Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Alembic Basses & Guitars => Topic started by: moongerm on April 07, 2015, 06:36:35 PM
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Not sure if anyone has had experiences with either of these gig bag cases below or anything else for that matter, that may be best suited for supporting those fragile omega tips?
GruvGear
http://www.gruvgear.com/gigblade (http://www.gruvgear.com/gigblade) (you can buy addl' foam inserts to support the bottom tip of the bass which I thought was neat).
and
Mono
http://monocreators.com/vertigo-electric-bass/ (http://monocreators.com/vertigo-electric-bass/)
I checked out the Mooradian cases site and couldn?t determine much about them.
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Gigbag + omega = heartache.
I wouldn't leave the house with a First Act in a gigbag; an Alembic deserves a minimum of a hard case.
Peter
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I bought the Mono Vertigo bag for all my bass travel needs.. only thing better would be a hard case. Only complaint is it's made in China for $250.... but the quality is good.
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Peter, Yes you are right on, agreed not worth the risk. In nyc and even in nj in some cases (no pun intended) it is a pain in the arm to lug the old ball and chain hardshell 10 plus blocks, trek a campus, or maneuver through a busy train terminal when good parking is out of the question.
Samsamaha, thanks for the feedback on Mono, I will give them a look.
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Brian SKB makes an I series hard shell waterproof case that has inline skate wheels. They cost $279. I have one, it is a little heavy but I usually roll it. It seals and they say if it were to fall in water it will float and the bass will stay completely dry. I bought it to roll through airports to avoid gigbags, or to have to carry a hard case. It also has a pressure valve for flying. You might look into something like that.
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Thanks Darrell. Checking them out now. Very interesting.
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after second thought, and after putting my new Omega body today, I don't think I would gig back it either... there never is any assurance that it will not stand up on it's own weight.. I might have to retract my comment as it relates to this body style, but for any other bass, the Mono is a good bag.
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Just to add to what's already been said; it's a good idea to think of Omega tips as being extremely fragile. One should endeavor to avoid letting them come in contact with anything other than when the instrument is in its hard shell case.
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Thanks Dave. The hardshell case does make the most sense. When I saw that the Gruv Gear gig blade has the ability to add additional foam spacers on the bottom of the bass so the tips will stay as far away from the wall I got a little excited. The SKB is neat too because it forces you to rest the bass on its side.
(Message edited by moongerm on April 11, 2015)
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Ok, I know it is not recommended but I bought a Reunion Blues Continental case and added in some extra gruv gear padding where I cut out the foam for the omega tipped area to float. I believe it will work. Got a gig tonight so we'll see if I am wrong for trying this. Wish me luck. :-\ gulp
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Owning an Omega shaped axe, I've always steered clear of bags . . . . . but looking at that pic looking down on the bass in the case from above, IF it had a padded post with an OD a bit smaller than the Omega's ID, it would 'cinch' and wouldn't move. Of course, I've no idea who'd Frankenstein such a thing !
Joey
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I am happy to report that this arrangement worked out very well. I had the bass standing upright in the case and treated it as if is had no omega at all and there were no issues. The bass does not budge inside the case and is overwhelmingly padded. I should add I have 1" extra padding at the base. As such my bass is a 32" scale and there is not much more room at the headstock area of the case.
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Brian -
I've been using the same Reunion Blues Continental gig bag for my S2 with heart omega for a couple of years now. It only travels flat in the back of my SUV, and pretty much only to the church and back, but I'm happy to report no problems at all. One observation: I don't ever stand the case completely vertical, so the weight never rests on the omega cut. It's either flat or horizontal or even when it's vertical, it's leaning. Not from some genius awareness on my part - just seems to work out that way.
Having said all that, your post really got me thinking about potential stress on the omega cut. Reunion Blues doesn't make support blocks like you show, and I was looking at having something made until I saw your Gruv Gear solution.
Ordered a pair tonight. Thanks for the idea.
JFT
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Good to hear. You may want to get the more shallow version as the 1" is almost too thick as you can see. Post a pic if you get a chance?
Best, Brian
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Well... I recommend against gig bags for Omega-tipped basses. I was carrying one of my Series basses with an Omega tip in a gig bag which somehow slipped off my shoulders, fell straight down my back and hit the street. One of the Omega tips snapped completely off. The gig bag was a good one - a Mooradian with 1 " foam padding. The bag didn't fail as it was never designed to protect that part of a bass from an approximately 3 foot fall. Had a been using a hardshell case and dropped it from the same height the bass would have been fine. I guess I think of it this way... if it's too much of a PIA to carry the bass in a hard case from vehicle to gig why am I playing a heavy Alembic at the gig, anyway? To me, gig bags are a compromise required if one is walking to a gig or taking the subway or bus. Other than that... its hard cases for me. YMMV, of course.
