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Sure.
Gigbags are not as much of a closed air chamber as a hardshell case, but they do hold moisture better than you may think.
With the dry heating season starting in "a meaningful way" more or less today in the northeast US, I am showing an M80 bag with two Humicase units in it.
They come with velcro on the units. So a little careful, non-messy hot-melt glue and we have velcro also inside the case. It is quite secure.
Funciona de cojones.
Chris
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11-04-2012 11:56 AM
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Forget the case, tell me about that sassy-looking guitar.
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The more interesting question is: What's the axe hiding in the case?
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The axe is something I built last winter trying to squeeze as much acoustic character as practical into a tiny box.
But to the humidity thing: This guitar is all solid spruce and mahog' - so humidification is pretty necessary. I have a Humicase hardshell case for it, but man the M80 bag and a tiny hollowbody guitar is silly-light - and now humidified.
Oddly enough, the interior of the M80 seems to absorb less moisture than the
hardshell interior with its very light open-cell foam.
Chris
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seriously, a new thread with pics of that guitar. looks unbelievable.
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Not needed for a few reasons in my opinion.
There is an old build thread on it. I'll do a search,...
EDIT: OK, found it:
https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/guita...-interest.html
Chris
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It's a nice archie, PTChris. Don't be shy about it. I bet it sounds as nice as it looks.
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Hi Jabber,
It's not shyness, but rather that it's old news.
It does indeed sound quite good. My sound sample is really not very indicative of the sound. First off, my playing was very clenched-sounding - but also, as the lacquer continued to dry over a month or two the sound really gained quite a bit of character in the upper end and in clear harmonics on low notes. I'm definitely happy with the sound.
I will eventually make a second one with a larger body width (15 1/2 to 16") and a more carved back shape for almost Strat-like ergonomics.
I'll also go for a different look with super-fine grained Alaskan yellow cedar and maybe some shiny hardware and more extensive binding (could hardly be less extensive,...).
Chris
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I can't think of a good reason not to do this. When the Fusion gig bag gets here, going to make this mod. Thanks for taking the time to post this.
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Chris, in terms of using a gig bag, i have a mono, and wondered how you rate it for protection against sudden changes in temp? I was led to believe it's sudden changes that I've got to be careful about. I'd love to humidify my gigbag and use that instead of a hardcase, but with winter round the corner (alright, arrived) i was scared to use it....
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Whosgareth,
>>> mono, and wondered how you rate it for protection against sudden changes in temp?
In my opinion, when considering thickness, density, trapped air, etc. the Monocase would offer at least as good insulation (thus buffering temp changes) as the usual hardshell cases.
As for abrupt humidity changes - these are partly buffered by the wood in the guitar itself - the moisture takes quite a while to get to the full depth of the wood.
I do think that moist gigbags will breathe a bit more than most hardshell cases. Not so much because of the zipper, but because movement causes the case to deform slightly - and often this likely moves some air into or out of the bag.
>>> I was led to believe it's sudden changes that I've got to be careful about.
In my view, sudden changes are often responsible for finish checking and some types of cracks. But non-sudden changes can also cause problems.
I have laminate guitars that I completely leave alone all year, and they deal with the annual humidity cycle just fine. But others have troubles even with a very gradual humidity change.
I would summarise as:
- Definitely always avoid ALL sudden temp changes. Even a 10 degree (C) change can be a problem on some guitars and finishes if very abrupt. And in winter many places easily see a 30 degree (again, C) difference from inside to outside.
- On laminates finished with polyurethane, you can often get away with no humidity control. But this will often require several truss adjustments per year, and may still give trouble in odd odd locations - like around the neck heel block.
- On solid wood hollow body guitars, it is pretty much always a good idea to humidify. The wood can move to a remarkable extent over a few weeks if you do not.
All in my opinion.
Chris
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wow, thanks Chris
i have a carved top, laminate back/sides Hofner, same specs as the vice president, but only 2 1/2 deep.
it's my working/main guitar, so it goes from house to car to venues etc a lot. i wanna use a gig bag but just scared i'll do damage.
you think, in your opinion obviously, that a mono would with humidifier would be a good idea?
like you said, individual guitars respond differently, but just as a ball park.
cheers man
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>>> carved top, laminate back/sides Hofner, same specs as the vice president, but only 2 1/2 deep.
In my opinion a good gig bag with something like an inch of padding all around and a water-resistant covering fabric will do just fine for the Hofner.
I think the M80 or Re-onion Blues Continental would both do the job year round even in Fort McMurray.
I would humidify though, for the sake of the top.
