Starter - Posted - 02/04/2012:  14:29:54

Hi,

I despite some time trying to research this question I can't figure out a good strategy for my wife to take her mandolin on her various travels, including vacation (it won't be as much fun if we can't play).  We have a beater mandolin but she really doesn't like playing it (it's an old stradolin, and as the repair guy we took it to put it, "not one of the good ones."   She took it on a trip in a soft-sided gig bag, and reckons that she wouldn't want to subject her Breedlove to the same treatment.  AND she figures taking the Breedlove in its hard case would too awkward, given the other things she needs to take with her for work etc.

So here are two directions to go, perhaps, and I'd be grateful for your advice: get a better beater?  I did notice once at Sam Ash an (?) Ovation mandolin that seemed pretty sturdy, though not nearly as nice as the Breedlove; it was synthetic, I think, and cost a couple of hundreds.  And I came across the Big Muddy travel mandolin discussed on the forum.

Or, is there a better gig bag or case: a hard case that's more travel friendly, or a gig bag that actually would offer some protection in the overhead bins?  If we had to choose, I think, we'd rather pay for better case, if there is one, and not spend playing time wishing we had the Breedlove.

Many thanks,

will

Ben Venuti - Posted - 02/04/2012:  15:35:35

Overhead bins are ok if your the last one to try and put something in there. It seems that there is always someone trying to stuff something in there that just won't fit but they'll pound it in anyway. They'll drag your stuff around and slam it to try and make space. People are standing in the aisle and your trapped in your seat and unable to do anything about it. Then you find yourself swearing at some fat lady from your seat which really sets the mood for the journey. A standard hardshell case will offer some real protection, a flight case more. Any Gig bag that I've seen ---forget it. A mandolin will fit under the seat and that will just add a little more discomfort to what is already a worse ride than the Greyhound ever had but that is what I sometimes do.. It seems that on most flights I can't reach the floor while sitting in my seat because my head hits the back of the seat in front of me ---and I ain't big! I use a standard hard case but have considered getting a flight case such as a Calton. They're heavy is the problem. In any case(so to speak) I always relax the string tension when I travel by air.
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I've checked instruments many many times and never had a problem despite the horror stories you hear. The thing about a mandolin is it can be a carry on so why not? If you go to the same places all the time you can maybe buy something and keep it there. I do that with NY and Sydney. In NY I keep a Epi Texan and a Tele and in Sydney I have a Maton acoustic. I keep guitars in both of those places because I do go there and I'd rather not carry a guitar and I sure don't need them here but can't not buy them either . Now that my son keeps an apartment in Amsterdam maybe I should start a European collection! Never done that with a mandolin because they're easy to haul. If you have good stuff and you play and you travel regularly you should have it with you. Short of going down the Colorado in a raft or some such thing I always take my best stuff--- Buy insurance!

TI_USER - Posted - 02/04/2012:  17:45:39

I haven't flown is quite some time, maybe 8 years, but I lived in Houston for 10 years before that and traveled back to NJ to visit my family 3 0r 4 times a year.  I always brought a mandolin.  At that time I had a Travelite case and always carried it on board.  As Ben said before me, I always placed mine under the seat in front of me.  Yes, it did make things slightly more cramped, but I felt much better knowing where my mandolin was and no one was going to move it.  Since I last flew, I know there have been tighter restrictions for carry-ons and I don't know how that would work now.  I always flew on Southwest Airlines and never had my mandolin questioned, even though it was larger than the carry-on size limit, even then.  I can't speak for other airlines, since I never used them.  My only other suggestion, and I know some who have done this, is to buy a seat for the instrument.

Never thought about loosening the strings.  That probably would have been a good thing to do.  Thankfully, I never had any problems.