Gig bag for a tall-ish person

[Mediocre Polymath]

On my way home from yesterday's rehearsal, I noticed that my trusty Levy's gigbag is really starting to show the years of wear and tear. It has some frayed seams, the padding's perishing a bit and the zips are getting finicky. I have to concede defeat and admit that I need a new gig bag.

 

However, while my bag is honestly not very good – the padding was always thin, the front pocket small and flimsy, and the straps are just two 3-cm-wide bits of webbing – it has one huge advantage over every other bag I've tried, which is that the shoulder straps are mounted just a smidge under 30-cm from the top of the bag. This means that the headstock doesn't stick up past the top of my head when I'm using the shoulder straps, and I can go through doorways and board public transit without smashing the headstock into the ceiling.

 

 

I mean look at that – it's like it was designed by someone who has actually tried to get on a train with a bass.

 

The problem I have is that this bag doesn't appear to be in production anymore, and I don't think it was ever sold in the UK anyway. I got it with a Warwick Corvette that I bought second-hand from the Bass Gallery back in 2008 (as it turned out, I liked this bag much more than I liked the bass). Every other gig bag I've seen (Mono, Gator, Fender, etc.) appear to have a 50–60-cm gap between the point at which the straps join the bag and the top of the headstock, meaning me wearing one would be about 2.3 metres tall.

 

Does anyone have a suggestion for a gig bag that doesn't make me feel like I'm wearing a comically large stovepipe hat?
 

[Happy Jack]

@Bass Wielder seems to be having a clear-out of gigbags at the moment ... one of his might tick your boxes?

 

[Mediocre Polymath]

Yeah, I saw that. Those Mono bags do look sturdy, just also very tall. I think I might just have to concede defeat and get back into practice when it comes to ducking through every doorway.

[PaulThePlug]

If the straps are long enough... pull them up and get them sewn across at the height that you want, not long enough cut and re-sew, maybe using a bit of webbing going across, inside and out.

Edited March 24, 2024 by PaulThePlug

[lidl e]

i have never found a gigbag that i can wear on my back and not have to duck. It's absolutely a pain.

 

I suppose the BC Rich gigbag i have hangs very low but it is massive. I have a steinberger in a gigbag, but that slings over your shoulder.

[chris_b]

I'm 6'2" and would rather have a Mono M80 Vertigo hit a door frame than any other gig bag I own.

 

They are total protection.

[StingRayBoy42]

The protec Contego is a good bag.

I went through several doorways yesterday with mine on without ducking and I'm 6 foot.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/protec_contego_bass_case_ctg_233.htm

 

There's one on Marketplace

 

[Mediocre Polymath]

Thanks for the suggestions all. A funny thing that I should probably have mentioned: I'm not complaining about this because I'm worried for the integrity of my bass – it's a sturdy homemade thing and that never really crossed my mind – I simply find bashing into doorframes incredibly annoying.

 

I think I'll probably start with @PaulthePlug's suggestion, and get the sewing machine out. If that doesn't work then yeah, the protec contego looks like a good shout.

[jrixn1]

11 minutes ago, Mediocre Polymath said:

I simply find bashing into doorframes incredibly annoying.

 

How about wearing the gig bag upside down? It likely swaps one problem for another (the bass may now hit your calves instead of doorframes) but worth a try?

[Mediocre Polymath]

I have considered that, weird though it would look, but the geometry of the straps (they're usually really wide apart at the bottom) would make it really uncomfortable.

[lemmywinks]

I use the Gator Pro Go and Transit models, they can sit pretty far down but I still have to bend my knees to get through doors. I'm 6'6" so it's unavoidable, the problem was solved when I knackered my left collarbone and bought a lightweight headless bass that fits in a guitar gigbag!

[Mediocre Polymath]

40 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

I use the Gator Pro Go and Transit models, they can sit pretty far down but I still have to bend my knees to get through doors. I'm 6'6" so it's unavoidable, the problem was solved when I knackered my left collarbone and bought a lightweight headless bass that fits in a guitar gigbag!

