Magnatone -The ultimate steel for air travel?

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 22 Jun 2003 4:30 am

With the summer travel season here and new airline luggage regulations in effect I was wondering...

Would a MOT Magnatone (without case) fit inside a large piece of luggage? What is the length of this instrumet (I don't own one). I know they weigh close to nothing.

What do you think, is this the ultimate travel steel guitar?

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website

Jesse Pearson · Post by **Jesse Pearson** » 22 Jun 2003 9:10 am

The Magnatone cheapo is 29 1/2" by 8", about as thick as your fore arm. I took a vinyl baritone uke case for $5.00 and glued foam on the inside, fits perfect. If you put a retro Ricky pickup in the Magnatone you'd have a very portable steel that sounds great, but they sound o.k. by themselves. There used to be a lot on E bay, but lately they seem to have become kinda rare?

Denny Turner · Post by **Denny Turner** » 22 Jun 2003 10:09 pm

Gerald,

I think you and Jesse are right on with the little MOTS Magnatones being an excellent travel guitar. I play one at gigs and find you can dial in a broad range of tones as fat as the amp you use.

There is also a MOTS headless Magnatone console that measures only 24" stem to stern ... but they're pretty darn rare. They have an allen wrench tuning mechanism right behind the bridge and the string ball-ends secure at the other end of the neck. They're built on a hollow plastic shell that I am not real impressed with tone-wise ... although allot can be done for tone electronically. There's a picture of one on my website. The Pal stand is a short microphone stand that screws into flange sockets on the top of the amp and inside the guitar cavity; NOT very stable at all for accurate Steel playing, although an interesting conversation piece.

I cater the older stuff in my inventory mostly to collectors / visitors that come to Hawaii from the far east, so I can usually pay a bit more picking stuff up on ebay and the likes without having to spend so much time searching, which is reflected in my website inventory prices of older stuff that those folks are happy to pay for the benefit of being able to drive out and inspect. HOWEVER, if you would like, I would be quite happy to keep an eye out for a standard MOTS Magnatone at ebay and on the internet for you ... probably about 20-40% cheaper than on my website, ... and just send you the link if I see something; I search the internet rather often.

Aloha,
DT~[This message was edited by Denny Turner on 22 June 2003 at 11:26 PM.]

Denny Turner · Post by **Denny Turner** » 22 Jun 2003 11:00 pm

Gerald,

After thinking about my last post here I had to come back and add:

My Gibson EH is only 31" long and only about a 3/4" thicker (by profile) than the Magnatone ... although about 2 lbs heavier by estimate. The National New Yorker and Rick model 59 look like they're right there in the same ballpark. So you might very well have a larger selection to choose from to fit a suitcase than the Magnatone; Although I'm not aware of any lap Steel that has the benefits of the Magnatone size, weight and tone.

Aloha,
DT~
[This message was edited by Denny Turner on 23 June 2003 at 12:02 AM.]

Jesse Pearson · Post by **Jesse Pearson** » 23 Jun 2003 7:22 am

Oh yea, don't forget price! I myself would feel less upset at having the airlines lose my hundred dollar Magnatone than a high priced collectors lap steel, fer sure!

Website · Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 23 Jun 2003 9:03 am

Are we talking about shipping the guitar as part of your luggage or just carrying it on? Every lap steel I have will fit very comfortabley into the overhead luggage compartment. I took a Dobro® with me to Twangfest and had no problem fitting it into the overhead compartments, even on the little puddle jumper between Houston and St. Louis.

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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars
[This message was edited by Brad Bechtel on 24 June 2003 at 01:16 PM.]

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 23 Jun 2003 9:38 am

I was thinking about putting the steel in my "checked" luggage. I don't think I can carry my Bakelite Rick in it's rectangular case aboard and into the overhead... Or can I?

Please advise.

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website

[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 23 June 2003 at 10:39 AM.]

Website · Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 24 Jun 2003 11:46 am

I have carried my Rickey B6 on airplanes before with no problem. As long as it will fit in the overhead compartment, you should be good to go. A regular guitar fits in the standard overhead compartment just fine, as does a Dobro®.

You could always take measurements and then call up the airline and ask if your musical instrument will fit. I'm sure it will...

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Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

Denny Turner · Post by **Denny Turner** » 24 Jun 2003 6:08 pm

I am a recently retired airline pilot. I would highly suggest that to avoid any problems, a lap steel would be much better put into it's case and then into a suitcase surrounded by clothes padding, that is checked baggage for the belly baggage compartment. Here's why:

For people who have never experienced a problem getting their electric guitars into the cabin of an airliner, then it seems like a viable option to avoid damage, theft and retrieving it from the baggage carousel at the end of the trip. BUT, there are several catches that effect carrying an ELECTRIC guitar into the cabin of an airliner. NOWADAYS the biggest concern I see is that the guts of an electric guitar are EXACTLY the profile that the security passenger screeners' x-ray machine is looking for as bomb material; Which is usually no problem as, like cameras, the security people have come to know and recognize certain items that resemble the profiles they are looking for ... and let them pass with a bit of scrutiny; Although there is also a formula for mandantory very close scrutiny of a periodic number of those items and the people carrying them. There are also a few security people that become nazis in their security uniforms and roles ... and can be real butt-prunes; And although one of their superiors will most-likely eventually get you through with your guitar, it might take some agravating effort on your part and it can otherwise be a real hastle; It has happened to me twice and I had airline employee identification and international security clearance badges. Another factor is that if an airport is on heightened security alert, you should count on an electric guitars x-ray profile causing you to be scrutinized very closely. And though it is currently less of a problem, under higher security alerts, when you get pulled out of line, you can be put in a "mandontory-compassionless" line of extremely close screening, even taken to special rooms for same, which can be a REAL hassle. The security people are allowed very little discretion, and have NOTHING to do with your airline, so if they reject the guitar for carry-on, you will have to go back to the ticket counter to have it put into checked-baggage ... where an electric guitar in a standard case can either be stolen or mis-handled by baggage gorillas. A friend of mine who is a vintage instrument broker / dealer ... has twice had to go back to the ticket counter and even then had to disassemble the guitar to expose the guts for inspection (probably to that extreme because in both cases the neck was removed from the body and being carried that way for ease ... during the height of security last year).

