Gig Bag ??

I bought one for my daughter, 9, so that she could carry the guitar and some stuff when she goes to lessons or out of the house. Mini strat, case was 2/3 the price of the guitar. IF she kwwps playning and we get her a better guitar I will get her a case. I have a case for both of mine, but she cannot carry mine, so we opted for the bag.

I'm not a gigging musician but obviously a hard case will offer more protection.

But the gig bag will be much lighter and easier to put away when guitar is out.

I personally only have a gig bag and only use it when I go to lessons or over someone's house to jam.

I have travelled with the gig bag but it's only been long road trips and I've never had any problems.

While I've never considered it myself, I often see people carrying their guitars in a gig bag.

What are the advantages of using a gig bag, other than its obvious "hands free" properties?

IMHO, it's most obvious disadvantage would be the protection perspective.

Any thoughts?

A really good gig bag can protect almost as well as a hard shell case, as with all things however, you get what you pay for. A good, padded, leather gig bag is a great thing to have around, and much more convenient than a hard shell case. As long as you're not throwing it off a 6 story roof, it wouldn't be any more susceptable to damage than your average HSC.

The hands-free thing is an obvious advantage built into many gig bags, the other one is that they take less room to store. Another, while not always true, is that gig bags often have a large pocket to carry less damageable items, such as cords, picks, straps etc. Most HSC's have a compartment that will barely hold your tuner.

I move my guitars that have delicate or angled headstocks (such as my Les Paul) in a hard shell case, because of the relatively small amount of force it takes to break one, and I move everything else in gig bags.