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Right now I am holed up in a hotel room in our National Capital, winner of the "City without a soul" award 5 years running.

Anyway, I have with me my silent guitar so I can practice in the downtime.

Which led me to wonder, what does everyone else do? I can't go a day without playing but there is no way I would take the risk of putting my Taylor in the cargo hold of a plane.

What do people do? Do you go without practice while traveling, borrow a guitar in the city you are staying, take something with you, buy a cheapie, what?

We have had several threads regarding good travel guitars, but that is not really my question, how do people overcome the problem of travel for work and keep playing?

I hum and say first business,then girl..lol,,,i think the silent would do it,,

oke i work,,but not so far away from home,,after a drive(you know i drive a cab),,i come home and practice,,,it goes like this,,drive-practice-drive-practice,,,and i'm lucky,,the girl is not home..and no nabers,,,

Hmmm....When I travel, I almost always bring my guitar and keep it with me against the window or something, no much legspace left though..sometimes I'm lucky and I can put it above in the ....how do you call it, where you put your handluggage. Sometimes I bring an old guitar, not that I like it when it gets damaged, but you gotta do something.

I used to go to L.A. (when my sister lived there), one time I brought my guitar, they put it in a little closet for me (in the plane itself of course) and all the other times I just went to the Guitar Center on Sunset blvd (I was lucky that it was closeby) and here and there I just spend the whole afternoon playing whatever I wanted to play, that was really nice!

When I can't bring my guitar, I just get it out of my head...what can you do?! :unsure:


tovo wrote:

Right now I am holed up in a hotel room in our National Capital, winner of the "City without a soul" award 5 years running.

Anyway, I have with me my silent guitar so I can practice in the downtime.

Which led me to wonder, what does everyone else do? I can't go a day without playing but there is no way I would take the risk of putting my Taylor in the cargo hold of a plane.

What do people do? Do you go without practice while traveling, borrow a guitar in the city you are staying, take something with you, buy a cheapie, what?

We have had several threads regarding good travel guitars, but that is not really my question, how do people overcome the problem of travel for work and keep playing?

Tony,

I'm not clear on what you're asking. Do you want to know how we fit guitar playing into a busy work schedule when we have job-related travel...or do you want to know if we travel with a guitar?

In my case, I don't have job-related travel. But for all other types of travel, I take my Yamaha Silent Guitar with me. The thing is a godsend.

dennisg wrote:

Tony,

I'm not clear on what you're asking. Do you want to know how we fit guitar playing into a busy work schedule when we have job-related travel...or do you want to know if we travel with a guitar?

In my case, I don't have job-related travel. But for all other types of travel, I take my Yamaha Silent Guitar with me. The thing is a godsend.

Den all I'm saying is I will go to any lengths to ensure that I can play everyday. I doubt there are many people who are SO busy that they can't fit it into their day.

I'm asking how people solve the problem. You and I (and Al) have solved it with the silent guitar but I wanted to know if people find solutions or just accept that they can't play for the duration of their trip.

It isn't necessarily just a problem for those with jobs that involved travel. What do people do when they go on holiday?

I'm in Queanbeyen (next door to Canberra - oops!) for work. Got here yesterday. I'll be home this evening. I don't have a travel guitar and wouldn't risk my precious ones. If I was staying for a long time I'd be looking for a solution. But, being away for a day or 2 is not long enough for me to warrant carrying even more luggage. I find traveling tires me out anyway so long practice session 'ain't gunna happen.

But, that's just me.

I purchased a small, second hand Alvarez folk guitar for $110 US dollars. It's a good, but not great guitar, that will fit in the overhead space on an airplane. Suddenly, you guys have me thinking of that Yamaha silent thing...

When I take a trip like I did in August, a backpack trip into the Brooks Range, I couldn't and wouldn't take an instrument with me.
But, I found that when I got back home, I somehow played better for having taken a break.
That doesn't mean that I didn't miss it , I did. But it seems as though, a few days away to allow all that I've learned, to find a place in the hairless computer between me ears is a good thing.

I do take my old Signa when we have the camper somewhere, but I don't fly with it.


Scott

Hi Tony,
In my job with the railroad I am away from home every other day. My situation isn't so much like travel as having an alternate second home away from home when I get to the other end. I too don't want to do without guitar practice. I don't need to carry the guitar as I travel, I just need to have a guitar to play when I get to my hotel for my rest period. I have a small clothes locker in the changing room at the railroad yard where I am able to cram a Fender Stratocaster, and now also an inexpensive acoustic guitar ($70 US at a pawn shop). With the electric guitar I play thru my laptop (Garage Band) and listen with headphones. Keeps the sound of playing down so as not to disturb guests in adjacent rooms. The acoustic guitar I try to play during the day when not as likely to disturb others.

Packing a guitar on airlines is a hassle, and usually an extra expense. This past spring I traveled by air from the west coast to the east coast to get together with some blues enthusiasts to jam in Maine, in New England. I did not take a guitar on the airline trip. Fortunately for me there were ample guitars for me to play when I arrived.

I saw a custom made, indestructible guitar case meant to transport a guitar by checked airline luggage. It was almost the size of a cello case, but a sledgehammer blow wouldn't put a dent in it. It retails for $850 US. You can buy a pretty good guitar for that much money.

Wally