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Flying with a Mello


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Plating loss must have been a King problem for the era. Have a 2v King Bari that I bought from eBay when I wanted to see if I could still play. Looks a lot like the pic... well with one BIG exception...

Question on carry on Melli, at my locla airport there are open topped boxes that show the max dimensions of carry-on. IOW if what you have doesn't totally fit in the box, it has to be checked. So the bell end of the case is smaller than the max size?

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Altieri makes an alto gig bag that is a perfect size for a Mello. It's not shown on the web site (http://www.altieribags.com/), but is considered a "stock" product. Send them an email and they will quote you a price.

The bag is soft-sidded and only provides minimum protection, but it does fit under the seat and in most overhead bins. It's been a good solution for me for the last few years.

Before I bought the gig bag, I went to the sporting goods store and bought an nylon XL "stuff sack". The fit was fine. I used industrial high-density packing foam, an electric knife, and some duct tape to piece together a serviceable "frame" to protect the vital parts of the horn. It was cheap and didn't take much work, but it took a little time to get the horn in/out of the bag.

Good luck,

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Altieri makes an alto gig bag that is a perfect size for a Mello. It's not shown on the web site (http://www.altieribags.com/), but is considered a "stock" product. Send them an email and they will quote you a price.

The bag is soft-sidded and only provides minimum protection, but it does fit under the seat and in most overhead bins. It's been a good solution for me for the last few years.

Before I bought the gig bag, I went to the sporting goods store and bought an nylon XL "stuff sack". The fit was fine. I used industrial high-density packing foam, an electric knife, and some duct tape to piece together a serviceable "frame" to protect the vital parts of the horn. It was cheap and didn't take much work, but it took a little time to get the horn in/out of the bag.

Good luck,

This is so much better than the advice I was going to give:

"When attempting to fly with a mellophone, firmly grasp the mellophone with your teeth and flap arms vigorously."

Keep in mind that you may be able to ship the instrument ahead via UPS or FedEx and avoid the carry on/checking issue altogether. Wrap the instrument in lots of bubble wrap. You can even leave the case at home if the trip is short. Prepaid labels can be used to ship the instrument back in the same packaging.

Of course, this would completely eliminate your opportunity to serenade your fellow passengers if you're stuck on the tarmac for 8 hours.

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This is so much better than the advice I was going to give:

"When attempting to fly with a mellophone, firmly grasp the mellophone with your teeth and flap arms vigorously."

Keep in mind that you may be able to ship the instrument ahead via UPS or FedEx and avoid the carry on/checking issue altogether. Wrap the instrument in lots of bubble wrap. You can even leave the case at home if the trip is short. Prepaid labels can be used to ship the instrument back in the same packaging.

Of course, this would completely eliminate your opportunity to serenade your fellow passengers if you're stuck on the tarmac for 8 hours.

Nice. Thanks for the info guys. I'll look into the gig bags. I like the idea of using an existing bag but adding padding. I have a duffel bag that is just the right size for the mello, but would need some padding to make sure nothing happens to the horn. I figure if I put the horn under my seat and not in the overhead, it should be fine.

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:tongue: lol

One time, I had to go through extra security with the mello and have it inspected. They didn't believe there was an instrument in the case!

Heck it don't look like an instrument out of the case either. :thumbdown: Trade it in for a sop :smile:

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:thumbdown: lol

One time, I had to go through extra security with the mello and have it inspected. They didn't believe there was an instrument in the case!

I've been inspecting them since 1965... I still don't believe that's an instrument in the case. It's like a trumpet with a tumor.

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If you bring your horn as a check in instead of a carry on you might never see it again. :thumbdown:

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