 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-08-24 13:10
I read a comment in the Sax book 101 Sax Tips and it said to put your instrument in the back seat of the car instead of the trunk due to rear-end hit accidents.
I always transport my Clarinets in the back seat with the seatbelt fastened tightly around the case (through the handles and backpack loops - I have an Alteiri Backback style case cover).
I would do that mainly for temperature control but the accident comment is a good one too.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Don Berger
Date: 2005-08-24 13:36
A thoughtful thread D B. I never, [well, hardly ever {as in G&S}] put , even a sax, in the trunk, and run the AC to "equilibrate" temps. On stop overs, its among the first things into the motel. Re: saxes, having replaced many low Eb pads, water-"corroded", torn, food thereon, I tell newbie saxers to dry the horn, lay the case FLAT, not on its back so condensation does not dry out on the pad. A simple thing to do !! Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: William
Date: 2005-08-24 14:51
A saxophonist friend of mine lost a months worth of income (rock band in the 70s) while his tenor sax was jammed in the trunk of his car as a result of a rear-end collision. It took that long before the insurance guys could sort the legalities out so he could get his trunk fixed and his sax out. The instrument was ok, it was just the loss (plus the cost of renting another sax) of income that was paying for his college education.
Personally, I never transport my clarinets or saxophones in my auto's trunk simply because of the temperature extremes and the resulting damage that can occur to pads, etc. (same for taxies and bus luggage compartments) Even with my instruments in my back or front seat, I don't like to run the air conditioner on too high a setting because it cools my instruments--expecially my bass clarinet, for some strange reason--often causing assembly and tuning problems on the gig.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: contragirl
Date: 2005-08-24 14:55
Our orchestra's oboe player got in a serious rear end collision last year when he had his oboe and english horn in the trunk.
Luckily he was alright.
And so were his instruments!
lol.
--Contragirl
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2005-08-24 15:45
I agree about the temperature thing and the trunk of the car. The seat belt idea was a bit unique, but it would also be a good idea in case you were involved in an accident because the instrument wouldn't fly around the cabin of the automobile and possibly harm someone. I usually put mine on the floor behind my seat. I always carry them in their cases. That helps with insulation as well. If I'm going to be out of the car for a more than a few minutes, I take them with me to prevent theft and damage from temperature changes.
This is good to think about when flying with your instrument as well. I always keep my instruments with me. Clarinets are easy, but if I fly with my guitar I carry it on board and ask the attendant to please put it in one of the closets in the cabin rather than in the cargo hold. Sometimes they won't try to take the guitar away and I can put it in the overhead compartment.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: pewd
Date: 2005-08-24 15:55
next airplane you're on, sit by the window, right side, just behind the wing.
watch how the cargo handling folks treat the luggage.
then you'll never , ever check an instrument as cargo again.
remember those samsonite ads, with the dude in the gorrilla suit throwing the suitcase around , trying to break it?
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-08-24 19:10
Sometimes it's not so simple with larger instruments -- for example, yesterday I was carrying in my car TWO low-A bari saxes, neither of which was mine, and they had to stay in the car all day while I was at work. Should I have left them in the back seat, where they would have been a target for theft? Or in the trunk, vulnerable to rear-end collision damage? I didn't think it was appropriate to bring them into the office, so carrying them with me wasn't an available option (though it would have been good exercise for my arms and back).
Nevertheless, for smaller instruments the advice above is certainly worth heeding. And as far as airplane baggage handling, Brenda and Paul are absolutely right.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2005-08-24 19:23
Regarding airline baggage handling, what do you do with a larger instrument, say a low-C bass clarinet, if you are flying with it? It would presumably be too large to carry on.
I assume that, when it was shipped to the US from France it came by cargo plane. Would I be right in assuming that air cargo companies are more careful in handling items?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2005-08-24 19:36
I've seen Yamaha saxes (in their original box cases) trashed by baggage handlers!
So nothing is safe.
Just as well I don't take my baritone (or any other saxes) on flights, or just as well I don't generally fly!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-08-24 19:36
David - moving cars are different than a fender bender in the parking lot.
I'd put them in the back seat (seatbelt being a must!) and then move them to the trunk a block or so (yes, pull over and make the switch) before arriving to your destination if you have to leave them unattended.
Don't switch their location in your car at your destination as somebody can view you doing it and choose to break in based on what they saw.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-08-24 19:49
David B --- good advice, I'll try it next time (although I hope there won't be a 'next time' carrying two baris!).
As for airline travel (we had at least one thread on this some time ago), when I had to fly with my bari and tenor saxes and clarinet a few years ago I put some bubble wrap around the bari inside its hard case to keep it from shifting, then packed it (as if I were shipping it via UPS) in a large cardboard box with lots of padding between the case and the box. I put a makeshift handle on the cardboard box so I could lug it around the airport, and checked the bari as luggage. The tenor I put in a padded gig bag to make it small enough to carry onboard and fit in the overheard compartment, and the clarinet I carried onboard in my regular bag. Needless to say I had left at home all potentially-offensive weapons such as reed knife, reed clipper, and screwdriver. Nothing was damaged in transit, and although the security inspectors did open the bari box and case on the return flight, they did no damage and put everything back together OK.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-08-24 20:08
I carry 2 bari's all the time .........
(no I don't, heck I don't even own a Bari)
Man, I bet you didn't have to go to the gym after that day!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2005-08-24 20:14
I wish playing and lugging my bari around would work wonders for my belly!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Katrina
Date: 2005-08-24 20:16
One thing about airline travel that an accordionist friend of mine has told me:
If you're a member of the local Musician's Union, there is apparently an agreement between them and the Baggage Handler's Union that you may bring your instrument on-board since it's how you make your living. IIRC, the instrument doesn't even count as a carry-on in those situations.
