Gig Bag Question

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

I don’t understand the complaints about a gig bag

Dude... Gig bags suck compared to hard cases. If you had the misfortune to drop one of your guitars down a flight of steps, ? Or have it fall out your car ? Which would you rather have it be protected by ?

I buy hard cases for all my guitars. I just wish, manufacturers would stop padding them into the price of all instruments, even say $2,500 ones ?

Now, in the "spirit of capitalism" they would probably delete the gig bag, While charging the same price for the product

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

My advice is to see the joy others get in their instruments, experience the joy that yours bring you, and drop the chip on your shoulde

I guess you just do not grasp what I am saying about "economic utility" ...

But think of it as the "joy" you talk about here ...

 

[RC Mike]

I guess you just do not grasp what I am saying about "economic utility" ...

But think of it as the "joy" you talk about here ...

There’s no need to be pejorative just because I don’t agree with you or accept the premise of your position.

What I don’t grasp is railing on about cost, how others use their gear, or how they choose to protect their instruments. The last time a guitar of mine left the house was to go camping with me this summer. I chose to take it in a gig bag. A hard case wouldn’t have fit in the van without leaving something behind, wouldn’t have been as easy to handle in the tent, and likely would have been damaged itself.

Like so much of life, it’s about choosing the right tool for the job. I’m thankful that I have a variety to choose from and the experience to help make the right choice.

 

[CrimesAgainstMusic]

There’s no need to be pejorative just because I don’t agree with you or accept the premise of your position.

What I don’t grasp is railing on about cost, how others use their gear, or how they choose to protect their instruments. The last time a guitar of mine left the house was to go camping with me this summer. I chose to take it in a gig bag. A hard case wouldn’t have fit in the van without leaving something behind, wouldn’t have been as easy to handle in the tent, and likely would have been damaged itself.

Like so much of life, it’s about choosing the right tool for the job. I’m thankful that I have a variety to choose from and the experience to help make the right choice.

And what I don't understand ... is why this simple topic, sparked such a prolonged discussion...

Use what 'ya want. But my point that these "gig bags " are forced on us ... is valid. There is no opportunity to delete it for cost. And if one wants , one pays the $200 or so dollars to buy a hard case. Some models are now being offered without the bag even. (Just bought one. Ordered the hard case) a Gator TSA case ... would cost more than this guitar ! (so I didn't buy the Gator)

I don't care how you and others use their gear. The fact that you interpret that from what I have said here, speaks to other issues.

Given a choice, I'd delete the bag, and apply the credit to real (or better) protection.

Glad your guitar did not get damaged while transported in your bag. But a case would have made it far less likely ...

 

[RC Mike]

And what I don't understand ... is why this simple topic, sparked such a prolonged discussion...

Use what 'ya want. But my point that these "gig bags " are forced on us ... is valid. There is no opportunity to delete it for cost. And if one wants , one pays the $200 or so dollars to buy a hard case. Some models are now being offered without the bag even. (Just bought one. Ordered the hard case) a Gator TSA case ... would cost more than this guitar ! (so I didn't buy the Gator)

I don't care how you and others use their gear. The fact that you interpret that from what I have said here, speaks to other issues.

Given a choice, I'd delete the bag, and apply the credit to real (or better) protection.

Glad your guitar did not get damaged while transported in your bag. But a case would have made it far less likely ...

So delete the gig bag yourself. Use your agency and ability to do so. Sell it, receive whatever the market determines it to be worth, and buy a hardcase. That all seems easy enough. It's time to move on.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

I can see both side of this.

I was originally a trumpet player and you’d never buy a brass/wind instrument in a cardboard box, like my first guitar.

I get the practicality of a gig bag, I’ve used them myself. However I prefer the security of a hard case.

Apart from my Strat and my Santana, I’ve had to buy cases for all my guitars, because they were built for me.

I prefer to buy my own cases any way. So I factor in the cost.

One thing I will say is that the PRS case is about twice the weight of either my SKB or Gator cases. I’m gonna have to start doing some crunches when that baby leaves the house for gigs

 

[László]

HeyButLes

Its kinda hard to know how to take a statement like the one above ...Although by now, I know it is all in jest, and no offense meant / none taken ...

