If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might have a good idea who my squadmates or at least my teammates are. I mention them pretty often, and their blogs are just a click away. But I have one other travel companion you might not know about: Donna. Donna didn’t start the World Race in July, but she began traveling with me while I was in Nepal. She’s very useful to have around, and we spend a lot of time together.
…Have I mentioned that Donna is my guitar?
If you’re a little confused by the fact that my guitar has both a name and a gender, I promise that it’s pretty common for musicians to anthropomorphize their instruments the way some people name their cars. I promise there’s nothing creepy about it – it’s all in good fun.
So forget Donna for a second, and let’s talk about guitars on the Race in general. I have no idea how many racers on average choose to bring them, but when my squad launched, we had seven guitars with us, distributed across five out the eight teams. Most of them were regular full-size acoustics, with the exception of mine. I began the race with a Washburn Rover travel guitar (named Hoban – a reference you’ll only get if you ever watched Firefly). It was maybe a third of the overall size and thickness of your typical acoustic guitar. I spent a good amount of time before the race debating whether or not to bring my primary acoustic or this travel one, and eventually settled on the latter for transportation purposes – I would be more likely to be allowed to carry it onboard a plane instead of checking it, and it would more easily fit in the overhead compartments of buses and vans.
Less than a week into the race, I realized I had made a mistake. Yes my travel guitar was portable, but the sound quality just didn’t cut it. With a smaller, thinner body, it had a tinny sound and could barely be heard above singing. It was great for solo practice, but unsuitable for leading worship. My saving grace was that my teammate Kyle had brought his guitar as well – whenever I led worship for the team or at church, I would borrow his.
This approach worked for the first four months, but after team changes happened I no longer had access to Kyle’s guitar, I was stuck with my little one. Thankfully, as my luck would have it, I stumbled across a music store completely by chance near the end of the month. (This is where good old Donna comes into the picture). I found a great deal on a guitar, strap, and case, and although I had to exceed my budget for the month by making this purchase, it was 100% worth it. For the remainder of the race, I entrusted my travel guitar to a squadmate who wanted to learn how to play, and I’ll get that back when we return to the US. Having the full-size guitar has proved to be incredibly valuable time and time again – I have led a lot of worship and even played for an open mic in Vietnam since buying it.
If you’re going on the World Race and you play guitar at any skill level – even if right now you only know three chords – bring it, no questions asked. You will be a blessing to your host and teammates, you will have plenty of time to practice and improve your technique, and there are always new songs to learn. Having played guitar for nearly half my life I would have missed it too much if I left it at home.
In the next section, I’ll break down the benefits and drawbacks of both full-size and travel-size guitars (although I recommend full-size without a doubt). I’ll also include a few tips and disclaimers for traveling the world with a guitar. If you’ve only skimmed the post so far, make sure you read this part.
Full-size acoustics
Pros:
-Best volume for leading worship/playing in large groups and spaces
-Sound quality
-Easy to replace parts/case if needed
-Can plug into a sound system if it has the necessary hardware (I’m amazed at how many churches we’ve been to have at least an amplifier, if not a full-out speaker setup)
Cons:
-You might have to check it on airplanes and probably store it in the underneath luggage compartment of buses
-Sturdy cases can be heavy
Travel-size acoustics
Pros:
-Light, easy to carry
-You can probably take as a carry-on when flying
Cons
-Bad sound quality
-Not loud enough for groups
*If you absolutely won’t carry a full-size guitar, I suggest a Baby Taylor. It’s smaller, (not as small as other travel guitars) but with a much better sound than the really small travel acoustics*
Now if you’re going to bring a guitar, here are a few tips:
Accessories to bring:
-At least two extra sets of strings (Differences in temperature, pressure, and altitude will mess with them and you’ll probably break a string here or there)
-Extra picks (I’ve lost maybe half of the ones I’ve brought)
-Tuner
-String winder/cutter
-Truss rod
-Cloth or bandana for wiping off dust
-Song leadsheets/chord charts
Cases:
For my squad’s guitars we have everything from hard-shell cases to gig bags to those semi-hard foam ones with a fabric exterior. I suggest getting the sturdiest case you can find/afford – it will take a beating, especially when flying, and you can use all of the padding you can get. The foam ones have worked well for my squadmates, and they usually have pockets for storing strings and such. I have a flimsy gig bag because it was what came with my guitar when I bought it – if this is what you end up with, never ever put the guitar in it alone. You want to add as much padding as possible and fill all empty space inside the case. I do this by shoving up to 80% of my wardrobe around my guitar, so it’s protected from scratches and possibly being dropped. I’ve had good luck so far on buses, but this method is yet to be tested on a plane.
General travel tips:
-De-tune your strings before you fly, to the point where it doesn’t sound like a recognizable note. The pressure and temperature differences in the cabin or baggage compartment can tighten the strings and possibly snap them or even warp the neck of the guitar. You want to eliminate as much tension as you can, and just to be safe I do this every travel day, whether we’re flying or not.
-Don’t have anything in your case that could get confiscated at security, like a pocketknife, scissors, or a wire cutter. I’ve been okay with my string winder before but it does have wire-cutting capabilities so I keep it in my checked bag just in case.
-When flying, try to board as soon as possible – overhead space is first-come, first-serve.
-Ask a flight attendant if they can put the guitar somewhere – sometimes they can put it in a coat closet or other storage compartment if you ask nicely.
-Keep your guitar with you until it is loaded under a bus – this way you can kind of control where it goes and makes sure it doesn’t end up at the bottom of a pile of luggage
So that’s an overview on traveling with a guitar! If you’re an upcoming racer with any questions, I’d love to hear from you – just leave a comment below.
