Carbon Fiber the Only Way to Fly

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by showmeproof

I am pretty firmed up on the need for a HSC while flying. Any other's that fly with MONO?

If I had to fly with an X7 I would probably suck it up and pay the cash to get a hiscox case from emerald that is properly sized.

One advantage of Rainsong is that they build traditional Martin/Guild shapes, so you can generally buy an aftermarket case without too much difficulty.

[Kindness]

We all have beautiful CF guitars, and to me, it's worth spending the extra money to get the right case. It's a world of difference with the Mono and the Reunion Blues cases. If I owned an Emerald guitar I would definitely get it from them. Cutting corners will only cause great regret later if something happens.

Happy Playing!

[wickedwahine]

Originally Posted by AZLiberty

If I had to fly with an X7 I would probably suck it up and pay the cash to get a hiscox case from emerald that is properly sized.

One advantage of Rainsong is that they build traditional Martin/Guild shapes, so you can generally buy an aftermarket case without too much difficulty.

Do they have a Hiscox case for the X7? I thought it was just the gig bag option. I will definitely add a Hiscox hard case too if the X7 has one available.

[steelvibe]

Well then there is the OF660

Nobody is having issues with these right? (This question has more to do with actual travel with the guitar than the quality of the guitar itself.)

[Kindness]

Nice sounding guitar...The Journey OF660M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OIFPImR7_w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCqJAc5guQc

[wickedwahine]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

Well then there is the OF660

Nobody is having issues with these right?

I had one...briefly. I loved the backpack and carbon fiber, it sounded fine too, but I found it didn’t pop back together that easily. I may have had a bad one, as I always saw them snap together easily online, but I always had to struggle with it, and one time a string snapped on me when I was putting it together. After having it a week or so, I returned it and bought the Emerald X7 instead. Again, no idea if mine was just a bad one as videos looked much simpler than mine was.

[showmeproof]

Originally Posted by wickedwahine

Do they have a Hiscox case for the X7? I thought it was just the gig bag option. I will definitely add a Hiscox hard case too if the X7 has one available.

They do not have a HSC sized for an X7. Alistair briefly toyed with the idea of adding padding to the HSC for the X10. Kevin didn't bother with that idea and suggested the SKB for the GS mini instead.

[showmeproof]

Originally Posted by wickedwahine

I had one...briefly. I loved the backpack and carbon fiber, it sounded fine too, but I found it didn’t pop back together that easily. I may have had a bad one, as I always saw them snap together easily online, but I always had to struggle with it, and one time a string snapped on me when I was putting it together. After having it a week or so, I returned it and bought the Emerald X7 instead. Again, no idea if mine was just a bad one as videos looked much simpler than mine was.

The wood one I tried snapped together nicely like you see in most reviews. The CF version was very tight and didn't seem to set just right at the position just prior to pushing back to set it to the body. That was just one factor that made me go with the Emerald sight unseen.

[ac]

Originally Posted by showmeproof

. . . . Anyone gate check a CF guitar with just a gigbag?

Happened to me with an early Emerald X7 several years ago with the standard X7 gig bag.

Overseas flight on an US airline, then transferred to a local flight to final destination. Bag was scuffed and metal zipper tabs bent to a right angle shape, but . . .

Guitar was perfect.

[ac]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

Well then there is the OF660

Nobody is having issues with these right? (This question has more to do with actual travel with the guitar than the quality of the guitar itself.)

I have the OF660 and highly recommend it, first as a guitar, second as the best possible travel guitar (this applies to their wood versions as well).

However, yes, there have been quality issues on occasion--not often. I would recommend buying from someplace that has good return and replacement policies--even though the chances are very slim there will be problems, but they can exist (I know from experience).

But regardless of any store's policy, I can tell you that Journey staff are unbelievably helpful and will bend over backwards to give you amazing customer service to solve any issue you have. They really go above and beyond. I'm very happy with my Journey.

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by ac

I have the OF660 and highly recommend it, first as a guitar, second as the best possible travel guitar (this applies to their wood versions as well).

However, yes, there have been quality issues on occasion--not often. I would recommend buying from someplace that has good return and replacement policies--even though the chances are very slim there will be problems, but they can exist (I know from experience).

But regardless of any store's policy, I can tell you that Journey staff are unbelievably helpful and will bend over backwards to give you amazing customer service to solve any issue you have. They really go above and beyond. I'm very happy with my Journey.

Thanks AC. Have you flown with it?

[Kindness]

Originally Posted by ac

I have the OF660 and highly recommend it, first as a guitar, second as the best possible travel guitar (this applies to their wood versions as well).

However, yes, there have been quality issues on occasion--not often. I would recommend buying from someplace that has good return and replacement policies--even though the chances are very slim there will be problems, but they can exist (I know from experience).

But regardless of any store's policy, I can tell you that Journey staff are unbelievably helpful and will bend over backwards to give you amazing customer service to solve any issue you have. They really go above and beyond. I'm very happy with my Journey.

AC, do the Journey sound as good as they do on the youtubes? They sound super warm!

[ac]

Originally Posted by steelvibe

Thanks AC. Have you flown with it?

Yes, but learned some things not to do.

No problems at all getting it on off the planes. An easy carry on. Great design. Used as intended, and it's a joy all the way.

I was on a trip and not planning to return for many, many months, so I decided to max out the insides of the guitar with additional goodies to bring with me since it was on a USA airline and they didn't, at that time, weigh carry on luggage as do other international airlines. Great, I thought.

It was a great idea all the way until I went through TSA and the equivalents in other countries on the way to my destination. They went nuts and wanted to see EVERYTHING I had packed inside the guitar and in the case pockets which I had also jammed with stuff. I never intended to take the stuff out but one time and the way I packed it made it VERY difficult to unpack quickly as you need to do while lines are waiting for you.

I finally made it through and to my destination with lots of repacking after every inspection point and learned the hard way not to ever do that again. Yup, go ahead and put some stuff inside, but keep it reasonable.

Also, the Journey bag with backpack straps is normally comfortable enough, but not when you add the triple or quadruple the weight of the guitar--with stuffed goodies--basically things I could not buy in my destination country. I will resist the temptation next time.

[ac]

Originally Posted by Kindness

AC, do the Journey sound as good as they do on the youtubes? They sound super warm!

I'm going to post my reply along with a review in the other thread on the Journey OF660.

[showmeproof]

Originally Posted by showmeproof

The wood one I tried snapped together nicely like you see in most reviews. The CF version was very tight and didn't seem to set just right at the position just prior to pushing back to set it to the body. That was just one factor that made me go with the Emerald sight unseen.

Update: I purchased a SKB GS mini case for flight travels and will probably use the gig bag when traveling by car.

The case is not a perfect fit, but works. The X7's neck does not sit on the case's neck rest (about 1" higher). The strap button gets in the way so you have to push in on the underlying styrofoam in that area to soften it up to get the room needed. The X7's body is deeper which means you need to wear in the styrofoam a bit on the top part of the case. The body fits snuggly and the case will wear in just fine over time.