Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
just follow Gordon's lead, neck up:
having the majority of the weight up high makes no sense
so just remember to take it off before going through doorways
That doesn't look like a bass case to me, unless Sting is freakishly tall.
Yeah 'work better' is not the proper descriptor there. 'Can be done but really shouldn't' would be more accurate!
No kids, just basses
Why don't you invent a dork harness that allows you to wear the regular straps looser (therefore hanging lower), but with a fancy buckle that goes around your waist and chest to prevent side to side movement. You can take out an ad in Bass Player and it will sit somewhere between those dual shoulder guitar strap thingys, the Perfect Pitch guy in the fedora, and the stethoscope hooked up to a pair of headphones that some doctor invented. You can even have some aging bar band guy in a club shirt and porkpie hat model it for you. You'll make hundreds of dollars, which can be spent on more Bass Player ads.
When I rarely use the shoulder straps, I do carry it neck down, giving me more clearance going through doors and the like. I guess I never thought about it twice after whacking the headstock in a door when carrying it neck up.
I've done this for the last few years and both my basses and myself have survived.
I've done this for the last few years and both my basses and myself have survived.
How fast are you moving through doorways where whacking them in a protected gig bag worn on your back would injure either you or the bass?
Well, I've never been clocked by radar, but definitely faster than a slow moving drummer.
Speed is relevant; compared to a sloth I'm zippy, to a drag car I'm pretty poky...
I have 3 basses in Mono bags and some other gig bags. The Mono bags are the best. My Roadrunner is a hazard to general aviation.
I've had a Mooradian bag since the early 1990's that doesn't have that problem, and I'm tall, 6'1". It has one strap located in the middle so it can be worn on either shoulder. But I have relocated the straps on a couple other bags, move them up higher, problem solved. I riveted one with pop rivets, and sewed the other, as the web wasn't too thick. I would never carry a bass headstock down.
madbass6
Inactive
- Jan 13, 2009
- 2,428
- 1,295
- Disclosures
- I do not give consent to use any of my photos ! please respect that. thank you.
I've seen some musicians get creative and do that upside down thing but only as a cool thing to do!
(apparently some think it looks cool!) Usually in the high school/college kids crowd ! But im not sure it's meant to be used in that way though..
to me ( just my opinion) it seems like it just wouldn't make any sense for gig bags to be designed to be used upside down ! as the neck would be more exposed and at risk on getting damaged then the traditional way of using it.
it Wouldnt be worth the risk (to me anyway) hey your question is actually not as dumm as you think ! I'm sure you're not alone out there ..
...or, just take the damn bag off your back and use the normal carrying handles. God forbid that you might have to take an extra few seconds or minutes to shift your loads or (GASP) make two trips.
..or take a few seconds to...gasp...read the previous posts where that was addressed.
none of bags have two straps (all have one for 'over one shoulder' carrying). but, if had two straps: i wouldn't hesitate to turn the bag 'upside down' to get into the venue in one trip!
My Access Stage 3 bag carries at a decently low hight and you can adjust the straps to your needs.
I use mainly my Gator ProGo bags... I have a single and a dual. I am 6'2". I have lengthened the straps to the bag hangs as low as possible and usually only use one strap which enables me to slide the strap a bit to angle the bass past low hanging obstacles. Doors are not typically an issue unless they are shorter than normal.
What is most unpleasant for me is when I am using my hatchback to load up, if I have the bass strapped over my shoulders, the hatchback door is so low, I can't maneuver close enough to the car even to put my cab and head in there... that is irritating.
On a side note, I almost never carry the dual bag with the shoulder straps at all... that thing is heavy with two 9 lb 5 strings in it because the damn thing weighs a bunch itself. It takes a weightlifter move to even hike the thing up to the shoulders and then I kinda feel like a weeble (bonus points for anyone who gets that reference).
Not really that sure about a dual bag being more convenient that just having two separate bags. I am considering selling the dual...it's a monster because it is so well padded. I am very confident in it for the safety of my instruments and I am not sure I would feel that way with a lighter dual bag.
The feature I like in a gig bag is the front mid handle, like on my Gators... it's a deal breaker for me if a bag doesn't have one. Makes it nice for carrying vertically with other stuff in the shoulder strap position and I can whisk through crowds of people and doorways much easier than with the thing over my shoulders. I am always hitting people with the bass when I try to carry it through a crowd on my back.
