What to do with the stuff you cant pack around...

[shwillyhaaa]

So ive run into a small problum with my stuff...
im a musician who addmitedly has a slight obsession with collecting instruments... big and small.
i currently have a banjo, my guitar, djimbe, harmonica, and tamborine and am getting ready to go to New York.
on top of my intruments alone... i have my pack, and my dog...
my instruments are my children, but travelings my life...
i need help in finding out what to do with my music makers when im out traveling without having to
rid myself of them completely...
(i also have some artwork that are much too big and unnessessary to take with me)

 

[BanMatt]

Just dont bring that many. Seriously if you are already worried about them then they are going to be a problem for sure. You dont want to just ditch them or give them away so I deff. suggest leaving most of them behind for now. Test out how well one or two goes for now. You can always pick up later I assume. Plus new york is a place where you dont want a lot of stuff. You gotta get small there when you sleep and they're always people around all hours of the night. Well from my experience anyway. It can get rough and you dont want anything to happen to your tour bus amount of instruments.

 

[cranberrydavid]

Many of us are like crows. We can't help collecting shiny bits. Then we need to find a safe place to stash them, where other crows can't find them, where we can take them out once or twice a year and admire how shiny they are. Storage units make a fortune on this obsession. Mine's old books.

If you're mostly concerned about their value I'd say you should sell them, get free, and buy others when you're settled again.

If you're more concerned about them as instruments, I'd suggest loaning them to a musician friend who appreciates them and where you know they'll get played.

If neither of those ideas work for you, then I'm guessing there's as voice inside you that's whispering to put down roots and settle. You need to figure out if you're going to listen or not. It's happened to a lot of travelers!

 

[Mouse]

donate them to a music school so you know they'll go to good use!

or give them to trustworthy friends with the option to get them back when need be.

mail them to you parents house and ask them to put them in a box in the basement?

 

[wildboy860]

well... I would bring the drum, tambourine, and harmonica. and leave or give away one of the string instruments. prolly take the guitar and leave the banjo

 

[shwillyhaaa]

well... I would bring the drum, tambourine, and harmonica. and leave or give away one of the string instruments. prolly take the guitar and leave the banjo

thats what i was thinking of doing.... just have to decide which ones gonna come in handy more on the road.
it sucks cause its the only thing i really have a problum leaving behind
musics my shit... and they are my tools
if i could i would have every instrument in exsistance
dam that would be rad as fuck

 

[wildboy860]

maybe even leave the drum behind too. you can always improvise with percussion instruments. I just sold my dejembe cuase I didnt wanna carry it anymore. and I was tired of the thing in general. I figure if I'm around a drum circle I can just borrow someone elses or I carry two drum sticks in my pack so I can make noise on trash I find.

 

[Beegod Santana]

Take the banjo. It'll have the best projection on the street when busking and will be slightly more managible than the guitar. I'm lucky enough to have ex band mates who are willing to hold on to my percussion crap in exchange for the right to use it regularly. These days I just do bucket drumming or use someone elses guitar. The word "musician" is also thrown around a lot these days. I wouldn't take anything you didn't know how to play well. I never carry a guitar because there are so many other travelers out there who carry them yet lack in skill and it never seems hard to find a guit-fiddle to busk with in any given town. If you're about equally adapt on everything I'd just take the harmonica. Being a cute girl with a dog is gonnna make you a buncha $ anyways.

 

[MrD]

Take the banjo. It'll have the best projection on the street when busking and will be slightly more managible than the guitar.

I never carry a guitar because there are so many other travelers out there who carry them yet lack in skill and .

This is good advice, Banjos are loud, and just rare enough that people will dig it allot more than a guitar.
Plus they are pretty damn sturdy and can take a beating.

And take the harmonica for the hell of it, they are super small, loud, and do not weigh a thing,
Plus if you can play both at the same time....!

 

[LeilaniRose]

I too say take the banjo, though theyre heavier than the guitar, their benifits far out weigh the weight.

 

[MrD]

I too say take the banjo, though theyre heavier than the guitar, their benifits far out weigh the weight.

I would suggest taking off the back part, even tho some banjos are different weights it makes it lighter
I took the back off of mine, it makes it far lighter, about as much as an acoustic guitar if not less

 

[wartomods]

yeah, take off the wood resonator in the back (if it has one), it will be a little bit quiter, but still it will cut much better than any regular acoustic guitar.

 

[r3353]

get a shopping cart. That way you can carry everything you need, plus a few things you don't. Also, if you find any nice hills, you don't have to walk. And for the uphill parts, let that sled dog do the work.
Seriously though, ditch the drums, keep the armonica, i mean Harmonica. Now THAT would be an instrument id like to see someone busk. Ben Franklin was crazy after all. light is good.

 

[shwillyhaaa]

I would suggest taking off the back part, even tho some banjos are different weights it makes it lighter
I took the back off of mine, it makes it far lighter, about as much as an acoustic guitar if not less

i have taken the back off... and its much lighter... the thing is is that i am much much more skilled at the guitar than i am at the banjo... the banjo being more of a side project.. not saying i dont kickass at it... but the guitar is and will always be my fave instrument regardless of how popular and worn out it is in the traveling world... im thinking im gonna leave my banjo with my sister who has a house and blah blah... thanks guys !!

 

[AmandaLynn]

with instruments I agree with trusted friend who will get good use of it, I left my guitar with my old roommate who's totally giving it a whole lot of love.

But now my instrument problem is fiddle v. guitar. fiddle is lighter and better busking instrument, but I just really love having my guitar with me, it's so bulky though and heavier. Oh decisions.

 

[LeeevinKansas]

id sell them on craigslist. bring the smaller instruments. i dunno. it sound slike a big hassle and what not, id sel them, tak ethe cash, and buy new ones in the future ifu decide u just can tlive without them.

 

[stanktank]

i can't travel without a guitar, even though it's big and bulky (but not really) it's totally worth the trouble for me. plus it's such a versatile instrument. good choice, shwilly.

 

[bananathrash]

lash them to your dog!

 

[urbanflow]

send me that there harmonica so i have something else to do besides play with my kendama!


ps. how in the flying fuck do you guys hop freights with a guitar? im too worried about being spotted with my pack let alone a dog, pack AND a guitar

 

[Desperado Deluxe]

Uh u can put them up in a pawn shop. Ive heard of other people doing that.