Enki AMG-2 dual flight case - trip report

I purchased an Enki AMG-2 dual flight case in 2019 with intentions of using it for a good amount of touring and flying and then, you know... *gestures around at everything.* I finally got a chance to fly with it for the first time last week, and figured my experiences might help someone else considering buying one.

The gear...

The basses I took were my new Warmoth jazz and my old Stambaugh 5.

In a Mono Guitar Tick I have a Pedaltrain Nano-sized board with a Darkglass ADAM, Boss SY1, and Boss wireless, powered by a small Cioks 4 power supply. I also put a guitar cable and my straps in there. That's wedged in the lid of the Enki - it was real snug, and it just barely contacted the tuning pegs of my Stambaugh.





In the small Enki-logo soft case that's included I put two sets of strings and my wireless transmitters, stuck behind the headstocks.



I used two Forge TSA combination locks through the lock holes on top, and a metal business card holder with stainless cable around the handle. I also hid an Apple AirTag in the bottom of the case, underneath all the foam.


The trip...

I flew from Oakland to Milwaukee and back, with transfers in both directions, via Southwest.

Southwest's regulations for musical instruments are a little ambiguous on their website:

"Oversize or overweight charges will apply if the instrument is between 62-150 inches in size (outside length plus width plus height including case or covering) or if the instrument weighs between 51-165 pounds (including case or covering)."​

The Enki is 55" x 11" x 19" and weighed in at 56 lbs fully loaded, so I was both oversize and overweight. The attendant at OAK said that since it was an instrument the oversize wasn't a problem, but since it was also overweight I had to pay $75 to check it. Once I paid and was tagged, I took it to an oversize dropoff area, where it was whisked away.

Our rental car was a new Toyota Corolla sedan. It didn't fit in the back seat sideways as I had hoped, but I was able to put the back seats down and get the thing in through the trunk, with room for our two suitcases in the trunk as well.



On the way back through MKE it was a ghost town at the luggage counter and was able to talk to someone right away. They again charged me $75, and said that it was both oversize and overweight. I then had to wait at a TSA gate for a security officer to come down, who hand-checked my stuff right in front of me. Once I got the all-clear I was allowed to re-assemble it myself and lock it back up before it was placed on the conveyor.

My impressions...

Most importantly, everything made it through the trip unscathed.

TSA did open the case flying out of OAK, but everything was where it was supposed to be afterwards. I was a little worried about it being re-assembled improperly with how tetris'd everything was.

Wheeling the Enki around is kind of funny - it wobbles dramatically when you pull it behind you. Pushing it in front of you is better - it's a little darty and a bit of a bicep workout, but not so bad.

Having AirTags in all of my stuff was great.

The case theoretically works as a boat stand to have on stage, but it's pretty hard to get instruments in there with straps on - at least the straps I use. The bottom lip of the case opening has some neoprene tape on it that I constantly was catching the lower horn of my basses on and pulling up.

The case is a *very* tight fit for a Jazz. For in-town stuff where I'm handling it the whole time I think it's fine but if I'm checking I think I'll bring two Stambaughs instead just because they're shorter.

Overall, being able to tote around two basses plus the entirety of my ampless / backline rig in one box on wheels is awesome. With a little dialing in I can see myself owning and using this thing for a long time. I'm confident enough in this thing that I can't really imagine trying to take a gig bag on board instead, unless whatever I'm doing on the other side relies on a lot of public transportation or something.


Things I still need to figure out...

It's still not clear to me whether Southwest would always check the case for free if it was under 50 lbs. The attendant at OAK said it would have been free. The attendant at MKE said it probably would not have been. The Tick weighs about 8 lbs, so I theoretically could have put it in my backpack and been under 50. In general, I think "expect to have to pay, be pleasantly surprised if you don't" is probably the proper mindset.

I'm going to make a pouch to hold cables on the back wall of the case so I don't have to stuff them in the Tick, and potentially remove some of the foam so I can make a little bit more room between the Tick and the tuners.

I would have been miserable trying to navigate pushing the Enki and pulling my roller suitcase at the same time, but fortunately my wife had it handled. If I'm heading out solo I'd definitely use something with backpack straps instead.



...anyways, that sure was a lot of words about a guy checking some luggage but I didn't really know what to expect. I do get a little geeked about dialing in setups and whatnot. Hopefully this helps someone down the road.

 

With my "normal" four-string Jazz there's probably another half inch left before the foam starts to get compressed enough where I'd worry it wouldn't be protected adequately if impacted.

If your 35" Lull's are longer than a normal Jazz I probably would pass.