved musical gear.

Southwest "lost" my friends guitar flightcase and pedalboard flightcase which were in separate cases...seems fishy that two musical flightcases were "lost"............

I hate stories like this as now I don't know what bass to take.

I can take a cheap beater Thunderbird or a custom Overwater and I want to take the Overwater because otherwise it's a whole month of gigging every night with a bass I don't like.

katri · #10 01-07-2009, 04:56 AM

But, it could end up a month gigging with a bass that you just had to buy.

sonic assassin · #11 01-07-2009, 05:16 AM

if you havent done this before.. be prepared for a LOT of questions if you take anything as carry on. had a buddy who brought his guitar on with 2 pedals in the bag. he was stuck there for 10 minutes explaining that it wasnt a bomb, it was a tuner..

id try to find the cheapest tolerable bass you can find. like if i was a jbass guy, id bring a couple squiers so it feels and sounds remotely close and then dont have to worry about them.

dubsymmetry · #12 01-07-2009, 05:22 AM

I only flew inside europe with my gear, but taking my bass (softcase!) and a backback filled with pedals & cables as carry-on was never a problem.

I know a guitar player who flies to the states about 2 or 3 times a year and he told me 9 out of 10 times he has no problem with his gear as carry-on, the 10th time they won´t allow him to put the guitar in the cubicle above the head, but want to put it in the coat cupboard. no big deal.
another guy I know well went with 2 big halfacoustic jazz guitars in a softcase that held the 2 guitars to mexico and didn´t have a problem.

said that, anything can happen. a teacher at my college crashed with his plane in the 70ies in the atlantic. he survived.

dubsymmetry · #13 01-07-2009, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonic assassin

if you havent done this before.. be prepared for a LOT of questions if you take anything as carry on. had a buddy who brought his guitar on with 2 pedals in the bag. he was stuck there for 10 minutes explaining that it wasnt a bomb, it was a tuner...

maybe it´s really different in the states since 9/11. in europe, everything was relaxed..
a security guy in paris asked me if it´s a gun I have in my gig bag, but I could tell from his face that he was joking. another time a security lady asked what that small metal tube is - I said "bottleneck", she was like "interesting, never seen that before" (when I had about 10 pedals all with batteries in my bag)

TaySte_2000 · #14 01-07-2009, 05:32 AM

I don't think I'll get away with carry on since I'm with the band and we'd have to much.

I could take my PT Jr in a bag over my shoulder much easier to explain when it's with you, instead of them doing a controlled explosion on your board

katri · #15 01-07-2009, 05:34 AM

My old bass teacher was flying from birmingham to Glasgow and BA managed to break the headstock off his brand new strat in a hard case with like 7 fragile stickers.

dubsymmetry · #16 01-07-2009, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TaySte_2000

I don't think I'll get away with carry on since I'm with the band and we'd have to much.

what do you have? last time I flew we were 4 and had a bag with cymbals, my bass & effect bag, a moog synth in a hardcase and a modular synth in a doepfer case - not sure what could look more like a hollywood-style time bomb with the digital display and the 25 patch cables! and everyone had an extra bag with clothes.
be nice to the check-in lady!

BassmanAd · #17 01-07-2009, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TaySte_2000

I hate stories like this as now I don't know what bass to take.

I can take a cheap beater Thunderbird or a custom Overwater and I want to take the Overwater because otherwise it's a whole month of gigging every night with a bass I don't like.

Here's the thing - I don't know if I've just been incredibly lucky or the stories you hear get more fantastic each time they're told - but I have done many, many flights all over the world with my basses and never had a single breakage or loss. The only thing remotely annoying was when security at Amsterdam Schipol opened my case to do a random check then didn't do it back up so when I picked it up off the belt my bass fell out and clattered to the floor. Thanks guys.

Remember if you check your bass as hold baggage it will be travelling in a container with a load of suitcases so it'll be pretty well padded. In fact it's probably safer than it travelling in the back of a van surrounded by heavy backline. The baggage handlers can give it a rough time but there's not much you can do about that.

I'd recommened getting hold of one of those SKB-type light flight cases like the ones MIA Fenders come in. They're pretty tough. And of course make sure you are insured just in case. Get a load of fragile stickers and off you go.

Happy landings.

TaySte_2000 · #18 01-07-2009, 06:03 AM

Well the Overwater has a custom flightcase that I'd quite happily take to war with me so no worries about it going on a plane, I could stick the thunderbird in a SKB case in it's gig bag you know the ones I mean, and maybe squeeze the pedalboard in there as well? Or at least a few pedals.

burno70 · #19 01-07-2009, 06:03 AM

I'd just make sure it's all well covered with insurance and take ya Overwater and a small bunch of ya best pedals. Touring the States should be a right blast and you'll want to enjoy every second - that includes using the right gear.

Good luck with the tour, it's something I've wanted to do for years but never had the opportunity.

phatbass · #20 01-07-2009, 06:12 AM

Okay: I'll admit I'm a SansAmp Bass Driver fanboi, but if you're using provided backline, I'd take one (or something similar which I was familiar with) to give yourself some consistency in case the rig provided isn't up to scratch.

I take mine whenever I travel to gigs where I'll be using strange gear and it has been a life-saver on a number of occasions.