Yeah, I made a headless bass a few years ago, and being able to stick in a guitar gig bag is liberating. A glimpse of how the other half live. Unfortunately it's my fretless, and I don't often get called on to play that outside my attic.

[lemmywinks]

31 minutes ago, Mediocre Polymath said:

Yeah, I made a headless bass a few years ago, and being able to stick in a guitar gig bag is liberating. A glimpse of how the other half live. Unfortunately it's my fretless, and I don't often get called on to play that outside my attic.

 

Need pics of the fretless you made btw, forum rules!

[Mediocre Polymath]

3 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

 

Need pics of the fretless you made btw, forum rules!

 

I've been meaning to write that up for the build diaries section. I'll put something together in the next few days.

[tauzero]

Just buy a Cort Space and a TGI Extreme guitar gigbag, problem solved. If you don't want to play 5-string, take the B string off.

[LeftyJ]

Every time I see this thread when opening Accessories and Misc I think of extra long body bags 

[Baloney Balderdash]

Or just get yourself a short scale bass that'll fit into a guitar gig bag like me.

 

Though being 6'4" I still need to remind myself of having to duck every now and then, to avoid the top of the bag/head of the bass hitting the upper ledge of doors.

[dave_bass5]

I had that Levy's bag (got it iwth an HW-1 bass) and loved it. Never had any damaged to my basses in it, and when wearing it on just one shoulder the headstock sat that the same height as my head. This allowed melt also wear a rucksack in the proper way. 

Ive never managed to get another bag like it. 

Im now resigned to using a ‘better’ bag and use both straps, but have had a hard time finding one that sits low. I really wanted a Mono but those sit high, i recently got a Fender and that sits even higher. Turns out the best for me is an old Sire bag ive had for a few years. 

[Mediocre Polymath]

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

I had that Levy's bag (got it iwth an HW-1 bass) and loved it. Never had any damaged to my basses in it, and when wearing it on just one shoulder the headstock sat that the same height as my head. This allowed melt also wear a rucksack in the proper way. 

Ive never managed to get another bag like it. 

Im now resigned to using a ‘better’ bag and use both straps, but have had a hard time finding one that sits low. I really wanted a Mono but those sit high, i recently got a Fender and that sits even higher. Turns out the best for me is an old Sire bag ive had for a few years. 

Good to hear its not just me. I've bought one of those Ibanez gig bags, because they're not black and pretty cheap, which is important because I have half a mind to busting out the sewing machine at some point and try repositioning the straps or making a second set of anchor points further up.

[lemmywinks]

Gruv Gear Gigblade (original version) might be an option?

 

 

Edited April 22, 2024 by lemmywinks

[BigRedX]

On 22/04/2024 at 08:06, lemmywinks said:

Gruv Gear Gigblade (original version) might be an option?

 

That looks really uncomfortable and impractical for wearing any distance other than the short trip between the car and the venue. On the last wearing option you can see the case slapping against the backs of his legs with every step. Nasty!

[lemmywinks]

38 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

That looks really uncomfortable and impractical for wearing any distance other than the short trip between the car and the venue. On the last wearing option you can see the case slapping against the backs of his legs with every step. Nasty!

 

Yeah I wouldn't walk far with it, if your priority is getting through doors and up stairs easily then it might be good though.

[dave_bass5]

That the only problem ive found with low hanging bags. You end up walking along the road looking like you have a full nappy 😀

[lemmywinks]

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

That the only problem ive found with low hanging bags. You end up walking along the road looking like you have a full nappy 😀

 

Perhaps the Reunion Blues Incontinental Voyager would be a good choice in that case?

[dave_bass5]

1 hour ago, lemmywinks said:

 

Perhaps the Reunion Blues Incontinental Voyager would be a good choice in that case?

I have considered that a few times but it’s more bulky than what i want.