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Thread: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

  1. #1
    Registered User Al Trujillo's Avatar
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    Default Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    My wife has asked for a list for Christmas and I'd like to hear the pro's and con's of gig bags. Also, any suggested bags better than others?

    Thanks.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    Well .... Reunion Blues makes a quality gig bag. That being said gig bags are not IMO really safe for an instrument that is out of your hands. They are light to carry and that is the only good thing about them. The hard foam cases offer much better protection from bump and drop damage for a small difference in carry weight. Old fashion wood cases offer better protection yet but packing one around all day at a festival gets old. The new fiberglass and carbon fiber cases offer the best protection to weight ratio but the price $$$ ..... Choose wisely ... R/
    I love hanging out with mandolin nerds . . . . . Thanks peeps ...

  3. #3

    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I got a great gig bag with my Gold Tone Mando-Banjo. Maybe their gig bags for their regular mandolins are as good. I think it’s worth a look.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I really like the bag that came with my Eastman. It offers no real protection, but for slinging around on your back, it's light and has enough pockets for everything.
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    As stated above, gig bags are great for toting your mandolin around for a day. Not great at protecting it against major bumps.
    I like the Saga/Boulder bags best
    https://www.amazon.com/Boulder-CB-32.../dp/B004W1PQ70
    https://www.amazon.com/Boulder-CB-32.../dp/B0036IRIJO

    If you're looking for more protection, a hard case is best.
    Musician's friend is having a sale on their Musician's Gear hard case which is pretty good. 25% off with code SPOOKY
    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/acces...44411000000000
    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/acces...41967000001000

    My current favorite reasonably priced case is the Saga/Superior fiberglass case, though they are in short supply
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B2OWPG0/
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0052M16JU

  6. #6

    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    IMHO, gig bags are handy and great for a solid-body electric guitar. Not so much for acoustic instruments. They will keep an instrument from getting scratched, but NOT crushed!

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  8. #7
    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    The Reunion Blues Continental is IMO fantastic. Seems to weigh almost nothing. It keeps the mandolin very safe for everything it is likely to experience, the normal bumps and drops. If you get to see the case you can see how tough it is.

    No guarantee, but I believe you have to deliberately try to hurt your instruments inside one of these cases. A rifle shot, run over with a car, explosion, wood chipper, sledge hammer. For the range of things likely to happen, I really can't see that it leaves your mandolin vulnerable.

    You have to see and feel one of these to appreciate what I am saying.

    And they look so cool.
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    Registered User bradlaird's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I recently put out a podcast called "Instrument Horror Stories" that gets into this gig bag debate. http://www.bradleylaird.com/podcast/...how-notes.html

    And here is a good example of the down side. I sold this mando to a student of mine and he tossed the hardshell case and got a gig bag because it was more comfortable when riding his bike. I tweeted this:
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    All that said, I do have a couple of instruments in the closet in gig bags. They do keep bugs and dust out.

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    Middle-Aged Old-Timer Tobin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I care too much about my instruments to take them anywhere in gig bags. They are just glorified dust covers with carry handles and straps. They give you a false sense of safety about your instrument, and it's too easy to think of it as a real case.

    The best compromise is the lightweight foam cases with nylon outer covers. These still aren't as good as a real case, but they're leaps and bounds more protective than a gig bag.
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  13. #10
    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Mando View Post
    They will keep an instrument from getting scratched, but NOT crushed!
    For many I would agree. And in fact that when I first used my Reunion Blues Continental I only used it at the festival site. In the car on the way over I would use a hard case. I have since changed my mind.

    I did a test and sat on my case (without the mandolin) and I was not able to deform the shape enough to threaten a mandolin. If I really tried to bounce on it I might have been able, but just sitting (as your careless guest might do), the mandolin would not have been hurt.

    I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU DO THIS TEST YOURSELF.

    But yes, deep puncture, like with a sword, or heavy crush, are the only threats I can think of.

