tropical travel with a mando

[vtmandolin]

I'm heading to east Africa for work (yes, sounds exotic, but it's WORK!) and would love to bring my mando for all the down time I will have (no family obligations, no chores and staying in a hotel and no sights to see = lots of practice time). Any hints for taking it from New England to the hot humid tropics (hotel has AC) or should I leave it home and suffer for a week without it? I will take the instrument as carry on and check the tuner and humidity thingy in my baggage to keep TSA happy.

[Ron McMillan]

On one hand it is only a week, but that could be a long week if there's little to do outside the hotel room. Take it with you, but be careful of a heavily-air-conditioned hotel room being way too dry. I live in an extremely humid environment - which hardly seems to bother wooden instruments at all, because they don't stay in an air-conditioned environment for more than an hour or two at a time.

[foldedpath]

My $.02, not liable for damage disclaimer, etc...

Speaking as someone who lived most of my life in Miami FL, I think you'll be fine as long as the mandolin doesn't leave the hotel room, and the room is air-conditioned to a comfortable level. And make sure the case isn't exposed to excessive heat, like direct sunlight or a car trunk, on the taxi ride to the hotel.

People from high (and low) latitudes tend to freak out about hot/wet climates, but I used to travel and work frequently in Central and South America, and it it's not that big a deal as long as you avoid too much direct heat from sunlight, or constant exposure to so much humidity that mold starts to grow. If your hotel has a decent AC system, you shouldn't have any problems playing it there, or bringing it back to New England.

The real instrument killers are extreme low humidity, usually associated with heating without humidifying during cold Winter months. And also extreme cold that can crack a lacquer finish. The tropics aren't so bad, if you just avoid direct heating and mold. Just think about all those musicians playing great music in Brazil and Africa on wooden acoustic instruments.
;)

Edited to add, after seeing Ron's post:

Dryness from AC is something to consider, but I think most air conditioned rooms don't get lower than around 50% - 60% RH, which isn't a problem. Take a good hygrometer and you'll know if it gets too dry.

[BrianWilliam]

Maybe buy a beater for travel etc

[lenf12]

Maybe your mando already is a beater (you don't say in the OP) so no worries. If anything happens to it (very doubtful) you can buy yourself a much better mandolin.

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[gtani7]

for TSA /reentry purposes, it would be best to have a purchase receipt from a US dealer (and probably to have a widely available current production model where they can look at the mfr's website and see that it's no exotic anything on it

http://flyingwithguitars.com/2013/08/4523-exotic-woods/

[mandroid]

i had a Martin Backpacker mandolin .. they are very rugged the CNC machined neck* made it nicely playable.

* so no variance from one to another..

[Josh Levine]

I went to Thailand for a month over the summer and took my Morris A5. It hasn't exploded or imploded. I didn't take it snorkeling or anything.

[BrianWilliam]

I went to Thailand for a month over the summer and took my Morris A5...snorkeling....

Ha!

[Tom C]

I don't think a mandolin is that fragile. for a week, I would not worry about it much unless I was in ant-arctic

[Josh Levine]

This is what Floyd Loar (Maker of The Loar mandolins) recommended:
Day 1. Take case out of suitcase
Day 2. Open case clasps
Day 3. Open case
Day 4. Play mandolin
Day 5. Close case
Day 6. Close clasps
Day 7. Put in bag

Using this process you can ensure the safety of your mandolin to climate change.



This is actually all made up

[WW52]

With the basic precautions the climate shouldn't be a problem. The only thing I'd worry about is someone lifting it, so I wouldn't take an instrument I wouldn't want to lose. As someone else said, it's only for a week.