Ric's and gig Bags?

[jingle_jangle]

NOTHING but a hard case will keep a neck or headstock from being broken.

[rickenmetal]

You could even break it even when it's out of the case. Better keep it on you back and be careful if it's in a gigbag. Well, I guess if you're very tall it can be problem.

Anyways, it will fit in a Gibson 335 type bag.

[antipodean]

I haven't used gig bags for my Rics, but I use top-of-the line Ritter bags for my Fenders, which are effectively indestructible (God bless Leo - an engineer to his bootstraps!) and my Jerry Jones basses. I've also taken my LP (with fragile headstock) out in a Ritter with no problems, but that's because it came with a case with three broken latches. I also tend to drive to gigs, so the bag is only really material for the loading/unloading cycle.

If your guitar is a player rather than a work of art, a top gig bag will be fine for 97% of the time. You need to be incredibly vigilant to ensure that residual 3% of teh time doesn't result in a severe damage. If you love every aspect of the finish of your guitar and want to keep it pristine, a gig bag isn't for you.

[twangs]

I use a gig bag for my instruments, and have never had a problem with damage. I even have a Fender double bag that holds 2 basses when I need a couple of instruments on a gig. When I need to bring a 2 electrics and a double bass to a job, being able to strap the electrics to my back is a must - saves making multiple trips from the car to the theater. Come to think of it, my double bass is also in a soft case, and that thing is worth more than any guitar I've ever seen!

[jingle_jangle]

I'm not surprised at the variety of attitudes toward care of instruments shown here.

To some, the craftsmanship of a beautiful instrument is something to be respected and preserved. To others, a guitar is a tool, and little more.

If you want protection, a hardshell case is a must. If you don't mind nicks and dents and the occasional broken neck or cracked body, then a gig bag is fine. I think that Ricks are a sizeable cut above the usual factory-built guitars, and deserve better care. Others draw the line lower, r perhaps not at all...

All of my MIJ Fenders came shipped to me in cheap, cheap gig bags, inside cartons, buried in peanuts, inside a second carton.

When I unpacked them, I tossed everything (except the guitars). I bought proper $80 cases on Ebay.

My pricey Rick acoustics all get Ameritage cases, as do my personally restored and owned vintage Ricks. I have one guitar in a gig bag, right now and it's an older Gretsch jazz guitar, and it's on top of a high shelf where nothing can touch it except my hands when I want to play it. As soon as I find a hard case to fit it, it will be encased.

Finally, sure it's true that you can break a guitar or bass' neck taking it out of a case, or when it's out of a case, but I fail to see why that's a reason not to protect it otherwise. I'd also say that moving a bit more carefully with it in your hands is a good way NOT to break it.

[sloop_john_b]

Paul, i don't mean to cast any aspersions, but I think you're being needlessly harsh on people who use gigbags. I use one quite a bit (a nice, padded one), because lugging around a heavy, bulky hardshell case - especially for a bass - simply isn't always an option. I've done my share of gigs and sessions in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and the only smart way to get around is to walk, take the subway, and take buses. My main gig bag has shoulder straps that let me walk around the city without my arms and fingers getting tired (it doesn't take long with the SKB's) and it is much easier to navigate crowded streets and stand in cramped trains with the slimmer, lighter gig bag.

While I of course appreciate and admire the craftsmanship and beauty of my Rickenbackers, for me, they're tools in the end. I don't feel that that's any reason to be lumped into some SRV-type catergory and I certainly don't appreciate that.

[jingle_jangle]

Nah, don't mean to be harsh. Just to restate: Your respect for your instrument is reflected in how you choose to protect it.

If any additional words that I typically tacked on in an attempt to clarify my views, actually obscured the message, I apologize for the obfuscation.

[firstbassman]

Though I like gig bags as much as the next person, I would never put one of my RICs in one.
NEVER.
If others wish to do so, that is their right.

Tom and Matthew's "gig case" by the way is a nice compromise.
I used to keep my Squire J bass in one and liked it very much.
It is light, semi sturdy and inexpensive.

[scotty]

Your respect for your instrument is reflected in how you choose to protect it.

.

+1 this comes down to one word RESPECT! FullStop..
I also would never put one of my Rics in a Soft case.I as im sure many others in this forum has worked hard and saved for such a Gr8 instruments.Would you park your car in a Unsecured Car park overnight to save a 5 minute walk? I wouldn't, this world that "I" live in is getting pretty expensive and i cant afford too many f*ck ups.Of coarse the wife and kids would reiterate that im sure

[BobKat]

I use a gig bag for my $200 Ovation shallow body. I take this to Beatlefest and to outdoor situations where I'll be just banging around with a guitar. I sling it over my shoulder and it's quite convenient. That guitar was bought expressly for the purpose of being light, skinny, and easy to walk around with. I like it very much, but if something happened to it I would not be devastated. Not that I do not take care of it or watch my step, I do. The convenience and the care assume their proper perspective given the situation. All of my other guitars go for the ride in hardshell cases.

[jingle_jangle]

A practical and workmanlike approach, Bob, to be sure...

Scotty, you're a practical hoot, to be even surer...

[rickenmetal]

I agree with John, if you take public transportation a gigbag is much more practical, it also deters people who would want to take your instrument, especially if it's on your back and they don't know what you have in there. Plus Ricks are not particularly fragile, I'd be more worried about a Gibson 335 type guitar or a Gretsch, or even an acoustic, although of course accidents can happen. I would not use a two-instrument gigbag though.

If you transport your guitar by car, a case is much better as the guitar can get banged around by the amps or other things. I've transported my Rick in a gigbag once or twice in a car, but that's because I was coming from practice. Nothing happened (I think it was laying on top of other stuff anyways), but it's not a particularly good idea.

[hjarnett]

to me a gigbag is nothing more than a garbage bag with a zipper but thats just me

[sloop_john_b]

to me a gigbag is nothing more than a garbage bag with a zipper but thats just me

There are certainly thin ones out there (think what you'd get with a $75 nylon-string) but there are also VERY padded ones out there, which is what I use.

[eatswodo]

to me a gigbag is nothing more than a garbage bag with a zipper but thats just me

There are certainly thin ones out there (think what you'd get with a $75 nylon-string) but there are also VERY padded ones out there, which is what I use.

Me too. My 650D (as I mentioned in an earlier post) travels in a good quality gig bag for its regular trip. It goes from my house, to the back seat of my car. It then is taken for a 5 minute drive, where it is carried into church, up one flight of stairs. I'm also usually carrying a Pod XT live in a 'gig bag', and a shoulder bag full of stuff. I've been doing this, or some variation of it, for over 6 years. My 650D (and the rest of my gear) is as pristine as the day I bought it. The thing's a plank - tougher than a Tele - Cap'n Sparrow could repel boarders with it, use it as a canoe paddle or a surfboard and it probably wouldn't show the scars. Not that I'm volunteering, mind you.....

I somewhat resent the implication that I don't care about it, simply because I choose to carry it around in a gig bag. If the guitar was going to be out of my immediate care for any portion of its journey, of course I'd use the hard case. I have a very precise set of circumstances - the bag works for me.

A well-padded gig bag also works for my Variax, which (shock, horror) is as valuable to me as my Rickenbacker. My '63 Martin would never go anywhere except in its hard case.

Of course, to some here, the fact that I own and like a Variax is evidence of irreparable brain damage.... maybe *I* need a hard case.