http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php Copyright 2008, Bruce Bruce en-US SPHPBLOG 0.5.1 http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry071010-123323 Air travel adventure
« on: October 08, 2007, 09:31:57 PM »
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I posted this on another forum, but thought that you folks might also find it interesting:

Well, not really much of an adventure; actually pretty anti-climactic. For months I've been agonizing about how to travel back from New York to Beijing -- with 2 guitars, a Martin 000-16SGT and a Larrivee Parlor, via either Toronto or Vancouver on Air Canada. My ultimate plan was to carry the Larri & buy a 000 Lite Case (basically hardened foam covered by nylon) from Stew-Mac, leave the Martin hard shell flattop case at home in New York & put the Lite Case inside a Clam Case from Case Extreme. By the time I got around to ordering the Lite Case from Stew-Mac, they were out of stock. The new ones came in last week but would have been delivered too late for me. So . . . the hard shell case, guitar inside, got packed into the Clam Case last Friday and off I went to LaGuardia Airport at 6:15 in the am on Saturday for a flight to Toronto, a plane change and on to Beijing 16 and a half hours later (including delays). Air Canada is usually pretty customer friendly and they didn't even charge me for oversize baggage. They did give me a bunch of "Fragile" stickers & I plastered the case with big red warnings. Real big! In the rush & hassle of trying to get to the airport & get things packed into one suitcase plus the Clam Case, the guitar had to share space with some of my dirty laundry -- -- and a few books; some software; a big flat, square "Siberian Husky XING" sign; and 4 packs of D'Addario 3-Set string boxes; but my plan to loosen the strings a bit got forgotten, so they were left up to pitch. The headstock got packed (top & bottom) with wadded-up packing paper, the hygrometer got removed from the case and put into my suitcase, but I also inadvertently left a flat pick wedged between the strings. My Larrivee P-10MQ, BTW, got carried on to the flight in its arch-top hard case with no comments from anyone at all. I did have to talk quickly to get early boarding in Toronto (I told them I was "physically decrepit and had body parts that were failing" and the gate agent earnestly asked if I was "okay to fly". I said yes & he smiled and I was the 4th one down the tunnel). the larri fit into the overhead with about a centimeter to spare.

The result in Beijing? Well, I had a nervous moment when my suitcase popped down the conveyor belt onto the carousel within 3 minutes of my arrival at baggage retrieval and the guitar didn't quickly follow. On a hunch, I loaded the suitcase & Larrivee onto a cart and wheeled over to the oversize area and the Clam Case was already sitting there. I was too nervous to do much except check that nothing was visibly damaged (no cracks, neck still attached, headstock still where it was supposed to be). When I got home a half hour later, I got the 000 out and picked my favorite G-Run Boogie. Sounded great and, believe it or not, still in tune.

Clearly, no 747 had run over the case, so maybe real tests are someplace in the future. But I'm more than pleased. On my next trip, I'll try to get a Lite Case, which will make everything more manageable, but the Clam Case seems to be everything it's supposed to be. Hallelujah!






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]]> http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry071010-123323 Bruce Wed, 10 Oct 2007 19:33:23 GMT http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=10&entry=entry071010-123323 http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry071004-101905 ]]> http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry071004-101905 Bruce Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:19:05 GMT http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=10&entry=entry071004-101905 http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry071004-101737 ]]> http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry071004-101737 Bruce Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:17:37 GMT http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=10&entry=entry071004-101737 http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry071004-101506 ]]> http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry071004-101506 Bruce Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:15:06 GMT http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=10&entry=entry071004-101506 http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070916-124032
Thanks very much,

Patrick Hogan]]> http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070916-124032 Bruce Sun, 16 Sep 2007 19:40:32 GMT http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=09&entry=entry070916-124032 http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070916-123204 I purchased a white special edition Jumbo Case and took my master built tele on a trip from Dallas Tx to Tulsa Ok. On the return trip i had to check the guitar at the ticket counter. As i turned to walk to my gate when i hear some commotion and a lady scream, turn the conveyor belt off! My case had wedged between a metal bar and the conveyor on its exit. Before the conveyor had stopped, the metal bar had bent and there was smoke. They pulled the case free and the corner was creased but there were no punctures. When i got home the guitar was in great shape and still in tune. Great product!