What is most unpleasant for me is when I am using my hatchback to load up, if I have the bass strapped over my shoulders, the hatchback door is so low, I can't maneuver close enough to the car even to put my cab and head in there... that is irritating.
On a side note, I almost never carry the dual bag with the shoulder straps at all... that thing is heavy with two 9 lb 5 strings in it because the damn thing weighs a bunch itself. It takes a weightlifter move to even hike the thing up to the shoulders and then I kinda feel like a weeble (bonus points for anyone who gets that reference).
Not really that sure about a dual bag being more convenient that just having two separate bags. I am considering selling the dual...it's a monster because it is so well padded. I am very confident in it for the safety of my instruments and I am not sure I would feel that way with a lighter dual bag.
The feature I like in a gig bag is the front mid handle, like on my Gators... it's a deal breaker for me if a bag doesn't have one. Makes it nice for carrying vertically with other stuff in the shoulder strap position and I can whisk through crowds of people and doorways much easier than with the thing over my shoulders. I am always hitting people with the bass when I try to carry it through a crowd on my back.
You should hunt for a gig bag that has adjustable straps. I see to that the bass head end neck isn't that heads and shoulders above my length. Otherwise I bump into it somewhere sooner or later. If you've been carrying around a hard shell square case that comes with the bass I think you'd bump into more things than anything with a gig bag. Becuase those hardshell cases aren't adjustable and you sense it only when it is too late. If your gig bags happens to "touch" something, you'll feel it a little beforehand and may be able to dodge the full impact.
I adjust it so that when I sit down on a regular chair the seat pushes the body end of the gig bag up in the air. I e I wear the gig bag lower. When I do bicycle with it during the summer, it sort of hangs past the back end of the bicycle saddle. I am not that tall. Those tall persons I know of can ajdust their gig bags to not ever go past their own heads. Then the lower end is about just past their ... buttocks...(is that a valid word, or does it gets asterisked out?) . Regarding ergonomics, it ain't that recommendable beacuse all other backpackers recommendations recommends placing the heaviest weight as high up as possible. And the weight of a bass is the most at the body side, which is the lowest point. But I think that's mostly when it reaches 20 kg (around 44 lbs) weight or something like that. That you should prepare to do walkabouts for hours on end without fatigueing. Basses in gig bags plus accesoriers rarely exceeds 6 kg (around 12 lbs) if even that. 4-5 kgs (9-10 lbs) are usually the norm. Which will make it a breeze to carry around slightly off-the-charts so to speak.
- - - - - -
Think like this: The things you bump into are always in the front direction of you. The neck above the head. You can have the gig bag as low as possible, because down there at the back of your thighs there's nothing you can bump into in the front direction of you. The one that takes any hit first are your legs/thighs. They get in the way and would make a soft impact anyway.... if you're that clumsy not to detect it beforehand...there's less chance of bumping into anything "down there".
Oh, did I say, I play headless basses? Chews off quite a chunk of space on top...
I adjust it so that when I sit down on a regular chair the seat pushes the body end of the gig bag up in the air. I e I wear the gig bag lower. When I do bicycle with it during the summer, it sort of hangs past the back end of the bicycle saddle. I am not that tall. Those tall persons I know of can ajdust their gig bags to not ever go past their own heads. Then the lower end is about just past their ... buttocks...(is that a valid word, or does it gets asterisked out?) . Regarding ergonomics, it ain't that recommendable beacuse all other backpackers recommendations recommends placing the heaviest weight as high up as possible. And the weight of a bass is the most at the body side, which is the lowest point. But I think that's mostly when it reaches 20 kg (around 44 lbs) weight or something like that. That you should prepare to do walkabouts for hours on end without fatigueing. Basses in gig bags plus accesoriers rarely exceeds 6 kg (around 12 lbs) if even that. 4-5 kgs (9-10 lbs) are usually the norm. Which will make it a breeze to carry around slightly off-the-charts so to speak.
- - - - - -
Think like this: The things you bump into are always in the front direction of you. The neck above the head. You can have the gig bag as low as possible, because down there at the back of your thighs there's nothing you can bump into in the front direction of you. The one that takes any hit first are your legs/thighs. They get in the way and would make a soft impact anyway.... if you're that clumsy not to detect it beforehand...there's less chance of bumping into anything "down there".
Oh, did I say, I play headless basses? Chews off quite a chunk of space on top...
