Camping With Instruments

Subject: Camping With Instruments
From: LilyFestre
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 04:26 PM

In the not too distant future I will be going camping! I'm incredibly excited about it but have some concerns about my violin and guitar. I will be spending most of my days out in the swamps but at night, I hope to be playing around a campfire. What do I do with my instruments during the day? Leave them in the cabin in hopes that they will be ok? Leave them in the car exposing them to weather variations (humidity and such)? Any suggestions?

Michelle

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Wesley S
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 05:02 PM

Buy a dirt cheap guitar that you have no emotional ties to. And leave your nice fiddle at home. That's my suggestion. I don't think there is a safe way to secure a musical instrument at a camp site.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Wesley S
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 05:05 PM

OH - and the cabin is a better place for a guitar than a car. Cars can be deadly - the heat inside of a car can get nasty. Best advise is don't leave an instrument any place you wouldn't leave your dog or cat.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: bubblyrat
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 05:11 PM

I do this (camping ) quite a lot, at various music festivals here in the UK.Now,if I am wandering around from venue to venue,session to session,I am OK with having my guitars,even my Martin, in a Gig-Bag (A well-padded one ! )---But I ALWAYS take the hard cases with me, and put the instruments back therein. I then make sure that the cases are then stored in the most sheltered places I can find.That might include a cool corner of our (Big) tent, or in the car,OUT OF THE SUN,with some clothes or something to cover them.It doesn"t really get THAT hot in the UK,or rather it never used to, but if I was worried,I would ask someone I knew & trusted ,like a camp-site owner,if I could leave my instruments in the Office ,or whatever.Of course, if you don"t mind the generally "tinny" sound of a "travel" guitar, then get one of those, & just use it for camping !! I have had several,for playing out in the New Forest in England !! Or just buy a really cheap,but still tonally acceptable guitar or violin, and then,if they warp or split----well,it happens !! I guess you"re talking about the Everglades or somewhere ?? That"s a bit more humid than England, but even so, a proper fitted hard case can provide quite a lot of protection,in my experience.    -----OKAY ??   Roger....

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Mooh
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 05:25 PM

The above advice is good, but repeat after me...dark, dry, cool...

I've camped alot with guitar and/or mandolin. DON'T leave them in an automobile. DO leave them cased, covered in something light coloured and reflective, and on the ground is cool (literally) if it's not wet. The cabin (that's camping?) is fine, but cool and dry is important, and out of direct sunlight, even if it's through a window. A large ziplock bag for accessories and sheet music is also a good idea. I love gigbags and often that's all that's required, but if there's space, hard cases are good and can serve to carry other stuff.

Dark, dry, cool.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: LilyFestre
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 05:40 PM

Thanks for the suggestions so far! I have a fiddle that I can take along and wouldn't be shattered if something happened to it...and guitars...well, we just traded a few in for a really nice one....might have to go get a cheap one for outdoor adventures!

And, yes...cabins (think empty little building with wood beds) is camping for this time of year! Things may still be damp and icky....we'll save the tent for summer weather! :)

That actually brings up another question. What do you do with your instruments when staying in a hotel? You can't really carry them around all day (I suppose you COULD but it's not realistic). Do you take the cheaper instruments? Leave them at the front desk? Just leave them locked up in your hotel room? RidgePlucker has a week long conference in DC before our camping adventure. Our room is booked....3 blocks from the White House...he'll be conferencing during the day and I'll be exploring...with high hopes of taking the kayak out in the tidal pool...I read somewhere that that is allowed..WOO HOOO...but wait....back to the instruments....so what do YOU do when you are travelling?

Michelle

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: TIA
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 05:46 PM

I camp all the time with a banjo, but how much worse can it get? Fiddle or guitar? Uh-uh!

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Bee
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 05:47 PM

We have a camping trailer small enough to park at tent sites, so we always have a bit of shade and the trailer stays cool. I leave it (my guitar) in a gig bag, also.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: GUEST,Scoville
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 05:48 PM

A friend of mine had a mandolin split open when he was camping and got caught by an unexpected cold snap. I don't know what your climate is but, I suppose, check ahead for possible temperature extremes. Not that you wouldn't, anyway, since you have to be prepared for them yourself.

