Recommend me a guitar hardcase when travelling overseas

[wacked_rose]

sorry if this has been asked before but i've already read all articles retrieved by the search function and not much info/review on guitar cases for travelling..

im planning to bring my beloved LP with me in my travel overseas and since not all airlines allow you to handcarry guitars, i'd like to anticipate the scenario where i have to check-in the guitar.

read that skb cases are good but can they withstand the rigors of airline cargo handling?

also read about gator flight cases for lp..anyone?

anyone with experience checking in their guitars, kindly help..

 

[dhalif]

i flew everywhere with my strat in an SKB case before.. very good =))

 

[wacked_rose]

thanks dhalif..how did the exterior of the skb looked like after checking-in, any dents?

 

[dhalif]

its totally fine just minor scratches

 

[5stringedsoul]

i tink the main issue would be because of security due to the recent terrorism threat.

 

[Guest]

A friend of mine uses a SKB for his LP on flights. No problems so far.

Yeah, I think you'd have major problems bringing it in as hand carry depending on where you're going.

Check it in as a fragile item and it gets put into a fragile cage with other fragile items and not dumped in a cargo hold with the other bags.

http://soft.com.sg/2006/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=16180

 

[subversion]

+1 to SKB. they are essentially a baggage company which has acute interest in guitar storage. commendable guitar-related products.

 

[oldmanbochi]

Skb released a new kind of case...the freedom series..not as good as the skb standard tho i like the name freedom..um unique ractangular shape nice and very resistant to water and other things...good buy go for SKB the're good

 

[wacked_rose]

thanks guys for all the info..hopefully swee lee still has an skb for LP in stock..will also try to check out the gator flight cases at yamaha..

keep 'em comin'..

 

[dhalif]

good luck bro..

 

[LimpPisskit]

Get a real, metal trimmed, ATA-approved flight case.

Anything else and yur askin for trouble and also airlines can refuse to compensate for damage if yur case was not ATA-approved.

 

[wacked_rose]

any brand which has ATA-approved guitar cases? there's no mention of ata approval on gator and skb cases when i checked..i might be wrong though..

thanks guys..

 

[milkmesto]

hi there, I use the SKB freedom cases for my teles, and the gibson OHSC for my gibson guitars. I've flown with both the SKB and the gibson OHSC, and both stand up pretty decently to airline abuse. I also work with overseas indie bands on a regular basis, and quite a few of them also use SKB cases - I remember this one band called the gloria record and they used the same SKB freedom cases, on the road, flying and all that jazz. worked well for them. exterior markings are bound to happen, but don't judge the flimsy exterior, these cases can really take a good beating. I SWEAR I've seen a baggage handler literally fling my SKB'd tele into the baggage cart, and the guitar barely went out of tune.

The gibson OHSCs are also quite hardy, and I've seen quite a few touring bands use the gibon OHSCs - they seem to take a fair bit of abuse as well.

 

[wacked_rose]

milkmesto,

i actually have the gibson OHSC currently. how does it compare to the SKB's? which one's better from your experience? Still thinking if the SKB would offer a better protection for my guitar. thanks man..

 

[milkmesto]

well, unless you do some major cross-country flying, the gibson OHSC should protect your guitar adequately. I've done 2 thailand tours and one australia tour with my gibson SG in its ohsc, no problem. I've also seen quite a number of indie bands travelling with their gibson OHSCs - most recently the Posies... and I clearly remember Sommerset travelling with their gibson OHSCs - so those buggers can definitely survive long flights with no problem.

but if you want to be extremely sure... get the SKB. plus the SKB gibson cases have convex surfaces, that makes it harder for baggage handlers to stack things on top of it, so they might put it at the top of the pile. I think.