Gator PRO-GO GigBag. Honest Review. (Wasn't meant to be a review, but it ran away from me)

[Gonzo192]

Geddon Bass people!

I'm working nights for the foreseeable future so in an effort to keep me awake tonight, I just wanted to ping this out there for those of you that might be in the market for a new bass case. 

As it's gone half 2 in the morning,  my misses won't appreciate me ripping the case from under our bed to take photos, so I've took a bunch of screen shots of what this thing looks like from their website.

Basically, a review? kind of .. So I've had this thing for like 6 months now. It really is a beauty and seems to be bit of a lesser seen gem in my neck of the woods. Quite clearly not a hardcase but very much a solid and well built gig bag, similar to the standard of protection you get from like a MONO case, except its 100 quid cheaper and it comes with a damn sight lot more storage. I reckon so anyway. The main plus for me on the MONO is that it looks the business for one (which is arguably the most important thing) and that massive shoe like bottom on the M80 is a stroke of genius. 

Anyway I went for this ... It's called the Gator 'PRO-GO' Series case and looks like what it looks like in the screenshots below! (Have a gander while you read this so you know what I'm on about)

I bought this off Thomann about 6 months ago for 95 quid and I use it regularly. It gets chucked in the car, dragged to my mates house, bowled through my bass teachers studio, chucked out the window on the way out the lot. Ok no it doesn't. It's a case. Generally speaking I don't think it matters where you take it. Gigs or no gigs, things like this are only gonna wreck unless you're literally throwing it around or trying to light it on fire or something. I jump out my car, carry it to wherever I'm going and place it down, it'll scuff and fray a little bit here and there (which is has yet to!) - but that's about it. Maybe I'll do an update in years to come where the handles have fallen off and it doesn't zip up anymore but it did come with a lifetime guarantee, which ain't a bad crack!

It's got a whacking great pocket at the front with 3 velcro loops on the inside where it flaps open, allowing your cables to neatly hang. I've got 2 instrument cables here, a 10ft cable, 5ft cable & a spare kettle lead. There's a fluffy pocket in the middle of all this which is made for a tablet. I fit an 8inch 'Samsung Galaxy A' tablet in this which is inside of its own case and there's space to spare. So you'd fit an iPad Pro or something in this I would've thought. Behind that, there's like a pocket for sheet music or books. I've got an A4 ring binder in this pocket with a load of material in from my tutor. Sitting in like the empty space if you will between my hanging cables and the tablet pocket I've got 2 A4 sized books, one full of scales and arpeggios in every key (which makes it a hefty book!) and an A4 notepad. On the inside of that flap there (where your cables hang on the velcro loops) there's 2 mini pockets at the bottom each big enough to fit a Polytune mini tuner pedal in or something similar. 

Zip pocket on the front of this flap, my go to strap & a spare one is in this. There's also one half way up where the neck would be which opens from the side, I don't use this for anything but he's there!

At the very top on the front there's another decent sized pocket. Just a plain old pocket big enough for bits and bobs. In mine I manage to comfortably keep a 1oZ sort of sized tobacco tin full of picks, a KORG MA-2 metronome and the charger and cable for my Pedaltrain VOLTO. 

On the back of the case, right at the top there's a zip opening which inside contains a waterproof cover for the bag. I haven't needed to get this out yet as if it is raining - I'm literally in and out the car in seconds (which has never given me a problem) If you're on a bit of a walking mission though, this could be a lifesaver. What level of waterproofing this is exactly I can't say. I'm sure it works and works well, but I wouldn't want to be out for more than the car and back in the pouring rain with my bass - rain cover or not, so I'm probably never going to be able to review this aspect of it properly. Unless my car blows up. *Please don't blow up* 

As far as actually shifting it is concerned - you can wear it like a backpack. Although I've found that no matter what, you're gonna knock into doorframes doing this and although the bass is well protected, it's really annoying. I tend to either carry this like I do most backpacks, one strap a little less slack & chucked over whichever shoulder is more natural. If you're not into that you can tuck the straps away as shown in one of the screenshots or, as the straps are attached by carabiner clips and you can literally just remove them, leaving you with the option of carrying it the more traditional way, with the side handle, but whatever works for you! It's handy to be able to do both though especially if you need to manoeuvre around somewhere awkward. There's a pretty handy grasping point too on the front of the bag, which I use all the time while hoofing it in and out off the car. 

Finally onto why you want a case in the first place - the interior. On this, it's filled with a super plush micro fleece interior with nice thick padding on all sides. At the bottom of the bag where your strap button would sit is a nice chunky, sort of a dense foam covered in that same plush material. The neck lays down gently on a similar dense yet plush foam pillow, hugging the neck and keeping the headstock floating in position. Once you zip this thing up, your bass ain't going anywhere. The zip does go up and over too, so you can take your bass out and put it back in without having to lay the case down or awkwardly try and hold it while you figure out how to not drop anything. As well as this obviously - it can just be laid flat on it's back and opened up like a hard case.

