Best Bags & Cases

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

Since the old search function on the old forum doesn't work I thought I'd start a new thread on this.

I need some advice on good bags and cases, preferably from experienced users. I'm currently mostly transporting it myself, but that probably won't be the case for too long.

So who in your opinion makes the best stuff.

I'd also like some specific cymbal bag/safe recommendation. It needs to take a couple of 22' rides, a 20' china and several crashes and splashes.

[Matus]

If you're in for tough touring (trucks and all), the best option is making a couple of custom flight cases with wheels and stuff. I'm always on a budget, so I went with plastic cases.
I can't really tell you that much about other brands besides the usual Hardcase. The plastic is good and so far I've had no problems with any of the cases, but I did modify them a little bit because they don't have any cushioning whatsoever. So this is what I did:
http://portal.batacas.com/index.php?opt ... &Itemid=74
These are actual pictures of my own project. I bought thin foam, furry fabric, measured the pieces, cut them and sew the whole thing. Then stuck it to the surface with velcro. The kit suffered a truck accident 4 or 5 years ago and there wasn't even a scratch on the shells
And I recently bought some Stagg cases from musicstore.de, including a nice hardware case. I have to replace some metal pieces to make it stronger, but the plastic structure is great.
About cymbal bags, Rockbag by Warwick makes great stuff. I'm using a bag line Yamaha put out a few years ago, not sure if it's available worldwide. But above all things make sure it has wheels. Your back will be relieved and it's great to pass it as cabin baggage

[YamahaPlayer]

Yea, need more info. Large scale touring? Small scale self hauling? Do you have to fit everything in your '96 metro... etc...?

As far as you're cymbals, I don't think there's anything that will take a huge volume of large cymbals that is a bag. That and the weight starts to add up when you're talking about "a couple of 22" rides and china's.."

[Christopher]

For hard shell cases, I really like the SKB roto X line. They take some abuse and stand up well.

I have their rolling cymbal case as well. It will hold your 22" ride, but you may have trouble with your china depending on its bell and how many other cymbals you're looking to put in. I fit a 21" ride, 17 and 18" crashes, a pair of 14" hats and a 10" splash. At that point it's chock full. Great case though. My only gripe would be that it be slightly larger.

For bags, Protection Racket gets my vote. Great bags.

Neither of these brands are cheap though.

Everything is so frigging expensive nowadays it seems.

[Tombo 7/4]

If you gig a lot, hard cases, from my experience are the way to go. I've had my Humes & Berg Enduros for 20 years and I can't count the number of times they salvage my drums. I've padded them with high density foam to fit but you can get them padded also. If you want to get help to carry your gear you'll eventually fall on clumsy or careless people. No bags could fully protect drums in downstairs or stage falls. You need a hard out/soft in combo to take the impact when your drum falls on the hoop edge. You can stack them high (good bloking system and no stress on shells) or throw them for a slide, they'll take it. I recently bought one for an additional tom and they're still the reference. Expensive though.

For hardware I've had my faithful Drumslinger designed by Bob Gatzen for 20 years.

Hard cymbal case too for me. I've had the same Zildjian cymbal safe for 26 years. Can hold my setup: 2 rides, 2 hi-hat pairs, 3 crashes, 1 china. Last summer while packing my car, I forgot my cymbal case behind and rolled on it with my car. The case cracked a bit but the cymbals were intact. Bags? Nope!

In all cases, stay away from the cheap cardboard Nomads.

[YamahaPlayer]

2 rides, 2 hats... no crashes?! crazy.


No matter what you buy, it won't last 20 years. Period. Soft bags are awesome, Protection Racket for sure. But regular (weekly) gigging, you're just going to chew through stuff, don't care who you are.

And you know what, if you're worried about scratching your chrome, get over it. Just don't ding your sells that bad, and you'll be fine. Heck for the money, it's worth it to just buy a "beater" kit for those gigs.

Heck if it's the wrapped Tour Customs or the PHX's for a punk/metal club... guess which kit wins everytime?

[Paul Rivet]

I highly recommend the Protection Racket soft cases. They're fantastic, not too pricey and are very durable.

I particularly like the additional "handles" on the bass drum bag, it's great for hauling it out of a pickup or van when you can't reach the top handle.

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

Simply put I'm an old guitarplayer that started sharpening my drum skills more when I had to start teaching all the band instruments in my current job. I got a bit hooked and since there's always a need for drummers (I've had my share of problems finding decent ones) I'm puttin together everything I need for all situations. Semi-accoustic jazz gigs and the like are what I'll be doing mostly, and then I'll be able to travel light, but since I'm not really limited financially and I'm getting old I just want to get everything I need(want) to do other stuff as well. So to answer about situations, I need something for every occasion. My kit is basically a Vinnie kit, with an extra bass drum for jazz stuff and some fun hand percussion on the side.

I guess this means I need different things for different situations. I'm driving a lot myself, but I guess I need to be able to do everything from hipgig style on my back on a train to being able to trust someone else completely with my gear in the back of a truck. Flight cases are probably the best, but heavy and a little extreme.

I will check out the recommendations so far.

[YamahaPlayer]

Flight cases are extremely expensive and totally useless unless you are touring with major hauling capacity. Additionally flight cases take up tons of room when not in use. They will never fit in a car for instance.

From the sound of it, soft cases would be just fine for you. The nice advantage to soft cases is you can grab multiple cases in one hand.

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

Yeah. I'll hold the flight cases until I need them. Got good contacts on those, still big heavy and expensive, though.

Also got a recomendation on Beato bags. Any experience with those. They have some double bags that sound interesting for light travel.

I guess some sort of light trolley should be a priority.

Thanks for the help so far.