No, not which one to buy.
I've got four of them, four different brands, and they are all fine, except:

There is a pad which goes on the shoulder strap. It slides up and down. I always want it at the very top so that it will actually be on my shoulder when I carry a bass and it always slides down.

Any simple solutions to the problem?

Double sided tape?

They also make sticky back velcro. I believe you can get it in the sewing aisle. Comes on a roll in little one inch squares. Handy for securing loose parts.

Wouldn't wrapping/tying a rubber band around the strap itself right under the pad prevent the pad from sliding down?

The only other simple thing I could think of was drill a hole through the pad and strap and put a pop-rivet in it, but that defeats the "comfort" of the pad...

Thanks, Ken. The velcro was exactly what I needed. I've got tons of it around...I use it on my pedalboards. It also comes in a heavy duty variety on big rolls which I buy at the hardware store.

Thank you very much.

Glad I could help Mr. C.

I have a protech bag, this one for my Bordwell:

Protec

It offers a lot of protection but it's too big and bulky. I don't really like it. Jeremy - since you have 4, which one do you prefer?

Davo

The one I like the best is also a Protec , a different model than the one you have.

The first thing that came to mind was to sew it in place. Just a few stitches here and there around the outside and it won't go anywhere. I had a friend that did that with his bass strap because he kept it as short as it would go but the plastic slide inveriably slid on the nylon strap.

duct tape for the strap. definitely a duct tape remedy for what ails you. plus, duct tape comes in various colors these days...including blue.

peace.
--sw

True!

Jeremy, do you take the gig bags with you to gigs or are they for a different purpose? (Probably a REALLY dumb question, as I read it back to myself.)

If you "gig them", do you ever encounter any problems with the supposed decrease in protection/durability (relative to a hardshell) or do you see no difference? Or, perhaps you even find them superior?

Just curious--I have never owned a gig bag for any of my basses, not so much by choice as much as luck.

Over the last bunch of years, I have used gig bags almost all the time. I have a garage full of hard cases.

The only time I haven't used a gig bag is when flying and when packing the whole band's worth of equipment into a van.

I have had no problem with dents or dings on my instruments. There's actually less likelihood of the bass falling....I have a cart with my amp and all kinds of junk on it and the bass is on my shoulder. If I had it in a case, it would on top of the pile of gear held down with bungie cords and if I hit a bump while rolling the cart the bass could fall off.

My right arm thanks me for not carrying around a case that weighs twice as much as the bass with a bass in it.

All my gig bags are very well padded.

Thanks for asking.

I'll have to look into them, then. Thanks Jeremy.

When I was studying a gig bag was my best friend when it came to public transport in the city.

The only hard case I own is a flight case.

I would have suggested the velcro and/or sewing it in place options. Both will work like a champ for keeping the padding in place.



Ever since I got my Incase bag I've used it for pretty much every gig/rehearsal I've done. The biggest exception is when/if I bring my JPJ to something - it's too big to fit in the bag. The Incase bag has a ton of padding and the ability to wear it like a backpack to free up both of my hands is beyond wonderful.

Hm... those Incase bags are looking really good. Expensive though! All of my basses came with rugged hardshells that MSRP for cheaper... nevertheless a good gig bag is probably worth the $$$ for the strain it saves you. They look like they can take a pounding too.

How important is it that the case fits really tight on the bass? Most of these will be constructed with lovely standards like the Fender P or J in mind, but my main player is a fretless 4003 that's got a scale .75'' shorter than the typical 34. Should I be concerned?

The Incase bag is fine for nearly any bass as long as it is 35" or less. My Rogue just barely fits at 35" scale and the sort of longish body shape. My JPJ doesn't fit but that's simply because the triple omega body shape is huge.

I neglected to mention earlier that all the little pouches and storage within the Incase bag is also hugely sexy. I have places for cables, a tuner, wire cutters, set lists, extra 9V batteries, my wireless transmitter, sheet music (if needed), etc... It's like a musician's Bag Of Holding.

Nerd.

Davio, I believe you meant to say, "You're a Bag Of Holding."

I'll let you off the hook this time.

Didn't you know? "Nerd" is Esperanto for "You're a Bag Of Holding." I'm quite the cunning linguist.

You're just jealous because yours turned out to be a Bag of Devouring.

True story.

You're a true story.

Peace.
--s-uu

Ouch.

Hey Brian, is your Incase bag a "Dub" two-bass bag or a single bass carrier? I was thinking about getting the two-bass version, or else going with the Protec Contego single... both seem quite solid. Anyways, if you (or anyone who reads this) use the "Dub" or another double carrier, I was wondering if that extra room was useful even without a second bass in tow? It seems like it could be a versatile way of storing even more accessories. However I also wondered if there might be any "interaction" between anything stored in the two instrument compartments and if that might cause problems. I'm really tempted to grab one so I can keep my main fretted and fretless basses together and always have them ready... but perhaps it's a wasted effort as I've never actually needed a backup bass to date.

I can't imagine having to carry a double gig bag on my back. Yuck.

Good luck tracking down Brian. He hasn't been around in quite some time.

The bag itself is another pound of weight. Add 7-10 more pounds for the extra bass I suppose... but it seems better to me than lugging around a hardshell case by hand.

Understood, but I lug my gig bag, backpack and cab around on the subway and buses...10 more pounds just doesn't sound very inviting to me after a night like last night. If I drove to gigs it would be a different story all together.

What kind of cab are you hauling around on public transit?

My AccuGroove Tri-112L...and a GK MB2-500 in the laptop compartment in my backpack (which also holds tons of other stuff).

Sorry, didn't mean to get off the gig bag topic just because I wouldn't carry a double on my back.

Does anybody have Brian's phone number? I lost it with one of my old cell phones but I tried emailing him a week or so ago...no reply.