Best case for traveling overseas?

[MojoPenguin]

Honestly I would suggest Gruv Gear and their Kapsule. I have the Sliver which is great. If you haven't really travelled in a plane before, let me give you a piece of advice. I'm from France and has travelled back and forth to the US and both in France and the USA, your luggage is going to be handled, let's just say "roughly" lol. That extra bit of protection and the ability to walk a thousand miles in the airport with the thing on your back will be really welcome. Which festival is it btw ?

 

[bordinco90]

If it was me, I would plan on removing the neck and take it as a carry-on. That's just me. Congrats on the festival gig!

Thanks I'm excited!

 

[bordinco90]

Honestly I would suggest Gruv Gear and their Kapsule. I have the Sliver which is great. If you haven't really travelled in a plane before, let me give you a piece of advice. I'm from France and has travelled back and forth to the US and both in France and the USA, your luggage is going to be handled, let's just say "roughly" lol. That extra bit of protection and the ability to walk a thousand miles in the airport with the thing on your back will be really welcome. Which festival is it btw ?

Not to sure about my French lol, but the flyer that the BL sent me had "Un Pont Vers La Louisiane" as the title.

 

[bordinco90]

I've been flying with my bass 5-10 times a year for the past 3 years. Fortunately my basses have survived up to this point. SKB has been great.
The Pro Rectangular Electric Bass Case (Model: 1SKB-44PRO) Did me well for about a dozen flights. Finally the luggage killers dropped from their highest height and smashed the corner. The case was still usable but it wouldn't stand on edge when I set it down.
I upgraded to the iSeries Waterproof ATA Bass Guitar Case (Model: 3i-5014-44) and i dont forsee anything every destrpying that thing.
Note that I always pack my bass securely in the case. I use my travel clothes to pack and pad it. In addition to taking some tension off the strings, I support the neck with underwear, wrap the headstock in a shirt, pad round the headstock with more rolled up clothes, put another shirt between the strings and fretboard, and carefully wad socks and underwear around the body to pad and secure it. My basses aren't Fenders so they don't fit the cases exact. Saves me luggage and keeps my bass secure. Been all over the US, Canada, Mexico and Europe this way. Only downside is if you don't get a chance to unpack before you have to play a gig, like airport directly to festival, your sock sand underwear get to come out on stage. Its good for a laugh.

How much tension do you take off of the strings? Maybe a whole step or more?

 

[ad9000]

Only downside is if you don't get a chance to unpack before you have to play a gig, like airport directly to festival, your sock sand underwear get to come out on stage. Its good for a laugh.

Yeah, this actually happened to me too recently when a flight was late and I had to go directly to a sound check! Lesson learned.

 

[Whippet]

I've found that to be the opposite - in my experience international carriers have been much more accommodating about instruments on board (even putting them in coat closets, etc.) than domestic flights, but I suppose that depends on the airline.

I'm American living in Europe and go back and forth every year. It's gotten steadily more restrictive and challenging.



They HAVE reduced dimensions. Of course some variation by airline but I usually have gone Lufthansa which has tendend to be more liberal than some other carriers and their current standard size is too small for the bass safe (probably for any standard ATA bass case as well). I have and have used the bass safe with good results for the last 20 years but even then it regularly was treated as oversize baggage (separate pick up, etc) even if I wasn't charged extra.



Used to be the case but much more restrictive now - unless doing business class or first class. Particularly as some airlines (Lufthansa again) now have the practice of everyone other than disabled and families boarding at the same time. It used to be possible to get into an earlier boarding section and then it was easier to accommodate the gigbag in the closet scenario.



Have done this with success in the past but check the current baggage size allowance for your ticket class with the airline. My last trip I did this and the baggage size had been changed. Bought a new bag which was to the CM the maximum size and could only barely get a standard Fender bass neck in diagonally very tightly - no room for padding of any sort or any kind. Could have easily broken with any kind of impact. Still a very good option for short scale or guitar.

I fly business and the biggest problem I am encountering is security. The security guards sll over the world after check in are starting to act like police men and starting to ask questions about oversized looking carry on. This trend started a few years ago. I was able to thwart some of them by saying that I dont pay business class fares to be harassed by you, and somehow it has worked in all places but Narita Japan.

I know I sound like a butthole but after getting so many luggages bashed and smashed, I am no longer in the mind set of just complying, when the airlines wont admit to their mishandling and violent behavior.

