As I plan my first guitar purchase--discussed in another topic--I find myself wondering about what to use to hold my guitar.
I don't quite understand the point of gig bags. If the only thing they do is provide a handle and a place for your picks, why are they so ubiquitous? Walking down the street in downtown NYC, everyone has a gig bag and hard cases are really rare.
I don't plan to be regularly transporting my guitar through airline baggage claims, and I don't want to get some heavy and unwieldy hard case. But it's certainly possible that I might at some point want to put my guitar in a car, or do something with it other than look at it hard. What's the story--do gig bags provide more protection than it looks like? Or do people have two cases and just use the gig bags for light stuff?
I would never transport my acoustics in gig-bags. Electrics I'll pack into my Ritter, but it is pretty heavy duty.
It's a personal preference thing and a risk aversion thing too.
I just can't see carrying any guitar that costs more than a grand in a gig bag.
solid body guitars in gig bags aren't really a big deal. They're a solid hunk of wood, all you want to do is protect them from getting scratched.
But anything that has a hollow section needs a hard-shell case to prevent real damage.
That said, I really like my gig bag over my hard-shell case. I can stick a couple of books, a couple of pedals, my metronome and a spare cable in it very easily. In my hardshell cases I can get a metronome, tuner, and a pick.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
In my opinion all gig bags will do is protect a guitar from scratches. They aren't quite tough enough to stop breakage like neck and or headstock.
I sure would not put a guitar out for shipping in one.
They are however great for short trips where you can constantly keep an eye on it and control it. I think their popularity is in that a) they are cheaper than a hard Case and b) you can carry a lot more in them.
Yep to all the above...
If you're looking for an acoustic case, I've seen these, and I know some on the forum own them.
http://www.seagullguitars.com/fortepp.htm
"Things may get a whole lot worse/ Before suddenly falling apart"
Steely Dan
"Look at me coyote, don't let a little road dust put you off" Knopfler
I took my epi LP to Texas in a hard case which got totally ruined beween Minneapolis Airport (surprise!) and Gatwick....if the case got that hammered, what sort of damage would the guitar have sustained in a soft case? Shudder...I don't even want to think about it....I go to my local pub every tuesday for an acoustic jam, it's roughly a quarter of a mile away, but I still take it in a hard case....better to be safe than sorry!!!!!
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Gig Bags provide better protection than nothing at all.
They help prevent scratches and damage from minor bumps and provide some degree of thermal protection on extremely hot or cold days when transporting on short trips.
They also make it much easier to carry everything.
Cheaper than hard or semi-hard cases.
Not recommened where rough handling may occur, such as airlines baggage handlers.
Personnaly I keep my guitars in these type cases:
http://www.music123.com/Gator-Lightweight-Classic-Guitar-Case-i85787.music?t=4
vic
so sorry to hear that, the airline is going to replace it right? :evil:
Haven't even bothered to tell them...mind you if the guitar had been damaged, I think they would have needed an armed response unit....
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Yep to all the above...
If you're looking for an acoustic case, I've seen these, and I know some on the forum own them.
http://www.seagullguitars.com/fortepp.htm
I have one, good lightweight case. Only problem is the placement of the handle, it kinda feels weird to me....
Stairway to Freebird!
Oh yeah, that sucks Vic.... :(
Stairway to Freebird!
vic
so sorry to hear that, the airline is going to replace it right? :evil:
If you do contact them, they'll tell you cases are suppossed to get banged up, that's why you put the stuff you don't want banged up in a case.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
On the bright side, the guitar is OK and you got to come to Texas :)
Our songs also have the standard pop format: Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, bad solo. All in all, I think we sound like The Knack and the Bay City Rollers being molested by Black Flag and Black Sabbath.
Kurt Cobain
Gigbags are light, portable, take up less space and offer basic protection. Of course you wouldn't mail a guitar or fly with a gig bag, but for basic transport where it is in your control at all times they do the job.
On another non-guitar forum I remember some kid who had a 3 month old Gibby SG and he was doing ollies over it on his skateboard. It was in a hardshell case but the neck snapped when he didn't quite clear it. It's really just a matter of thinking ahead and well, being very careful. Skate tricks and $800 guitars do not mix!
No matter what kind of case you use you should be as careful as possible. Pretend you're stowing a one day old infant.
-Metaellihead
All my guitars are in hard shell cases. Even the freebie classical I just got. The soft case was an old POS and I dumped in favor of a nice hardshell case. Much better protection and I feel safet that way. My electrics are in HS cases also. I am in agreement with Nick, if it is worth having it is worth portecting. Also as my dad use to tell me "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
John M