'Can I fly with this?' - Absolutely not. I wouldn't fly with any 'gig bag' regardless of how much you spend on it. You're gonna want a full blown flight case for that, or something purpose built for a rammed cargo hold anyway. 

'Can I lob my bass in the back of the van with this?' - I reckon you could yeah. Would I want to? Still no. I think like the mono, this type of thing is designed in such a way that, yes - it's going to keep your bass totally safe from the majority of 'normal' things life might chuck at it. Like knocking the case over, dropping it, falling off a small stage at practice or whatever and again, all of those things onto hard floors. You get the idea. Knowing my luck though, it would be totally safe dropping it from like 6ft or something accidentally, but the moment that I 'in the name of science' chuck it from the same height on purpose - that's when I smash my bass up. As an everyday thing, going to practice, local gigs, going round your mates, teachers place, just generally taking it out and about - this thing gets a 10 in my book. 

If you want to be critical about it, a fairer review would be that where it has more than adequate storage space and although there are two small plastic feet at the base of it - the exterior safety feature of the MONO M80 (the big giant rubber boot) is mental and certainly takes the win for added exterior protection. Would I chose that over this? Absolutely not. I can fit everything I need in this and more. It keeps it damn right safer than the average soft case you can pick up (including some of gator's cheaper alternatives) so as long as you're not throwing it out of windows or driving over it - you'd have done well to damage your bass using this. So as a 'bigger picture' thing. On the scale of 'gig bag' level of protection, (so forgetting about hard cases) based on a solid amount of protection AND a huge amount of practicality (plus it's pretty cheap for what it is!) I'll give this a solid 9.5 / 10.  

You can pick this up for around 95 - 100 quid now. What that is in dollars / Euros / YEN / whatever else I have no idea. But it ain't a bad price that's for sure. 

Link to the Gator site where I nicked the screens! - https://www.gatorcases.com/products/guitar/instrument-bassguitar/pro-go-ultimate-guitar-gig-bags/pro-go-guitar/bass-guitar-gig-bag-g-pg-bass/

Link to Thomann where I got mine (and where I nicked more screens!) - https://www.thomann.de/gb/gator_g_pg_bass_guitar_bag.htm?sid=c579cccd0fb973ad7bac781c2ffb27f6 

(For the record - no. I don't work for Gator nor am I some sort of rep haha. I'm not sure how this works, if I'm allowed to post links or whatever but feedback will be much appreciated!) 

As a heads up - the link to the GATOR website doesn't show the backpack straps as being removable. Hence the screen from the Thomann website. Unsure if this is how the bag is now designed, though I would find that unlikely. Seems like a step backwards to me. Either way - apart from that, this is 100% the same bag. 

Let me know if you've got one yourself. This wasn't intended to be a review, but I got carried away and just went with it. Hope it's of some help!

Cheers!

[Gonzo192]

I've reposted this in the reviews section!

Only just realised that there's a dedicated reviews section on this. Getting my head round basschat slowly! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated on the review section. 

Cheers again people!

[dave_bass5]

Sorry, way to much for me to read, but if it was positive i can only agree with you. Loved mine when i had it. Probably find a few threads on here about it as well. 

[Gonzo192]

@dave_bass5 Haha no worries! Very positive review though. Highly recommended as I’m sure you’d agree!

[stewblack]

cheers mate, great review, am thinking of selling off my huge collection of hard cases to fund a couple of these. 

[Gonzo192]

@stewblack Cheers mate! Ah nice one man you won’t regret that, he’s super soft on the inside I wish I could live in it haha. 
 

Definitely bridges the gap between normal gig bags and a hard case this does, as do those higher priced Mono cases to be fair, just this one has so much storage space.  

[TheMaartian]

Well written review!

Gator makes really solid gig bags and amp stands. I bought the Transit series bass bag. It was US$110 vs. US$165 for the Pro-Go series bass bag, and I didn't need the additional storage. It's also sturdier than you might guess. I've got a hard case for my SG, but use the Transit case for my 34" Jazz or 32" SR Mezzo (those movable neck supports work great).

EDIT: I just found this very basic "how we make them" video.

 

Edited June 11, 2020 by TheMaartian

[Gonzo192]

@TheMaartian Nice! I do like the Transit series to be fair, it’s all but the same bag too I guess minus the waterproof cover, but like I said, If I knew I was gonna be carrying my pride and joy around outside for long enough to think ‘I better make sure I’ve got that waterproof over’ - I’d probably just not go wherever I was meant to be going 🤣 haha. Transit series looks so nice in that heather black colour too 👌🏼Cool little video as well! Thanks for your input dude. 

[stewblack]

Went to Thomann and had a peek. Noticed that for a few quid more you can get the same bag but the two bass version. Then I thought, how bulky and heavy that would be. 

And then I spied Thomann's own brand case which has some pretty cool features. A large storage pod which is removable, and thicker padding than the Gator. 

Lots of choices.