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Topic: Shipping a pedal steel guitar |
Tommy Boswell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 21 Jan 2014 4:57 am |
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What's the best way to pack a pedal steel guitar for shipping? You've got this nice case with a handle designed for one-arm carry. Are you really going to pack that away in a cardboard box making a 60-plus pound package that requires a bear hug with two arms to lift and move? Doesn't sound very practical to me. Mine is a MSA Classic, about 50 pounds in the case.
Would like to hear from some of you who have shipped these things before. |
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Howard Steinberg
From:
St. Petersburg, Florida , USA
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Posted 21 Jan 2014 5:17 am
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If you have a strap or spring loaded handle you can cut a hole to access it. I had a steel, with a typical guitar case handle, shipped to me in this fashion. Upshot was that there was no handle when the guitar arrived.
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Justice Pro Lite (4-5), Justice D-10 (8-5)x2 , Quilter Steelaire, Hilton Pedal, BJ's bar. |
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Tommy Boswell
From:
Virginia, USA
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Posted 21 Jan 2014 5:31 am
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| A strap sounds good, thanks Howard. |
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Dick Sexton
From:
Greenville, Ohio
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Posted 21 Jan 2014 6:03 am Shipping A Steel...
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This is the method I have used to ship 2 steels. Both made it. I have also used Greg's method to ship two amps, both made it undamaged. Here: http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Shipping%20Steels/Shipping%20Steels.html
Don't worry about giving them something to hold on to, if they can grab it with one hand they will us that to swing it on to or into something. Pack it so it can survive a 12 foot drop and don't be afraid of over kill. Most important... Pack the inside of the case so NOTHING moves.
My experience... |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 21 Jan 2014 7:33 am
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I've heard in similar threads how exposing the handle is risky because of the mechanisation involved at the various ditribution points (UPS, Fedex, etc) and the chance of the handle getting snagged.
I recently shipped a guitar and left the handle so it could be reached through a small rectangular hole in the box. I did this because, as per Tommy's post, I simply couldn't lift the article without it!!!
When the UPS driver came I asked about it - he said he infinitely preferred leaving an available handle, whatever the official advice might be. He also said that often heavier articles would be manually handled due to their weight.
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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles and Martins - and, at last, a Gibson Super 400!
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 22 Jan 2014 3:08 pm
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| I stuff the inside of the case so nothing can move. Best if you have to slightly force it closed. I used two cheap canvas luggage straps from Lowe's to insure that no matter what happens, the case stays closed. I make an inner box from 1" foam insulation, using duct tape to hold it together. Then the cardboard box. I take pictures of every step. I do not leave an exposed handle. These boxes travel on conveyor belts. If the handle snags something, all bets are off. |
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