There is a discussion chain in the archives here from Cindy Cashdollar referencing a musicians union that is recruiting names to try to appeal to the airline industry on behalf of Musicians that are encountering an abnormal number of security screening problems with their instruments that are carried onboard to avoid the history of damage and loss in the belly baggage compartments.

Another related discussion chain.

Aloha,
DT~
[This message was edited by Denny Turner on 29 June 2003 at 03:01 AM.]

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 28 Jun 2003 3:41 pm

Denny,

So what should I do to avoid the most hassle? Should I just bite the bullet and trust my guitars to the belly of the plane and the baggage gorillas or do I try to get my instruments into the cabin with me?

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website

Bill Creller · Post by **Bill Creller** » 28 Jun 2003 4:58 pm

I brought my bakelite Rick to Hawaii as carry-on luggage and stowed it in the over-head with no problem on Northwest.
Bill

Denny Turner · Post by **Denny Turner** » 29 Jun 2003 1:56 am

Gerald,

IF I have luggage whenever I travel, I put my lap steel in it's case, then put it in a suitcase catty-corner, surrounded by as many of my clothes that will roll-up (military style), and then lay in my remaing clothes; ....and check it in. And voila, I find my little MOTS Maggie to fit that bill quite well ...although I think most Lap Steels would work just as well, just heavier. Putting the geetar in it's case inside the luggage has a number of advantages, although not necessarily required to protect it unless the luggage latches spring if it cartwheels off of a baggage mountain on a baggage cart train (if I had $100 for every time I've seen that happen from the cockpit window ...I'd be able to buy any Steel I can't now afford!)

If I'm traveling with only a carry on bag, I'll carry the Steel onto the airplane also.

Aloha,
DT~

Bernard Beck · Post by **Bernard Beck** » 29 Jun 2003 10:16 pm

Hello there, from what I read, there seem to be no actual rule about musical instruments in plane, just the decision of airport employees. And that is unbearable.
First of all, is there an overall dimension for overhead luggage ?
Second : is it allowed to be hardshell or only soft shell like gigbags ?
Third : are you allowed 2 hand luggages ?

Denny Turner · Post by **Denny Turner** » 30 Jun 2003 10:44 pm

Bernard,

It is not airport employees that make those decisions for the most part. But just like any other walk in life, ...put a badge and/or uniform on some people and they are tempted to be cops. In the past, airlines and their Air Transport Association (ATA) guidelines have been to allow just about anything in the cabin that would not impose upon other passengers or safety. But now, the Cops in the white house are calling the shots about most everything that gets scrutinized going into the cabin of airliners; And even the airlines, ATA and gov't are just now beginning to reach some agreements for the left hand knowing what the right hand is doing. So it looks like for the time-being, the least you have to carry on the better.

Because other overhead baggage is likely to be thrown in on top of an instrument, it is best to use a hardshell case. Duct tape or nylon belts all the way around the case to secure the latches is also recommended.

I'm sorry but I do not recall the Standard dimensions of overhead bins ...nor even if there is one. I would imagine that is something the Union in Cindy Cashdollar's posting mentioned here earlier, could provide that info.

It is always a good idea to call your airline and ask them what their carry-on policy is for number of bags, sizes, weights etc. This will become more important in the near future. Following a recent commuter airline fatal accident, studies have supported previous studies and complaints from the pilots and flight attendants unions that the ATA / airlines have been grossly underestimating the number and weight of carry-on bags AND the weight of passengers ... which have been overloading full airplanes. This translates into reducing the number of passengers / $tickets ... or reducing the number of carry ons. It's pretty obvious which one they're going to reduce!

Here are some additional tips: ALWAYS BE A NICE GUY/GAL; You're at their mercy. If you get your instrument on the airplane and find there is not enough overhead storage for your comfort about your instrument, there are other legal places to store them: Behind the last row of seats in just about any airliner. In larger airliners with cabin divider bulkheads, behind the last row of seats in front of each bulkhead; And larger airliners also have at least coat closets, and real large airliners a number of unadvertised closets that the flight attendants have full authority over and will usually put things in if they aren't appropriate for the overhead (an humble / kind explanation of the instrument's delicacy to most flight attendants can make it "unappropriate" for the overhead). THEY HAVE THE LAST SAY; The closets ARE NOT an automatic passenger entitlement.

Aloha,
DT~
<h6>Edited by Brad Bechtel to correct Cindy Cashdollar's name.</h6>[This message was edited by Brad Bechtel on 01 July 2003 at 09:40 AM.]

Terry Farmer · Post by **Terry Farmer** » 2 Jul 2003 8:04 pm

Here you go, Gerald. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2542594902&category=2384