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check out the one i ve bought one yaer ago in thomann ,talking abouy the protec semi rigid ones .,,,are great
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Everyone has their own experiences. For those that only use hard cases, that's your conviction and you should stick with it because it works for you. I haven't taken a hard case to a gig in more than 15 years. And then it was because I was flying to the gig in Florida. Doesn't matter if I'm taking an Alembic or any of my other basses. A sufficiently padded gig bag works well for me. One of my Alembics is a Point, the other is an Omega. The Point gets the most work (5-string vs 4-string) Which ever one I take travels in a leather bag that was the prototype for the leather bags that Alembic used to sell through the Alembic store.
For me, the advantage of having a gig bag instead of a hard case is that I can maintain better control of my instrument because if it's not in my hands, it's on my back. And my hands are free for other things I may need to do. So, for example, during load ins or packing up from a gig, I don't have to ask a band member to stay with the gear so my bass doesn't walk away. I don't have to worry myself sick that between trips to the car, someone might lift my bass. It's on my back until I'm ready to sit in the driver's seat and leave.
The bag is leaning against the wall behind my rig in the picture below.
(http://i590.photobucket.com/albums/ss348/martinjlm/Alembic%20Basses/7FCCE27E-D6C6-48A6-AB3F-97458B7B8BFA_zpsmkhzxstm.jpg)
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Everybody's needs / experiences with cases and gig bags has the potential to be unique. Those of you who exclusively use cases, that's great, because that's what works for you. For me, gig bags work best. I haven't used a hard case at a gig in at least 15 years. And that last time was because I needed to fly to Florida and so I needed to check my Alembic 5 string.
I prefer gig bags for transporting all of my basses to gigs. That includes a 5-string Point Alembic and a 4-string Omega. The bag that they live in is a leather bag that was the prototype for the leather bags that Alembic used to sell at the Alembic Store. It is very well padded. I did add a little more padding to the bottom of mine, though because the point tends to focus the weight stress onto a very small area. This was more of a preemptive move on my part to head of long term wear.
The reason I like gig bags over hard cases is that they provide me an extra dimension of control of my instrument. When we are loading or unloading equipment, I know EXACTLY where my bass is. It's on my back. It also frees up my hands for dealing with other equipment, the occasional beer, signing autographs (j/k). Sure, hard cases provide more physical protection, but ime, a sufficiently padded gig bag provides the best balance of physical and possession protection.
TRIED TO DELETE THIS POST. POSTED BECAUSE I THOUGHT THE ONE WITH THE PHOTO DIDN'T POST.
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All points are completely valid. Steve you are right on being against the soft case, especially in your experience, as it is the safest bet. If anyone has a shred of doubt on soft cases, just use the hard shell case and be worry free. I probably would be beside myself if the neck or at least half beside myself if the omega tips broke.
I just wanted to point to out for me that this formula of the added padding and this particular Reunion Continental case can make it possible to leave the hard shell case at home, if desired. I wouldn't take a risk with my fairly new custom Series 2 if I didn't think the risk factor was very low. -Brian
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The real question is, why spend thousands on an instrument and not do everything you can to protect your investment.
In some cases.. pardon the pun, the bass may cost you as much as a car.. or more, as in my case.. again, no pun intended...
Even in that old clunker I wouldn't leave it unlocked or leave the keys in it...Again, no pun intended...
Don't cheap out.. go hard...
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Im with Malthumb on this and am extremely careful with my instruments and I choose my gig bags with care and use them carefully.
I do have the standard G & G cases that the basses and guitars came in but I do not trust those old suitcase type clips after having one fail on a strat case in the past and another two that came with basses have had those clips replaced with something else. I think in this day and age there must be better and more secure fixings for those type of cases. My view is they are that way because of tradition. I accept I may be wrong on that point. :-) but my hard cases are mainly for storage of the basses.
If you had your bass in a car in the gig bag or the standard case and got into a crash I doubt either would protect your bass adequately and neither are designed for protection from that kind of thing.
I use my gig bag for 99% of the time I take my bass or guitar out of the house to gigs or rehearsals. Where it's in the back of a van with gear I take a proper aluminium flight case. Where it's in my car i always keep the gig bag strapped down in the passenger compartment and not the boot ( trunk) since those are part of the crumple zone on cars these days.
The other good thing about the gig bag is I can keep my bass with me all the time which is more of the kind of protection you need these days.
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Paul I know it's personal preference but I have g & g cases for all four of my Alembics, I also have a SKB I series case as well as flight cases that I never use. The reason is that I use my Reunion Blues Continental gig bags that protect them much better than the hard cases. If you get time, go on YouTube and look up Reunion Blues drop test. You will see that they can withstand impacts and leave the guitar damage free, that would cause a hard case to explode and destroy the guitar. My 2ยข worth!