In your opinions...

[SOTSDO]

...what is the best way to prepare a saxophone for shipment? I have my vintage Conn alto from the 1920s that I am wanting to ship off to my son on the West Coast, and other than the Protec padded case, what precautions should I take to ensure that it arrives intact? Should I wedgeeee the keys (with polyethylene foam, cork is so last century), or what?

I've already padded and isolated the loose items (mouthpieces, neck and so forth), and the case seems pretty robust But, I've never done this before, so I seek your help in advance.

 

[pete]

I've generally told folks to do what was on the Cybersax website. I haven't listened to heard any complaints. (EDIT: I noticed that the sax being packed in the Cybersax example is a Conn alto.)

I've shipped a couple horns and had several sent to me. Two of them shipped to me were damaged. One was from insufficient padding at the top of the horn. The other was my YBS-52: some of the nylon "pearls" came off because it was too cold when they shipped it!

I was lucky shipping baris because they had over-sized cases. The last one I shipped, I did put some styrofoam wedges in to immobilize some keys and went to town with bubble wrap, both around the horn and around the case, then the case went into a packing box.

Speaking of boxes, I should also mention that most carriers charge by BOTH size and weight. So, say it's $20 for 12lbs with dimensions of 4' x 4' x 4'. It's possible that slightly heavier or slightly bigger can jump you to a $40 charge.

 

[Gandalfe]

Bubble wrap is your friend, never had to buy it cuz so many peeps hoard this stuff. No, really ...

 

[fromsfca]

I've bought and sold many horns; +1 on the bubble wrap. The most important thing is to keep the horn from sliding around inside the case. Also be cautious about too much bubble wrap...it is possible to bend longer rods.

Think about the trip the horn is about to take; possibly thrown into the back of truck; riding around miles of conveyor belts picked up by people who throw it onto another conveyor belt then thrown into the back of another truck or two. Horns or equipment sliding around can be dented, bent or scratched. I put healthy amount at both the bottom and the top of the horn.

 

[saxhound]

Another area to pay attention is the front lip of the bell. My latest purchase got bent down there and actually twisted the bell slightly out of alignment. A bit of foam or bubble wrap would have prevented it.

 

[Helen]

+1 to Pete's link to the old Cybersax page. That is without a doubt, the safest way to ship a horn. I have only had a few horns shipped to me, but all the ones that have been sent were packed like that, and all have arrived safely. I should add, a number have come to me from Europe, and two came like that from the States.

 

[jbtsax]

I agree with the Cybersax method, only I would caution not to use material that is too tight or too hard between the box and the case. I shipped an alto once that way and rather than absorbing the blow to the outside of the box, the hard, tight packing transferred the energy of the blow to the saxophone inside its case. Many would disagree, but I see no advantage in wedging keys closed. If the package gets a bump, the keys may go down and back up. Isn't that what they normally do anyway?