Any tips for traveling with the Axe Fx II and assorted rig

henryrobinett

henryrobinett

Fractal Fanatic
It's been asked before. I've asked it before on a couple of occasions. Now that about a year has past I'll ask again. Maybe some more experienced Axe Fx users have found good solutions and or systems for this. I want to do the journeyman thing. I want to be able to jump on a plane and go with a minimal Axe FxII rig. One or two guitars and my AF and a small power amp. I have ATA cases for the guitars. I have a Pedaltrain case for my LF+12+ and 3 expression pedals. I can shove the power amp in a suitcase. I can bring the soft guitar cases on baggage, maybe stuffed with other items and maybe an empty rack? If I'm really commando I can not bring a suitcase and stuff all my clothes in two soft guitar cases! Or put the AF and 1U power amp in the same case and ship them in baggage?? Shock mount case? I can get a speaker or two wherever I'm going.

More than likely I'll be going to small jazz venues. Maybe some concert halls and colleges, but not the kind of thing where I can rely on a sound man to send me a monitor mix for myself.

1. How do you safely travel with the AF? I've heard some people say it fits in a computer bag. They just take it on the plane with them.
2. Should I get a more durable case for the LF than the pedaltrain hard case?
3. Any reliable shockmount cases - 3 or 4 unit, that you'd feel safe on baggage?

I know the more bags I bring the more expensive the fees are. I need to travel as inexpensively as possible.

Thanks in advance for any real world tips. Id love to hear from people who have done this and who have had experience in the department.
 
henryrobinett said:
1. How do you safely travel with the AF? I've heard some people say it fits in a computer bag. They just take it on the plane with them.
2. Should I get a more durable case for the LF than the pedaltrain hard case?
3. Any reliable shockmount cases - 3 or 4 unit, that you'd feel safe on baggage?
Click to expand...

1. I put my AxeFX in a soft rack bag and carry it on the plane. There are a few options for rack bags, so just make sure it's deep enough for the AxeFX. Search on Sweetwater or Musician's Friend.

2. I don't think there *is* a more durable hard case than the pedaltrain hard case :). Those things are tanks. I've traveled all over with mine and never had a problem.

3. There are some impressive heavy duty shock cases out there. I have a six-space OSP case that I think you could safely drop from Earth orbit. Those cases also pretty heavy, as they're basically double-shelled flight cases with shock foam in between the layers. My six-space rack OSP shock case weighs 62 pounds empty. With AxeFX, amp and so on, it's over 80 pounds. You'll pay a premium to ship that thing. The good news is those things really protect your gear. When touring by ground transportation, my rig goes in the shock case and into the truck. When we're flying, I use a 4 space soft rack bag for the AxeFX and power amp (carry on), put my MFC-101 and control pedals into a dedicated flight case (checked luggage), and my guitar goes in a flight case (checked luggage). I used to go with a gig bag for my guitar, but I'm finding airlines are increasingly reluctant to allow my guitar on the plane; when they refuse outright, I don't want my guitar in a gig bag being thrown into the maelstrom of checked luggage. I've just resigned myself to sucking it up and paying the checked bag cost for my guitar to ensure it arrives in playable condition.
 
Thanks for the response. I did the sane regarding guitars and plane. I always had to fight it wait for another plane that might have space.

Good to know about the pedal train hard case!

So there's a three unit soft case that'll fit on a plane for both AF and a power amp? That would solve most of my problems.
 
Sleestak said:
1. I put my AxeFX in a soft rack bag and carry it on the plane. There are a few options for rack bags, so just make sure it's deep enough for the AxeFX. Search on Sweetwater or Musician's Friend.
Click to expand...
Sleestak - do you mind telling me which one you use or what works for you? Obviously I have to do some more research. I just looked at Sweetwater. I'm concerned about depth. Right now I'm using a shallow one for around town. I have two deep 4 space racks I'm not using but I like that this is smaller. Actually it fits on my guitar stand where the deeper one wouldn't.

Does it fit under the seat in front of you, or in an overhead compartment? I have to look at acceptable dimensions for flights.

Are you talking about something like this?

Gator GRB-3U - 3 Rack Spaces | Sweetwater.com
 
I use a Gator 2U case, and stuff it in the overhead. Usually bring guitar in a gig bag and put that in the closet. I check the MFC in a small hard sided suit case. Gator has some good cases - am thinking about getting one with wheels to simplify transport?
 
Thank you. Do you think a 3 space would fit or is the 2 space barely small enough? I need my 1U power amp. If need be I'm sure I can stuff that in a suitcase, but then I'd have the problem of not having it in a rack at the gig to wherever I'm going.
 
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