Mitch Waddell]]> http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070916-123204 Bruce Sun, 16 Sep 2007 19:32:04 GMT http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=09&entry=entry070916-123204 http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070916-121832
I have now used the Jumbo case on at least a dozen legs, and I am 100 percent pleased. It is used for my 1943 Epiphone Triumph, with a gig bag inside. It has only been opened once, that I know of. It breezes thru the ticket check-in, size at this point has never been questioned at curbside or counter. I am also impressed at how little wear the case shows on the outside. I travel about twenty weekends a year to Trad Jazz festivals, pretty high exposure at airports to other guitar and banjo players also headed to perform at the festivals. Check out my web site
www.jerrykrahn.com.

thanks for a great product!
Jerry]]> http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070916-121832 Bruce Sun, 16 Sep 2007 19:18:32 GMT http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=09&entry=entry070916-121832 http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070902-144200 The term (ATA approved) is a self given statement by guitar case manufactures to make their guitar cases sound more official. We had our attorney contact the ATA to see how we may get an approval. They said they don’t make any such, or have in place any type of approval system. There only statement was that if a package can fall from a ten foot drop onto concrete without breaking open it would be a suitable carton for air cargo and handling.

The heavier the case the harder it falls. When I was designing the Clam Case simply getting rid of the weight was half the battle. Our cases would not fall apart if they were dropped onto concrete. The amount of absorbing shock our cases have is much more than a wooden anvil type case or standard wood guitar case.

What you need is the inside to work with the outside of the case and ours certainly accomplishes that. The weight of the cargo inside of a case (the guitar) has to be taken into the calculations of how to protect it. If you put a ton of bricks inside our case it would certainly work against the calculations we currently have of protecting the case from falling apart.

In short there is no such thing as an ATA approved case no matter what case manufactures try and tell their customers. The Anvil style cases have been nicknamed ATA cases because they were the first to use that term.

I probably could have just told you that there is no such thing as an ATA approved case but I think it needs to be explained a bit more.

Casextreme
]]> http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070902-144200 Bruce Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:42:00 GMT http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=09&entry=entry070902-144200 http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070829-164412
I recently returned from attending the Fingerpicking Guitar class organized and conducted by Steve Kaufman over in Maryville, Tennessee. I thought I would let you know that I was fortunate enough to win the drawing for "The Clam" travel case which you provided as a promotional prize to the Kaufman Guitar Kamp, and I am absolutely delighted to have it.

Please be assured that this case is going to be put to use, especially on my trips to Atlanta and Phoenix, and I'm sure that I shall sweat less about what happens to my Martin guitar in route. It will not just gather dust in the corner.

Thanks so much for your generous promotional prize to the the Steve Kaufman Kamp, and a special thanks from a lucky recipient like me.

Duncan Briggs, Oak Hill, VA
]]> http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070829-164412 Bruce Wed, 29 Aug 2007 23:44:12 GMT http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=08&entry=entry070829-164412 http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070829-163542 Hello Mr. Lamb,

The Clam case arrived intact and even survived a major attack by UPS (see picture attached)! Now if it will just survive the United baggage people :)

--
Tom Roper taroper@gmail.com
Beatnik Turtle - we write songs good.
http://beatnikturtle.com
http://TheSongOfTheDay.com - One Band. One Year. 365 Free Songs.
]]> http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry070829-163542 Bruce Wed, 29 Aug 2007 23:35:42 GMT http://travelguitarcase.com/pblog/comments.php?y=07&m=08&entry=entry070829-163542