Bringing my Guitar to Australia

Anything to take note when bringing an electric guitar with me to Australia?

Thanks in advance

I'm bringing my guitar there too! But I don't have a hardcase to put it in :\ too ex...

u gotta haveeee a hardcase! haha. the customs always throw it around. u have to paste the FRAGILE sticker there. may be they'll treat it with better care. haha. my sister just brought her acoustic from singapore to aussie and back. still good with a hardcase

Depends on the airline that you're taking. The nicer ones will let you handcarry and put it in the business closet or something. That's what i did for my bass when i went to Japan. I didn't even put it in a hardcase.

kerplunk182 said:

Depends on the airline that you're taking. The nicer ones will let you handcarry and put it in the business closet or something. That's what i did for my bass when i went to Japan. I didn't even put it in a hardcase.

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Was that SIA?

Hardcases are a MUST!

SIA will let you hand carry your guitar. They will help you store it else where when you are sitted in the plane though. (Have flown to aussie and many more places =) so far the only damage has been to my hardcases, lol)

Something important to note when u are packing ur precious cargo. have a dehumidifier packed inside, while you are travelling. take it out when you reach aussie and take ur guitar out. aussie's really dry, if you forget to take the dehumidifier out, your guitar will turn into dry firewood really fast. lol.

The last thing i can tell you is, sudden temperature changes and the sheer stress from the bumpy handling and travelling might/will probably make your guitar neck warp. so always untune (i mean loosen your strings) when you are travelling. atleast u ease the tension that's on the neck from the strings.

I brought back this really old taylor from my place in the states a couple of months back, didnt loosen the strings when it was travelling. when i took it out in singapore obviously the humidity was killing the wood and it felt really awkward to play. i took it to sinemax to have it set up (doc steven there does wonders). 1st thing the neck was REALLY warped. and they advised me that the extent of the warp could've been avoided if i had simply loosened my strings. lol. word to the wise.

cheers and happy travelling to aussie.

I always fly SQ.

Had bad experience with Quantas, and I've heard lots of negative stories about them from friends too.

JunAD said:

I always fly SQ.

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PLUE!!!!

i miss watching rave so much la... nostalgia man...

Not Rave. But this is by the same Mangaka.
Fairy Tail...really awesome manga. IMO its as good as Naruto (but the Anime suck).

i heard the custom don't allow any guitars to be brought in if i'm not wrong

1) Take SQ
2) Invest hardcase with locks
3) loosen your strings.
4) Paste lotsa fragile stickers
5) Be nice to the check-in counter people.
6) Profit.

Too bad sg airports dun offer wrapping services anymore. It would help in protecting your hardcase from rough handlings.

I've carried my guitar in a soft-carrier "guitar bag" when I travelled on SQ. Even so, no problem at all.

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wifiabc said:

Was that SIA?

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Nope. JAL. Strangely, when i was flying back from Fukuoka, Japan via SIA last year, they didn't allow me to bring my guitar onboard until much persuasion.

sooo the australian's custom allows guitars to be brought in? heard some of them were sent back home. am curious!

axzryie said:

sooo the australian's custom allows guitars to be brought in? heard some of them were sent back home. am curious!

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Depends on the wood of the guitar. Australian Quarantine (not customs) have a thing about wooden items being brought into the country. Usually they look at it and say it's fine, I've taken drumsticks originating both from Australia and Singapore through several times. The only chance of you being stopped might be if your guitar is a termite's nest or has some other evidence of insects living in it, in which case they're supposed to treat it and return it to you.

Greatfox said:

Depends on the wood of the guitar. Australian Quarantine (not customs) have a thing about wooden items being brought into the country. Usually they look at it and say it's fine, I've taken drumsticks originating both from Australia and Singapore through several times. The only chance of you being stopped might be if your guitar is a termite's nest or has some other evidence of insects living in it, in which case they're supposed to treat it and return it to you.

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o really? cause from what i heard, it's different. you need to have permit or something to bring in guitars so yeah

sidenote about shipping if you ever considered it: aussie's shipping restrictions are really... erm.. strict... so i guess u can cancel that outta your options list.. handcarry would be better

axzryie said:

o really? cause from what i heard, it's different. you need to have permit or something to bring in guitars so yeah

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I brought my semi-hollow ES335 to Melbourne via Qantas. Check in with hardcase. It has a separate belt for bulky items. Came through unscathed. Declared it at the customs cos' of the wood thingy. The Custom guy opened up the case and take a quick glance at the guitar. Closed back in 10 secs and out of airport. No problems.