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Case or Gig Bag

slobake

slobake

resident ... something
Aug 6, 2011
1,904
25,886
Somewhere to the left of "Whoopie"
smowles01.wordpress.com
#1
For a long time all the basses I bought came with gig bags. I bought a Re-Union Blues bag for gigs. A couple of years ago I bought an Am Std Precision that came with a case. Tried the case for a couple of gigs but found it bulky and not as functional as my gig bag. Also like the shoulder straps on the bag.
I would imagine that a hard case would be good it I had to stack a lot of equipment but I don't have to deal with that.
What about you? Gig bag or hardshell case?
 
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#12
Hard case. I’ll give you an example: I lug my bass (in a hard case) and pedal board out of my basement, banging therm against everything on the way out the door. Set everything down in the street. Unlock the car. Toss it all in the back seat. Drive to my jam. Unload everything back into the street. Lug it all into my friend’s basement, bumping and banging all the way...

I’d have broken gear if I used a gig bag. But that’s me.
 
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#13
slobake said:
For a long time all the basses I bought came with gig bags. I bought a Re-Union Blues bag for gigs. A couple of years ago I bought an Am Std Precision that came with a case. Tried the case for a couple of gigs but found it bulky and not as functional as my gig bag. Also like the shoulder straps on the bag.
I would imagine that a hard case would be good it I had to stack a lot of equipment but I don't have to deal with that.
What about you? Gig bag or hardshell case?
Click to expand...
Mr Slo, I store most of my basses in a hard case but just like you I don't stack equipment anywhere near my basses so they generally travel in a good gig bag. Mono Vertigo of Bass Sleeve do the trick as I'm the only one carrying my gear.
If we travel however it goes in a battle hardened, super strong road case. The only problem with that is that airlines charge me a fortune because of the weight but hey, I get to keep my bass.
 
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#14
I hate cases.

I have a house full of them and never use them.

Would only use them if touring and traveling a lot by plane. I've actually always been able to talk my gig bag into the plane closet - though its been a while and I'm not too confident about that any more.

I'll add that I've probably played around 2000 gigs in my life, with a gig bag, and my bass has never suffered a nick or scratch from transportation. And I use cheap $25 - $50 gig bags.
 
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#16
EastCoastThump said:
I'm the only one handling my instruments
Click to expand...

^^^this is pretty much the line-in-the-sand for me; if no one else is touching my gear there's absolutely no way I'll even consider a hard case. Gig bag ftw.

If someone else will be touching my gear then I'll start to consider a hard case...but the gig bag often wins out anyway.

Only time I absolutely definitely will choose a hard case first is if it involves commercial freight handlers -- i.e., trucks, planes, or (once in 45 years of gigging) trains, where not only is someone else touching my gear but it's someone I never met, and I won't get to observe their work -- and then I skip over the typical HSC and go with an ATA-spec flight case.
 
#17
Diamond_Dave said:
I lug my bass (in a hard case) and pedal board out of my basement, banging therm against everything on the way out the door. Set everything down in the street. Unlock the car. Toss it all in the back seat. Drive to my jam. Unload everything back into the street. Lug it all into my friend’s basement, bumping and banging all the way...
Click to expand...
When I was using a hard case it was banging against walls, slam against a door also because of their shape and how they are carried. I use to be heard coming when opening the door and trying to get through it before it closes on me, hitting the back of the case for the last three inches going in. Thud...scraaaaape.
"Bigbottom is here!" You can hear someone say from a distance.

Now with a gig bag, I enter in silence. It is on my body so it never gets close to a wall (especially in turns) and I can open a door and go through it without setting the bass down because the bass is on my body and not in my hands. Again no banging. Stealth entry is now possible.

If it was to bang against something then my body would have hit it even without a bass.

Gig bag solved my banging and scrapping, laying down to open, then pick back up problem you currently have.

Plus it holds all my cables, inears, tools, music binder, and snacks. When not using a cab I am totally hands free.
I will not go back.

Using the Gigblade 2.
Only opening and taking out the bass and putting it back in from the top, never laying the case down on the ground to get out the bass is fantastic. Do not need to clear a space or be in the walk path for a bit while taking the bass out. Just place it in front of my feet upright and unzip, taking up less floor space than my own feet.
Having the accessories pouch on the top near the headstock of the bag means no bending to get my small stuff either, it is at near eye level to see where it all is. Then lean it against the wall always upright.
Only bending over to plug into power or the DI if it is on the floor.
 
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#20
I have both, but I retired the gig bag as I've found that it doesn't fit in my car. The length of a case or gig bag is at the limit of what will fit, so the flexibility in the top of the gig bag helps me get it in. The case has now been retired...I might as well sell it at this point.
 

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