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What will you spend on a gig bag ?

#41
up to $200 for sure - Had a great BG bag for a while and love the Mono bags..would like to try an Igig bag at some point...if you are gigging a couple times a week, using public transit or walking it just makes so much more sense..and pays for itself in a gig or two
 
#42
There are also hardside gig bags that are sort of a hybrid between a traditional gig bag and a hard shell case. I have a Gator hard side gig bag that I paid about $60 for at GC way back whenever. Wears like a backpack, but can stack on edge like a hard case. A little awkward to wear as a backpack.

It looks very much like a hard case. This is, in my opinion, why I had to gate check the one time I got pushback from the flight crew when flying with my bass. It will not fit in an overhead, so I no longer try to fly with it.

f8996d276516570b618df36732de55b8_zps7dce9af4.gif


malthumb said:
....
When I travel by plane, I take a gig bag. Every time I have taken a hard case, I've had to check my bass. All but one time I've been able to carry it on with a gig bag. That one time they gate checked it and, as I found out after the flight, simply put it in the flight attendants' closet.
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#44
For a long time my primary gig bag was a Tobias bag, from back when Michael Tobias still owned the company. It had great padding, decent storage and I felt okay using it with basses that cost me up to $2,000. I used that for a good 10 years plus until I upgraded, but it still make some guest appearances when needed.

My current go-to gig bag is an iGig. IIRC, I got that for around $175 or so. I thought it was a great deal considering just how much it protects the instrument and the amount of storage space. My only gripe is that it can get a bit heavy while using it to get around NYC.

My double bag is a Levy's bag that I got from a shop in NJ. The padding is decent, but it's a bag that I'd really like to update at this point. I'm considering the Mono double bass bag as the replacement.

As for hardcases? They definitely have their place. If I was going on the road for a string of dates via van/bus? Then I would absolutely be using hardshell cases. But for something closer to home like local gigs / rehearsals / sessions? I like being able to walk into a club with my gigbag on my back, my messenger bag packed with cables & micro head and a Neo equipped cab in hand. There's no case to potentially bang into a patrons legs as you're trying to navigate your way in.

As for what I'll spend on a gig bag? Right now, I think I'd top out around $250 - $300. I think there's some great value with gig bags from Mono and iGig in terms of protection. And I think if you're prepared to spend potentially thousands of dollars on an instrument, then you should probably pony up for a really good gig bag.
 
#47
I've got several different gig bags that all cost me somewhere between $100 and $200. My next one will almost certainly be a Mono M80 Dual, which sells for ~$285. None of that strikes me as "overspending".
 
#48
zachoff said:
I'd put a $1500 bass in a hard case. I'd spend maybe $50 on a gig bag & whatever I put in there probably isn't my pride & joy.
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I frequently put 2 basses worth more than that each in my Incase DUB, and they've been none the worse for wear... The tuners aren't getting moved any, and I haven't gotten any new dings that way, either... I just don't stack heavy stuff on top of it - other than that, no special care has been taken after the 1st month of using it...

I still have all my hardshells, but they're used for storage more than transport these days...


- georgestrings
 
#49
I've used a Protech Contego, and lately a Sadowsky Portabag. Much more convenient than a hard case, and all the protection I need since I move my gear in my SUV. Both have a semi-rigid shell and a good amount of padding--and the Sadowsky has a super-plush lining with additional padding at the bridge and headstock.

If I were putting the bass on a box truck full of PA and backline gear, I'd get an ATA case large enough to swallow the gig bag with the bass inside!

And I wouldn't use one of the cheapo bags that are just unpadded cloth, nope.
 
#50
I always tried to keep all my basses in a HSC but I got ahead of myself and wound up with several MIM Fenders that only came in gig bags so I just let it ride since I figured they would wind up trade material eventually. I kept them laying alongside several HSC's. one day I was walking by one of those piles, and stumbled. I caught myself on the wall at the same time that my foot came down on the top of one of the gig bags which produced a sickening crunching sound as the headstock cracked and came almost completely separated right ahead of the nut. I've been snagging up cases as I can, and I've still got basses in gig bags, but only until I can get cases.

Once was enough for me.
 
#51
Reunion Blues Aero; seven pounds lighter than any of my good cases. Doesn't seem like much, but when you have a bad shoulder that is not only less weight, but less torque swinging it around corners and up into the car or whatever.