I'm the one with the $75 guitar. I would be mad if something happened to it but I wouldn't be heartbroken. Cheap, unromantic instruments definitely have a purpose.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 07:01 PM

The cheap Chinese Piano Accordions mentioned in other threads here are useful - but you do have a very limited range of playable keys with Basses.

The 22 key one I mentioned is useful. I have fitted real strap holders and real straps - it is so small that I can just sling it over my left shoulder by putting my left arm thru both straps together, and carry it on my back. Right to hand when needed, and rather like the Cold War - MAD! "You play that banjo, and I'll play my Piano Accordion!"

Still need to be careful when leaving it alone - cool dry, etc. Also NEVER leave it on the back seat of a car in plain view. I did once, and when I came back, somebody had smashed the rear window and left 3 more P/As!

Then there are the 'Whistle family' instruments. I even have a 'break-apart' D whistle which fits in a shirt pocket.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: GUEST,ozchick
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 11:03 PM

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: GUEST,ozchick
Date: 19 Jan 07 - 11:05 PM

I've just come back from a camping trip with my guitar and fiddle. I was staying in a caravan (trailer... U.S?) so it wasn't too bad - hard cases kept under the bed seemed to do the trick. Plus my instruments are insured..... just incase.....

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Bert
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 12:25 AM

What Wesley S says.

I left a guitar in a car once on a sunny day and the bridge popped off.

The dirt cheap guitar is the way to go, I had a thrift store guitar ($20) that I left in a cabin in Colorado and it got stolen. So of course I wasn't too upset, in fact I hope taht the thief was some young kid who actually used it.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: BanjoRay
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 02:32 AM

I have a plastic roof box on my car when I'm camping, which stays a lot cooler inside than the car, even though it's black. The fiddle and banjo go in there if I have to store them for a while - totally invisible and very hard to get at - no windows to break.
Ray

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Tim theTwangler
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 03:03 AM

Get a Takamini stick some heavy(ish) string on and leave it somewhere shady.
The things are so small its as easy to take them everywhere with you.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 03:25 AM

Cheap instrument, hard case, insurance. AVOID STRONG SUN AND DEEP COLD. Avoiding rain and damp (hence the hard cases) is good too.

"Travel guitars" are not good really for this because they are so small that they are quiet. Good for hotel room and not annoying neighbours, but no good for being heard the other side of a large campfire.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Grab
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 03:00 PM

I'm another with the cheap instrument solution.

As regards insurance, if an instrument is out of the house, AFAIK all insurance companies require it to be in a locked place and out of sight if it's going to be covered. The back seats of cars are explicitly NOT covered on most policies - besides also being very bad for getting hot - so if you're camping with a tent then your best bet is to keep in it the boot of the car.

If you've got a hotel room/cabin/whatever, leave it there and make sure the door's locked. It should be OK - if it gets stolen, it'll be by someone who's particularly targetting tourists, so everything else will be gone too. If you don't mind leaving your clothes and other stuff in the hotel room, then there's no reason not to leave instruments in there as well.

Most travel guitars are crap. The few that do sound good are expensive enough that you're better off getting a cheaper full-size instrument instead, unless you have serious size limits on what you can take. For the price of a Baby Taylor for example, you can get a half-dozen crappy guitars, and at least two fairly decent ones.

Graham.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Gorgeous Gary
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 04:41 PM

In 15 years of traveling to science fiction and filk conventions, not once have I heard of anyone's guitars (mine included) or other musical instruments being stolen from a hotel room.

I do know a couple folks who had laptop computers stolen. But not instruments.

