There is no good way to do it, period. Someone needs to invent a good way to do it. Here's our crappy choices as it stands now:
1. Carry-on.
Why it sucks: Because you're carrying a heavy pedalboard through an airport, that's why! And going through security is no fun. You have to take it all out and run it through X-ray, then the TSA agent gets suspicious and calls the manager over, next thing you know you're in a room naked and crying and praying they don't find that weed hidden inside your Assmaster.
2. Checked in a pedalboard case.
Why it sucks: Extra baggage fees mostly, but there are also folks who will be handling your case who think the "Fragile" sticker on it means to throw it a little less hard than usual. Plus unless it's in a TSA approved flight case, you won't get your claim paid if it gets trashed. And if it's in a flight case, lugging it around with you plus a suitcase plus a bass plus any other carry-on you might have is not fun. And it's still no guarantee they won't trash it. Then they see your broken pedals with all the wires and parts exposed, they get suspicious and call the manager over, next thing you know you're in a room naked and crying and praying they don't find that weed hidden inside your Assmaster.
3. Putting your board inside your suitcase padded with your clothes and checking it.
Why it sucks: See #2, plus unless you only have a couple pedals, it often requires you to bring a much larger bag than what you originally intended. You run into overweight baggage fees if you're not careful. You risk tearing your gold lame bowling shirt. And the worst of it is that on the way back your board will be wrapped up with your dirty smelly used clothes, which the TSA agent can also smell as your bag goes through X-ray. Then as you go through security, another TSA agent says you need to come with him, and next thing you know you're in a room naked and crying and praying they don't find that weed loosely rolling around in your suitcase because you forgot to put it back inside your Assmaster.
Unfortunately, you have to choose one if you need pedals, and I do quite often, especially when I double. Plus I bring my REDDI on every gig now, which while being more compact than a bunch of pedals, is still no day at the beach to tote along on a trip. So I went with #3 and I bring the bare minimum depending on the needs of the gig. Most of the time it's manageable, and once in a great while it gets a little hairy but not too hideous.
But I don't know how you guys who have to bring big pedalboards cope. When you're Juan Alderete and nobody balks at reimbursing you, it's not a big deal to bring 15 pedals and 4 basses. But EVERYONE balks at reimbursing me for extra expenses :scowl: I'm fortunate because my pedal needs are nothing compared to some of you and I do some gigs where I don't need any at all. But how do you medium-to-large pedalboard types who do a lot of flying deal with it? I've looked hard to find a way to make flying with pedals easier, and it looks like a huge nightmare any way you slice it.
1. Carry-on.
Why it sucks: Because you're carrying a heavy pedalboard through an airport, that's why! And going through security is no fun. You have to take it all out and run it through X-ray, then the TSA agent gets suspicious and calls the manager over, next thing you know you're in a room naked and crying and praying they don't find that weed hidden inside your Assmaster.
2. Checked in a pedalboard case.
Why it sucks: Extra baggage fees mostly, but there are also folks who will be handling your case who think the "Fragile" sticker on it means to throw it a little less hard than usual. Plus unless it's in a TSA approved flight case, you won't get your claim paid if it gets trashed. And if it's in a flight case, lugging it around with you plus a suitcase plus a bass plus any other carry-on you might have is not fun. And it's still no guarantee they won't trash it. Then they see your broken pedals with all the wires and parts exposed, they get suspicious and call the manager over, next thing you know you're in a room naked and crying and praying they don't find that weed hidden inside your Assmaster.
3. Putting your board inside your suitcase padded with your clothes and checking it.
Why it sucks: See #2, plus unless you only have a couple pedals, it often requires you to bring a much larger bag than what you originally intended. You run into overweight baggage fees if you're not careful. You risk tearing your gold lame bowling shirt. And the worst of it is that on the way back your board will be wrapped up with your dirty smelly used clothes, which the TSA agent can also smell as your bag goes through X-ray. Then as you go through security, another TSA agent says you need to come with him, and next thing you know you're in a room naked and crying and praying they don't find that weed loosely rolling around in your suitcase because you forgot to put it back inside your Assmaster.
Unfortunately, you have to choose one if you need pedals, and I do quite often, especially when I double. Plus I bring my REDDI on every gig now, which while being more compact than a bunch of pedals, is still no day at the beach to tote along on a trip. So I went with #3 and I bring the bare minimum depending on the needs of the gig. Most of the time it's manageable, and once in a great while it gets a little hairy but not too hideous.
But I don't know how you guys who have to bring big pedalboards cope. When you're Juan Alderete and nobody balks at reimbursing you, it's not a big deal to bring 15 pedals and 4 basses. But EVERYONE balks at reimbursing me for extra expenses :scowl: I'm fortunate because my pedal needs are nothing compared to some of you and I do some gigs where I don't need any at all. But how do you medium-to-large pedalboard types who do a lot of flying deal with it? I've looked hard to find a way to make flying with pedals easier, and it looks like a huge nightmare any way you slice it.