BUT ... I'm sure that you can see that there is an easy equation to be made here between say ... SE guitars or other cost effective product lines that "punch above their weight" as being (Horse sh!t) and Core /PS / WL being Gold ??? Lines which employ premium components and methods, and result in a premium instrument (that despite its vastly increased price represent the epitome of diminishing returns , and may sound a 'smidge" better ?
Talk about maybe being " unfair " ??? Hey , that was you sayin that ... Not me ...

You're right, it is hard to know what I meant by that statement about poop and gold, but I was doing my usual kidding around.

I was trying to say this:

If you have X dollars to spend, you can spend it on one great widget that really meets your needs, or a lot of less costly widgets that may (or may not) be a compromise.

Is SE a compromise? The answer's going to be different for everyone.

For me, sure. Things like tone, feel, and warmth can't really be expressed in percentages. However, I'd buy the Core or PS even if it did come down to a very small difference because I'm finicky about what comes out of my studio. I'm always gonna give it my best effort. But I think the differences between the SE and Core or PS are more substantial than smidges.

As for whether SE is a compromise for others, that's clearly not for me to decide.

Nor is it for someone else to say someone only spends more to feed an ego. That sounds an awful lot like resentment, and beyond that, it's jumping to a conclusion that's unwarranted.

When you make the further statement that one purchase - presumably the bargain item - shows how much you know, and the other shows how much you have to spend, that's where we part company.

I know my stuff. I think many others here who buy Core and PS do, too. And there are times I'll get spendy because I know my stuff.

 

[aphantomvaper]

Your comments on "One guitar, You run what you brung" ... (not your words ,but my protocol conversion !) are truly funny

But with this current round of price increases (and other prior pricing) ...

We seem to bee paying for hard cases ... But we are NOT getting them (Hollowbody SE an exception )

Word on that!

 

[Moondog Wily]

Diminishing returns are returns none the less
Their value to you is to you I confess
To disparage others and call it all ego
Is a huge waste of time that sounds like screeching crows
So made in America
Or built from afar
The best I can say is
Shut up and play your guitar

 

[Mark Ray]

As the OP, I will wait and check out the PRS gig bag that the 10th Anny S2 594 arrives in.

Here's the deal: I gig all my guitars, and that's why I'm getting this one too. They go to gigs in a double MONO bag. All my cases and gig bags are stacked up in the music room. I MIGHT look around for a PRS hardshell, but the guitar is going to live it's life on a stand or in that double MONO.

 

[Broseph]

I use my silver sky gig bag all the time. It’s my fav PRS gig bag. I wish it was the standard bag they used for all their non cased guitars.

And I wish all the cases switched to abs molded plastics like modern strats/teles. Super light weight but military grade protection. Meets airline requirements. It would significantly cut down on transportation costs for PRS and dealers.

 

[Broseph]

Hmmm. Seeing the s2/ce gig bag is on clearance…hopefully this means they will all be in the silver sky style gig bag now?

 

[coneill]

The PRS gig bags are solid and offer great protection. I use them as well as Mono bags and they work great for my core guitars. As someone who gigs regularly I got tired of hauling my heavy cases and switched to bags a few years ago and never looked back. Even when we are on the road we load all the PA, drums and amps at the bottom of the trailer and then put the guitars in bags at the top and never had an issue. We don't throw them around but we don't baby them either and my bags have always kept my PRS safe.

0A38811B-AD1E-4B4E-8A08-594F71E984A9 by jdkornel, on Flickr

Thoughts on the PRS gig bag to say the Mono Sleeve? I'm not entirely thrilled with the PRS gig bag for my Silver Sky and was considering a Guitar Sleeve recently. I actually have a Vertigo as well, which I use for another guitar.

 

[watelessness]

Thoughts on the PRS gig bag to say the Mono Sleeve? I'm not entirely thrilled with the PRS gig bag for my Silver Sky and was considering a Guitar Sleeve recently. I actually have a Vertigo as well, which I use for another guitar.

i dont care for the sleeve. i use the classics. ymmv

 

[aamefford]

This is going to sound a little nuts to anyone who isn't old: I've never brought two guitars to a gig in my life, and I started gigging in 1966.