-- Gary

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: bubblyrat
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 05:42 PM

A current Banjo-joke in the UK is the one about the man who left his banjo in full view on the back seat of his car.When he returned, the banjo was still there,but the car had been stolen.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: GUEST,Bardan
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 05:50 PM

Similarly, I've been on school trips with the school orchestra and no-one's instruments were ever stolen. (I'm pretty sure most stayed in rooms a lot of the time.) Too dry can be bad for instruments too. My mum's bodhran cracked in switzerland cos of the dryness. Doubt that would be a problem out camping though.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: black walnut
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 05:57 PM

You should see me trying to get my harp to the island in the little boat...

~b.w.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Bee
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 06:17 PM

Must make quite a picture, Blackwalnut.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 20 Jan 07 - 08:41 PM

But just how did you get the island in the little boat?

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: mandotim
Date: 21 Jan 07 - 03:58 AM

I take a Rainsong; carbon fibre guitar, immensely strong, impervious to changes in temperature, humidity etc. If it gets wet, you just wipe it. If it gets scratched, you rub it with T-Cut and then some Autoglym car polish. Very light weight, as it has no truss rod, body bracing or head/tail blocks. People who play it are usually determined to hate it,as it isn't exactly traditional looking, but come away impressed with the acoustic tone and volume. Good electrics too. My more expensive wooden guitars stay at home these days. I also hear that Peter Mix of Rigel Mandolins (now defunct) is selling carbon fibre mandolins...hmmm...
Tim

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Mooh
Date: 21 Jan 07 - 10:42 AM

mandotim...I'm an unabashed lover/owner of wood instruments and not so long ago would have exercised a great prejudice against your carbon fibre wonder, but you are quite right in saying they are superb instruments and as a camp axe, one would be ideal. Cost might prevent many folks from owning one and I sometimes wonder what sort of environmental impact their manufacture creates, but in the big scheme of things a carbon fibre axe is high on my list of considerations. (Great live axe too, btw...)

I envy your choice.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Charmion
Date: 21 Jan 07 - 10:47 AM

I travel with my guitar and mandolin and have never had any problem in hotels. If you have doubts, they should be about humidity, and you can fix that with an in-case humidifier. Camping -- not so much; like Wesley says, don't leave instruments anywhere you wouldn't leave a cat or dog.

Happy travels!

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: number 6
Date: 21 Jan 07 - 10:55 AM

"carbon fibre guitar"

These are probably going to be the guitars of the not too far off future .... due to the scarcity of good tone woods, and the preservation of these species of wood. Bob Taylor (Taylor Guitars) is already looking ahead into the future and is currently investing into the future in the development of producing these guitars.

I would certainly welcome a half decent priced instrument with excellent tone made of carbon fibre.

biLL

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: wysiwyg
Date: 21 Jan 07 - 10:59 AM

We usually leave ours locked up in the hotel, because if we carry them wherever we go, anyone we run into tends to expect us to play for them on the spot. Sometimes that's not feasible, so that's how we decide-- based on our plans and commitments for the day. Sometimes we know that the day will include a long boring stretch where a private music break under a tree (or an impromptu singalong) would be a good idea easily implemented.

For camping, though, we each let our own gut decide. Some sites have been sunny and busy enough with camp staff traffic to leave cases locked in the camper, some have made us nervous. When in doubt we take them along, knowing that will bring other challenges we will need to address. The main thing is we don't stew about it or make inflexible rules for ourselves in advance of knowing actual conditions, since we've gotten a little more experience dealing with the various factors involved.

Same with the bike.

Another factor for us is that our homeowners' policy covers stolen cargo.

~S~

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 21 Jan 07 - 12:54 PM

I'd like a Rainsong too. But very expensive and then it might get nicked.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: mandotim
Date: 21 Jan 07 - 02:00 PM

Rainsongs; not as expensive as you might think. They list at about $3000, but as with Martins and the like, nobody pays that. Street price is around $1900. Assiduous Ebay watching got me one from the USA at $1200 second hand. (With provenance; I bought it from Delaney Bramlett). Not as much of a risk buying unplayed, as Rainsongs are very consistent from instrument to instrument. Everyone has their own ways of importing, and I have mine. All in all, a mint Rainsong WS1000 for about the price of a decent Takamine.
Tim

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: LilyFestre
Date: 21 Jan 07 - 05:13 PM

I am unsure if the cabin doors have locks, although I'm thinking they must (note to self: call and find out!)! I think we'll opt with taking the less expensive instruments (leaving the good ones with friends for safe keeping while we are away). I'm not so much worried about the bikes or the kayak as they will be locked to the vehicle in DC(valet parking at the hotel/guarded private lot) or in use at the campground (woooo hoooooooo....Washington sounds interesting but the camping just sounds like FUN and I am missing the water something fierce right about now!!).

