Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

(sorry, this is very long winded, the cliffsnotes of it is in bold)

My situation is that I am getting married to a Canadian in Canada this year and will be there for a month, before returning home to UK to complete my degree and do all the necessary for getting PR status. All being well I will hopefully be landing as a permanent resident in Canada late next year.

I have been contemplating how to move my possessions over. I don't have a huge amount of things and I reckon I can get feasibly get everything moved by way of excess baggage on my flight.

One issue is my guitars. I have two (one electric, one acoustic) and I have figured out that bringing them works out better than selling them and buying them again in Canada, even when the cost of buying hard cases for them for the flight is taken into account (the hard cases can be quite spendy). Additional baggage fees (with BA at least) are such that the 1st add'l bag is relatively cheap, but any further add'l bags are quite costly, which I don't mind too much, but I'm still keen to get the biggest bang for my buck, being a poor student.

Here's my rough calculation based on flying BA and paying their additional baggage fees for both guitars on the journey where I land as PR.

2x hard cases @ c£50 each = £100
2x add'l baggage fees one way @ £72 each = £144

Total = an awful lot of £££?? (£244 for the maths hounds ;))

And obviously I don't pay any import duty/tax as I am bringing them in as a landing PR.


Now my theory is this....

I buy one hard case for the acoustic (i.e. the larger guitar) and bring acoustic guitar with me on my earlier trip (the one this year where I am getting married) and leave the guitar in Canada, bring the empty case back to the UK and then on my PR landing trip take the electric guitar (suitably wrapped/cushioned inside the somewhat-too-big case).

Money wise that works out:

1x hard case @ £50
2x 1st add'l baggage fee (trip#1 return) @ £32 = £64
1x add'l baggage fee (trip#2 one way) @ £72

Total = not so much £££ (£186! or in other words a saving of almost £60)

Essentially the saving I make is on not having to buy a second guitar case that I'll never use for any other purpose. And I also have less stuff to stack precariously on a trolley and wheel around the airports on the second trip, as an additional benefit.


So the big question is this:

On my arrival on the first trip, are Canadian customs likely to accept that I am bringing my guitar for recreational use on the earlier trip and that I am "bringing it home to the UK with me" afterwards, and therefore not hit me for duty?

People take instruments on vacation for personal use all the time, right? And customs can't really know that I've left it behind once they've let me through with it?

Truth be told I don't even know how much tax/duty I would pay on the thing. I suspect less than £60 worth. The guitar is worth about £200. So either way, even if I get hit, I'm winning?

I am concerned because flying home with an empty guitar case might be a headscratcher but I don't encounter Canadian customs when leaving anyway? UK customs could ask questions and assume I bought the case in Canada but a UK receipt for the case would clear that up, and it's not over the value threshold for bringing stuff home anyway (my wedding ring is a bigger concern tbh, any suggestions for that btw?)

Maybe you guys can tell me if I am being ridiculous/taking a dumb risk for such a small saving, or missing something obvious that makes this whole scheme fall apart? This whole immigration thing is a spendy affair though, and any little savings I can make on this and that will hopefully add up. :)

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

Just stick them on you goods to follow list if you are coming as a PR?

Based on my shaky memory of a previous thread on this subject if you buy a second hard case and then sell it once you get here you will probably come out ahead anyway.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

My understanding is that he will not be a PR at the time of the first trip.:confused:

To the OP, I think your plan is sound except for having to explain an empty case on the return.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

Use the guitar case to carry your stuff in (pants, shirts etc.). That's what a friend of my husband did all the time, used it as a suitcase. His theory was that people would mistake him for a famous musician, he looked a bit like Eric Clapton.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

For all of my seeming thrift, buying a second hand case and flogging it onwards after using it never actually occurred to me. :lol: Cheers for the suggestion.