When I started, no one I knew even owned more than one guitar and one amp. You played what you had, and that was it. But the stuff didn't break on the way to the gig, because cases were actually protective. I saw Cream. Clapton only played one guitar at the gig. I saw lots of famous classic rock acts. Ver few guitar changes were to be seen.

I should also mention that I also played keys, and never brought more than one organ to a gig. Thank goodness, considering what they weighed.

If your amp went, you replaced the fuse, put in a new tube, and carried on. Though I never had an amp blow at a gig (OK, they all blew because I was playing through them, but I meant 'blow up'), a bandmate did. And even that was only once!

One time when I was in college, my combo organ started sounding funny at a gig. I was supposed to drive to my girlfriend's dorm or sorority house and pick her up. But I had another gig the next night, so I called and said "My organ isn't working, so I have to have it fixed."

My girlfriend knew what I meant, and when her friends asked if I stood her up, she said, "Les' organ isn't working, so he drove to Detroit to have it fixed."

But her friends jumped to a...well...different conclusion. They told her they hoped I would be all right after the surgery.

True story! You can't make this stuff up.

OK, now that is a funny story! Regarding a spare organ (Keyboard type) - I did lights and sound for a band with a Hammond B3 and real Leslie back in the 70's. That B3 took a guy on each corner to load in and out. I mean, he was good, and it sounded great, but why not a Fender-Rhodes or something for F's sake?

 

[Rod/]

The PRS gig bags are solid and offer great protection. I use them as well as Mono bags and they work great for my core guitars. As someone who gigs regularly I got tired of hauling my heavy cases and switched to bags a few years ago and never looked back. Even when we are on the road we load all the PA, drums and amps at the bottom of the trailer and then put the guitars in bags at the top and never had an issue. We don't throw them around but we don't baby them either and my bags have always kept my PRS safe.

0A38811B-AD1E-4B4E-8A08-594F71E984A9 by jdkornel, on Flickr

These pro PRS bags are great. I bought 3 of them.…my Cores and S2’s go in them for gigs. Never any issues. I don’t throw my guitars around and unpack my car myself
The stock S2/SE bags are not in the same league for protection. I won’t use them..

 

[PRS-NL]

The S2's are shipped out in black gigbags;

 

[aphantomvaper]

The organ and sleeve convos are giving me some distraction.

I prefer a hard case and the PRS bags work very well for travel and protection. The bag won't help with a flex or bend but will give great protection in normal circumstance. The S2 bags are slightly more robust with the head stock wrapper.

 

[RossF]

I think from a perspective of utility, gig bags offer a light weight form of protection that is suitable for taking a guitar back-and-forth to rehearsal(or wherever) in your car. Whereas packing stuff up for a local gig necessitates the use of a case or extreme caution. In that case I want a case.

But from a consumer's standpoint, most decent guitars came with a branded case (in days of yore), which seemed to be an industry standard. Then I recall a paradigm shift to a price for the guitar and an extra $100.00 for the case. To me this was a big deal back in the day.

Then cases started to be manufactured using formed plastic, which always seemed cheap to me because people of my generation were conditioned to believe stuff made from plastic was cheap...even if it was lighter and offered similar protection. Still an extra charge. Then the transition from cases to gig bags started, which seemed like another step down and yet another situation of paying more for less.

 

[aamefford]

I think from a perspective of utility, gig bags offer a light weight form of protection that is suitable for taking a guitar back-and-forth to rehearsal(or wherever) in your car. Whereas packing stuff up for a local gig necessitates the use of a case or extreme caution. In that case I want a case.

This for me, just based on old roadie days. Other folks aren’t always as careful with your stuff, and well, road cases full of amps, pa, lights and stuff can shift in the old, clapped out Mack Tools truck…. That said, I bought two of the premium or deluxe or whatever gig bags. One for my Santana because the case is a beast, and on for my S2 because I liked the first one more than the S2 bag. My use case is in the house or out to lessons, so the protection is adequate.