Bringing Your Guitars Overseas and Back Again

[chiagerald]

Yo guys,

Can't really find a suitable thread on this... I'm going to Australia for a while and I need to transport 3 guitars over (2 electrics and 1 acoustic) for a few engagements. This is my first time doing this so quite blur sotong. Any of you did something like this before? Any tips on how to ship the guitars properly so that they will arrive safe.. Also where can i get insurance for my babies?

Thanks a lot!

~G

 

[gsonique]

1) get a sturdy flight case each (yes they do throw it round and at times it lands on the concrete floor)

2) get em all insured

3) hand carry your fav. piece

4) just buy one in Oz and leave the rest behind.

 

[rottenramone]

..

i rem our aussie bro nitrobro asked that before.

a hardcase will suffice, but a flightcase is preferable. just stuff the case with newsparer and styrofoam peanuts until it cannot move. then seal it up with many cable ties. gsonique's right when he mentioned about throwing the case about!!

i would recommend u carry the acoustic on board with u.

 

[angry]

Just make sure you got your excess baggage part covered!

 

[almondx]

This guide should work: http://www.guitarspecialist.com/shipping.htm

 

[fictionaire_gse]

...

The airport people busted my guitar on our way to the US couple of weeks back, and it was in a hard case too. In fact, the hard case got busted as well, one of the hinges got broken. Turns out 'fragile' stickers don't really much at all.

Insurance is a definite must.

 

[blueshift]

buy 4 air tickets so that u get 4 seats.. 3 for your guitar, one each.. and one for you.. dont forget to put the seatbelt on your guitar

 

[Everdying]

if your electric guitars are bolt-on.
remove the neck and carry them on.

acoustics are gonna be tricky tho, thats why get piezos

 

[Rossie]

Check list of banned items with the airline. Some airlines have banned guitars on board, so you have no choice but to ship them.

 

[kzy]

ahaha..hand carry..don book in to them...they will juz throw in the carriage no matter wat man...hand carry ebst..of maybe buy 1 or 2 more seats juz for ur guitar? =X

 

[kerplunk182]

yeah. They'll trow your stuff around like a football... My friend's hardcase is all cracked like crazy cause of that...

 

[JonEthan]

how about DHL/UPS the items over? 3 guitar + hardcase would weigh around 25 kg in total. i shipped about 220kg of items in one go last month it costed me around $1,500, so i guess your guitar won't cost half of that.. i may be wrong though.

Then of course, you'll have to pay tax at the destination. around 1% for music instruments if i'm not wrong.

 

[kzy]

woo..hahas..so ex man..go there and buy a temp guitar~~ as easy as abc..hard time finding guitar shops there? hmm..ask ard..get a cheapo kinda and practise and don let ur finger get hard only mah..i did that..=D~

 

[chiagerald]

thanks a lot for the replies guys! Much appreciated The only part unanswered is the insurance... where should I go for that?

 

[unsane]

i fly with multiple guitars quite often, carrying it onto the plane is the best option. be firm, emphasize (talk cock) how much the guitar costs blah blah if they give you shit. there's an FAA document you can find online about allowing instruments to be taken as carry-on luggage. when you get on the plane ask the stewards to stow the guitar in the cloak closet.

if you go the hardcase route..dont lock the case. i've had a latch smashed off my hardcase by melbourne customs before because they "thought it was a rifle case" :roll: most fucking stupid airport in the world..

 

[Ratboy]

remember to make sure your guitar's passport is valid : )

 

[Starlancer120]

8O ... :? ... ... :x ...

 

[johnny_be_goode]

Since it is possible to hand carry guitar into plane? Is Hard case necessary?

 

[napalm]

if hand carrying, definitely no hard case. you need a gig bag only. hard case wont fit in the overhead bin

 

[johnny_be_goode]

but if i get hardcase and check in as luggage
would there be any problem?
Anyone had bad experience with checking in guitar in hardcase