Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I used to be vehemently against gig bags, but after a recent plane trip carrying vintage Rics with me----it would not have been possible to take them on-board as carry-on luggage unless they were in gig bags, and a nice heavy duty Levis bag did the job quite well!

Like all things, much of the safety issue is down to the owner being careful about their gear, where it's placed, and where they leave it etc.

Josh, sorry about your foot mate. Fast recovery as well. My '83 4003 sleeps and is always transported in its hardshell case, but as its now retired and in the ownership of my dad, I needed something for my '96 which didn't fit in the '83's case anyway. So I bought a RoadRunner soft shell bass case and rotate my 4003 and my RBX-375 in and out of it frequently. Its not a gig bag so to speak, but I trust it and it hasn't failed me yet so, I would think in your application a gig bag of the finest quality would be ok for you and your situation.

Best wishes for quick recovery of your feet, Joshua and Joey.

Thanks again for the kind wishes. Went to the ortho and they told I would (most likely) not have to have surgery!

That's great to hear.

Yes, very good news!

My Rics all came with hard cases, so they travel in those and are in them whenever they are not onstage.

A few other basses go in gig bags. I have a Chrome Warwick that came in a really good deluxe Warwick gig bag.
I don't trust the straps on ANY gig bag. Handles only.
As I do all my handling and packing myself, I am quite confident using them.

Crutches are gone for me now, just a special shoe and brace. Makes work so much simpler.

Update on the RB gig bag: I used it to take my 4003FL to a gig last Saturday and it did the job handily, also letting me transport more supplies than I usually could in a case. Having the "backpack" style really is the only reason I had to have this though, it makes things so much easier right now and I can tell it will later after my foot heals as well. Load-in was twice as fast for me as normal because of the free hand. The one negative I must report is that there is a 1/2'' compression or "dent" in the 4003FL's finish now, and I'm fairly certain it happened because my drummer's cymbal case was resting on the RB bag in a certain spot before the show or in transit. However I'm not 100% certain that this was really the cause, and the good news is, I'm not too worried about the dent anyways (battle scar!). I'll keep an eye out and if I do find the RB case causes my Rics some finish trouble, I will let you all know.