<p>Not a music major, but an avid musician, and I figured the good people of the Music Major section would have experience in such matters. I'll be leaving for college in 2 short weeks and since the distance is too long to drive, I'll be flying and need to ship my guitar and amp. What would be a good (and SAFE!) way to ship an electric guitar and a somewhat fragile tube amplifier? Are there any recommendations as far as which company to use? Are there services that specifically ship musical instruments?</p>
<p>We have used a local guitar dealer and repair guy to pack an ship D’s instruments. He is used to selling and shipping guitars all over the world and since we have used his services, he cut us a good deal. He shipped D’s small Fender (circa 1967) tube amp as well. Be sure to insure all the shipped items for full replacement value. But if you consider anything “irreplaceable” —leave it at home.</p>
<p>I agree- buy it and leave it at college. The cost will actually be more economical over the 4 years if you consider shipping back and forth - especially if you want it for winter break. Or just buy an amp and take the electric guitar, in a hard (or flight) case, as checked baggage on the plane (paying the extra baggage fee.)</p>
<p>If you must ship the guitar - ship it via FedEx or UPS Ground, in a hard case, in a box which you can get from a guitar store. Remember, though, that it’s harder as a college student to get it together to ship things on the return trip home!</p>
<p>We didn’t have to worry about shipping anything home since the amp,Gibson, the Stratocaster, and the Martin were all “taken care of” by hurricane Katrina. Thus my comment about leaving stuff at home…that is UNLESS your home base is in hurricane alley. ;)</p>
<p>I don’t have the money to buy another guitar/amp right now and my parents won’t pay for it- despite my efforts, they have yet to grasp the concept of owning more than one instrument…hah. They will pay to ship it, however, so that appears to be my only option. My equipment is nice, but not irreplaceable- if it was, it’d definitely be left at home. Will have to talk about insuring. I’ll take all your recommendations into account; thank you.</p>
<p>@musicamusica: my condolences! That sounds horrible- I hope nobody was hurt? It’s bad enough that all those great instruments were destroyed. My amp, like the one you mentioned, is also a small Fender tube amp (though not a 1967 model…to be honest I’d have serious qualms about sending a vintage tube amp anywhere…that must have taken some guts, lol). It’s a good size for a dorm room, but I’m just concerned about rattling or even breaking the tubes during shipment. That worries me more than the guitar, honestly. Tube amps, as I’m sure you’ve found out, are fragile and finicky beasts.</p>
<p>you may want to look into a Pelican case to fit the amp and then box around that. It may be an expensive option, but it will work. Another option would be to pull the tubes, label them and pack in another box. Good Luck.</p>
<p>What patientpoppa sez: take the tubes out and package well in another box! In fact when I bought the AMP off of Ebay…that’s the way they packaged it! Also…you will find that a local dealer will probably have reinforced guitar case sized boxes for your instrument.</p>