The Steel Guitar Forum

I love my old Mullen S12, and my old Easy Rider packseat is ok, but I am going to have a bunch of fly dates this year and... last time I flew (to St Louis), the client picked up the extra airfare, which was $75 each, each way, for my 55# steel and 60# suitcase that hid my packseat and toys. And that was a "good airline". $300 surcharge is not cool.

I don't want to sacrifice excellent craftsmanship, but is there a lightweight alternative? Flightcase and steel would have to be under 50#, and I might go for a "packseat lite" that allegedly fits under the airplane seat.

I have found the forum-connected community to be a fantastic resource for locating an ax to borrow or rent, wherever, and this might be an option. Although I only need E9 Emmons set-up, I dread imagining what your average backline company will show up with, and that's what I'm facing.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Excel Superb. Lightweight models 10 and 12 string.

Mullen Discovery is a great choice.

Brand X cases solved that problem for me- fly two pieces under 50, guitar in one case, legs/vp/the rest in another. Great protection. I'd leave the seat at home- you can hustle up the right chair at the gig. Carry-on for wardrobe, if it's just a few shows. That said, if the boss is paying, use a traditional flight case with wheels.

A Sierra S12 with 7&5 in a Thomas case is 46 lbs. Case alone: 15.5 lbs
A S10 3x5 in Thomas case is 39 lbs. Case alone: 14.5 lbs

Both fit in an overhead bin.

Asa Brosius wrote:Brand X cases solved that problem for me- fly two pieces under 50, guitar in one case, legs/vp/the rest in another. Great protection. I'd leave the seat at home- you can hustle up the right chair at the gig. Carry-on for wardrobe, if it's just a few shows. That said, if the boss is paying, use a traditional flight case with wheels.

The problem I have with split cases is that you still have to pay to check the second piece (even if it's not overweight) and you still need a third piece for clothes, paraphernalia, CDs, and whatever you're carrying. So, for my D-10s, I use two SKB molded cases ("Wheel-EZE" type): one for the steel without legs and pedal rack and the other for the legs/rack plus my clothes, etc, etc. I can keep them both under 50 lbs. Then I try to fly Southwest when I can, since you can check 2 bags for free.

But the caveat is that it's not really a road case. I've been lucky so far with no serious damage but if I had a real road gig, I guess I'd have to buy a road case and deal with the costs...

I vote Excel Keyless with one brand X case.

Somehow, I'm just not comfortable with 50-pounds of steel in a hard case...just over my head (or someone else's). Those overhead bins have been known to come open in heavy turbulence.

But that's just me.

What do your steel's legs weigh? Some companies make aluminum legs that weigh about 1/2 the adjustable steel legs many steels have.
Would aluminum legs cut the steel's weight enough that you would not have to pay a penalty for baggage?

Original `79 pp legs vs light weight legs:
With the light weights you will save about 3,65 pounds or 1,65 kilos (set of four)
With the light weight legs my Infinity U12 weights 50 pounds in the SKB case, so it makes a difference when flying.

Just ordered! Mullen "Discovery" weighs 47# in the case

BoFrazer wrote:Just ordered! Mullen "Discovery" weighs 47# in the case

Great choice!

A man of action.

Congrats on you solution Bo. Olli, less than 4# total gain on a set of 4 lightweight legs v. original steel? I've been considering getting a set for a D10, but that doesn't seem like much weight savings. I was hoping for more.

Fyi I just returned from the local grocery store where they have a scale, and my 4 legs plus rods and carrying pouch, = 8 lbs. Which means my steel without = 48#. Am I sorry I ordered the new Mullen? Nope!

Bo,
Off topic, but are you coming to the great north east?

Aw no, don't think so, not near you. DC and Buffalo are the only NE-ish places so far. But like the curse/blessing of a free-lancer trying to keep the calendar in some kind of order, the target is sometimes moving. Check out

http://ilovesoulfood.com/events/

And don't let on to these nice forum folks I'm a poseur fiddler faking my rudimentary steel stuff! And PLEASE don't carry me off the stage like that one time at Landry's! Good times.

ps - just to prove my point - I just now see Buffalo has disappeared and Joliet IL has appeared!

BoFrazer wrote:Aw no, don't think so, not near you. DC and Buffalo are the only NE-ish places so far. But like the curse/blessing of a free-lancer trying to keep the calendar in some kind of order, the target is sometimes moving. Check out

http://ilovesoulfood.com/events/

And don't let on to these nice forum folks I'm a poseur fiddler faking my rudimentary steel stuff! And PLEASE don't carry me off the stage like that one time at Landry's! Good times.

ps - just to prove my point - I just now see Buffalo has disappeared and Joliet IL has appeared!

DC in August? I'll try to stop by and say hello to a fellow Mullen Discovery owner!

My fly guitar is a SD10 Fessenden 4x7 with the lightweight legs and clocks in at 48 pounds total in the SKB case. SKB has been all over the world without any issues.