Mono dual gig bag

[la bam]

Hi all,

 

I've always been a strictly hard case when it comes to transporting my basses. Never used a gig bag at all.

 

However, I've just seen the mono dual bass bag and they look great. Has anyone used one of these?

 

It's exactly what I'm looking for, but they seems VERY expensive for a gig bag?

[BigRedX]

Why do you want a gig bag? To save a bit of space in the car, or to actually carry your basses any significant distance (i.e. more than the trip from the car to the venue).

[la bam]

It's to reduce load ins (so, bag on bag with both basses in, and cabs in the other).

 

A lot of gigs are park away from the venue/stage and a bit of a walk, so if I can do one trip it saves a lot of hassle.

 

Also, maybe looking at using trains in the future too where needed.

[la bam]

I always take 2 basses, 2 cabs and 2 amp heads.

[BigRedX]

In that case the Mono dual bag might be feasible.

 

Bear in mind that two basses plus anything else you might want to cram in the pockets will be quite heavy, and you might find, like I did, that the Mono bag isn't the most comfortable to wear for any significant amount of time. I've been using a Mono M80 bag (single) for about 10 years now, but it's nowhere near as comfortable to wear for a long (more than 10 minute) walk than the Ritter bag it was supposed to replace. However it does offer a level of protection way above the standard gig bag. I had a 2 x 10 cab drop about 3 feet onto my bass in it's Mono bag and both were fine. This is why the Mono bags are expensive. The protection they provide actually works. When I bought my Mono bag it was the smallest and lightest of the semi-rigid gig bags, but it's still only marginally smaller and lighter than a Hiscox case. It will, however, allow you to cram it into spaces in the car that a conventional hard case would struggle to fit into. On the other hand, for me, it is absolutely no use for carrying my bass any further than from the car/van to the venue/rehearsal room etc. I certainly wouldn't want to make the 30 minute walk from where I live to the rehearsal room with mine, and I'd be even more reluctant to do so with the weight of two basses in a similar bag.

 

HTH.

[la bam]

Thanks, I'll have a closer look at them

 

[Lozz196]

I have one. If using as a hand-carry case from car to venue rather than wearing as a gig-bag over a long distance imo it’s difficult to beat. It’s barely deeper than a Hiscox case but you get two basses in it, leaving room for a rucksack over shoulders and something like an amp head in your other hand.

 

Additionally at the gig itself it takes up much less room than two cases, as in many venues storage space for gear/cases is often non-existent this too is a real help. It’s also pretty darn tough too.

[la bam]

Cheers, that's what I'm hoping for. 

Carrying 2 hard cases is a bit of a faff (modern day problem I know:) ) so anything I can do to reduce trips and storage on stage is a big help.

 

Is the protection good?

[Bunion]

Never used the dual but I have a couple of singles and can say the best I’ve used. 
I am on the look out for a dual at the right price 😄

[itu]

I have the single and the dual cases. Both are in active use. The single is older, because there's no rings for the Tick.

 

I have walked with both, and quite some. When I go to the rehearsals or sometimes to gigs by bus, mono is far better than a hard case. Good, comfortable handle, wide straps. Space for tools, tab, and cables. A functional solution.

 

It is true, as was mentioned earlier, that the dual case is heavy with two heavyweight basses. Mine are on a light side: a fretless and a five string is doable.

Edited July 12, 2022 by itu

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, la bam said:

Cheers, that's what I'm hoping for. 

Carrying 2 hard cases is a bit of a faff (modern day problem I know:) ) so anything I can do to reduce trips and storage on stage is a big help.

 

Is the protection good?

Yes, I’ve had the singles for years and although I wouldn’t put them in the hold on a plane I’d be fine with them in the back of a van - albeit packed carefully of course. In general I stand my cases up in venues due to limited storage space, a couple of times they’ve fallen over and no problem on the bass at all, didn’t even knock them out of tune. This was with the singles but the dual is constructed exactly the same.

[la bam]

Great stuff, cheers.

[Old Horse Murphy]

I'm a fan too and agree with Lozz's comments. I've had mine for a number of years now and it's still as robust as it was when I bought it.
 

They're very roomy too for all your other odds and sods. The shoulder straps are actually very comfortable and the whole thing is built like a tank but you need to remember to duck when going through doorways!

[BigRedX]

On 12/07/2022 at 20:13, la bam said:

Is the protection good?

 

As I said, the bass that was in my single Mono gig bag survived having a heavyweight 2x10 cab dropped onto it. Whether a double bag would offer the same level of protection would probably depend on how good the padding is between the basses and how rigid the case is with the extra width.

 

If the bass has been in a regular padded gig bag it would have probably suffered some damage (and so would the cab). Some hard cases would also have fared quite badly in this situation. 

[Nickthebass]

On 12/07/2022 at 11:23, la bam said:

It's to reduce load ins (so, bag on bag with both basses in, and cabs in the other).

 

A lot of gigs are park away from the venue/stage and a bit of a walk, so if I can do one trip it saves a lot of hassle.

 

Also, maybe looking at using trains in the future too where needed.

 

With two basses the double bag is hefty but doable. I’ve done two basses  and a 900w rig on my own in one trip

on multiple occasions. 
 

The protection is pretty sound - if I’m moving stuff myself I doubt I’ll use a hard case again. Whichever two basses are going to the gig get stuck in the bag.

 

The front pocket on the Mono isn’t the biggest, but the headstock pocket is pretty useful. (Mine holds my watch, wallet, pencil phone and ear plugs.)

 

I’ve had my double bag something around the 8 to 10 year mark (can’t recall exactly) and it’s still doing a great job. 

[PsyBean]

Agree with preceding comments. I have both the single and double Mono bags and I think they are excellent, although the double is indeed quite heavy with 2 basses in it. I have had the single for around 10 years and it still in great condition, although the padding around bottom of the bass (around the strap button) has become a bit thin. This has been easily cured by padding out the inside with a towel. Given the amount of use it's had, I can't complain. For me, the real advantage of using a gig bag over hard case is given most of my gigs are in relatively tight spaces (pubs, clubs etc), It is easy to stand the gig bag up next to my amp, unzip and just slip the bass in and out. No messing around trying to find space to open a hard case. At the end of the gig, my bass is away and safe within seconds and protected from the drummer chucking his rack toms and hardware around!