Break It Down Or Leave It Assembled?

Mark Edwards · From: Weatherford,Texas, USA

I saw the thread on "Do You Leave Your Steel At A Gig?" Which then brought up the thought - Do ya'll break down your steel each and every time you go to or come from a gig or do you leave it assembled assuming you have enough room in your ride?

I find it less time consuming to leave my steel assembled and will put in the open case upside down, still intact then carry it from the truck to the gig or into the house.

How many of ya'll break it down VS leaving it assembled to and from gig's, jams, sessions etc...?

Jim Walker · From: Headland, AL

Hey Mark 'ole buddy. I tear mine up and down every gig. Takes me 3 minutes or a little less with an SD10 3&5.

Hope you and Linda are doing great.

JW
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Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

Mark - If you perform a search on the "old" Forum, you will find a couple of previous discussions about the pros and cons of this practice. Very enlightening, as I recall.

Lee

Larry Lorows · From: Zephyrhills,Florida, USA

I leave mine upside down in the case if I am not going very far. It sure saves a lot of time. Larry
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Gary Shepherd · From: Fox, Oklahoma, USA

I don't think my Carter has been in pieces in over a year.
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Gary Shepherd

Carter D-10 & Peavey Nashville 1000

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Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

My almost 26 year old Franklin has always been torn down and put it the case to transport.

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

Whatever works..

I keep mine set up and transport in my Van covered up sitting snug right behind the drivers seat.( rear seat removed) No issues.

One minute from my practice room to the Van, one minute from the Van to the Stage.

I do like the idea of having it sit upside down in the case as well, I may try that.

I guess one can say that it can get damaged in an accident, thats probably true, But if the accident is that bad the Steel will be the least of my worries.

by the way, one of the times I was in Nville to see the Players, Paul came in with his Steel all set up and he just plunked it down on the stage in front of his rig which was already there.

tp

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

In the late 70's, it was standard practice for steelers in my neck o' the woods to have a big Caddy, Buick, or Oldsmobile. I had an Olds Holiday, 1974. You took off the back legs, and put your steel in the back seat, and prayed you never came to a sudden stop!

David Doggett · Posted 21 May 2007 7:49 am

I only break my S12U down for out of town gigs. Around town I just stand it up behind the back seat of my minivan. It fits perfect and can't fall either way.

Clyde Mattocks · From: Kinston, North Carolina, USA

I put it upside down in the open case and take the two back legs off. Of course, I put the case against something so the whole thing doesn't slide
forward (in my van) if I hit the brakes. I like
the idea of hauling it upright, except that I'm
paranoid that all the jiggling it endures while riding loosens the leg sockets.

Emmett Roch · From: Texas Hill Country

Back when I had a big car with a big trunk, I would sometimes lay the guitar down with the front apron on a thick blanket, remove the back legs, and close the lid without a problem.
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Paddy Long · From: Christchurch, New Zealand

My Zum is always packed down into the case ...there is no way I would risk having it damaged while fully assembled in a vehicle!

Damien Odell · From: Springwood, New South Wales, Australia

I'm with you Paddy.
The amount of times I have had to stand on the brakes while all my guitars slid round the back of the car....I would never risk a steel guitar floating round a car out of the case, it's asking for trouble.

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

Jerry H. Moore · From: Newnan, GA, USA

If you don't break it down then that means TWO trips to the car, one for the guitar and one for the case and that ain't countin the amp and stuff. I'm for less walking. I've got it down to about three minutes each way. I have a single neck though.This thing looks like the works on the courthouse clock underneath and I feel it's safer in the box. Think of Murphy's Law!

David Doggett · Posted 21 May 2007 9:05 pm

Why would I bring an empty case? And the assembled guitar is much lighter without the case. One set of legs sit on the raised rear door frame of my minivan, which tilts the guitar back so the body rests on the back of the back seat. There is no wobble, even if I brake hard. And the other set of legs are on carpet, so there is no shifting sideways, and there are things beside the guitar that would keep that from happening anyway. I figure there is less strain on the legs than when I play and hit the knee levers. If my van got hit so bad the guitar was damaged, I'm not sure being in the case would help much. And maybe I'm naive, but I would think the insurance would cover the damage to the guitar the same as it covers my whiplash. In the long run, the small risk seems worth the major convenience.

