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Bluebell Relocation Services

How to pack musical instruments for moving

the piano might be one of the toughest musical instruments to pack

People worry about a lot of stuff during a move. They think about their budget, finding reliable cross country movers NJ or the packing process. But when you are moving something important, expensive or fragile, your worries might skyrocket. Take for instance musical instruments. Musicians are tightly connected to their instruments – they are like a part of their family. And since they can be hard to replace and repair, they will put a lot of care into keeping them safe! If you are one of them, then your worries stop today! All you really need to prepare for the move is to pack musical instruments carefully. If you are unsure how to do it, then you’re in the right place! Today, we will show you it can be done!

Know the basics when you pack musical instruments

There are some things that every musician should know about packing up their instruments. After all, you need to know everything about it – including how to clean or transport it! For example, it is best to keep your instruments at room temperature. Make sure your moving services NJ know this when transporting them, so they can put them in a climate-controlled unit if there is a need for it. You should also use these professionals to move a piano or organ. These instruments are very heavy and very expensive and can cause a lot of trouble to move.

Similar things apply to smaller (but still large) instruments. Things like tubas, basses, cellos, synthesizers, and even amplifiers can often be tough to transport. Luckily, they come with a hard case, and you should use it to pack these musical instruments. If you don’t have one, then make sure you talk to the pros about what you can use instead.

There are other, smaller things that will also matter quite a bit. For example, if you moved woodwind and stringed instruments, you should let them rest for 24 hours. They need to acclimate after the moving stress before you can use them. And when it comes to accessories and hardware, you should pack these separately. Guitar straps, reeds, and similar things can scratch or otherwise damage the musical instrument during transport.

Now, let us take a look at how you will pack these three types of musical instruments:

  1. brass and woodwind instruments;
  2. stringed instruments;
  3. drums.

How to pack brass and woodwind musical instruments

If you need to move an instrument that falls into this category, then you might be in luck. Things like horns, tubas, and trumpets can often be taken apart. This way, you will pack them with more ease and protect them from bumps in the road. Ideally, you should also put them in a hard case that the instrument came with.

a man playing a tumpet

If you, however, do not have the case, then you will need to wrap every single piece into a bubble pack. It is very important to protect each piece, so make sure you use multiple layers. The point is for them not to bump into each other during the transport, which is actually the biggest risk here. This is why you need to carefully consider the size of the moving boxes you will use. Our packing services can help you with this! The box needs to be large enough in order to allow for all the parts as well as some padding, whether you use towels or packing peanuts. But if you do opt for the latter, then make sure you seal your wrapping material around the parts. You do not want peanuts stuck in your instrument after the move!

There is more work to do on string instruments

When it comes to string instruments, things get a little more delicate. Usually, you are not able to disassemble these when packing. Things like harps, violins or cellos can also be pretty sensitive, so you need to add a little extra care for them. For example, you will need to loosen up the strings first. This also applies to one of the most commonly transported instruments – the guitar. You can fine-tune them after the move, but you do not want to discover their strings broken. The same applies to the tuning keys – so turn them parallel with the headstock.

a violin

Again, if there is a hard case, then make sure to put your instrument inside it. Then add some crumpled paper around so the instrument won’t bounce within its box. Pay special attention to the headstock since this part is the thinnest. Avoid using peanuts here – you cannot really seal your string instrument’s holes, and getting these out of it is a nightmare.

Instruments without a hard case also need to be wrapped up in plastic or protective wrap. But you don’t need to get too fancy – even a dry cleaning bag is good. Just make sure you seal it before adding a bubble pack. That way, you are double protecting your instrument from any water, which can destroy it, even if it sits in storage units NJ for some time.

Drums are last – but not least

Finally, the last of the musical instruments that we need to pack is a drums set! Luckily, drums are not that hard to pack – but there are still things to think about. First is the box. You will want one that is at least 2 to 4 inches larger than the drum itself. This way, you will be able to add protection without applying pressure to the instrument.

drums

Then, you will want to remove the rims and heads and nest the drums inside each other. Use plastic wrap and plastic bags to store tension rods and other small pieces of hardware safely apart from the drums. The same applies to spurs, legs, and similar bigger parts. You will need to secure them with air bubbles and then pack them. Finally, finish packing your drums by adding a layer of peanuts or packing paper to fix them inside the box.

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