One thing I just realised I have overlooked is the possibility of the guitar being my hand luggage, which BA say is possible provided it is "less than 126cm" and my guitar is no longer than 110cm. So in fact if I do that instead of taking a small handluggage suitcase (which I only ever put a few spare undies in anyway, I'm sure I can stuff em in the case with the guitar...) then I pay nothing for transporting the first guitar except the cost of the case, whatever that may be. So that basically settles that. Saving of £122 before you even consider the possibility of carrying it in a soft case (undecided but would be much cheaper), can't f*** with that, you know? I'll take the risk of customs at either end asking a few questions for that.

Money issues aside, it also means I don't have to handle two guitars on top of maybe 3 suitcases on the PR landing trip, which could be a bit of an unwieldy affair as a fairly small chick with very little bodily strength for wheeling all this stuff around airports. :o

Thanks for the help folks, sometimes it just takes input from a few extra brains for me to work things out to their best.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

They typically allow instruments as an exception to that rule, but if space is short it could have to go in the hold at boarding, so a hard case is a minimum requirement unless you want expensive kindling the other end.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

Good to know, cheers.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

This is the biggest benefit to me - if you're doing the luggage on your own, then 2 guitars and suitcases is going to be difficult.

They aren't going to question why you are bringing a guitar over (and if you're going over for your wedding, you can always say you are playing it at the wedding). People travel with instruments all the time.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

This is a subject I had looked into... I have a Gibson Les Paul Standard (cost new £1400) which is my prized possesion. I am going to Canada on the WHP on thursday and was originally planning on taking my guitar with me. You'll be wanting a flight case for your guitars. My Gibson has a hard case, but even that does not guarantee it will be safe. To be honest though, gibson hardcases are fairly lousy. They are good enough to protect your guitar when carrying it around, but I wouldn't trust a baggage handler with it.

You'd need to loosen the strings as well as the change in temperatures could cause the string tension to change and the neck could be at risk to warping.

As for using your acoustic hardcase for your electric guitar, this is a bad idea. Ideally, you don't want your guitar moving around inside the case. A tip I was given is that customs may want to open the case and check what's inside. Locking the case isn't the best idea because if they want to check it and you're not around, they'll just bust the lock open... If you get a case with a combination lock, I recommend locking it, but sticking a note to it with the combination written on it. Let's face it, if someone steals your case, all they need to do is guess the combination or bust the lock. It makes little difference at the end of the day.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

9 times out of 10 the instument will remain hand luggage, so customs access is only a problem if it gets checked. If it gets checked then customs are probably going to be the least of your worries:)

Id lock a case just to deter the idly curious. Then again my experience is with saxes, and they have small stuff in the case like expensive/ cherished mouthpieces you wouldnt want to go missing.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

I've heard stories of people purchasing seats for their instruments but then being told by the airline that they'll need to check them with their cases... It really does boil down to the airline. Is it really worth taking the risk?

A friend of mine recommended shipping them. It doesn't cost too much and couriers are generally more reliable.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

The airline itself says it will accept instruments as hand luggage, but I think what Iain is getting at is that if it is a particularly busy flight or small plane, they can make people check their larger hand luggage pieces at boarding.

I would never in a million years purchase a seat for my guitar, given how expensive it was to get my own ass on the plane.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

It's more about peace of mind. I'm going to pick up a guitar when I'm in canada on the whp. My plan is to travel the world until I find a place I would be happy to call home, then do so legally. When this is done, I'll have my guitar shipped to me in a flight case and padded box. It's very dear to me.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

Dont fly united

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

I do not have guitars but I brought a modular synth (Buchla 200e) synth over as luggage when I moved to Canada a few years ago. It is very valuable ($25,000) so I paid the extra insurance and it was worth it.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

The problem with guitars is that no two are truly the same (at least when you're talking about the high end ones). I could walk out and find one that in terms of specifications, is identical to mine, but they won't necessarily play, sound or look the same. I've grown very attached to mine and can explain every little ding on the surface. The finish has started to age slightly and is beginning to show off the maple underneath... It has a very nice flame top. My guitar is truly one in a million (to me) and even though I could buy one that was identical on paper, i'd never be happy with it. I don't know too much about synths, but I'm guessing that there's less scope for differences... Granted, your synth is worth more than my guitar. Correct me if I'm wrong, i'm just guessing here.

