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Post new topic American Airlines/TSA broke my pickup
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Author Topic:  American Airlines/TSA broke my pickup
Stu Schulman


From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
Post  Posted 8 Feb 2008 10:21 am    
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I just flew back from playing a wedding in West Texas "Concan" resort.Leaving Alaska the agent wanted to charge me $150,00 because my guitar weighs in at 70Lbs and the trip was three leggs.he asked if I could get the weight down to 50 Lbs,I asked him if I should take some parts off of it? He said that might work...Just then a freind of the band's who works for Alaska Airlines showed up and moved it through at no charge.So far everything turned out well,Great wedding,brisket good time.On the way home leaving SanAntone the ticket agent was trying to be a clown asking me how much do I think he should charge because my guitar is overweight?I said how about $20.00,He said $100.00 I said $10.00,he said $50.00 which the bandleader agreed to,when I walked the guitar over to TSA I asked the woman to be gentle with it to which she repied "You Think Your Special"I returned home to 15 below zero,The next I took my steel over to my studio to put one final track on a song that I had been working on.I plugged my guitar in a got no sound on my E9th neck,after a closer look the pickup was loose just hanging there...It looks like they tried to lift the cabinet out by the pickup leads,I sent my pickup to Bill Lawrence and ordered a new one,The bandleader is also the labor union negotiator up here and said that he will get TSA/American Airlines to pay for repairs? we shall see.
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Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952.
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Jack Stoner


From:
Kansas City, MO
Post  Posted 8 Feb 2008 5:13 pm    
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I just fixed Tommy Cash's Alvarez guitar. He thinks TSA took the EQ/preamp apart at the airport. When we got to the job there was two screws missing holding the preamp in place and the entire assembly was loose. Also his 9V battery for the preamp only was partially connected. He had flown from Nashville to Tampa, Fl.

Tommy flew in for a job we had on Jan 30th (he had a free ticket) and then drove in yesterday for our Florida tour that starts Monday. Tommy left his guitar with me to fix while he was gone.
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Brian McGaughey


From:
Orcas Island, WA USA
Post  Posted 8 Feb 2008 5:46 pm    
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Lift out the guitar by the pickup leads? They're messing with you purposely. What crap. Or do they think they "disabled" it just in case. Oh well, safety first.

Also, I didn't know overweight piece prices were negotiable?

I don't have much to add but your story got my goat.
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Stu Schulman


From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
Post  Posted 8 Feb 2008 6:40 pm    
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Brian,I didn't know that prices for an overweight guitar were negotiable either,I thought they had a set price like a buck a pound,or something reasonable it was totaly up to the ticket agent,I was suprised that he didn't put the money in his pocket.
Stu
_________________
Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952.
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Roger Shackelton

 

From:
MINNESOTA (deceased)
Post  Posted 9 Feb 2008 1:13 am    
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STU,

The next time you need to take your guitar with you, pack it for shipping and use one of the major shipping companies. Ship the guitar a day in advance of your departure.

Roger
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Stu Schulman


From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
Post  Posted 9 Feb 2008 8:18 am    
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Roger,The guy who we played for at his wedding flew the whole band down to Texas on frequent flyer miles,It took forever,we went from Anchorage and then to Chicago which was snowed in and finally wound up in SanAntone.It would have been great to send it a day earlier.I noticed at the Phoenix show that a lot of folks shared guitars,and the ones who drove in from Ca.and Texas brought their own guitars.Ya' live and you learn,Stu Winking
_________________
Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952.
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John Billings


From:
Ohio, USA
Post  Posted 9 Feb 2008 9:10 am    
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Well, it did look like a block of Semtex with wires and a switch!
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Damir Besic


From:
Nashville,TN.
Post  Posted 9 Feb 2008 9:57 am    
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Stu,

you need to go to US DOT web site and file a complaint, if that was Croatia Airlines pick up would probably be the only thing left of your guitar...
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Gary Lee Gimble


From:
Fredericksburg, VA.
Post  Posted 9 Feb 2008 10:20 am    
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Stu, is there an option to purchase flight insurance for all check in luggage/bags/steel geeTars???
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Stu Schulman


From:
Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)
Post  Posted 9 Feb 2008 11:51 am    
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Gary Lee,Not that I know of...Here's one thing that I left out.When they ticket agent in San Antonio got thru charging me for the overweight steel he said your flight leaves out of gate C-4 do you think that you can remember that?Isn't that a plastic explosive?...I think that I can remember that.
_________________
Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952.
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Steve Alcott

 

From:
New York, New York, USA
Post  Posted 9 Feb 2008 2:38 pm    
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I feel so much more secure now.
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Bob Hoffnar


From:
Austin, Tx
Post  Posted 9 Feb 2008 4:28 pm    
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Airline people refer to them as:

the Thousands Standing Around
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Bob
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