Robben Ford Discussion

[Cal]

Hi Daved,

First off, I just want to say that the show at the Horshoe in Toronto was fantastic. (For those who don't know, there is no seating at the Horshoe, so a few of us stood for nearly four hours up front and it was packed shoulder to shoulder). Also, on behalf of Toronto, I apologize for the flashes going off. I'll never understand why people do that when directly asked not to. Performer as chattel, I suppose.

I quite enjoyed George Leach and was curious how he was selected to open? I've caught him solo at some folk festivals here in Ontario and was suprised at how hard he worked and rocked.

Now to the real question. How do you ship Robben's gear on flights? Specifially the guitars. I'm going to be doing some plane hopping and want to make all the necessary precautions.

Thanks.

[Daved]

Cal,

Usually, these days, Robben carries one guitar over his shoulder in a gigbag and I carry another the same way.

My recommendations for shipping would be to be sure your guitars are in a very solid case, preferably a roadcase such as an Anvil or the like, especially with acoustics. Electrics can take a bit more punishment so a very sturdy fiber case can suffice, but I try to avoid them in shipping whenever possible.

If you are hand carrying them or taking them as excess baggage when they are not in hard roadcases, try to either keep them in the passenger part of the plane with you or see if the airline will let you special check any extras at the door to the plane, to be picked up as you exit the plane.

Some folks will tell you to always be sure to loosen the strings before you send them on their way. This is probably a good idea if the guitars have fixed bridges and are going into the hold where you don't know what kind of temperatures the guitars will be subjected to, but is rarely necessary when the guitars are riding in the passenger section.

Personally, with very rare exceptions, I almost never loosen strings on guitars with whammy mechanisms... you don't need to, as the flex of the whammy will take up any varying tensions and it can be a needless pain pulling the strings back into tune if you loosen the tension on a floating bridge.

Also, if you are moving a lot of guitars and gear, there are professional shipping companies such as Rock-it or Sound Moves that specialize in transporting musical equipment safely.

As for George Leach, he was placed on the bill by the local promoter. We really had nothing to do withselecting him as a support act.
_________________
B C-ing U!
( }:-Daved
"This boy's diseased with rhythm!" -Bing Crosby (Road To Rio, '49)

[Ian Hurtt]

That's not the reply I expected!

Daved,

Immediately upon reading this I was guessing custom flight cases for the guitars. I was very surprised with "gig bag". Obviously the airlines don't give you a problem with carrying them on. I thought that they would be considered too big?

Ian