 

[Dynacord]

Honestly I would suggest Gruv Gear and their Kapsule. I have the Sliver which is great. If you haven't really travelled in a plane before, let me give you a piece of advice. I'm from France and has travelled back and forth to the US and both in France and the USA, your luggage is going to be handled, let's just say "roughly" lol. That extra bit of protection and the ability to walk a thousand miles in the airport with the thing on your back will be really welcome. Which festival is it btw ?

That's really cool. I'm going to seriously consider one of these. Thanks for the heads up on it.

 

[ad9000]

The security guards all over the world after check in are starting to act like police men and starting to ask questions about oversized looking carry on.

In the year or so immediately after 9/11 airlines became really s****y about instrument carry-ons, and after having to hassle getting a regular sized bass in a gig bag on board on a couple of trips, I decided I would take my seldom-used Steinberger bass on a flight to a one-off gig in Washington, DC, knowing that it would easily fit in overheads and thinking that would save me some grief. Bad idea. For those who aren't familiar with it, the Steinberger in its gig bag looks very much like a rifle. From the moment I stepped into the terminal I had serious paranoia and bad vibes directed at me, understandably under the circumstances. Needless to say I never did that again.

 

[Dynacord]

In the year or so immediately after 9/11 airlines became really s****y about instrument carry-ons, and after having to hassle getting a regular sized bass in a gig bag on board on a couple of trips, I decided I would take my seldom-used Steinberger bass on a flight to a one-off gig in Washington, DC, knowing that it would easily fit in overheads and thinking that would save me some grief. Bad idea. For those who aren't familiar with it, the Steinberger in its gig bag looks very much like a rifle. From the moment I stepped into the terminal I had serious paranoia and bad vibes directed at me, understandably under the circumstances. Needless to say I never did that again.

I was asked twice about the bass safe if it was weapons. Both times in Europe though.

 

[Paulabass]

How much tension do you take off of the strings? Maybe a whole step or more?

The only reason to loosen off some tension is so that if the headstock takes a bad blow, string tension doesn't further try to tear it off. One turn of the tuner will do it.
SOMEBODY is going to mention the old myth that lower atmospheric pressure will tighten your strings until the whole instrument explodes into a convention of toothpicks. There is zero truth to that and even the most basic science disproves it.

 

[Paulabass]

I fly business and the biggest problem I am encountering is security. The security guards sll over the world after check in are starting to act like police men and starting to ask questions about oversized looking carry on. This trend started a few years ago. I was able to thwart some of them by saying that I dont pay business class fares to be harassed by you, and somehow it has worked in all places but Narita Japan.

Before 9/11 airport security was a few guys sitting on folding chairs reading magazines. After 9/11 TSA was given a little bit of power. Small people with a little bit of power always try to assert it.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

I was asked twice about the bass safe if it was weapons. Both times in Europe though.

In all fairness most Europeans assume all Americans carry an AR15 to walk the dog.

 

[Dynacord]

In all fairness most Europeans assume all Americans carry an AR15 to walk the dog.

I did think to mention it was not an out of character assumption once they saw the passport...

 

[Jim C]

Some of the cases mentioned above show ATA approved latches but add copy does not mention if the case is ATA approved.
I'm assuming this approval needs to be for the entire case construction and not just the latches?
Edit: Just found the ATA specifications on the Anvil Cased site; the spec calls for alot more than just latches.
https://www.calzoneandanvil.com/wp-...8/Air-Transport-Association-Specification.pdf

 

[hardtop]

How much tension do you take off of the strings? Maybe a whole step or more?

A couple steps I guess. 3 or 4 half turns per tuning machine. I wouldn't store it like that for a long time, but for a little travel time, and considering the way they get banged around, no need to have that head-stock under tension. Its probably a bigger deal on guitars, especially Gibsons, but it works, so I stick with it.

 

[bordinco90]

Thank you for all of the replies. I'm going to order the SKB I series for P Bass. It seems to be a really nice case.

 

[otto802]

Gig bag and carry on.

 

[Cycleops]

Gig bag and carry on.

Good luck with that for international travel, even domestic.

 

[stingray78]

One more vote for the SKB bass safe. I have done 30+ flights with mine without any issues. Eventually the lock broke and SKB replaced the entire case under warranty.

 

[JakobT]

One more vote for the SKB bass safe. I have done 30+ flights with mine without any issues. Eventually the lock broke and SKB replaced the entire case under warranty.

As long as you have a gig bag that fits, the SKB Bass Safe is hard to beat.