[HANASHIR:2816] guitars on board

[Jeff Klepper <Klepper...>]

Since United started enforcing its 14 inch maximum width restriction I
discovered that my Martin 0-18 in a padded shoulder bag just makes it
through the opening on their x-ray machine, so that's what I travel with
and I take it on board.  It fits in the overhead (a coat or a couple of
blankets under the neck supports it nicely) and you just have to watch and
make sure nobody tries to cram a hard case in there after the guitar is
tucked in.   If you're about to buy a guitar, take a tape measure with you.
 If the widest part of the body is under 14 inches (leaving some space for
the case) you should be ok.  A good used 0-18 isn't cheap, around $700, but
they sound great, and a good shoulder bag will set you back about $150.
Yamaha and Ibanez have just come out with travel guitars that copy the Baby
Taylor.  The Yamaha actually sounds pretty decent for its size and price
and it has a normal shape.  I saw one at Sam Ash for about $125.  The
action was a bit high but that can be fixed.  I agree with everybody -
waiting for your guitar to come down the conveyor belt is a real stress
raiser.  Hope your guitars make it to Hava in one piece.  See you there.
BTW, it is a good idea to loosen the strings a couple of notes when
checking the guitar.

Jeff Klepper

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