New Bass Bag For Me..Any Suggestions?

Jeff Novack · #1 01-08-2005, 05:06 AM

Hey all,
Well, it seems I am in the market for a new bass bag for my upright as my Mooradian has just crapped out on me. The zippers had been going for awhile and while lugging out to a gig tonight they totally disintegrated on me. It served me well, though: 7 years, numerous national tours and crappy local gigs, snowstorms, torential downpours...you get the picture.

So, before I plunk down some more cash I went looking on the web to see what was out there and was wondering if you guys could give me suggestions on good cases.

So far the ones I've found are:

Mooradian Deluxe (my old case)
Soundwear Performer or Professional (these seem to be on the expensive end and I was wondering if the cost was justified)
Kolstein Bag
Ritter Orchestral 700 or 900 (these look cool, but I wonder how sturdy they are)
Reunion Blues (I found a nylon one for about $400 on one website)
Upton Bag

Here are my requirements:

I am a working bassist so I need something that can withstand a lot of abuse. I have a late 19th century Tyrolean that I use as my main gigging Jazz bass so I would like to prevent scratching as much as possible.

I would like something waterproof, even though I live in LA

(actually this doesnt seem so weird with how the weather has been lately)

I like the bridge protector that the Mooradian has on the front.

I'd like a lot of options as far as handles as well as padded backpack straps (you know, for when I feel like taking it camping)

It doesn't have to have tons of pockets, just enough for my bow, wheel and other various crap.

Any help you guys could give me would be great. I'm trying to decide fairly soon as my case is destroyed and I have gigs coming up.

Thanks....

Jazzman · #2 01-08-2005, 06:32 AM

Have you thought about the Gollihur bag? I just ordered one for myself...they seem hard to beat for the price. http://www.urbbob.com/dbcase.html

**Adrian Cho** · #3 01-08-2005, 08:47 AM

Consider the Bobelock. The quality and features are fantastic for the price. I bought one for a new bass and it's very close to and in some ways better than the Mooradian Deluxe I had with my old bass. Padding is just as good but it folds up much better. Also has padding on the bridge. More pockets than the Mooradian, same handles. Check the pricing at Quinn's but it's also available from many other places.

brooklynbass · #4 01-08-2005, 09:33 AM

I highly recommend the Soundwear Professional. I got one used from David Gage, who just happened to have one lying around, for 400. So I can't comment on whether it's worth the high price. But it felt extremely sturdy - I couldn't feel the bass through the case like I can with the mooradian, and it also has a rubber pad over the bridge, as well as removable backpack straps, which I never used. It's on the heavy side, but for protection, that's probably what you want. Other downside is that there's no pocket that easily fits your wheel. There's one for the bow, and one for other stuff on the front and one on the back. If your bass fits in the case nice and tight, like mine did, the pocket on the back doesn't really open enough to put much in it, esp a wheel. Other upside is that it has great handles all over. Really great case.

Jeff Novack · #5 01-08-2005, 12:48 PM

Thanks for the replies. I checked out the Gollihur case, but something about it didn't appeal to me (sorry, Bob

), although I haven't seen it up close. I'd still like to check out the Ritter as I've seen their electric bass bags and they seem pretty sturdy and full of features. I wish there was somewhere local I could go check these things out, but I guess I could always return it if I wasn't crazy about it.

Aaron Saunders · #6 01-08-2005, 11:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Novack

Thanks for the replies. I checked out the Gollihur case, but something about it didn't appeal to me (sorry, Bob

), although I haven't seen it up close. I'd still like to check out the Ritter as I've seen their electric bass bags and they seem pretty sturdy and full of features. I wish there was somewhere local I could go check these things out, but I guess I could always return it if I wasn't crazy about it.

I use a Ritter bag for my electric.

Question -- how much does a quality URB bag usually go for? I'm seeing $400 here and kinda starting to sweat

Jeff Novack · #7 01-09-2005, 01:51 AM

Unfortunately it seems like you really can't get a decent bag for less than $300 these days. I mean, you can buy bags for less than that, but I wouldn't trust them with an expensive bass. On the other hand, if it's a student model that can take some wear and tear, you could probably get away with buying one of the sub $100 bags on lemur.

How do you like that Ritter bag for your electric? I'm curious because I use an InCase bag for mine and I love it, but I've seen a few people with those Ritter's and are intrigued by them. I wish InCase made bags for URB's, but I heard that they don't think there's enough of a market for them.

Aaron Saunders · #8 01-09-2005, 11:18 AM

I like it a lot -- it's taken a few nasty spills, and one recently that terrified me...my amp (Yorkville XS400, 80 lbs) fell on her NECK while it was in the bag. My dad pulled over and I ran back to the trunk to check the damage -- nothing! My bass was perfect, and still in tune.

Others include the guitarist in my band knocking it over, bumping into doorways, people, and objects in the room, etc. etc.

Throughout it all, the only damage has been a slight wear on the bottom corner of the bag where the rubber stuff ends. Keep in mind that I bring this to school *every* day, and out a lot on weekends. GREAT bag, and a total steal at $50 CAD.