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  #1  
Old 10-09-2014, 09:35 AM
blacknblues blacknblues is offline
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Default Do CF guitars travel better than wood ones?

I'm just wondering.. relating to another thread that talks about flying with your guitar. Will a Rainsong fair better in its case when checked in than other guitars?
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Old 10-09-2014, 10:07 AM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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Short answer: yes, they seem to be better and more robust for travel overall. The advantages of a CF guitar for travel are:
  • not sensitive to humidity changes at all
  • not sensitive to extreme cold
  • reasonably tolerant of high heat
  • very durable material and resins (harder to damage in handling)

Most CF guitars are a commodity. For example, one Rainsong WS-1000 sounds pretty much exactly like the next one in my experience, which is certainly not true of high-end wood guitars. If there were loss or damage during travel, you could replace the CF guitar in kind fairly easily.

I have heard touring pro's talk about traveling with their Rainsong, and not having to worry very much about them. Sometimes the guitar has to ride in the unpressurized and unheated cargo hold of the airliner, where it can get down to -60°F for hours at altitude. That would be pretty tough on a wood guitar. Then once it is thoroughly cold-soaked you don't want to open the case on a wood guitar for a few hours -- you have to let the wood guitar rewarm slowly. That is not always an option if you have to play your gig right away. With the types of finishes used on most CF guitars, you also don't have to worry about cold-checking like occurs in the lacquer on a wood guitar. Tuning and neck geometry are also more stable. When tuning up in the green room, you tend to have less change once on stage under the lights.

My $0.02........
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Old 10-09-2014, 10:18 AM
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Kupuna50 Kupuna50 is offline
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Default travel guitar

No question - - - YES!
Have lugged both over the years, in all types of cases. The composite guitars are SUPERIOR for travel.
My wood 'travelers' were Taylor, Recording King and Martin.
I currently have a CA Cargo for travel.
Wouldn't have anything else.
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Old 10-09-2014, 11:45 AM
PeteCady PeteCady is offline
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The advantage of a CF guitar is that it provides interior reinforcement for the case. You hate to have your nice hard case get crushed.
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Old 10-09-2014, 12:28 PM
Ted @ LA Guitar Sales Ted @ LA Guitar Sales is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blacknblues View Post
I'm just wondering.. relating to another thread that talks about flying with your guitar. Will a Rainsong fair better in its case when checked in than other guitars?
Without a doubt, we are talking about the difference between having a guitar at your destination an not.

Back when I carried CA, one of my clients was forced to check in his GX and although the plastic case was shredded, the guitar inside made the cross country journey just fine.
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Old 10-09-2014, 01:02 PM
blacknblues blacknblues is offline
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I want to take my Rainsong dread on my next vacation but its too big for the overhead so I would need to check it in. There is always risk I know, but I want to know I can travel without too much worry.

Thanks for the feedback.
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Old 10-09-2014, 02:22 PM
mchalebk mchalebk is offline
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No question. I even had to gate check my Cargo once recently and, even in just the gig bag, it came through just fine. Would never want to do that with a wood guitar.

I recently traded my Cargo for an Emerald X7OS, don't expect any issues with that, either.

CF guitars are so durable, that (as some have mentioned) the case is more at risk than the guitar when traveling.
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Old 10-09-2014, 03:43 PM
mot mot is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blacknblues View Post
Will a Rainsong fair better in its case when checked in than other (wood) guitars?
Without question the answer is yes. I can't think of a scenario (except to sell or buy one) where I would rather travel with a wood guitar instead of my X20 or Lucky 13.
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Old 10-09-2014, 04:17 PM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blacknblues View Post
I want to take my Rainsong dread on my next vacation but its too big for the overhead so I would need to check it in.
Warning: thread drift.... but directly related to the original question

You can minimize - but not eliminate - the risk by gate checking it. Ask for the colored tag (color varies by airline) where it will go down the jetway and come back up at the other end with the strollers and wheelchairs. The white gate check tag usually means that while they carry it down from the jetway and load it, the guitar comes out through the conveyor system. I've had good luck with this approach. [knocking on wood]

