Travelling with gear on the plane

The Lounge
#1

dear all,

sorry if this question isn’t exactly elektron related and takes me many words, I really need some advice from people with experience.

I’m working together with a performance artist in the context of contemporary dance for many years now. if covid allows we will be on the road for two months nonstop this year. we will do different projects in different cities and just I don’t know how to manage the transport of all the stuff I need.

until now I was able to carry my equipment as hand luggage, sometimes it was on the edge, but in my experience cabin crews are very generous if you’re friendly.

for many years my setup was a laptop running ableton, soundcard, midi controller, there was still place for shirts und underwear in my back pack. for some projects I added a digitone, it just became more stuff to carry around.

my working method is very “dj style” and I discovered that I prefer to work with dj controllers, first a ddj400 (still small enough) and now a ddj1000. I really enjoy the simplicity, for me it works very well. but it’s huge. I had it with me when I was travelling by train, especially during corona with mask it was exhausting to carry the bags.

I’am looking for a flight case now to take the ddj1000 as checked baggage with me. what is your experience having gear in the hold, is it safe, are there things to consider like fragile stickers?

some airlines allow special luggage like musical instruments, but I never understood how it works and what it really means. I don’t book the tickets by myself, the person who does always tells me she can not find an option to book something like special luggage?

my other concern is the weight, when I read 12 kg extra I start to sweat immediately, you have to go to the airpot, to hotels, to the venues… I guess a flight case without trolley makes no sense at all?

an other option would be to ask the venues to rent a ddj1000 for me.
it may sound ridiculous, but I makes me feel like I am asking for a toy. don’t know why, just makes me feel strange. can you relate or is it just me?
to ask for four new cdjs and mixer is another option, good for travelling but I guess I have to adapt my workflow to some extend. we play at theaters and performance festivals, don’t know if they are happy and used to organise this equipment.

and of course there is the option to strip down everything, going back to work with the ableton set up for this two months. unattractive in terms of creativity but maybe it’s more important to reduce the struggle with travelling. what do you think?

thanks in advance,
boris

#2

When I was flying for gigs a lot (it’s been a while) I would always check a few flight cases and they always arrived OK, but some of the guys in the band would arrange to keep guitars on the plane. Pretty sure they called the airline ahead of time to arrange that. You could also ask at checkin, but might not be able to count on it at that point.

Heavier stuff like amps we would rent at the destination. This might be your best bet if you’re headed to towns that have music rentals.

#3

…travelling with flight cases always needs pre customs checkin…
so that the cases can get a “checked” seal and then need no further custom checks…
for that, u need a decent list of what’s exactly in there…
and all this makes only sense if ur crossing international borders frequently and is kind of a job for itself…

for easy hopping in and out, it’s way easier to take the handluggage solution…
nd then first rule is of course…keep it as small and simple as possible…

so in ur case, i’d say…no problem to comunicate upfront a tech rider with the venues and let them take care of the dedicated stuff u gonna need for performing there…
and as long it’s not too special, it’s only standard procedure for all local event organizers…
no worries to ask for “toys”…as long it’s some common gadget, or standard gear of any kind, they will take care of it…
it’s also a good way to make sure u can extend some kind of whishlist…
on my stage/tech rider there’s always also a bottle of single malt to find…
and yup…backstage is always some decent whiskey waiting for me… :wink:

#4

I feel you as I was always buying/not buying stuff considering this.

A sampler like the ot is a must or that and you can even carry a DN with it in a handluggage.
I’ve been carryin an OT, a looper, soundcard, electric guitar, amp, cables, mics in the cabin but it’s always a sweaty moment when you have to deal for it.
In Europe and western countries in general it is a nightmare and with low cost it would cost twice the ticket just to carry a guitar.
I’ve met people carrying much more though, no idea how. I also saw professional flightcases being destroyed, you don’t wanna see how they care about luggages.

#5

New Elektronaught here. Planning to fly US domestic with a Syntakt in the cabin with me so I can work during the flight.

Is security weird about digiboxes these days?

#6

Long as there’s not drugs hidden inside, you’ll be fine.

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#7

TSA pulled my bag, swabbed everything for residues, but was pleasant about it, and it didn’t take long (this was late August).

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#8

Over the years, I’ve been traveling with a Serge modular, a waterphone, a SP-303, an op-1 and a Digitakt with no problem. Just take the electronics off of your bag at security scan.

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#9

yes -> take the electronics off of your bag at security scan

makes it much smoother, sometimes they test for explosives, if your stuff isn’t hidden in your bag it’s more “routine” less searching for something, you make life easier for both sides, don’t think if the security staff as your “enemy”

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#10

Thanks All,

Appreciate the advice.

Cheers

#11

Bring good IEMs or well-fitting over-ear headphones. I didn’t realize how brutal cabin noise is until trying to use my DN on a flight a couple years ago.

I’ve never had issues with TSA, but flight attendants are always curious (not suspicious).

Safe travels!

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#12

Good point!

I’m bringing my AIAIAIs; they’ve been great and the latency is really low.

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#13

Might just be me but clacking away on a box of lights on your tray table seems like a bit of a dick move. Especially if anyone’s trying to sleep etc.

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#14

FWIW I once threw a Rytm and A4 in my checked luggage wrapped in clothes, from Sydney to LA, came out the other end fine lol. I was just taking too much stuff and it had to happen. I didn’t do fragile stickers or anything, didn’t want to draw attention, didn’t even lock it because they chop those off anyway.

Another time I took a projector with me in my carry on backpack from Japan to Iceland to Amsterdam to NY and all the way back to Australia. It sucked, weight wise, for the record those Mono Flyby Backpacks are absolutely mint for this sort of thing. You can fit so much gear in it. Just pray no one asks you about weight.

These days I just chuck everything in check. I hate carry things around airports. A small fanny pack is about all I can be bothered with.

#15

I’ve flown a lot with my gear both in my checked and carry-on bag. Never had an issue.

#16

Though I suspect the security scan corrupted the flash card of my sp-303. Some sounds had strange glitches afterwards.

#17

I’ve worried about this, but handheld game consoles and in-flight movies and turning on lights to read make me feel like the lightshow would be a non-issue. Clackiness on the other hand…

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#18

Yeah, I kept my session short and early on in the flight. Mostly reviewed and organized tracks/projects.

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#19

Hi there.
I’d like to send my AR mk2 and Modor DR2 oversea. Would they be safe if I put them in a 19" rack case like this one ?

Versus the carry-on and foam solution ?

#20

Size limitation is a headache but never had an issue in terms of the electronics alarming the security personnel. This includes Eurorack and an MPC2000Xl appearing on their screens.
Never used checked baggage, that would be a concern and risk of damage / lost / stolen.