Personally, I'm glad I don't play any big instruments!
Katrina
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: CJB
Date: 2005-08-25 16:37
Don
I had few problems with my low C bass in a Wiseman case taking it on a plane as hand lugguage. Minor problem was on 1 trip the larger overhead bins were full and the smaller slightly too small, sticking it behind the back row of seats was acceptable to the cabin crew. The original Yamaha case is also an acceptable size for hand luggage.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2005-08-25 17:09
I'm not aware of any agreement between the AFM and the Baggage Handler's Union (which is probably a local lodge in the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, in any event), but there is a nationwide "letter of understanding" issued by TSA to the national headquarters of the American Federation of Musicians that outlines for the airline personnel to who it is presented the reasonable precautions to be taken when shipping the likes of musical instruments on passenger aircraft. It points out that these are tools and not casual items, and that (in many cases) they are not replaceable "in kind".
However, the final say is still up to the traveller (who, in theory, has the right to refuse to use the airline). So, in actuality, it's all still up to the airline, since your right to refuse means that you ain't getting where you're going.
Airlines can be pretty arbitrary about all of this nonsense. I have gone onto an aircraft from Chicago to Houston after checking in at the counter, and have been told (while checking in) that I could not take any carry on luggage (i.e., standard briefcase), while (at the same time on either side of me, at the very same counter), two other people were checked in and allowed to retain their briefcases. My objections got me perilously close to a shakedown by the TSA. Not fair, but (under the post terrorism advent guidelines) completely legal.
I'd go so far as to say that, for trips under three hundred miles, I'd avoid the air routes all together and make the trek in a vehicle. Too many problems for people traveling with an instrument, unthinking handling on the part of TSA and airline personnel, and more trouble at both ends (both timewise and restriction wise) than it's worth saving during the actual flight. Unfortunately, not everyone has this option.
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2005-08-25 19:04
"and have been told (while checking in) that I could not take any carry on luggage (i.e., standard briefcase), "
-------------------------------
I would have gone completely balistic at that point.
What the hell kind of stuff is that????
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-08-25 19:35
"Going ballistic" at any U.S. airport these days is a sure way to end up in jail. Very important to hold one's temper in check when travelling.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: missclarinetist
Date: 2005-08-25 19:39
When I fly back to school next week, I usually travel with a carry-on that I put my clarinet in.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: joannew
Date: 2005-08-25 20:56
Keep in mind that the baggage compartment of the plane drops to about -70C. Do you really want your wooden instrument under the plane?
I've travelled by plane with a 60 member orchestra. Cellists had to buy an extra seat for their instruments, double bass players borrowed instruments at the destination, but violins, violas, horns, trombones, clarinets, everything else came on board. The airline staff were really helpful and accommodating, and yes, this was after 9/11.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2005-08-25 21:19
joannew wrote:
> Keep in mind that the baggage compartment of the plane drops to
> about -70C.
That is incorrect, at least while in flight on a commercial airliner in the US. 50-70F is the norm and I believe 50F is the minimum by regulation, though I can't find the temperature regs online. However, during transport to & from the cargo area the temperature is unregulated, so during the summer and winter months your baggage may be seeing extreme temperature changes.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Brenda
Date: 2005-08-25 23:13
Pets in cages go in the cargo hold - so what's the temperature there, again? Or is there special handling for pets? Somehow my bags don't come back from the cargo hold freezing, even after the trans-Atlantic flights of 7 hours.
Back to carrying instruments in the car: Some very good thoughts about how and when to carry them in the trunk. One thought about using the back seat was brought up by Brenda - the Reader's Digest reminded us about having any items, even passengers, in any seat and unsecured by a seat belt. In an accident or especially rollovers any item can become airborne and cause serious injuries or death. An item as small as a credit card can draw blood, although the damage would be slight.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2005-08-26 15:39
Don Poulson said, <<I assume that, when it was shipped to the US from France it came by cargo plane. Would I be right in assuming that air cargo companies are more careful in handling items?>
The problem comes with the changing of temperatures and the seating of the pads, potential for cracks, etc. For those of us who don't pick them straight off the cargo plane, boat, etc. when they come from the factory, we probably don't see the nightmares involved with instrument shipping. When my hand-selected Buffet R-13 Prestige got to the states (they wouldn't let my professor carry it out of the factory--had to be shipped to our local Buffet dealer), he had a fit about all the "leaks." He told me he even thought it wasn't the same instrument except the serial number matched what he had written down. It was a mess and had to have a complete set of pads and several sessions of adjustments.
As to carrying on larger instruments such as guitars and large clarinets, I've been flying overseas with my instruments since 1984. There's no great way to do it unless you buy your instrument a seat--and, since most of us are not billionaires (unless we win the lottery as mentioned on another thread) that's not a good idea. I have found that I can request to "escort" my instrument to the plane myself (they give you a special tag that keeps the gate people happy) and once on board I can try to put it in the hang-up closet in front or in the overhead. If the attendant has a fit (which sometimes happens) I beg that I'm a musician and this is a VERY delicate instrument that MUST have special care and would they please personally hand carry it to a safe location other than the cargo hold. Many times they put it in a closet that is up behind the pilot and then they hand it to me when I get off. Obviously, this won't work for a standing bass or a cello or a tuba.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Don Poulsen
Date: 2005-08-26 15:56
I asked because two summers from now one of my groups plans on travelling to Europe. I expect that a lack of space would limit the number of large instruments--tubas (tubae?), euphoniums (euphonia?), trombones, bass clarinets, bassoons, contrabass clarinets, etc.--that could be brought aboard. Of course, the wooden instruments would be the ones of concern and might bring things down to a manageable number. I'll try to remember some of this advice for the next two years (or at least think to search for the thread).
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
