Packing and shipping a weighted 88 key keyboard cross-country

[schindlerpiste]

KORG Kronus 88, Yamaha S90SX

Dimensions are about 60"X10"X24"
Weight ~90lbs

Options:
Hard case and take on plane (non-stop only)
Drive
Hard case, bubble wrap, double box ship via UPS with ins.

I have heard and witnesses nightmarish stories about shipping and air travel (broken guitar/bass necks) losing equipment, smashed keyboards.

[SKIP IN7RO]

Drive

[Skidog]

Pack and ship place would be my go to. Let them deal with it and you can insure it. Seems no brainer.

[Mazderati]

UPS is the go-to.

[iceman]

Buy another one there so the kid can practice when he comes home to visit?

[jm2e]

Pack it well and insure it. The horror stories make the rounds. The success stories don't. The companies stay in business because they do their job well 99.9% of the time.

[Timberridge]

I'd remove the weights from the keys to save some money on shipping.

[schindlerpiste]

Ice: He has a piano at home. This will be for his dorm, and gigs while in the 305. Right now, I am leaning towards driving, and spending a couple of days in Memphis listening to the blues, but he is not allowed to have a car freshman year, so that means driving again next year.

[mall walker]

Pack it well and insure it. The horror stories make the rounds. The success stories don't. The companies stay in business because they do their job well 99.9% of the time.

Yeah, this. Lots of plastic bubblewrap + a sturdy box and you should be fine.

[Todd Zander]

I'd shy away from putting it on a plane, this guy went so far a to write a song about an airline damaging his keyboard.

[mtngirl79]

How will he transport this thing to gigs (you said that's why he needs it) without a car?

[Cruiser]

^^^ He'll take it on the bus, obviously.

[schindlerpiste]

For gigs, someone always has a van. I'm sure that there will be upperclassmen in his band who have transportation. Otherwise, if he is playing alone at a hotel, or restaurant, there is always zipper and uber.

FYI: I was just at Fedex. I was told NOT to ship it via fedex ground ($300), and fedex 2d day air is about $1k. So, either driving, or with him on non-stop flight ($200 Delta) wins.

[old goat]

Sell it and have him buy another one there.
Lots of horror stories about shipping on the guitar websites. If someone wants to ship something valuable best to have the shipper pack it. Pack it yourself and UPS and Fedex will almost always deny a claim for damage.

Have you looked into freight companies as an option?

[Timberridge]

What about a Roland keytar?

[BmillsSkier]

I'd shy away from putting it on a plane, this guy went so far a to write a song about an airline damaging his keyboard.

Is this that crazy maybe mentally challenged dude who would do a record the. Disappear for a year or so blowing all the money he just made on porn and drugs?

I seem to remember my more musically inclined friends in college telling me about him.

[DJSapp]

Buy a car on Craigslist, drive it to FL, sell car for what you paid.

[schindlerpiste]

I think the key tar is too Flock of Seagulls for him. He is more a cross between Chuck Levell and Bill Evans.
I have a beater, and am thinking of driving that.

[El Chupacabra]

How about this instead?
https://www.amazon.com/Hohner-32B-Pi.../dp/B0055DCWKS

$45, and Amazon delivers it for free.

[schindlerpiste]

^^^Those are actually very cool. He has one.

[DJSapp]

I have a beater, and am thinking of driving that.

Right, but then you don't have to drive it, or drive back.

[highangle]

I think the key tar is too Flock of Seagulls for him. He is more a cross between Chuck Levell and Bill Evans.
I have a beater, and am thinking of driving that.

Make it his problem. Give him a budget or some other genuine constraint, and let him figure out a way to make the deal go down.

He's old enough to have a dorm room, and skilled enough that he shouldn't be fucking around on bad gear. He knows what he needs and probably has a rough idea of how to accomplish his plans. A man is responsible for his world.

Based on your posts and the things you say about his mom, I give a 70% chance that he can come up with a solution at least as good as yours.

[RShea]

^^^ He'll take it on the bus, obviously.

Actually Greyhound used to do pretty reasonable package shipping. It has been a number of years, and you have to go to the closest station to drop off and pick up, but worth making a call and finding out if they could handle it. (You do not have to ride the bus with the package obviously)

[schindlerpiste]

highangle, you got it!

[RShea]

For gigs, someone always has a van. I'm sure that there will be upperclassmen in his band who have transportation. Otherwise, if he is playing alone at a hotel, or restaurant, there is always zipper and uber.

FYI: I was just at Fedex. I was told NOT to ship it via fedex ground ($300), and fedex 2d day air is about $1k. So, either driving, or with him on non-stop flight ($200 Delta) wins.

What was the reasoning behind the do not ship it recommendation? Heck you could find a LTL deal if the time getting it there would be about the same as a drive across the country. I'd price out UPS also to compare to the air flight. As for the what to do next year- more and more I'd be looking at if there were any used ones available and just purchase a second one. Stick it in storage over each summer since he'd have one that he left at home.