"Ohh boo friggin hooo being an "artistic type' is soooo hard wah wah wah."
Give it a rest, OK? I've travelled as a musician, carrying an oboe that I paid more than $5000 for. Would I put it in checked luggage? Never.
A friend of mine on the same trip had a cello worth over $100,000. She paid for a seat on the plane for it.
Use some common sense before you post, OK?
Do you both have the same friend with a 100k cello?