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Flying with pedals still sucks

#21
JimmyM said:
Giant lines, not enough agents to work them,
Click to expand...

That's every security checkpoint at Philly International! My wife is Type 1 Diabetic and has an Insulin Pump - even more confusing to the agents than Pedals. Every flight out of here involves my wife being escorted to the "room" to have the pump inspected.

Last time we flew we saw security hounding this poor kid who was carrying on a "backpacker" guitar.
 
#23
The times I have flown with my bass, I pulled the 2 pedals I use the most, and just went without for that gig. They fit nicely in my gig bag, so I carried them on with little difficulty.

One time, they made me stick my bass in first class in the closet. Other times, it's ridden above my head.

Long lines? Par for the course. I fly for work, so I am pretty good about getting through as quickly as possible. I also tend to be at the airport about 2 hours before my flight, just in case. I'd rather wait it out in the bar, than have to rush and get stuck in security.
 
#24
hell, just travelling with pedals is a pain in the arse.

this weekend i was doing a gig in the north of england. packed a VERRY small pedal board (2 pedals and supply) in a wee case. the idea was i had to get on a bus to get to glasgow then get on a bus to get to the west end of glasgow then get a lift down.

one of the bus drivers said "listen son, if your going to bring that guitar and the other case on board then your going to have to put it in the luggage section or pay the extra for another seat" i went for the extra seat option so some junkies wearnt going to try stealing my gear.

finally got to the venue in the north of england and then venue security were saying "what are these?" and i had to prove they were guitar effects.
 
#27
I should add that, thankfully, the one time I used my old Stagemaster case for a fly-in, not only did it and the pedals survive, but I learned all about packing socks and underwear in the unused spaces on ones pedalboard. T-shirts go in the bass case. Stage shirts in a carry on, and you're set.







Unless they find the weed in your Assmaster.....
 
#29
I live her and feel shame at what you expirence. The US has created the term GateRape.

The fact of the matter if people are too scared to fly they should either stay home or grow a pair.

In todays world the Wright Brothers would have been arrested before they off the ground.

To address the subject get a Signature card if you fly United. If not get a card like that with whatever airline you fly on. The card holder is supposed to get a free check bag when you use the card to buy the ticket. I say supposed to. Don't bet the farm. But you also get miles.

If you're a heavy hitter get a better card and you get more perks.

One Drop said:
It doesn't advance the subject much, but I refuse to fly to Canada via the US these days because of the various nighmare scenarios cunningly presented to the traveller in a variety of foreseeable and unforeseeable guises. I despise flying in the US and refuse to do it.
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#30
The TSA has an especial hatred of the disabled. They have empytied colestomy bag on cancer victims. And I can't even guess guess how many teenaged girls have had their hymans riped out. And forced Breast cancer victims to strip to ensure they really had their breasts removed.


And wheel chairs! Or any implants!.

So you're actually getting off light with the pedals.

And all this wouldn't be so bad but the attitude that goes along with it is usually the worst part.


johnpbass said:
That's every security checkpoint at Philly International! My wife is Type 1 Diabetic and has an Insulin Pump - even more confusing to the agents than Pedals. Every flight out of here involves my wife being escorted to the "room" to have the pump inspected.

Last time we flew we saw security hounding this poor kid who was carrying on a "backpacker" guitar.
Click to expand...
 
#31
They make people rip out their implants to prove they're implants. I once saw a guy have to remove the metal pins from his leg to prove they were metal pins.....from his leg. Another guy had to tell them what he thought of a glass that had half a thing of water just to see if his HIV was, in fact, positive. And don't even get me started on what they do to the Baldwin brothers.
 
#34
Switch to a laptop. Run all of your effects through that. It's bitchin', man. And I had no idea the overdrives would be as good as they are. Puts most high end pedals to shame. The only effect I haven't found at a high quality is the fuzz. And I've only gotten into Guitar Rig 5. Haven't gotten my hands on Ableton.

Man...it's good, though. I think it'll be pushing my Swell B-Peg off my board. And with just a laptop and a midi/audio interface.....that's a tiny footprint in your bag.
 
#35
I thought about that since I always carry a laptop, but I was told you need a pretty stout computer for plugins and live work. Plus how would you switch between presets? And how would you hook up to their crap soundcards?
 
#36
Yeah. The laptop I got was....a pretty penny....i7 processor, 8GB that I upgraded to 16GB....but it was actually 1/3 of the money I got for selling my pedalboard and pedals....even with all the extra stuff I had to buy alongside the laptop.

If you use an external audio interface, the soundcard on the computer isn't used (I think) or you could skip the interface and just get an awesome soundcard to put in. And a midi controller will handle the presets.

I ended up getting the Native Instruments Rig Kontrol (midi controller and audio interface all in one) and it came with Guitar Rig 5. Easy interface, too.

Invalid Link Removed

http://www.native-instruments.com/#/de/products/producer/guitar-rig-kontrol/?page=2586

I just made this move a week ago....so I'm still way too early into it to give a good recommendation. But all signs look good. I need to tackle some latency issues but I've spent very little time looking into that, so far.

In the end, my pedal(board)s all sold for about $2500 and the new comp setup cost me $1200. But I still have to get my hands on Ableton Live and Max.
 
#38
JimmyM said:
I thought about that since I always carry a laptop, but I was told you need a pretty stout computer for plugins and live work. Plus how would you switch between presets? And how would you hook up to their crap soundcards?
Click to expand...

And what if your computer got a virus that started messing with all of your presets. Like the dreaded "Eden Enhance Simulation" virus that deviously applied a huge mid-cut to your preset EQ.
 
#40
Ha. She? :(

But yeah, I raised the $2500 in selling my board and pedals (like 12 high end pedals)......so I only spent $1200.....but really, I made $1300 from the switch.

And the ONLY thing the laptop is used for is effects/sound processing. The only time I'll turn the wifi on is when I'm updating software. So unless Kontakt or Ableton somehow gets hacked, the chances of me getting a virus are slim to none.
 

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