Flying with your bass...

[Mike Dimin]

Originally posted by Phat Ham
I always carry on my bass in a gig bag. I've never had a single problem. Depending on the aircraft and how crowded the flight was, I've either put it in an overhead bin, in the closet, or behind the last row of seats in front of a bulkhead. On the two flights I took yesterday (D.C to Chicago, Chicago to Tokyo), I put the bass in the closet since the overhead bins were too small to fit my bass. The airlines I've flown with a bass are United, Northwest, AA, ANA, JAL, and JAS.

The problem is with the new FAA regs, the airline's paranoia (or whatever their issues might be) and the airlines attempt to book every available space - you take the risk of getting shut out on any given flight. If you do not have a back up plan, you risk damaging your instrument. That is why I do the gig bag, bass safe plan. If I cannot get the gig bag on, then the Bass Safe is available. Also when I get to the gig, I can store the flight case in my hotel room and have my gig bag around town.

Mike

 

[Mike Dimin]

Originally posted by handbrake_lex
If you ever take long flights, where you have to put your bass in the belly of the plane, make sure you take of your strings. The very low temperatures reached in the belly can cause problems with the neck, because the neck and the strings contract differently.
You could end up with no scratches or dents at all, but a totally warped neck. No good...

Anyways, a flight case might be a good idea, I think they designed that specially for flying

Mike Tobias told me not to do that with my basses. You need the counteracting forces of the truss rod and the strings to keep the neck stable.

 

[Mike Dimin]

Originally posted by Milothicus

Is it ok to take the neck off a bass and pack the body and neck separately in your luggage? i would think this would be a very safe way to travel. lots of padding on all sides, and the weaker joints are relieved of the stresses. i guess reclimatizing may take a bit longer, but are there any other problems with this?

The problem with taking the neck off is the truss rod. Even if you remove tension on the rod, the bass might take a few days to reacclimate. You might not be able to play it for a week or so

Mike

 

[Eric Moesle]

I've never been a big fan of the theory of taking the strings off or loosening them altogether. Bass strings place a whole bunch of tension on the neck. Removing them or loosening them all the way really changes the strain (or lack thereof) on the neck.

If you're concerned about temperature and humidity variations in the cargo hold, just loosen the strings a half-step or so, that should be PLENTY to counteract any atmospheric-related changes during a flight.