The Best Cases & Gig Bags for Bass Guitars

As a bass guitar player, you may travel to gigs often. Not only will you want to do so in style, but also keep your instrument in the best condition possible. The best way to achieve this is by carting your bass guitar in a case or gig bag made specifically for the protection of your instrument.

While there are many different gig bags on the market for bass guitars, we are here to tell you which one is our top pick and why. We have sifted through many cases and gig bags to try and find the best one to recommend for our readers.

Want to know why we have chosen our top pick? Keep reading to find that out, who our runner up was, and what other cases we considered.

Why You Should Trust Us

We pride ourselves on only providing our readers with the best recommendations. This is no different. We have spent hours weeding through all of the various bass guitar cases and gig bags available on the market and scrutinizing every last detail to hand-pick the perfect case that is up to our standards to recommend to our readers.

We put in the research to ensure that our final picks are something we would be proud to recommend to our readers. Our readers’ satisfaction is what matters most to us. We hope you come back for more as you are in search of anything else in the musical world. We do our best to offer recommendations on a vast number of items.

How to Choose the Best Case or Gig Bag

When it comes to choosing the best case or gig bag for your bass guitar, it is important to know what to look for. You do not want just to accept any old case you might find. When you are traveling to gigs with your bass guitar, you are looking to make your travels a little easier.

A gig bag with the proper padding and support is a must. You will want something that disperses the weight evenly while making it easy to carry over your shoulder.

There may also be times where carrying over your shoulder may not be an option, so you will want to find a case with a sturdy carrying handle as well. As you travel rain or shine, you want to consider a water-resistant bag for the protection of your instrument.

While the main purpose of any case or gig bag you choose is protection, there are also other minor things you may also want to look for. If you have specific picks you use or music you like to bring with you, you should find a gig bag with an outer pocket to carry your music and small supplies for your bass guitar. This will just make it convenient to have everything all in one place.

Other Benefits of Having a Case or Gig Bag

While protection is almost always the number one thing people think about as a benefit when it comes to owning a gig bag or case for an instrument, there are many other perks to having one as well.

Keeping your instrument free and clear from dust and dirt is another benefit of having something to store and cart your instrument in. If you are playing at a gig outside or somewhere there is a lot of dust or smoke, you will want to keep your instrument close to you and sealed when not in use. This will help to maintain the condition of your guitar.

When you are traveling to gigs, unfortunate accidents can happen. The best way to prevent this from happening is by keeping your bass guitar in the case or gig bag and on you when not in use. It is always wise to take preventative measures for the protection and safety of your instrument.

Having somewhere to store your instrument when it is not currently in use is wise. Being able to use it for safe and ease of traveling is just another bonus.

Hard vs. Soft

There seems to be a little controversy over whether a hard or soft case is better for storing and carting around your bass guitar.

While we think this is just a matter of opinion and what you like, we have found we like the soft cases and gig bags better. They seem easier to carry and are better able to disperse the weight evenly; having the ability to carry your instrument both over the shoulder and by hand is convenient.

Some people feel that better protection comes from a hard case, but that is not always true. Many soft cases have the features necessary to protect your instrument just as well. It is all a matter of design and padding.

We prefer the soft cases because they are lightweight and easier to manage when traveling to gigs. The safety and protection of your guitar is still covered just as well with a soft case.

We do not believe hard cases are bad by any means; they are just not our style. We find them to be a bit on the bulky side and not as easy to carry when traveling. The hard cases also tend to take up a little more room than the soft cases.

If you do not mind the bulk and don’t mind a little awkwardness in carrying, then don’t be opposed to a hard case. We just want our readers to have an easy time with what they choose.

The Competition

After hours of testing and research, here's the final competition.

Instrument	Rating	Current Pricing
Phitz PH89941SFB	Has double stitching for the stress points to ensure the safety of your instrument
Mono M80	he storage pouch featured in the front is similar to what you would find on a messenger-style bag, which would allow for the safe and convenient transporting
Gator GBE-AC-BASS	Has decent padding to ensure the protection and safety of your guitar
World Tour Deluxe 20mm	It features both hand straps and backpack-like straps, which gives you the option to carry your guitar in the gig bag however you feel most comfortable
ChromaCast CC-BPB-BAG-KIT-1	Impressed with how many storage pockets were available
MONO M80 Sleeve Bass Case	The backpack design of this bag as it makes for easy transporting with ease and comfort
Phitz Bass Guitar Case	The inner fabric is diamond-textured for extra protection and support

Our Top Recommendation: Phitz PH89941SFB

After carefully reviewing many different cases and gig bags for bass guitars, we have been able to select our top choice and recommendation for our readers. The Phitz Bass Guitar Case PH89941SFB has won our vote all across the board.

Don’t let the affordability of this case fool you. It is not your average cheap carrying case. It possesses all of the features for a protective case for your bass guitar.