Some people might not have the same attachment to their gear as I do to my guitar. I've had it since I was 17 and have played every gig I have ever done (over 100) with it... Barring the most recent one that I played solely with my #2 guitar, which I have since sold to help finance my trip :(

Fyi, other than the difference between pickups and finish, my #2 guitar was identical on paper to my trusty #1, but was very different in all aspects.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

Hi there,

I flew with Canadian Affair from Manchester into Vancouver last May and brought my Fender bass guitar (flightcased) with me. I was charged £50 excess baggage, and then just checked the bass in with the excess/abnormal baggage.
On arrival in Vancouver my obious concerns were that my bass had made it across the pond un-scathed.....and to my delight, it was absoulutely fine. And, no problems with customs either.

Just a quick one though, if it's a tight budget you have, check out the flight costs with Canadian Affair and compare them with BA, or even Air Canada. I can almost guarantee Canadian Affair will be a lot cheaper and save you money that you can put towards a proper flightcase for your electric guitar.

Word of warning, don't try and fit your electric into your acoustic case by 'padding' it out.....my friend and lead guitarist in my band is a sound-engineer/road crew for the Happy Mondays and he did what you are intending.....and it failed miserably....broken headstock & damaged pick-ups to a vintage Gibson Les Paul.
Hence, they only made that mistake once!!

Hope this is helpful to you :thumbup:

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

As a les paul player, that's a punchable offense in my book.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

Oh wow. Noted.

As for Canadian Affair, they're not so handy for me since I'm from Edinburgh and destination is Montreal, but good shout anyway, I gather they're a moneysaver for other routes.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

I'm from Glasgow. I'm heading for Vancouver. I fly from Glasgow to Toronto on thursday, stay overnight in toronto then I get the bus on friday afternoon. I'll eventually get to Vancouver on monday morning... I'm flying with Canadian affair. This still works out as my cheapest option by far.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

Yeah I totally agree! Fortunately for my mate, he's a top notch sound engineer and knew the bands sound-mix inside out so he kept his job....though it cost him a whole sh#tload of beer during their States/Canada tour in 2008!!!! :rofl:

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

I can imagine. I suppose it could be chalked down to an accident... Les Pauls may be built "like a brick s***house" but they have their weak points... Most notably where the neck joins with the headstock, the heel and... just the neck in general... When you say the pickups were damaged, I'm guessing that means that the guitar itself was in pretty bad nick, or was it just some random event where the neck was broken and the pickups were damaged???

My best guess is that either the guitar was beat up, but the only significant damage was to the neck and the pickups... Or the neck broke due to poor support and possibly the pickups were banging off the top of the case, or maybe the pickup cavity was busted?

I'm curious, even though I hate to see a gibson getting damaged... It's like a car wreck you can't look away from. Sickening, but you still look...

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

I don't know the full details on the extent of the damage and it could've been more than the broken headstock/damaged pick-ups. I'm guessing that the guitar was probably also subject to slightly more than just the regular baggage handling during transit from the UK to the States.

Still....he definitely learnt his lesson with that one!

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

I see this has struck a chord with many people.



I'll get my coat

(edit, oops spelling)

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

Maybe so but it isn't something to fret about ! :)

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

Let the punage begin!

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

When I moved over last year I had the worry of shipping all my bass guitars over especially as my wife who worked in the air industry told me horror stories about baggage handlers. In the end your only really covered for damages etc if you use a ATA spec flightcase. All of mine came from www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk then simply put a TSA lock on it in case customs want a look. Depends how much you value your guitar.

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

Oh dear...we're going to see a whole 'string' of guitar-related puns now! :D

Re: Bringing guitars to Canada - thoughts?
 

I know. The neck of some people!