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Hard case - do I reaaaally need it?

#21
BROKEN OHMS said:
The first time you and your band load ALL of your gear into a vehicle and go on tour you'll wish you had the hard case.
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Yep +1 on that. Or when you pull your bass out of the bag and find a chunk missing and wonder how the hell that happened, or it falls off the stage, or gets run over 'cause someone forgot it was leaning on the van. You get the idea.
 
#24
I love my fender HSC...My bass lives in it when not in use. I really don't have another 1200 bucks laying around, so I prefer to protect my new bass. loading it with amps and guitar cases in the back of a suv, you get where your going, open the hatch and everything falls out, that's when I am really glad I did not use a gig bag!
 
#26
I used to like gig bags better. I could throw it over a shoulder and it took up less room and weighed less but if you're going to throw you bass in the back of a van with any other gear you really want a hard case to protect it. Slam on the breaks once and you could lose a tuning peg in a gig bag. It's worth the weight to me to protect my gear.
 
#28
Why even use the gig bag, just use a hefty trash bag if you dont want to protect it.
Back in the 70s all guitars /basses came with a hard case , even the a lot of the cheap ones. There is a reason for the case, to protect the axe and the neck. The bag is the manufacture's cheap way out. Alway buy a case, use the gig bag as a dust cover in the house if you have to have a gig bag.
 
#29
Kwesi said:
Hardcases are butts for anything besides storage and shipping. I only use high quality bags myself - less weight, more storage, less fuss. That said, I say hang onto the case. They usually aren't worth much and you may come a across a situation where it would be beneficial to have on at your disposal (shipping, long term storage, etc).
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What kind of gig bags do you use? Do you use the ones that come with the bass, eg, buy a Lakland and get the Lakland gig bag? Or buy others, eg, Mono or Sadowsky for a Fender bass or something like that?
 
#30
CauliColin said:
I use mine all the time at school. It is bus resistant. Also, my old soft case wasn't waterproof, but the hard case is, and before, when I was worried about it being in the 'instrument cupboard' where I would find it fallen on the floor, it now stands marvellously and somewhat dauntingly. It is also taller than most year 7s, it is fantastic at clearing a path in built up corridors. I can also keep customisation pangs at bay by spray paint and stickering the case, not the bass.
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I had to read that twice. The first was in an American voice. Once I read "corridor", I stopped, went back, and re-read it in a Harry Potter-esque voice. :D
 
#31
Here is the way I look at it.

If you are handling your bass at all times, a soft bag is best. I use the Gator G-slinger for all my basses.

If somebody else is handling your bass and it's subject to truck or van than a hard case is warranted. Same thing if you fly.
 
#32
CauliColin said:
I use mine all the time at school. It is bus resistant. Also, my old soft case wasn't waterproof, but the hard case is, and before, when I was worried about it being in the 'instrument cupboard' where I would find it fallen on the floor, it now stands marvellously and somewhat dauntingly. It is also taller than most year 7s, it is fantastic at clearing a path in built up corridors. I can also keep customisation pangs at bay by spray paint and stickering the case, not the bass.
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It's great for hallways! A hard case can make traffic easy to just poke your way through +1 to this.

But your situation... I dunno
 
#33
Not only is it a hard case it is an SKB (I think those are flight safe aren't they?) keep it and use it. I used to use gig bags, then I started small van tours and car pooling, now I would never use a gig bag. Not even my Dingwall's gig bag is good enough, and it is the best, most padded gig bag I have ever seen/used.
 
#34
lowfreq33 said:
If you're the only person who will ever handle your bass, and it will only be transported in your personal spacious vehicle, then you probably don't need the hard case. If it will ever be crammed into a van or trailer with a ton of other gear, then yes you need the hard case.
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Had my incase bag in a trailer with the rest of the gear for two years, still looks brand new.
 
#35
I mostly use a gig bag. Just got a Mono, and it's nice.

I use hard cases for storage (in the closet, under the bed). Also use a hard case when ever I go on the road. When traveling with others, there is more of a chance of an amp getting stacked on top, or stuff getting crammed into a tight space.
 
#36
I very, very rarely use one, mostly awkward, too heavy, and overkill. Quality gigbag or softcase is where it's at.

I've been looking at new basses, and these days it's a bit off putting if they do come with a hard case, sure, shipping is safer, but I've no room, nor use for the bloody things.
 
#37
Depends on your needs. If your gig involves playing bass in an American inner city or a tsunami-ravaged coastal area, then a hard case might be a good idea. If your gig is at the local Senior Center and it's a 5-minute drive, then a gig bag will suffice. I have a gig bag for my P-Bass, since they're built like Russian tanks to begin with, and a hard case for my Hofner Icon, since it's a hollowbody bass.
 
#38
Kwesi said:
Hardcases are butts for anything besides storage and shipping. I only use high quality bags myself - less weight, more storage, less fuss. That said, I say hang onto the case. They usually aren't worth much and you may come a across a situation where it would be beneficial to have on at your disposal (shipping, long term storage, etc).
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I agree. Use a good bag for most things. Always keep the case but only for closet storage.
 
#40
I have virtually never transported a bass guitar without a hard case. I have also never suffered damage to a bass guitar. At some point, a bass guitar is going to get dropped or fall over or something dropped onto it. On that day, you will wish you were using a hard case. That's why they make hard cases. That's why they make racks too. You can carry your amp in a cardboard box and set it directly onto your cabinet, and everything will be fine.......until the day it falls off your cabinet, or off the tailgate of a pickup truck or slides off a stack of stuff in somebody's arms and hits the floor.
 

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