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Packing a guitar for international shipping


Bennyboy-UK

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Hi team,

currently packing my tle for Bruce - will post pics in a bit...

Any tips on doing this, I've taken one of the trem springs out to reduce tension on the neck and using plenty of newspaper rolled up under the neck for support- what's best around the headstock?

Tips greatfully recieved!

Cheers,

Ben

ps. Would this be better on the main board? If so is moving it something I can do?

OK here we go -

IMG_0417.jpg

IMG_0415.jpg

Tis a most perplexing and puzzling mystery......

IMG_0416.jpg

Cheers,

Ben

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5 answers to this question

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I only ship 2 or three guitars a year, so i'm hardly a pro. That being said, my preference with a Floyd is to remove it altogether and ship in a separate box that goes in the main big box. Barring that, i've put foam behind the trem and slackened the strings as much as reasonable.

Supporting the guitar body but not the headstock as you've shown is the right idea. It's best to leave the headstock free so if there is a shock to the case, it doesn't hit something.

Here's a couple pics of a Floyd'd guitar i sold a while back:

89-Cali-Ship-1.jpg

89-Cali-Ship-2.jpg

Bubblewrap the snot out of the case and double box if possible. If you use enough bubblewrap and a good new box, you should be fine with single-boxing.

Oh, and get insurance. :lol:

Hope that helps.

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just packed and shipped one today - I loosen the strings and put cardboard between the Floyd block and the body to keep the trem in place. Also bubblewrapped the body and used styrofoam inserts to make the sure the body can't slide forward and whack the headstock against the case (in case somebody ignores the 'this end up' and 'fragile' labels). Also bubblewrapped all accessories in the case pocket (key, trem arm, etc) to keep them from dinging up the guitar if/when they get shaken out of the case pocket. Nothing touching the headstock at all. Dropped the case into a fresh new Uline guitar box with a ton of packing peanuts (yeah, they suck to pick up but they do provide pretty good impact resistance IMHO). Should be arriving in Wales in a week or so courtesy of Priority Mail International, so we'll see if the packing job was adequate.

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Good stuff chaps, I'll rethink and repack as per advice - accessories are seperated already so thats AOK.

Will pop down the workshops and grab some better packing materials tomorrow - servers and storage gear come with piles and piles of this kind of stuff.

Cheers all,

Ben.

Oh, and I quite fancy that Cali - didn't make its way over the pond did it?

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Not sure where it ended up. The person that bought it was a collector and had me ship it to a post office in New York where it was forwarded. (it was a US only auction, so i assume he was non-US...)

And Stonge is correct about the extra items in the case. I actually wrap them in bubblewrap and tape them inside the box. As long as the person receiving the guitar knows to look for them. :blink:

89-Cali-Ship-5.jpg

89-Cali-Ship-6.jpg

And, yes, peanuts suck, but they're designed to lock together and really do the best job for protecting a package. I get the "anti-static" biodegradable ones. They're easier to manage when you spill them. I basically swear by them when i ship and swear at them when i receive. :lol:

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