Hard-Shell Cases or Gig Bags? What do you prefer?...

[rodeo_joel]

i'd say it probably never hurts to have both. One for heavy duty travel, like if you're flying and you have to check it. Or maybe if you're letting somebody else take it someplace.

I'd like the gig bag cuz it'd definately be easier to carry. The way i figure it, you might as well get a good one. No sense buying something designed to protect the instrument if its not going to do a good job protecting it.

[Leon Grizzard]

Originally Posted by drewsblues

For school and such, this one looks pretty cool. A gig bag with all the features of a backpack. Doesn't show the interior, though.

I wonder if you could get a laptop into the pouch area...

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...bag?sku=541612

<EDIT>
I just noticed there are no shoulder straps on this model. That would be a deal-breaker for me...
</EDIT>

That is weird to not have shoulder straps. I have a regular Roadrunner bag, and I don't like the placement of the straps; they are in a zippered compartment on the back of the bag, in the body area. You can zip up the pouch so they don't dangle, which is good, but you have to have the pouch partly unzipped to use 'em so the pouch isn't that useful to put stuff in. Also, the location causes the bag to ride too high, and the head will sometimes catch on doorways unless you have the straps really loose to let the instrument hang lower and much looser on your back. I much prefer my Carvin bag.

Here's the RR:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...Bag?sku=541335

[alexpigment]

you guys carry a tele in anything else than a fender tweed case? shame....

kidding, but still I prefer a cool looking hard case, even if that means I spend $150 on it. that said, I've got most of my cases from craigslist, so I haven't paid that much money for them

[Abe]

Both.

If I'm going to a jam or a lesson where I'm light on gear (maybe without an amp), I'll put the guitar in a gigbag. If I'm headed somewhere with multiple guitars plus gear, I'll use the hardshells.

That's only for electrics, I'd never carry my acoustic in a gigbag.

[bradpdx]

Gig bags for solid body Fenders, hardshell for the Martins.

All my gigs are local and I usually drive myself. No need for paranoia, a guitar as rugged as a Tele needs only a high-quality padded bag. It has never been a problem of any sort and I can stuff the bag in a corner during the gig.

I sometimes bring 2 guitars, but really don't like doing that - too much fuss. I much prefer to work one instrument to death. With bags, I can have both a Tele and a Strat on my shoulders while I carry something else.

[rodeo_joel]

+1 For everybody that says "no gig bags for acoustics". It's one thing if you're just casually carrying a guitar to a gig or jam session, but your acoustic is toast if it gets crushed or something dropped on it while in a gig bag (no matter how padded it is). you might as well be carrying it around by the strap over your shoulder.

[Mike Bruce]

Hardshell cases are pretty hard on my door frames, not that I ever hit them, it's the sixty or so students coming and going all week who bash the woodwork so much. Gigbags are just easier on the millwork and paint around here.

As for myself, gigbags rule for light slogging to friends and jams, hardcases for gigging and any heavy travel.

In a perfect world there would be a quality gigbag and hardcase for every instrument...sorry, was I dreaming again?

Mike Bruce

[JimiBryant]

I'll use a gig bag for local shows or going around town but I want the protection
of a road case for touring and international travel!!

I have guitars in hard cases as well as gig bags all over my apartment, tucked
away here and there.. I've bought my share of guitars with no cases, so I tend
to go with the flow..

[6942]

Both.
But I'll use a good gig bag (I like my RR bag) to travel locally to jam sessions.

Steve

[Flat357]

Never owned a gig bag ... my right arm is very long now

[studio1087]

Both.

Guitars that leave the house - hard cases.
Recording guitars that stay home - good bags.

I have 17 guitars leaning on one wall. The bags are nice at home because I don't even have to pull the bag away from the wall; the guitar slides out to the side. I can't leave anything on a stand (3 kids and a big dog).

[guitarzan13]

Gig Bags all the way......I handle my guitars myself and I feel that if I do something stupid enough to damage it....I deserve it. I have found that most mishaps occur while they are on a stand at a gig.

[vjf1968]

Originally Posted by rodeo_joel

has this ever been posted before? i have a feeling it has... oh well

what do you guys prefer? i've been looking online for a real good gig bag to keep my tele in while i'm going to school. if i'm walking to classes or around the campus i think it'd be nice to have something a bit nicer to carry than a hard shell.

i really like the things i've seen by reunion blues. they look great.

anybody that swears by gig bags instead of hard-shells or vice versa? does one kind offer more protection than the other? (i suppose it depends on the quality of the product too)

What's Your Flavor?

If I was just going to practice with a strat or tele then I would use a gig bag. I would never use a gig bag on the way to a "gig". Even though hard shell caeses are cumbersome they are really the only defense a guitar has against major damage and careless audience members.

[vjf1968]

I didn't meant to do that

[Mike Bruce]

I meant to add earlier that guitar headstocks that rub and bump against the gigbag do go out of tune more easily than when carried in a hardcase. Some bags are better than others in this regard.

Mike Bruce

[51mike]

I would think that going to school, a nice gig bag with shoulder straps would be a good idea but I see you're from Alberta so would question the wisdom of a gig bag due to the temperature fluctuations you're bound to experience. Maybe you'll need to get some of those hand warmers that hunters use to put in whatever case you end up with?

[rodeo_joel]

Originally Posted by 51mike

I would think that going to school, a nice gig bag with shoulder straps would be a good idea but I see you're from Alberta so would question the wisdom of a gig bag due to the temperature fluctuations you're bound to experience. Maybe you'll need to get some of those hand warmers that hunters use to put in whatever case you end up with?

I think if the gig bag had a thick enough padding it shouldn't cause too much of an issue with temperature fluctuations. Plus i'm pretty sure the bigger issue is with changes in humidity, and it's pretty much the same all year round (dry... very dry, hehe). Still, i'd think that a gig bag wouldn't offer much more protection against temperature changes than a hard shell would.

i don't know, what do you think?

[PraiseCaster]

I prefer hard shell cases. I just like the added protection, and I only take two guitars at most to a gig.

[Teleblooz]

I prefer hardshell cases. But then I also prefer having roadies who haul all my s&!t around. So...

Gig bags it is
(except for acoustics of course).