Can I take my acoustic guitar on the plane as a carry on? (International flight)?

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Niki

Hello next week I will travel from Crete (greece) to Los Angeles ( USA) and I want to take my acoustic guitar on board with me... Well my tickets are with Aegean airlines from Crete to Athens and with British airways from AThens-England and ENgland-Los Angeles ....
Their policies are saying that the instruments must be in the dimensions of a hand bagagge which is 56cm x 45cm x 25cm in both companies....
My guitar's dimensions with the case are 109x43x23 cm without the case are 103x40x18 cm (I have a hard case)....
I have a standard acoustic guitar and I don't want to give it with the luggage cause it will break ...I don't want to pay an extra seat either..I asked how much money need if they ship it separately but they told me a lot....I mean with the same money I can buy a new guitar ......I already emailed both companies and they didn't tell me anything more except of what they are saying in their websites..
. I will not have any other carry on with me not even a bag... So I ask you if you can help me...please give me your advice if you had any experiences like this before.. What do you suggest me to do.? I really need my guitar with me! Thank you in advance!

Answer
no you can't, though if you have to check it I hope you've got a bulletproof case, cause I've heard some real horror stories about musicians getting their instruments smashed by airlines

....though I think dave carroll is the only one who wrote a song about it,lol

How do you get an aoustic-electric guitar to sound like an electric guitar?

Chris J

I have an electric-acoustic guitar and i want to play electric songs on it. How can i do this? Thanks for the answers.

Answer
Short answer - you can't.

Longer answer - acoustic guitars rely on sound waves and need a microphone to be amplified. Electro-acoustics use a piezo-transducer or a microphone (or a combination of both) to change those sound waves into an electical circuit. The sound must travel from your strings to your saddle, your saddle to your bridge, your bridge to your soundboard, and your soundboard to the open air for a mic, and from strings to saddle to piezo/bridge. All of the elements above interact with one another, giving you a warm, very complex tone and sound wave. This complex tone does not play nicely with distortion or other effects.

Electric guitars use a different way to create sound - the vibration of the strings moves electrons in the pickup's coil, creating a direct connection between the vibration of the strings and the amplifier. This gives you a much simpler sound wave, and thereby is much more compatible to effects.


Acoustic guitars also feature a much higher action (string height) than electrics, heavier strings, and very low sustain. As a result, the acoustic cannot be played like an electric to begin with. Anything featuring hammer -ons/pull offs, fast playing, effects, ect will be more difficult to do with an acoustic.

BUT you can buy electric pickups and have them installed in your acoustic. The problem with this will be the space between the strings and the pickup - the farther, the less output. The less output, the less distortion.

The best way to get the sound of an electric - save your cash (which is hard now I know) and get yourself a decent electric guitar.

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Can you take an acoustic guitar on a Greyhound Bus?

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Steven

I'm traveling from Mobile, Alabama. To Birmingham, Alabama. And I was wondering can you bring an acoustic guitar with you? And do they charge extra? And also is there a chance it could get damage on the bus ride? I can't find anybody asking this on the internet. This is my first ever Bus ride.

Answer
The baggage policies for Greyhound are here: http://www.greyhound.com/en/ticketsandtravel/baggageinformation.aspx . You could put the guitar in a case and take it as checked baggage. Rather there would be a charge or not depends on whether you check another bag. Yes, it could get damaged. You'll need a good case to minimize the risk which wouldn't be all that high. You might be able to carry it onto the bus if you buy a separate ticket - I've seen people doing that with instruments on airplanes recently.

What type of acoustic guitar should I get?

Secaucus

I have been playing electric guitar for about 3 years now and I would say I'm at an intermediate level of playing. Recently, I've just been wanting to get an acoustic guitar. And I have been listening to a lot of folk and country and I think I want to pick it up and learn. I have a budget up to $350 max, lots of people recommend the Baby Taylor? How is the Baby Taylor? Does it have good quality and good sound? I'm not sure what I should get, but I'm open to any suggestions within my budget.

Answer
The Baby Taylor has a really nice sound, but it's a tiny guitar designed for traveling and portability. If you plan on playing at home, rather than at shows, it will probably serve you very well. I use one frequently for writing, since it fits nicely on the couch and saves me the trouble of getting out my full-size guitar. But if there's a chance you'll be playing publicly, there are better choices. Here's a video showing how small the Baby Taylor actually is, as well as how great it sounds:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v57fXKp5lY0

Ibanez has a model called Sage that's incredible and would be a bargain at three times the price. I picked one up and played it at Guitar Center and was amazed at how beautifully it played and sounded. It has a solid spruce top, so the sound is rich and resonant. And it has a thinner neck and lower action than most acoustics, which will make it more comfortable for you to transition from electric to acoustic, since electrics have much thinner necks. When I glanced at the price tag and saw that it was only $180, I thought it must be a mistake, since the Sage played and sounded as nice as guitars costing much more. I've always been a fan of Ibanez electrics, but had no idea how great their acoustics are until a few years ago. Turns out the acoustics are also built like rocks and sound beautiful.

I'll post a link to the Sage so you can read the reviews and see that I'm not exaggerating. But I'd recommend going to a guitar store and test driving a bunch of different brands, since there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all guitar. The neck widths vary greatly between brands (Ibanez being the thinnest, Gibson/Epiphone being the fattest), so if you handle a lot of different guitars, chances are you'll find that one brand just feels more comfortable and natural in your hands than others. A lot of players struggle when transitioning from electric to acoustic, since acoustic necks are so much fatter. Trust your instincts, since they'll serve you better than anyone else's opinion. Most guitarists are somewhat brand loyal, but that's only because we've found the guitars that best fit our requirements. My brother swears only Gibsons and Martins are worth owning, but I'm female and have small hands, so both brands are physically impossible for me to play. But Fender and Ibanez electrics and Ibanez acoustics feel like they were custom made for me. Ultimately, the way a guitar feels in your hands is more important than the name on the headstock.

Here's the link to the Sage at Musician's Friend:

http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ibanez-SGT120NT-SAGE-SERIES-Acoustic-Guitar-?sku=512326

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