Has anyone ever needed to take their DJ equipment or records (like a crate) on a plane?

If so, any bad experiences?

I'm trying to figure out how much I can take with me without it getting lost or damaged. Maybe shipping it might be better?

I'd like to take my turntables and mixer at the least. I also have some monitors that I can't be without.

any advice or suggestions would be appreciated...

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I have never done this and unless you have some really cheap TTs or Mixer or whatever, I wouldn't do it. I mean your just asking for it to be damaged. It's one thing to take it in a car or truck, another thing to take it in an airplane. Now vinyl records, that shouldn't be as big of a concern as long as you have them protected in one of those metal cases. But why would you want/need to haul your stuff around like that? If you have a gig somewhere you need to travel to, the venue should have a set up, and if it's not the same set up you have, you will just have to adjust. Lots of DJs do...

it's because I will be away from home for a year or more. and it's overseas, so its not like I can come home anytime soon. so i'd like to keep making mixes while im there. and it's my cure for boredom.

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quote:

Originally posted by marcusk it's because I will be away from home for a year or more. and it's overseas, so its not like I can come home anytime soon. so i'd like to keep making mixes while im there. and it's my cure for boredom.

I see, i'de ship them if I were you and have them insured, so if they are damaged, FedEX or whomever will handle the repair or replacement costs. I don't know if airlines insure stuff like that if it gets broken....

go weigh you turnbtables, mixer and monitors, then your records too.
Add it all up and then look at how much over the baggage limit of your airline you are, Then work out how much it will cost you in excess baggage. Lots!

quote:

Originally posted by Spirit5 I see, i'de ship them if I were you and have them insured, so if they are damaged, FedEX or whomever will handle the repair or replacement costs. I don't know if airlines insure stuff like that if it gets broken....

International shipping with fedex and the likes is usually outrageous. Depending on the country you may be asked to pay some extra charges at the time of delivery ( custom handling fees, tax and suburban charges that's what they call them ... it's rubbish ).


Investing in a flight case for the turntables is a good idea but they are heavy. If you don't have a huge mixer you could always consider putting it in the same baggage as your clothes.

All in all it's all going to weigh a lot and cost a ton. Check in advance with your flight company for luggage allowance and see how much they will charge for overweight and/or extra luggage.

It is often cheaper to pay for an extra piece of luggage then having a piece of luggage that is overweight ( it makes no sense but that's what has happened to me ).
Last year when I moved abroad I had 2 pieces of luggage both overweight, would have paid 200 or so $ in charges for the weight surplus, but only about 140 for an extra piecce of luggage.
So I got an extra bag and moved some stuff to the third bag and paid the 140 or so.



You could also consider taking your records in a record bag as a carry on. You could take about 90 or so records max ( don't get one of these huge 200+ vinyl bags ).
In most cases your carry-on will NOT be weighed and when you know how much records weigh it's good to take into account.
I have been flying yearly since I was a kid and it's been the habit to put the heaviest stuff in the carry-on.

I see, sending it does not sound like an option. Well, looks like im going to have to start the Vinyl to Mp3 conversion process...and try to find a decent mp3 mixing device.

Thanks.

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quote:

Originally posted by dj_palm stuff can last forever as long u dont move it. period.

if you pack up well it should be fine so the type of comment you are making is really unwarranted

quote:

Originally posted by dj_palm in a second thought i think ive missundeerstood. i thought u were takin your equipment to a dj set etc. thats when it gets terminated. if ur moving your location of living most equipment can handle one move and makes it totaly diferent. ive moved a couple of times (tho not by plane) ive drove like 7 hours with a wagen full of furnitures, clothes, computer and all my stereo and only a corner on my desk got smashed so if u pack it up good it should be ok. turntables and vinyl can handle pretty much shit, tho cdjs are worse. havem in your lap if ur havin one (not the lap, the cdj). also your monitors should be ok if u got grills and original boxes. so sorry about that stupid sentience over if i missunderstood the setting. i dont think it will be a problem if u take it with u on plane, tho i will have to pay for it caus u will will overrun your lugage-limit at once. tho u prolly need to do this anyways for some of your clothes etc maybe? pack it in good in original boxes and u should be fine. and i think they pay for damage if its gettin broken, atleast if its a western airplane company.

no, that's quite alright, maybe i should've been more clear. I think my alternative plan is to just by some CDJ's, cause I went through 2 Mp3 DJ units and they both sucked, in case your wondering which one, the Hercules and the Behringer. so the worst case scenario, I guess I would just ship that 1 unit.

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two years ago i went to the UK for 6 months and brought my equipment with me on the place. I packed my cdj1000 and denon s3000 cd players in my UDG record bag...padded it up like crazy and took it as a carry-on.

I packed a 19 inch Denon mixer into a suitcase and wrapped it to death with clothing and padding and everything came out great, both ways. I just explained to the security people what it all was and they were very cool.

well i have to move around alot as well .. and i wanna bring both my turntables with me as well as my mixer and vinyls .. well im using a dxm 06 numark.. so its small i can just chuck it into my suitcase wrapped thickly with foam along with my clothing . my vinyls will be in either a vinyl bag.. or those metal vinyl cases thingy. then heres the real prob .. i m thinking of getting seperate cases for my decks.. 1 case for each turntable .. i m gonna padded it thick will cloth.. and foam .. and stick tons of fragile stickers on it .. is there anything else i would need to do .. so

1) the airport does not damage it ..
20 the airpots pay for the damages or returns me a new one if it is stolen?!?!

or heck should i hand explain it to security and take it as a carry on both decks and vinyls.

I used to carry a crate and a bag of vinyl.. ehh it was heavy.

Now i take a laptop, a traveller, and m-audio gear - all in my MOTU bag. its killer, but securtiy is a bitch to take quite a bit out.