Not only does it have extra padding for protection, it also has heavy-duty luggage quality thread throughout the design of the entire case. It has double stitching for the stress points to ensure the safety of your instrument.

It comes with convenient pockets for storing your music in the front and a smaller pocket along the neck for storing tuners, picks, and other smaller essentials. This case will accommodate carrying most common solid-body electric bass guitars.

This is more of a gig bag than a case, but it has surpassed everything we would look for in a gig bag. It is constructed using only high-quality materials keeping protection in safety in mind throughout the entire bag.

The space available for storing everything you need is also a great perk of this gig bag. There’s a lot of reinforcements on this gig bag, which made us feel that no matter where a guitar was transported in this bag that it would be protected. The weight of the guitar will not matter as this gig bag is great at evenly dispersing the weight.

All of the features of this bag might make a bassist think they will spend a great deal of money, but that is not the case here. This is a very affordable gig bag for your bass guitar ranging between $35 and $40. You are getting a high-quality gig bag at a phenomenal price.

Runner Up: Mono M80

While we were completely blown away by the Phitz Bass Guitar Case, we had a close runner up. Our runner up was the Mono M80 Sleeve Bass Case. This gig bag features a lot of great construction features that aid in the protection of your instrument.

The storage pouch featured in the front is similar to what you would find on a messenger-style bag, which would allow for the safe and convenient transporting of not only your guitar and the essentials that go with it but also a smaller laptop.

It is a top-loading bag, which allows for easy access where you can quickly unzip your bag and pull your guitar right out. The cost of this bag is higher than our top pick at around $150, but it does possess all the right features necessary for protection and safety of your instrument.

While we liked most of the features of this bag, the only area it concerned us was the padding on the shoulder straps. We just didn’t feel like it was enough for any potential long treks with this gig bag.

The pros and cons are what made this gig bag our runner up. No bag is perfect, but we are very careful reviewers.

Pros

It’s a top-loading bag. This means you can unzip and unload instead of having to lay it out on the floor, unzip, and unload. This is just a more convenient way of crafting a gig bag for traveling bassists.

The backpack design of this bag as it makes for easy transporting with ease and comfort. The backpack designs tend to disperse the weight more evenly, which means it’s no longer a hassle to travel with.

We were also pleased with this bag being water-resistant. You never know when you may end up getting caught in the rain and you don’t want a little moisture to ruin your precious instrument.

Cons

There were only a couple of minor things that caused this gig bag to not make the cut for our top pick. First, the shoulder straps did not have as much padding as we like. We do think it’s sturdy, but we like gig bags to provide a little more comfort as there can be crowds to get through when setting up for gigs.

While it is a little pricey at around $150, it is an overall good gig bag for the cost.

Other Bags to Consider:

Gator GBE-AC-BASS Bass Guitar Bag

As we reviewed several choices in cases and gig bags for bass guitars, this was one bag that we felt was a solid consideration. It competed well for our top pick, but just couldn’t quite surpass the Phitz or Mono. Nonetheless, this is still a great choice among gig bags for bass guitars. We were pleased with many of the features this bag possessed and still recommend it as a potential choice in gig bags.

We liked the sturdiness of this bag. It has decent padding to ensure the protection and safety of your guitar. The storage is a zippered compartment that would be perfect for music, picks, and other essential needs for when playing at your gigs.

This gig bag meets all the basic needs of your standard gig bag. There aren’t any bells or whistles that truly made it stand out, but for the price of around $40, you aren’t losing a lot of money. It will hold up against regular wear and tear and minimal knocks and dings.

However, the padding it has isn’t enough to keep it completely safe, which is why it did not win our top pick. Also, we did not find the straps to be as sturdy as we wish. It is possible to reinforce, but we feel that a gig bag should arrive ready to use to its full capacity without having to add to it.

So, if you do not travel too much or are confident in your ability to keep your instrument safe by being extra careful, this gig bag could still be an option for you. We also found that this bag measured a little on the smaller side, which makes it difficult to know if it will fit your guitar.

The measurements of your guitar should be known before purchasing this bag. Any guitar longer than 40″ or more than 5″ thick will not fit in this bag. A guitar with those exact measurements will also be a very snug fit, which could make it a little bit of a struggle to get your guitar in and out of the bag.

So, this is a good beater bag for your bass guitar, but we won’t swear on the protection or support you may or may not receive with this bass guitar gig bag.

World Tour Deluxe 20mm Acoustic-Electric Bass Gig Bag

Another bass guitar gig bag that landed itself on our list of top gig bags is the World Tour Deluxe. It was crafted with good construction featuring solid zippers and proper stitching that allows the bag to be sturdy.

The outer fabric is heavy-duty and tear resistant, which is a useful feature for any traveling bassist. You do not want to have to worry about simple tears just from carting your guitar to a gig.

