mikecorbett Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Greetings keyboard warriors, My family and I are going to be relocating from Canada to Ireland in May 2013, and I have a conundrum. How the hell do I move all my gear? In the past, when moving in a transcontinental fashion (as I have done 4 times), I have sold all my stuff except for a couple of gigging keyboards, and I have then flown with the keyboards as over sized baggage. Like this, I usually haven't had to pay too much extra. This time however, I really want to take everything with me. This includes a studio tower, some big speakers and amps, mixers, multiple keyboard stands, cables, mics, a Fantom G8, a Micrkorg, other bits and pieces from the studio, and my live gigging rig which currently is an XP80 and a M06. I also have household stuff that I could ship, like sofas, desks, chairs... and an upright piano that I love very much! (I really want the piano on the other side) As I explore my options I thought I would ask you guys what you have done in the past, or how you ship stuff around? Any input is as usual, much appreciated. Thus far I have looked at shipping a container... (minimum $6000), a partial container... Air Canada Cargo seems to be a possibility. I tried to get a quote from UPS for shipping the Fantom. Approx $1200, so that's no good. I am still open to selling a bunch of stuff, but I am just so happy with my studio set up, from the G8, to the sound of the speakers I have, to my PC with Komplete etc which is all just WORKING. I loather the thought of trying to flog a bunch of stuff for an invariable loss, and then trying to replace it all in Europe, where the gear is more expensive, and with the weak Canadian $ to Euro rate.. well, it will cost me a packet, and a bunch of time and energy. Moving just seems more expensive and difficult than before? How are you guys moving stuff around? What should I do!?! :idk We are all slave's to our brain chemistry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 I would ship with your furniture. In original boxes or cases if you have them. Certainly safer than airline travel. Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clavjav Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 Has anyone here ever shipped keyboards when they work on contracts abroad? (specifically weighty stage pianos) I'm due to fly to Indonesia with a band in January with Etihad, and am trying to work out how to get my keyboard there with me, as I think it maxes out their weight and size restrictions on checked baggage... RD700NX, Krome 61, Acuna 73 + Mainstage 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yannis D Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 Has anyone here ever shipped keyboards when they work on contracts abroad? (specifically weighty stage pianos) I'm due to fly to Indonesia with a band in January with Etihad, and am trying to work out how to get my keyboard there with me, as I think it maxes out their weight and size restrictions on checked baggage... Dont do it. IMO its much better to rent one in Indonesia. If the production do not pay the expenses, rent it yourself-the overweight cost to pay in the aiport will be higher anyway, and the danger factor (brake the keyboard in pieces) will follow you all along the trip. So try to persuade the organizers to rent one keyboard for you, or do it yourself if the budget is limited. This is what my experience says. Be grateful for what you've got - a Nord, a laptop and two hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clavjav Posted November 30, 2013 Share Posted November 30, 2013 Has anyone here ever shipped keyboards when they work on contracts abroad? (specifically weighty stage pianos) I'm due to fly to Indonesia with a band in January with Etihad, and am trying to work out how to get my keyboard there with me, as I think it maxes out their weight and size restrictions on checked baggage... Dont do it. IMO its much better to rent one in Indonesia. If the production do not pay the expenses, rent it yourself-the overweight cost to pay in the aiport will be higher anyway, and the danger factor (brake the keyboard in pieces) will follow you all along the trip. So try to persuade the organizers to rent one keyboard for you, or do it yourself if the budget is limited. This is what my experience says. Many thanks for the advice. I will look into hiring a keyboard as an alternative, although i'm not sure if i'll find a company in Indonesia that does this. My contract with the venue does state that they will reimburse my for freight charges etc, and i'll be fully insured if anything goes wrong. But it sure would be easier if I could just hire one. RD700NX, Krome 61, Acuna 73 + Mainstage 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FatFingers Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 FedEx might be cheaper than the airline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mizu Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 [Oops - didn't note the date on the original post. What did you end up doing? Leaving my answer below as someone might find it useful] When I moved from Europe to the US I shipped a PC88, Wavestation EX, two racks and assorted stuff with my household goods (but no furniture) on 2 wooden pallets via a freight forwarding company. It ended up coming via KLM air freight, but the specific carrier was determined by the company. It was a little bit cheaper than the partial container you had quoted, but also a lot less volume (~$4,000 if I recall, but I had relocation expenses paid). If you are using the partial container for your household stuff, add the gear to that. Also note possible voltage conversions for gear that is not universal voltage. Wall warts are not an issue (simply replace with the proper model) but I had Rogue Music retrofit some rack gear and the Wavestation from 230V to 110V. A decade on and I have none of the stuff I shipped anymore. "You'll never be as good as you could have been, but you can always be better than you are." - MoKen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Emm Posted December 1, 2013 Share Posted December 1, 2013 While it possibly not practical for every single item, I strongly recommend ATA-rated flight cases. SKB and Gator seem to be the two leaders for resin cases that really take a beating and cradle the contents like an egg. I had a workstation remain pristine through domestic flights, even though the case was Scuff City. Consider that for key pieces. "I like that rapper with the bullet in his nose!" "Yeah, Bulletnose! One sneeze and the whole place goes up!" ~ "King of the Hill" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikecorbett Posted December 1, 2013 Author Share Posted December 1, 2013 [Oops - didn't note the date on the original post. What did you end up doing? Leaving my answer below as someone might find it useful] When I moved from Europe to the US I shipped a PC88, Wavestation EX, two racks and assorted stuff with my household goods (but no furniture) on 2 wooden pallets via a freight forwarding company. It ended up coming via KLM air freight, but the specific carrier was determined by the company. It was a little bit cheaper than the partial container you had quoted, but also a lot less volume (~$4,000 if I recall, but I had relocation expenses paid). If you are using the partial container for your household stuff, add the gear to that. Also note possible voltage conversions for gear that is not universal voltage. Wall warts are not an issue (simply replace with the proper model) but I had Rogue Music retrofit some rack gear and the Wavestation from 230V to 110V. A decade on and I have none Hey! I ended up selling almost all my gear locally and flying with one keyboard. I have my comptuer and interfaces stored in my inlaws basement in Canada, but in the end I realised that "they have gear in Europe too..."! ...and they do... We are all slave's to our brain chemistry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clavjav Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I spoke to Etihad who gave me to options, I thought someone might find this information useful anyway... 1. Use their freight forwarding service (costs around £200 one-way from London to Jakarta). But I'd need to give them my keyboard 5 days in advance which doesn't work for logistical reasons. 2. It was 'agreed' by a duty manager to make an exemption to their baggage regulations (max weight for one item is 32kg). But this risks taking them on their word, and could always run in to a jobsworth at the airport who just says no! Plus, I think it would cost around $2600 in excess baggage fees! So I think i'm gonna go with... .....3. Take a lighter rig! - I'm mostly gonna be playing synth, with a bit of piano, so something like a VR-09 or Krome would probably cut-it. Will also take my MX49, which might even fit in my suitcase. RD700NX, Krome 61, Acuna 73 + Mainstage 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKeys Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Rent keys and take a module or rack mount to make sure you have the sounds you need. That always worked for me. Jimmy Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others. Groucho NEW BAND CHECK THEM OUT www.steveowensandsummertime.com www.jimmyweaver.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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