guitar electronic problems due to air travel?

[StarryNight]

do any of you fine fellows know of electronic problems arising due to air travel. I've got someone with a newer 335 who says after a plane ride they notice some occassional crackling/distorted noise in the bridge pickup - and sounds thin. I can only think of condensation from cold storage causing some corrosion but it's only a theory. Anyone with experience on this?

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

The condensation sounds entirely plausible for the crackling - sometimes small things like that can exaggerate a previously benign problem. I have had that issue many times with any long term storage and not just from flying. As for sounding thin, it sounds like the pickup might be opening at some point (hopefully a solder joint) in which case I don't think the hull of an airplane gets cold enough to mess with a solder joint. My vote is that the air trip was just a coincidence.

On the other hand, if your friend has the stock pickups in there, he now has an excellent excuse to get something much nicer in there! I've had a couple 335s and the stock pickups are awful, especially for that guitar.

[David King]

Steel wool in the pickup? Steel wool in the volume pot? That would have nothing to do with a plane ride.

[Mark Hammer]

Well, there's always this aspect of air transport: YouTube - United Breaks Guitars

[RedHouse]

Well, there's always this aspect of air transport: YouTube - United Breaks Guitars

My thoughts exactly!

[Magnut]

The only thing I could think of beside corrosion would be stress loading on the pickup wire. There can be quite a bit of vibration and perhaps the wire at the pickup experienced a lot of up and down or side to side cycles and now the connection is a bit compromised. (I am talking about the hookup wire btw)

[David King]

What about the airport?

Could the airport baggage x-ray machines or other type of high-power scanner have demagnetized the magnets?

[David Schwab]

The two times I flew with guitars I put them in the overhead storage (in gig bags). I would never fly with a guitar that was not in a flight case unless I put it in the overhead.

[Joe Gwinn]

Could the airport baggage x-ray machines or other type of high-power scanner have demagnetized the magnets?

No.