Getting Your Gear From Point A to B
- by Albert Le & Tatiana Ryckman, Open Labs Staff Writers
If you multiply the number of musical instruments, mics, amps, bundles of cables, and merch you tour with by the number of cities you'll be visiting, you may be faced with an outrageous number. That is, the number of possibilities that your music equipment could be broken, stolen, sat-upon, tinkered-with, or molested in any number of ways. So to aid in the protection of your gear, here are a couple of precautions you can take when traveling with or shipping your precious equipment.
When traveling by car, van, or bus, the main risks your equipment are up against are theft and damage from set-up and tear-down between the stage and vehicle. Always pack your equipment in a case (a case meant for your equipment) and be careful when re-packing the van. No one wants to find their violin smashed to bits by a bass drum. It's like packing groceries, you wouldn't put a carton of eggs under a gallon of milk. Hopefully.
Also, make sure you are using some sort of security device, or at least common sense, when leaving instruments in the car. Do not leave doors unlocked, or opened. Do not display your $5,000 Les Paul in your back seat to temp sticky fingers (or the baseball bats that may fly through your window to get it). It doesn't hurt to go the extra mile and use a steering wheel lock or just take the extra time to throw a blanket over your thousands of dollars worth of gear.
With gas prices slashing touring budgets and overseas tours, it's possible that you will be flying to gigs, and there are a number of steps that can be taken to protect your precious drum kit. Increasingly tightened security at airlines, while ensuring customer safety, can make flying stressful enough. So the first step toward stress-reduced travel should be to contact the airline carrier and make sure they ship musical equipment. You may be able to get insurance as well, which could ease your broken heart if you pick up your keyboard at the end of your flight in two, or eight, pieces. Each airline has their own set of regulations and fees, so be sure to check with your carrier.
Delta has this to say about traveling with out-of-the-ordinary baggage, “You may feel that something you want to bring with you is too fragile to be handled as checked baggage. In such a case, you have the option of purchasing a ticket at the best available fare and storing your item in any passenger seat with a physical bulkhead or divider in front of the compartment.” These items have a list of criteria, though. They have to wear a seat belt, just like you. They cannot exceed 165 lbs, and they must not restrict use of any emergency or regular exits or aisle of the cabin. For more on Delta's limitations check out this link.
United Airlines has a stringent list of guidelines for oversized luggage, including these rules, “Any checked bag with a single dimension more than 62 inches/158 cm will not be accepted. Any checked bag that is more than 115 linear inches/292 linear cm will not be accepted. Oversized baggage charges are applied in addition to any charges that may be assessed for overweight and/or excess baggage.” They, too encourage passengers to purchase a second seat for large or fragile baggage, which, depending on the destination and when you book your tickets, could rack up a bill almost as painful as having a piece of equipment damaged.
Southwest is clear about their liability when it comes to customer's baggage, saying, “Damaged or lost baggage must be reported, in person, within four hours of Customer's arrival at destination. Unless excess value is declared and charges paid at the time of checkin, Southwest Airlines' liability for lost, damaged or delayed baggage is limited to $3,000.00 per fare-paying Customer.” Which sounds pretty good, but if you check their Web page for musical equipment specifically, it can be pretty disheartening, “Instruments that are transported in a soft-sided case or other packaging that is not strong enough to protect the instrument under normal baggage handling conditions will be conditionally accepted, which means that Southwest assumes no liability for any damage sustained to the item during transport.” Hear that? No soft cases. Or else all you'll hear is the crunch of your cello.
If the equipment is being shipped as checked baggage, stay with your gear as it is inspected by security officers to ensure that there is no damage done. Take a minute to write a short list of instructions on how to properly handle the equipment and leave it in the case, should it need to be inspected when you're not there to give instructions in person.
Be prepared to pay for extra baggage, overweight, and oversized items. Fees very from each airline, but usually the extra baggage fee is about $25 dollars per extra piece, while the excess size and weight fees vary from $25 to $150 depending on how much it exceeds normal limitations and what airline you're flying. International trips may differ in allowances. Most airlines have a special page on their Website specifically for baggage, especially oversized, overweight, and fragile baggage. It doesn't hurt to look into the specifics before your buy your tickets.
In terms of packing your gear, be sure to purchase cases that fit well and offer no room for movement. Gear moving inside the case can lead to damage from hard bumps. Whether you're traveling on the road or in the air, the best cases for traveling are made of wood or molded plastic.
When transporting considerably heavy gear, such as the Open Labs NeKo, which weighs in at 46 lbs, try to purchase a case that weighs less in order to reduce the cost of overweight fees while still maintaining solid protection, especially for the touchscreen. Ordering a custom case that specifically fits your Open Labs production station is your best option, due to its unique shape.
As far as cases go, there are some well known brands that offer suitable protection for your instruments such as SKB, Road Ready Cases and Anvil Cases.
Having insurance on your gear is also an important step to keeping your gear safe while on the road or in the air. Getting insurance from somewhere other than your airline carrier is the safer choice. An alternative to having your airline carry your gear is to have a logistics company such as DHL, UPS, or FedEx take care of it for you. They offer several different shipping rates that can cater to your needs, although taking this route can be very costly. If a touring company is in charge of shipping and handling they may palletize everyone's gear together in order to reduce shipping costs. While effective, it risks having all of the gear damaged if the pallet is handled improperly or falls over.
Performing in new and foreign cities can be an exciting experience, but being ill prepared to ship your equipment can turn into a disaster no one wants to deal with. By making the right preparations the only thing you will have to worry about is how you'll make your way through the legions of fans waiting for you at the venue.