The good hard cases have a lot of weight out on the ends, it's hard to start and stop turning it going around doors and stuff, or swinging it upright from horizontal. Twisting like that kills my shoulder, and it's no fun playing in pain or trying to get to sleep after a gig. My arm was killing me constantly when we were playing once or twice a week until I got the Aero. Much better. So I'll stick to a good bag, thanks.

Now my first "case" was much lighter, and cheaper at twenty bucks . . . but you might as well have put the bass into a cardboard box. Cheap latches and an accident waiting to happen. Even a bargain bag seemed to be safer to me.
 
#53
georgestrings said:
I frequently put 2 basses worth more than that each in my Incase DUB, and they've been none the worse for wear... The tuners aren't getting moved any, and I haven't gotten any new dings that way, either... I just don't stack heavy stuff on top of it - other than that, no special care has been taken after the 1st month of using it...

I still have all my hardshells, but they're used for storage more than transport these days...


- georgestrings
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^^THIS!

At any point in time my Ritter double bag can contain anything from 2 Alembics to my kid's Franken-P and Squire fretless
 
#54
fhm555 said:
I always tried to keep all my basses in a HSC but I got ahead of myself and wound up with several MIM Fenders that only came in gig bags so I just let it ride since I figured they would wind up trade material eventually. I kept them laying alongside several HSC's. one day I was walking by one of those piles, and stumbled. I caught myself on the wall at the same time that my foot came down on the top of one of the gig bags which produced a sickening crunching sound as the headstock cracked and came almost completely separated right ahead of the nut. I've been snagging up cases as I can, and I've still got basses in gig bags, but only until I can get cases.

Once was enough for me.
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THIS^

Just hearing stuff like this is enough for me to keep everything in a HSC, always
 
#56
fhm555 said:
I always tried to keep all my basses in a HSC but I got ahead of myself and wound up with several MIM Fenders that only came in gig bags so I just let it ride since I figured they would wind up trade material eventually. I kept them laying alongside several HSC's. one day I was walking by one of those piles, and stumbled. I caught myself on the wall at the same time that my foot came down on the top of one of the gig bags which produced a sickening crunching sound as the headstock cracked and came almost completely separated right ahead of the nut. I've been snagging up cases as I can, and I've still got basses in gig bags, but only until I can get cases.

Once was enough for me.
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I do STORE my basses in hard cases to avoid exactly what you have described here. Hard cases stack well, whether they are flat or side by side on edge. I have a hard case for everyone of my basses. But I also have two single gig bags, a hard side gig bag, and a double gig bag.

So when it's time for going places, they come out of the case and into the bag, and the bag goes on my back, where I am much less likely to step on it. <----sorta lame attempt at humor
 
#57
slickbass3 said:
If your playing 8 to 10 times a month, anything that lesson's the bulk is appreciated.

Works for me but may not work for all.

sg
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Yup - when I started gigging that much, the hassle of wrestling 2 hardshells in and out of an SUV twice a night, 2-3 times per week, motivated me to give a hybrid double a try... It's done a great job of protecting my basses - they're usually pretty much in tune when I arrive, so the tuners aren't getting moved any - and I haven't noticed any additional dings, either...

Besides making life MUCH easier, it takes up considerably less space, too - if I lost my DUB tomorrow, it would get replaced ASAP... There are still 9 hardshells in my house, and I'm keeping them all - but the DUB is staying, too...


- georgestrings
 
#59
georgestrings said:
Here's the thing - today's hybrids are FAR from being a "soft case"... I had my doubts, too - until I started using one, that is...


- georgestrings
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I mentioned similar earlier in the thread. Today's hybrids are nothing like a "normal soft gig bag" which I would never use for storage or transport. I have an $1100 carbon fiber case for my $7K flamenco (so I'm a freak about having a protective case), and I feel completely comfortable with my $3.5 - 5K basses being in a $200 - $300 Mono M80 Vertigo, Dual, or Reunion Blues Aero.
 
#60
After having some bad dings on some really nice basses thanks to skimpy bags, I invested in a ProTec reinforced bag and a Levis double bag, about $150 for each of them. No worries, and the basses are nice and ding-free.
 

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