Double Bass I Fall To Pieces

[Mgaisbacher]

Here's the only fly in the ointment I see. Suppose you live on the East Coast and plan to fly to the West Coast for a tour. You disassemble your bass and pack it up. Then, when you get to the first gig you put the bass back together. Presumably you would want to leave the bass assembled for the remainder of the tour. What's the plan?

Depending on how you will be traveling and transporting the bass on tour, perhaps a soft case could be used. With some bands my bass traveled in the buss where it was relatively safe in a soft case, and with some bands it traveled in a cargo truck, where a hard case was required.

As someone who has done this exact thing a few times and has the same bass and case as Ed I can say how I do it.

The four piece band I was touring with usually rented a mini van for fly then drive tours, so there wasn't too much space to spare. I always fly with a soft case and learned the hard way that I would much prefer the added weight of a real case over a "lightweight" basically dust cover that I had for one tour.

What I would do is either assemble the bass for every gig, which can be a little annoying packing it up and taking it apart 15 mins before soundcheck but really isn't too bad once you have the hang of it. Sometimes though I was able to put luggage and other misc. objects in the empty flight case and then leave the bass assembled and place it on top of everyone else's instruments and luggage which were all in hard flight cases as well. It takes a bit of Tetris-ing everything in the van but I have done it a few times.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Well to answer both Damon and Was, I’m the case for the body there are two padded bow bags that Velcro into the top (I brought my bow), but they’re not rigid or offer much in the way of protection out of the hard case. Inside the case they are arranged so as to protected by the foam but not in contact with the bass body. Messina makes a special case for just this purpose, very much akin to the old canvas and felt/flock interior lining that provides minimal padding but will fit inside the hard case.
So the idea, Was, is that you get off the plane, get to the hotel, take it out of the case and assemble it, let the strings settle, shed some, put it in the soft case, go do the sound check, go eat (or sleep), get dressed and go do the gig, go back to the hotel and, depending on when lobby call is, either take it apart or wait till you get up and then take it apart. If what you’re doing is getting back on a plane. IF you have a place to store the case and you’re not on a plane but using transportation that allows you to handle your own instrument, you don’t put it back in the case until you’re getting back on a plane.
I am starting to see this is hard on strings and if I was a touring musician I’d need to rethink what I was stringing it with (and carry several spare sets) but for my purposes it’s fine.

 

[Wasnex]

As someone who has done this exact thing a few times and has the same bass and case as Ed I can say how I do it.

The four piece band I was touring with usually rented a mini van for fly then drive tours, so there wasn't too much space to spare. I always fly with a soft case and learned the hard way that I would much prefer the added weight of a real case over a "lightweight" basically dust cover that I had for one tour.

What I would do is either assemble the bass for every gig, which can be a little annoying packing it up and taking it apart 15 mins before soundcheck but really isn't too bad once you have the hang of it. Sometimes though I was able to put luggage and other misc. objects in the empty flight case and then leave the bass assembled and place it on top of everyone else's instruments and luggage which were all in hard flight cases as well. It takes a bit of Tetris-ing everything in the van but I have done it a few times.

I have done similar and traveled with an upright on top of the load in the back of a 15 pax van. To be honest, it made me a bit nervous. My biggest concern was, what if we get in an accident?

 

[Eric Hochberg]

On trips abroad, I have left the trunk at a secure location once I get there and used the soft case for the road travel afterwards. I also remember leaving the trunk at an airport once, too. There are a lot of logistical variations with this kind of travel...

 

[Mgaisbacher]

I have done similar and traveled with an upright on top of the load in the back of a 15 pax van. To be honest, it made me a bit nervous. My biggest concern was, what if we get in an accident?

Also I'll add that I just carry my bow in a hard case on my back. For me, being that a lot of situations I find myself in are outdoor festivals and the like, having a normally padded soft case is better for me than any "light weight" variety. Also I dont think I have ever been able to do as Ed describes, checking only the body and carrying on the neck. Only because I also travel with a preamp and other things in a pelican case and then try to carry on all of my luggage. So I check the bass and depending on the airlines policy either carry on the pelican case or for airlines like southwest where you have 2 bags allowance, check the bass and the pelican so all I am carrying is my clothes etc...

In terms of being in an accident, I kind of have let all those worries go somehow. I have insurance and also baggage handlers worry me much more, even with a detachable neck, than being in a vehicle, as long as I have control over how it is packed, which 98% of people I have worked with have been more than pleasant about me just doing what I need to to feel good about how my bass is packed, if an accident happens, it happens and that's part of having your instrument with you.