    I have no financial connection with Reunion Blues, I just really love the product.
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  14. #11
    Registered User Jon Hall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I realize that a hard case is more protection for an instrument but I had to have a lighter alternative since I carry a mandolin and guitar daily to where I teach, to practices and gigs. I purchased two Reunion Blues cases (they're really not bags) and I'm very satisfied with them.

  15. #12
    Registered User samlyman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I agree that gig bags are not good for best-case instrument protection but I believe that there is a place for them and that is at festivals where a person is going to walk around for hours at a time with an instrument. I own a Calton case and a Collings 5-ply arched lid case for my main mandolins but when I go to Weiser or Wintergrass I use my Boulder Alpine gig bag (NFI) because it is a lot easier on my back. This gig bag offers some protection, an assortment of pockets and can even hold a water bottle. I bought mine second-hand from a Cafe seller for under $50. That being said, as soon as I get back back to my car/room/campsite my instrument goes into the hardshell case for maximum protection.

  16. #13
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I have a shoulder strap on my TKL, it's not that heavy and leaves both hands free. It is the only way I carry it, and I have one on nearly every mandolin I own. I am not usually walking around festivals, but if I were every time I stopped I would set it down and hold the shoulder strap so I am not holding it.

    That said walking around festivals with a hardshell case in the sun would not be good. A gigbag would not transfer the heat of the sun, when walking around for extended periods of time, to the mandolin. So there is one good reason to have one.
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  17. #14
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    If a hard case offers the best protection, as seems to be the majority opinion,in the house,or in the car , etc then it offers the most protection while walking around the festival or anyplace else. I'll go with the most protection. After all it's a mandolin, not a set of bar-bells, I can carry it easy enough.

  18. #15
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I have put my mandolin in its hardshell case in a school book type backpack and it was easier to cary than a gig bag with just a handle. I use gig bags on solid body instruments. The only acoustic I use one on is my upright bass. Hard cases for them weigh around 50 pounds and cost as much as my bass did.

  19. #16
    Registered User almeriastrings's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    For the small increase in weight, a 'hard foam' case is a very happy medium. I am not a huge fan of the zippers involved, and they do have limitations, but for day-to-day use they are very good. I even carry a vintage D-18 around in a Gator 'foam' case....I would not subject it to extreme risk (i.e., air travel) but for taking to teaching sessions and hand-carrying around town, it's great.
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  20. #17

    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    Quote Originally Posted by UsuallyPickin View Post
    They are light to carry and that is the only good thing about them.
    I like the pockets and the straps. A "gig" bag really is for that - gigs where you're hauling your own crap to a gig. Thus the straps and pockets are essential. I'm switching over to high-quality gig bags for this reason - to make loading and unloading for shows much easier.

    Then again, maybe if I quit bringing 6 instruments to a show that would help.

  21. #18

    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I know a lot of pros that use gig bags. I am not saying that this is a good idea, just an observation... They also break a lot of instruments (not usually while in the gig bag).

    Like Sixpants, they are hauling multiple instruments.

    One person I work with flies to shows with a single acoustic guitar that is checked in a featherweight foam case. Risky, considering these are not small shows. I suppose it is easy enough to borrow a guitar in an emergency situation.
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  22. #19
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    A lot has to do with the thickness and density of the foam used, as said Reunion Blues Is OK.

    when they were in the Mission District in SF in the 80's a Friend was their Leather cutter.. ..

    the buyout took the brand off shore.. years ago..

    really I have found the weight of the Eastman Fiber glass case not much of a burden,
    especially in it's back pack mode.



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  23. #20
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I keep my bowlbacks in gig bags in the house, but I bought a fiberglass case in case I ever want to take one away from home. I would be afraid to take it out on the house in a gig bag.