Dave Harmonson · From: Seattle, Wa

When I had a big van I used to carry my D10 MSA set up layed down on it's face with padding around it. That worked out OK until one time some A*****e cut me off and I had to slam on the brakes and that sucker flipped all the way over. The jerk never knew anything happened, and I'm stopped on the side of the road doing some pretty good cussing. Made alot of racket but I couldn't find any damage. I started packing it up after that.

Ron Randall · From: Dallas, Texas, USA

It Depends. If I can put my MSA in the back of my suburban, I will leave it assembled. Coupla bungy cords and I am gone. I do this at least once a week.

If I am travelling with the band in the van, with all the gear in the trailer, I put it in its case. I do this a coupla times a month.

Just a matter of consequences.

Ron

Roger Edgington · From: San Antonio, Texas USA

I always put the Zum in the case. It's too easy not to. If I take the pp I lay it in the back of the van. I don't like setting it up. I bundge my non pedal to the back of the seat. I don't have a case built for it yet. A lot of our jobs are out of town and we ride together so it requires packing.

Aaron Harms · From: Missouri, USA

It seems to me it depends upon your mode of transport. I've done trips in both a Subaru Forester and a Grand Caravan, and could stand the steelup flush against the back seats in both, and then add my amp in front of it, with maybe an inch to half an inch to the back door. With extra goodies to the right, it wedges in nice and tight, no matter how many times I have to stand on the brakes.

It does help that my amp is exactly the right size to come flush with the front of the steel....

A

Herb Steiner · From: Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064

Okay, I'll say it again. You guys that don't tear your steel down for transport are asking for cabinet and endplate problems.

When a steel moves on its legs, like when the car starts and stops moving, especially in a hard braking situation, the body moves due to a higher center of gravity, but the legs stay relatively stationary; or if the guitar is upside down, vice versa. When the legs move in the opposite direction of the cabinet, the screw holes in the body get wallowed out by the screws which fasten the endplates to the cabinet. You then have loose screw connections, and the cabinet will move when knee levers are utilized, and the legs will shimmy when the guitar is lifted.

Eventually you'll either have to 1) fill the holes with doweling and redrill; 2) do the toothpick and Elmer's thing; or 3) live with a poorly maintained guitar.

Not tearing the guitar down is basically laziness. Not that that's bad, necessarily. But it's a poor craftsman who doesn't care for his tools, especially those as expensive as steel guitars.

Just MHO. Flame on, brethren. Wink

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My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

Mark Edwards · From: Weatherford,Texas, USA

Herb do you think it still hurts the steel when it is laid upside down in your case w/the case open? I drive a Jeep Wrangler and with the back seat out. My amp, pack-a-seat, and steel (still together upside donw in the case) fit perfectly in the back with no room for movement.

Herb Steiner · From: Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064

Mark
It's the same difference, only slightly less damaging to the guitar. You'll still have the legs and pedal rack floating in the air, with the ability to move. When the pedal rack moves, the screws attaching the endplates to the cabinet move. The female threads in the wood cabinet are the softest piece of the linkage, and would still get damaged.

The same thing can happen when a guitar is being carried across a dance floor or studio while set up. Say you bang the pedal rack or one of the legs against a table or something. Bingo, your screw hole just took a hit. Enough of those, and your guitar is wobbly.

It can also happen when the steel male fitting on a leg is forced against the softer metal of an endplate leg hole. Threads get wallowed and then have to be either heli-coiled or plugged and redrilled.

Bear in mind that only very occasionally doing this potentially damaging behavior won't immediately strip out the cabinet holes, but continuously over time will be very deleterious to your guitar.

Lots of old guitars are wobbly, due to these loose fittings of cabinet to endplates. It's part of what makes them "old guitars." An instrument that came from the builder, got set up in a music room, and never left the house would not have such a problem. Few guitars, however, are so lucky.
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My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

Nathan Delacretaz · From: Austin, Texas, USA

Tell 'em Herb! (I think you may have given me this valuable lecture in person a couple yrs back) ha

Darvin Willhoite · From: Roxton, Tx. USA

I agree with Herb. I would never transport one of my guitars set up, thats why I have cases. It's just not worth the risk of getting it damaged by it being out of the case. As a result, all of my guitars look as good they did the day I unpacked them for the first time.
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Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, a restored MSA Classic SS, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Also a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored Rose S10, named the "Blue Bird". Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also have a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks, and a showroom condition Sho-Bud Super Pro.

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