On my last airline trip I used an SKB i-Series flight case and checked it as luggage. Then I used a decent gig bag as my suitcase for my checked clothes so I had something lighter to lug around while at the destination. While the SKB is big and bulky, it does roll around nicely on its built-in wheels. It usually goes in and comes out on the oversized baggage door, not the regular carousel. I like that you can actually lock it, as it has TSA approved locks. I chose tan for extra heat resistance if it sat out on a hot tarmac, but black would show the inevitable scrapes less. It is hard to envision a scenario where a CF guitar would not survive in this case.
http://www.skbcases.com/music/produc...ffset=&c=75&s=
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Old 10-09-2014, 04:56 PM
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And it's not always airlines: I left my CA GX, in it's case, at a hotel reception to hold for pickup later in the day. When I got back it there was a large hole (about 4 cm radius) in the side of the case. The guitar was fine.
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Old 10-11-2014, 09:52 AM
slewis slewis is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Earl49 View Post
You can minimize - but not eliminate - the risk by gate checking it. Ask for the colored tag (color varies by airline) where it will go down the jetway and come back up at the other end with the strollers and wheelchairs...
Of all the threads I've read through on traveling with guitars, I don't think I've ever seen this point come up and it seems like a GREAT tip. When you can't get a guitar in the cabin with you, this would absolutely be the next best thing... (And sorry for continuing the thread drift)...
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Old 10-15-2014, 08:49 PM
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Carbon guitars *are* sturdier than wooden ones, obviously, so the answer is yes.

I travel with a Brunner guitar, in order to have it *always* with me at anytime, which reduce the risk to minimum.
I began with a full body redwood/walnut custom Brunner.
A superlative instrument, so much that after a few trips, I was afraid something bad could happen.
So I commissioned another Brunner, the small body, in carbon.

Since : peace of mind.

I walked Paris during 10 days in august, revisiting places where I lived in the past, playing the guitar when and where I wanted. A delight.
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Old 10-16-2014, 10:41 AM
tdq tdq is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jpbat View Post
Carbon guitars *are* sturdier than wooden ones, obviously, so the answer is yes.

I travel with a Brunner guitar, in order to have it *always* with me at anytime, which reduce the risk to minimum.
I began with a full body redwood/walnut custom Brunner.
A superlative instrument, so much that after a few trips, I was afraid something bad could happen.
So I commissioned another Brunner, the small body, in carbon.

Since : peace of mind.

I walked Paris during 10 days in august, revisiting places where I lived in the past, playing the guitar when and where I wanted. A delight.
Do you have any videos of you playing this instrument? I've looked through your channel (and to those reading well worth a peruse, if you haven't already - fantastic stuff on a wide variety of guitars)
I've seen the old brunner but not the CF one as far as I can see.
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Old 10-19-2014, 06:58 PM
jpbat jpbat is offline
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Sorry tdq, I didn't follow that thread thoroughly.

Ahem, no, I didn't made any YouTube with the carbon Brunner yet.
But thanks for the appreciation, though.

I got it in 2012, and was deceived at the beginning (I put too big string gauge on it and was wandering what was wrong…), then slowly got my way with it, and found out that it's a great guitar, extremely versatile.
The sound hole is small, so only the Fishman Rare Earth and the MiSi can fit there. I prefer the MiSi on that guitar.

But you're right, I should post some You Tube with it, it's worth it.
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Old 10-19-2014, 07:40 PM
robailey robailey is offline
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If you're in the market for a CF travel guitar, Journey Instruments is FINALLY shipping the OF660. (there are waiting lists, though)

For the money, you'll get the best combination of tone, portability, and durability in a travel guitar.

Here are a few vids for reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scaVTep7SyI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDRWqhV0Zqo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i3DaD0IdRU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABUcistJjTk
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