  24. #21

    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I use a fusion mandolin gigbag. The comfort of the backpack design is great! Sure I have hard cases too but these fusion bags are great for local carrying. They are quite protective with wonderful padding and accessory storage. It is a well thought out and versatile design. Highly recommended. I have the premium tenor ukulele mandolin style. It fits both a and f style mandolins! My back really appreciates this gigbag too...

  25. #22
    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I have my usual gig instruments -- Martin 00-42 guitar, Regal long-neck banjo conversion, Regal taropatch -- in gig bags just about 100% of the time (well, the taropatch is in a hard foam case. actually). I haul them around, in and out of car, carrying all three plus an equipment bag every trip. The guitar's in a Gator padded bag, the banjo in an old Tough Traveler bag made for a Gibson ES-335 (hard to find "Pete Seeger" banjo gig bags).

    Do I recommend this? No. However, in my case (no pun intended) it's near-necessity. No way I could haul three hardshell cases plus the equipment in a single trip, and I have a small amp, mic stand, stool and instrument stand bag that makes for another trip. In and out of seniors' residences and such-like places, it's gonna be two trips, max.

    Guess what I'm saying is that it's not so much the design and construction of the bag, as how careful you are in handling it. The Tough Traveler has minimal padding, and the banjo pegs have worn the lining so much that I've glued leather patches over the worn areas. I had one bad accident when the shoulder strap on the bag let go, and dropped the banjo in a parking lot; needed to get the neck repaired after that. But all in all, these less-than-state-of-the-art bags have protected my instruments for over a decade, and made it possible to handle several instruments at a time -- very much a requirement for the kind of gigs I do.
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  27. #23
    Registered User darylcrisp's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    everything I own goes in a quality "soft case". these are not the typical nylon covers or thin cheap foam. Blue Heron, I like the vintage Reunion Blues bags(I own F and A in those), and a Mono Tenor Uke will hold most standard A models. The Mono and Reunion Blues I would toss down a flight of steps with no concern that my mandolin would be undamaged-they are that good IMO. Now of course if you were stacking things on top of them, a high end quality hardshell would be more optimal over these.
    The way I live and move, I like a shoulder sling or diagonal chest strap and go, use my hands for other things.
    The vintage ReunionBlues and Blue Heron carry really well, with the bag balanced and not pulling anywhere, the headstock top part of the bag rests below your head-so many bags have the straps attached in such a way as they have the bag extending above ones head, and oft times you can go thru a doorway and smack the top of that.

    The vintage RB come in this heavy "ballistic" nylon, feels more like a rigid firm covering, it doesn't fold or bend-empty it will still retain shape. The Mono M80 is the same. Zippers are heavy duty, I can carry music inside the compartment, there's usally a good pocket exterior to put spare strings and whatever you might need in tools or etc. None of these are cheap in cost.
    Love my RB, Mono's, and Blue Herons(my guitars and weissenborn travel exclusively in Blue Herons)
    vintage RB ballistic nylon models:
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    and in leather
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    the F style ballistic nylon
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  28. #24
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I’m surprised the Access Stage Three gig bag has not been mentioned. At 129 dollars it offers protection just short of hard cases. No it won’t protect against being dropped on concrete, but I think it does fine against the typical bumps and such. Very dense foam and something else is in there to make the walls stiff. It has body and doesn’t flop around like a typical gig bag. NFI. I used to have one because I used to own a large body instrument that wouldn’t fit in the usual A style hard case.
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  29. #25
    Registered User sblock's Avatar
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    Default Re: Gig bags: The Good and Bad

    I agree with many of the others who have written in: if you want to save carrying weight, you are probably better off with a Travelite or Gator or other hard foam case. These are very light, yet offer significantly more protection against crushing injuries than a gig bag, as well as better thermal protection. And they cost no more (and in some cases, much less!) than the gig bags under discussion. So what is not to love about them?

    Gig bags are appropriate for much larger instruments, like guitars.
    Last edited by sblock; Oct-26-2017 at 10:49am.

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