Michelle

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Charley Noble
Date: 21 Jan 07 - 08:25 PM

I generally take my second best banjo with me in a hardshell case. I generally trust hotels and B&B's.

I did have a problem with air travel, an old break in the support truss rod came unglued and had to be repaired; probably the result of too much bouncing around under the stress of the strings. I was advised not to tune the strings down but I think I will next time.

Generally banjos can put up with more radical climate changes than guitars, fiddles, and mandolins. But it is not advised to use them as paddles or snow shovels!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Songster Bob
Date: 21 Jan 07 - 08:53 PM

My first experience with camping and instruments was the Philly Folk Festival, 1968 or so. I set up my tent in the field set aside for same, and spent the day -- the hot, hot summer day, with 80% humidity -- away from the tent. When I came back, about suppertime, I found my brand new banjo case open -- at the small end. The humid, hot tent interior had re-created the manufacturer's bending machine, and the wood plies of the case simply opened up again. It took some clamping and lots of mystic tape to get the end closed up again.

The banjo was fine, of course. I have taken good guitars to camps and cheapo-cheapo guitars, and everything in between, and I recommend choosing a cheap one you can actually play and more or less like, if you want to go that route. Don't get cheap for the sake of cheap -- might as well not have an instrument if you don't like it. But good instruments can "take it" if you're careful. Avoid hot cars (and steamy tents) and sudden freezes, and avoid campfires on cold nights, since the side towards the fire will be much warmer than the back-side away from the fire; the temperature contrast isn't good for wooden instruments.

Bob Clayton

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 03:08 AM

Tanglewood do a great range of pink guitars and cases. If I could still get into my basque, that would be the one for me....

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: black walnut
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 09:48 AM

A friend of mine had his guitar down at the campfire at the dock and when took it back up to the cabin found that the case was covered in slugs. Ugh! Fortunately they weren't IN the case or IN the guitar.

~b.w.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 01:40 PM

I have a couple of rather muddy pictures of a guitar belonging to one of our 'catters, with built in critic in the form of a rather large spider that took up residence inside it over night at our WVA festival.

The critic's reviews were generally not too bad.

The only serious "weather damage" friends have reported at WVA are from one fellow who concedes that leaving the guitar, uncased, shoved under a camper (trailer) overnight in a 5-inch freezing rain does not result in a good guitar kit. The glue doesn't all soften uniformly, so you don't get guitar parts that can be reassembled. You get pieces of kindling that were formerly guitar parts.

In a good hard case when not actually in your hands, in any conditions where you're not unduly uncomfortable, most instruments are unlikely to be damaged (but may need more frequent tuning). In crowded places of any kind, setting it down and looking away even for a moment or two is NOT a safe thing to do, as "opportunists" seem to be everywhere.

John

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: Tim theTwangler
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 05:54 AM

Not that I am on commision but as per previous post the Takamini I bought( wife bought for me)three years ago is fairly cheap to purchase.
Has decent construction(no cross brace on back) a decent sound when finger picking and a very large voice when you dig into it more.
Add heavier strings to improve bottom end.
Keep it in its dinky back pack type soft case.
and it will go any place you want and play well.
It hangs on back of car seats and covers with a jacket or coat.
Will stand up to serious knocks and people love to hear a biggish noise from a small guitar it seems to fascinate them for some reason.
Really not on comission good luck in your quest.

Subject: RE: Camping With Instruments
From: JennyO
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 08:55 AM

Then there was the man who left his banjo in full view on the back seat of his car. When he returned there were two banjos.