View Full Version : The Gig Bag
This weekend I witnessed something incredible and disasterous. After picking at a friends house, we all packed up and got ready to go...a guitar player had a Gibson Blues King guitar in his gig bag, slipped outside, dropped the bag, and fell on top of it. He cracked the top BADLY.
This is a $1000 guitar...maybe not alot to some folks but certainly an investment to him, plus he really loved that guitar.
Accidents are accidents, but this got me to thinking, if you build intruments of any sort of measurable value, not offering the protection of a hardshell case is ludicrous.
Sorry, had to vent...if this guy had a hardshell case, chances are his guitar wouldn't have got a scratch.
Moose
May-05-2004, 10:33am
I will never understand to rationale of "stuffing" an/a VERY expensive instrument into a flimsy "gigbag" - An investment of - in most cases - 1K+++.., carried/placed in a $50.00+- "bag". Just my .02. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/blues.gif
In the guys defense, the gig-bag is what his guitar came with.
If I spent 1000 bucks...hell, even 500 bucks, I certainly wouldn't buy an instrument that came with anything less than a proper hard shell case
As you wish, Dale.
Breedlove, by offering your products standard with the minimal protection of a gig-bag, you are short-changing your customers, and sending a bad message that your mandolins are not worth protecting...by most accounts they are quality instruments, so treat them as such.
Good enough?
I hate Gig bags http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif
blammo
May-05-2004, 11:33am
Just be glad you guys don't play an acoustic upright bass…try buying a hardshell case for one of those babies!
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif
Just the same…different people need different levels of protection for their instruments. Touring guys should get anvil cases, infrequent giggers could probably get by with a regular hardshell, & someone who never takes it out of the house could probably get by with a dustcover! Shipping an instrument with just a gig bag makes the instrument initially more affordable & gives the purchaser the option to buy a case suitable to his needs. I feel bad for the guy who broke his guitar, but at some point when he purchased the instrument, he looked at the gig bag & said "Yup…that'll do". Or he just didn't think about it at all.
Moose
May-05-2004, 11:36am
For every rule.., there is an exception... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif
John Flynn
May-05-2004, 12:08pm
Instrument protection is relative:
A gig bag may not provide much protection, but it is more protection than no case at all. I have seen people with Calton Cases show up to workshops, but once they uncase thier instrument, they leave it laying on a table or leaning against the wall. When I use a gig bag, I treat it as if it is an uncased instrument. Gig bags are handy for festivals, etc. where you are carrying the instrument around all day. I carried a Stratocaster in a gig bag, to many gigs, for 10 years and never had a problem.
Hard cases are all over the map. I have had the hard case that was made especially for the mando press so hard on the top of the bridge when the case was closed and locked that I would cause the bridge to shift. I know if that case had taken a hit on the side, it would have damaged the bridge and perhaps the top. If you have a middle of the road hard case instead of a Calton or equivalent, you can still mess up an instrument with an impact or heat. So there are no bad cases, just types of cases used improperly.
My grandfather once said in regards to his new tractor shed...."if it's worth having then it's worth a shed". He didn't put up a tent (gigbag).
Just be glad you guys don't play an acoustic upright bass…try buying a hardshell case for one of those babies!
The bass player in my band just got one off of ebay. I think he paid about $600 for it. I was pretty amazed it was only $600 considering how much we pay for mandolin cases. They should have added on a couple of paddles for river crossing with that bass case!
acumando
May-05-2004, 1:08pm
anybody got a recommendation for a case to fit the quartz? is it difficult with the long headstock?
pickinNgrinnin
May-05-2004, 1:11pm
I have a gig bag for my Flatiron 1N and I hate it. Been looking around to find a HSC for it but they have eluded me.
It surprises me to see Breedlove including gig bags as standard issue with some (all?) of their Mandolins. I think their customers would be willing to pay a bit extra to get a HSC. A company that prides itself on craftsmanship yet offers up it's goods in a tote sack is just wrong.
Give me a HSC any day!
All of the Breedlove mandos other than the quartz models come in very nice rectangular dome top cases. That's the only case upgrade they offer.
Rob.....O or K body?
justwrite
May-05-2004, 1:20pm
Mando Johnny, I DID break the bridge of my manodlin because it fit too tightly in the hard case. Of course, it's just a Fender. But when my employment situation improves, I'm buying a gig bag for it.
acumando
May-05-2004, 1:20pm
Dale:
i'm lookin at an oo right now. any suggestions?
thanks
Call Peter Mix at Rigel. The A Natural has been discontinued & they have some extra cases. They fit the OO or OF pretty well.
jim simpson
May-05-2004, 4:42pm
I was getting rid of some instruments at a guitar show. I had a Kentucky A-model in a gig bag. As I was sliding the side door closed on my minivan, the gig bag shifted on my shoulder and the headstock got pinched in the door jam. It didn't break the headstock but it did put a nice compression dent on both sides.
straight-a
May-07-2004, 1:07pm
Saw someone at a festival carrying a $6000 banjo in a gig bag. It was beat and scratched all to heck. I don't see any good use for them, either.