Double Bass Flying with the Yamaha - detune mandatory?

[x15]

Hi guys,

This might seem like a stupid question - but day after tomorrow I will be taking an hour and a half long flight upto this music festival. I'm going to be putting the yamaha silent bass in a custom hard case/along with the soft bag that it comes with and I was wondering whether it's absolutely necessary for me to detune and loosen the strings all the way - and off the bridge.

The reason why I'm asking - is because the last time I went on tour with the bass/flew with the bass - I loosened the strings and kept the bridge separately - but when I got off the plane and set the bass up - it was a tuning/intonation nightmare and the bass just wouldn't hold it at all! I had to head to the rehearsal within two hours of landing - and needless to say, ended up coming across as completely incompetent.

It took about four days (rehearsals and gigs all past tense) before it actually held tune.

Any insights?

Regards!

 

[maxito]

No need to loosen the strings at all. I have done exactly the same thing - flown with my bass in gig bag inside a custom flight case- countless times. No problems.

 

[x15]

thanks so much

 

[maxito]

My pleasure. Safe travels, and good gigging.

 

[Glenn Harris]

Agree with Maxito. My own experience is much more limited, but I have taken a Clevinger solid-body EUB (hard-shell custom case by Calzone) on flights to Tennessee, California, and the Netherlands. I left the strings at normal tuning, and the instrument required very little retuning after any of the flights.