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More gig bag discussion!


Sumbabba
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Sorry to bring up the whole gig bag thing again but I've trawled all the old threads on here and on Talk Bass and still haven't found what I'm after. I just bought a Protec Contego from Thomann which arrived today. It's a fantastic case and very well made but it's way too heavy and bulky for carrying around on public transport so I'm going to send it back. What I want is something decent quality that is lightweight and simply designed. The old top-of-the-range Ritters were ok but now they make them with a horrible criss-cross trim which looks mighty crap. Just a plain, black, bass-shaped design with quality materials that won't fall apart after 6 months. Is that too much to ask for???

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Yeah I checked out the Mono bags. Call me old fashioned but I'm not keen on that "quilted" look. The Gator bags look nice but at 129cm they're very long! My current gig bag (a red & black Sandberg monstrosity that is, thankfully, falling apart) is 123cm long and I spend a lot of time stooping to avoid door frames, train handrails etc. And I'm a short arse!

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The problem with all the semi-rigid gig bags is their size and weight. Most are a similar size if not weight to a Hiscox Lite Flight which offers far more protection to your instrument, but at the expense of not being able to wear it on your back. I own a Mono M80 which when I bought it was the lightest of these types of gig bag. IMO it's still too bulky, and I find it very uncomfortable to wear for any length of time. If I was looking for something now to carry a bass on my back for any distance I'd go for a Ritter-style padded one and be prepared to replace it when it started to wear out.

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[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1422455876' post='2672898']
Mono Vertigo may do it, their new Sleeve may be even better. The new Gator ProGo bag is very nice too.
[/quote]
I've got the Sleeve bag - it is pretty light and comfortable to wear on your back but I am not keen on the pocket to hold leads, etc. It is not the easiest to access easily.

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I'm in the market too for something new. Sturdy but comfortable. Like the look of the Gigblade but not enough user reviews out there yet to make an informed decision. I wonder how walking upstairs with this one would be. The mono sleeve looks the slickest solution but the storage flap seems a bit pointless, more looks than usability. Going to be quality though.

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Personally I wouldn't buy another expensive (>£40) gig bag without first trying it on packed with my bass and anything else I was intending to carry in it. Some of these semi rigid bags weigh almost as much as a bass when empty, and IMO there's little point in having lots of storage space if filling it up means the bag is too heavy to be comfortable any more.

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I really don't see the point of these hybrid semi-rigid cases. The Protec is so heavy and cumbersome I might as well be carrying a hard case. There's no chance I'd get on a plane with it and I doubt it would protect my bass from baggage vandalers whereas I've always sailed onto flights with a soft case.

I'm beginning to think that the people who design gig bags are trying to make them look as fancy and "stylish" as possible to try and justify charging more money and to make them stand out from the competition. A bit like rucksacks manufacturers. I just want a simply designed, durable, lightweight soft case with good sized, practical pockets, no naff logos emblazoned all over it or fancy stitching or luminous pink piping FFS!

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Hmm just seen this - [url="http://www.sadowsky.com/store/sadowsky-bass-gig-case.html"]http://www.sadowsky....s-gig-case.html[/url]

It's got a big Sadowsky logo on it which I don't like but I could live with, it's cheap so I wonder how well made it is, it only seems to be available in the US which means shipping costs and taxes and there's no specs on the website. Not even dimensions :scratch_one-s_head:

This is the kind of thing I'm after but high quality and available in the UK. Does anything like it exist??

Edited by Sumbabba
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[quote name='Sumbabba' timestamp='1422455376' post='2672885']
Just a plain, black, bass-shaped design with quality materials that won't fall apart after 6 months. Is that too much to ask for???
[/quote]

[quote name='Sumbabba' timestamp='1422617894' post='2674631']
This is the kind of thing I'm after but high quality and available in the UK. Does anything like it exist??
[/quote]

That bag is the Levys [url="http://www.levysleathers.com/product;cat,896;item,230;Economy-Plus-Gig-Bags-EM8P"]EM8P[/url], from their "economy plus" range.

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I've ended up using either a protection racket or tribal planet bag. Both are seriously durable and have one decent front pocket which will take a few leads plus a lightweight amp head. The tribal planet also has decent lengthways pocket of the neck section of the bag which is ideal for a bass stand or folding music stand.

Difficult to gauge what other people think is too cumbersome. Both of these are semi rigid bags but IMO they are both light, easy to transport and comfortable to wear on your back for a while. I've also got a Benevente leather gig bag which is significantly heavier than both of these....

I'm also using a pro-racket drum hardware bag for my accessories, stands and double bass seat. Whilst this is much larger it's still a top bit of kit/design in terms of practicality, weight, toughness etc.

I am in no way affiliated to pro-racket stuff!!!

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Levy's are great..but very hard to get in the UK (and then very expensive) one of mine came from walbassist (thank you!) and its been earning its keep for at least 5 years now! Its the posher version, but I would think the Sadowsky would be a very good bag with proper dense foam padding rather than the cosmetic stuff used in cheaper bags (Warwick being the worst I've seen).

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[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1422619527' post='2674659']
That bag is the Levys [url="http://www.levysleathers.com/product;cat,896;item,230;Economy-Plus-Gig-Bags-EM8P"]EM8P[/url], from their "economy plus" range.
[/quote]
I think it's the [url="http://www.levysleathers.com/product;cat,897;item,231;Economy-Style-Gig-Bags-EM8S"]EM8S[/url] as it's got the extra pocket on the neck. Weirdly the Sadowsky is almost $15 cheaper.

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I've just gone back to a hard case. I bought a Mono dual gig bag last year but have never really got on with it. I now have a Fender/SKB hard case which holds the other stuff I need and stays where I put it without falling over. If I take a second bass it goes in a Hiscox Lite Flite.

The trouble with bass gig bags on your back is that you can't get through a door without genuflecting - not a word you see often on Basschat! I prefer to sling my Streamliner over my shoulder and carry my bass in my hand.

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I've got a Fusion F1 and is't not massively heavy, has good straps so you can wear it like a backpack (being aware it sticks up above your head) and has enough pockets to be useful without ending up being a pack mule... Not cheap though. I've lso got one of their 'DJ Backpacks' which is great for odds and sods.

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[quote name='Sumbabba' timestamp='1422455376' post='2672885']Just a plain, black, bass-shaped design with quality materials that won't fall apart after 6 months. Is that too much to ask for???
[/quote]

Did you consider the other Protec one? http://www.thomann.de/gb/protec_deluxe_e_bass_gig_bag.htm

I've had one for about 18 months and can't really fault it considering the price and 3 year warranty.... I mostly tend to use a protection racket 7051 now as the pockets are a bit bigger, and I can carry my amp head and zoom b3 and all the cables and whatnot all in the gig bag - but rarely have to carry it far.

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