The inside fabric is lighter weight, but the high-density foam lining is perfect for protecting your guitar from sharp edges or any shocks you may get during the loading or unloading process of your guitar at gigs. The storage pockets features are good to store straps, cables, picks, tuners, strings, and other smaller necessities when you are on the go traveling to a gig.

The straps are crafted solidly to give way to bearing confidence in carrying your guitar safely. The reinforcement of the straps are well crafted and do not need any extra reinforcement. It features both hand straps and backpack-like straps, which gives you the option to carry your guitar in the gig bag however you feel most comfortable.

As we reviewed this bag, we found that the stitching was heavy-duty and we did not have to worry about any of the stitches pulling out. We were also very pleased with the overall durability of the bag.

We recommend to our readers with confidence, but there were just a few things that made it become eliminated as our top choice.

First, it is not water resistant. Water will not bead off to allow for protection from wetness for your guitar. So, it would be wise to store your guitar with a plastic bag for your guitar just in case you do get caught in the rain if you do choose this bag.

Our only other complaint is the storage compartments available. We are not confident that it will fit all sheet music, especially if your sheet music is in even a small binder.

Outside of those two factors, the bag is an overall good gig bag for your bass guitar. The cost is also very affordable at around $40. You will get a functional, and durable gig bag.

ChromaCast CC-BPB-BAG-KIT-1

There’s a lot to be said about why we like this gig bag for electric bass guitars, but we will start with what you see on the outside. We were impressed with how many storage pockets were available.

We counted six pockets for storage, which made us feel confident that the ability to run out of space for all of your essential items was slim to none. There are three main zipper compartments each with a smaller zippered pocket for easy organization and storage of smaller items.

Its padding allows for the protection of your guitar with confidence. The backpack feature with the straps is nice for allowing you to choose how to carry your guitar in the gig bag. We like the backpack feature because it disperses the weight more evenly allowing the guitar to be carried easier.

This gig bag comes with some extras. The picks come in a variety of sizes and shapes and the strap included is easy to attach. These obviously aren’t requirements in choosing a gig bag for your guitar, but it is a nice extra bonus.

We liked the compactness of this gig bag because it made it easier to carry. Struggling in transport is no worry with this gig bag. We liked the size capacity of this gig bag.

It should comfortably fit any guitar that is 44-inches long, 18-inches wide, and about 5.5-inches thick. With those dimensions, this gig bag will accommodate the size of most bass guitars.

One thing we were not too pleased with was the material of the strap. It is a flimsy nylon, which is not made for good support. However, the guitar strap included is just an extra added bonus. So, we will not knock it too much as most gig bags do not have one included.

Another valid complaint is the craftsmanship of the zipper. It seems to be cheaply designed causing it to break quickly. The zippers just seem to be very cheaply made.

Outside of that, we were pleased with the design and construction of this bag. At the cost of around $35, we felt this was a very functional and affordable gig bag for bass guitars that comes with some nice extra added bonuses.

Phitz Bass Guitar Case

While we already stated this gig bag is our top choice, there is no perfect gig bag. So, we want to go over both the pros and cons of this gig bag for our readers. We did not find too much in the way of cons, but the pros are definitely off the charts in our opinion.

Pros

We were very pleased with the construction of this gig bag. The fabric used is heavy-duty and high-quality. The inner fabric is diamond-textured for extra protection and support. The stitching is strong and tear-proof making this a very solid gig bag for your bass guitar.

The zippers are rugged and high-quality, so you do not have to worry about them breaking off when you are in a rush. This bag is a good size, which allows it to fit many different bass guitars out there of standard size.

We were also pleased with all of the storage space this gig bag has. It definitely has more than enough room to accommodate not only the transport of your bass guitar but also all of your essential items.

We liked the cost of such a well-constructed gig bag; at between $35 and $40, you get a top notch bag that is protective, sturdy, and durable. It also meets our requirement of being water-resistant, so being caught out in the rain with this gig bag is no issue at all.

Cons

We can only come up with two things we didn’t like about this case. First, the Phitz emblem is upside down. This is merely cosmetic, but we figured we mention that the emblem faces you instead of out.

The only other complaint we have is with how it is shipped. It is folded up a little too compactly and does take some working with to make it right upon arrival. We are hopeful in time this may change.

Outside of those two minor things, we are over the moon with this gig bag. We believe anyone who purchases this bass guitar gig bag will be thoroughly pleased as well.

Sources

• Perlmutter, A. (2013, May 11). What to Look for in a Case or Gigbag. Retrieved from Premier Guitar, http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/What_to_Look_for_in_a_Case_or_Gigbag
• The Complete Guitar Case Buying Guide. (2016, March 10). Retrieved from eBay, http://www.ebay.com/gds/The-Complete-Guitar-Case-Buying-Guide-/10000000177635414/g.html