In my opinion, two of the Humicase things will do it. But it is also very easy to make your own humidifier from a sponge and a travel soap container (with a pile of holes drilled in it.)
Still all in my opinion.
Chris
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M80 and Reunion Blues continental have 30mm insulation (1.2 in). Would be nice is M80 would come out in a 17" model.
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I am happily using an M80 Dreadnought size for my Sadowsky JH. It lives in the bag rather than the original hard shell. If Chris is right, I would love to leave it in there all winter. Our winters are pretty tough from a humidity perspective. I will test it out. Great information. Thanks.
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I've read that the M80 has PVC reinforced ends. Is this enough protection to rival what you would get from a hard shelled case, or does one still have to give up significant protection in order to live with a gig bag?
Originally Posted by msr13
I would like to get a gig bag to replace the thin fiberglass case that came with my Eastman 805CE. While the 805's case looks great, it is too thin and has too little padding to make me think that it would withstand a bump without causing damage to the guitar's structure or finish.
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>>> If Chris is right,
And that is a huge "IF" - but fortunately easy to see if you will be happy with a humidified gig bag.
Try it out and measure the humidity in the bag. A few days will tell.
>>> I've read that the M80 has PVC reinforced ends. Is this enough protection to rival what you would get from a hard shelled case, or does one still have to give up significant protection in order to live with a gig bag?
A bag such as an M80 or Continental is in many ways superior to a hardshell case for typical swinging and banging around.
But they are notably inferior in crush situations.
So with a bag you need to be careful of stacking anything on top, falling over on your guitar, or pianos falling out of windows and onto the bag.
>>> While the 805's case looks great, it is too thin and has too little padding to make me think that it would withstand a bump without causing damage to the guitar's structure or finish.
In my opinion the Eastman fiberglass cases have too thin and too soft (not dense enough) padding. They also flex so easily on the back flat area, that a crushing blow could be exciting. But for general knock around use, they do seem to do the job just fine.
TKL's can explode at the seams pretty easily but the millions of guitar in them do OK. So many cases have weak links in my view.
Chris
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I have an insulated outer case from Colorado Case that was custom made to fit over my hard shell case. I use it for my Palen Perfromer, there's no way I would put it in a gig bag, it took me 30 years to find the perfect guitar for me. They do provide straps so that you can carry on your back like a gig bag. It's very well made and the insulation helps maintain the environment in the hard shell case. Your guitar looks like a Gem!!!!
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I just checked the M80. It is 46% RH in the room and 65% RH in the M80 after two days of the two Humicase gizmos. So if anything, two may be overkill for this small bag until the house gets dryer.
I can try a Continental as well, but I suspect the situation will be similar and I do not really use the RB Continental.
>>> my Palen Perfromer, there's no way I would put it in a gig bag,
There are many who definitely feel that way about the whole gig bag concept. So the case cover and usable straps sound great in that case.
Get it? "In that case" - man, I crack myself up sometimes,....
Chris
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I've been waiting to find someone who has both Mono M80 and the Reunion Blues Continental gig bags in order to compare. You mentioned that you use the M80 while the Continental stays in the closet. Originally Posted by PTChristopher
Why do you prefer the M80?
Have you used either of two brands' acoustic dreadnought sized bags?
I have read that the Reunion Blues Continental will fit a 17" guitar. Would the Mono M80 fit a 17" guitar?
Thanks again,
Klatu
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here's my solution, bit of velcro hangs from the neck support....
couldn't rotate the image for some reason (i'm stupid) but ya get the idea. it's the Humidifier from my Hofner Case.....
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Your Jazzica has a 16" lower bout and it looks to fit comfortably in the M80 Dreadnought bag. Do you think there is enough room in there to squeeze a 17" guitar in there? Originally Posted by whosgarethparry
How would you compare the protection that this gig bag offers to that of the typical hard case that is supplied with most archtops?
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yes..mine is a Thin Prsident, not a jazzica. width would fit, it's body depth that is the issue. mine is 2.5" deep, and i would say that is the absolute thickest you could go. some of the extra space is definitely used to compensate for the depth.
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Are you using the Dreadnought size?
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Klatu,
I have a dread M80 as well.
It will fit my 16" X 3" X-180 and it fit my erstwhile Epi Byrdland.
But it will still not hold a 17" X 3" guitar.
>>> Why do you prefer the M80?
Smaller, lighter, much better strap location, and better pockets than the Re-Onion Conti.
>>> Have you used either of two brands' acoustic dreadnought sized bags?
Only the M80.
>>> Would the Mono M80 fit a 17" guitar?
Only a thin body like the Byrdland. Otherwise, no.
Chris
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