The most important thing to do when carrying an instrument on board is BE POLITE, SMILE and NEVER GET ANGRY with the gate agent or anyone else. if you do, they will MOST certainly make you do the opposite of whatever you want.
I carry my Taylor LTG in a soft Blue Heron gig bag. I sling it over my shoulder so the already small profile is less obvious to the gate agent.
In my last dozen flights or so, I politely approached the gate agent and smiling, asked if I could please pre-board so I could find a place for my instrument. So far, I have not been turned down. The LTG in that bag will fit in the overhead of any aircraft currently in use including the small 16 seat Beechcraft commuter planes and the neck will push to the rear of the compartment and allow a second bag to be stored in front of it...
On my last flight, the flight attendant asked me about my guitar and when I told her what it was, she asked to see it. I was feeling a bit guilty about blocking the aisle for other passengers as she Oood and Awed over it. But it made her even nicer about making sure it was in a safe place.
Before I started asking about pre-boarding, I generally never had a problem taking it on board. Only once was I asked to gate check it, so I let the Gate Agent attach a gate check tag and once in the jetway, I simply removed the tag and the flight attendants didn't look twice when I carried it on board.
Now, all that said, My LTG is a very small bodied guitar, so if you're taking your dreadnought or jumbo along, your experience may vary. It may not fit in the overhead, and in a hard case it most certainly won't fit.
Also, make sure you don't have extra strings in the case or your string clippers... You WILL lose them, I know from personal early experience.
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