I don’t understand you bag people.

DrumDoug

DrumDoug

Senior Member
I’ve been playing with a local community college jazz band. This semester I’ve started taking my Gretsch Catalina kit that I have in bags. I have this kit for the times when I have to hand carry my drums instead of using my cart. Getting drums into and out of bags is such a pain, especially the bass drum. Hard cases are so much easier to stack and get drums in and out of. My kits in hard cases aren’t tuned for jazz but I might start taking them anyway just because bags are such a hassle. I’ll duck down now, awaiting your slings and arrows.
 
DrumDoug said:
I’ve been playing with a local community college jazz band. This semester I’ve started taking my Gretsch Catalina kit that I have in bags. I have this kit for the times when I have to hand carry my drums instead of using my cart. Getting drums into and out of bags is such a pain, especially the bass drum. Hard cases are so much easier to stack and get drums in and out of. My kits in hard cases aren’t tuned for jazz but I might start taking them anyway just because bags are such a hassle. I’ll duck down now, awaiting your slings and arrows.
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I prefer hard cases too and use them for my Prems and snare drums; my Pearl Export has bags. Yes, it’s the bass drums that are the most tricky to get into and out of a bag in my experience…:unsure::)(y)
 
DrumDoug said:
I’ve been playing with a local community college jazz band. This semester I’ve started taking my Gretsch Catalina kit that I have in bags. I have this kit for the times when I have to hand carry my drums instead of using my cart. Getting drums into and out of bags is such a pain, especially the bass drum. Hard cases are so much easier to stack and get drums in and out of. My kits in hard cases aren’t tuned for jazz but I might start taking them anyway just because bags are such a hassle. I’ll duck down now, awaiting your slings and arrows.
Click to expand...

I used to think the same thing until I got Ahead Armor bags which split down the sides for easy loading.
 

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DrumDoug said:
I’ll duck down now, awaiting your slings and arrows.
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All you gotta understand is diff strokes for diff folks. Everyone’s needs are different. I couldn’t fit a four piece kit in hard cases into my Mini Clubman. And I’d rather drive the car of my choice 365 days a year, as opposed to getting a van or a pickup for gig days.

The only soft case I have trouble with is the kick. Spurs, t-rods and tom mount all seem to get hung up on the edge of the case.

Quick tip: lay the drum on the floor and drop the case over it, as opposed to trying to drop the drum into the case.
 
I didn't have anything for the first year of owning my Tama kit. I played out only a couple times with it, so I thought I was safe. Then we were scheduled to play at a place where I'd need to transport my drums about two blocks, and it was raining. I made a quick stop at my local drum shop (now long gone) and the owner gave me the 101 on bags vs. cases. I went with the cheapest bags they had ($90 for a 5-piece set) and they've served me well for over a decade.

My favorite feature: the snare/tom bags nest into the bass drum bag, eliminating the need to take them back to my truck during a gig.

I made an amateur mistake a few years ago, though. At a Sweetwater GearFest a 4' hardware bag (with rollers) was on sale for cheap! I snatched only to realize later that, when its full it's too heavy for me to heft into my truck bed. 😭 Now it sits on my storage rack, holding hardware that gets used only occasionally.
 
ottog1979 said:
Bass drum bags: Don't put the drum in the bag, instead put the bag on the drum. I put the bass drum head side down then slide the bag over it. Then turn it upside down and zip the top/cover.
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I actually put the bass drum on the throne and slip the case onto the drum. That way I don’t have to bend over so much trying to get the bag around the spurs and tom mount.
 
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ottog1979 said:
Bass drum bags: Don't put the drum in the bag, instead put the bag on the drum. I put the bass drum head side down then slide the bag over it. Then turn it upside down and zip the top/cover.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that. I’m going to give it a try. I was recently looking for a hard case only because I hate putting the bass drum in its bag. Just painful.
 
I prefer bags because there's some wiggle room when loading them into the car. If my whole kit was in hard cases I would have to leave half of my gear at home.

I can also carry multiple drums at a time when they're in bags. The added weight and bulk of hard cases means I'd be carrying most everything one piece at a time.

I guess all of my bags are a bit oversized, because I've never really had any issues putting in or taking out of bags.

My one exception is a hard case for my Supersensitive snare. I don't want to have worry about the throw mechanism getting bumped around.
 
One other helpful hint that really works for me with bags. Use your bass drum as a "table" for bagging the smaller drums. I "nest" all my bags (Russian doll style) when they're not in use. When packing up, I'll turn the bass drum to one head-side down, place the nested bags on top and start inserting the drums, smallest first. That way I don't have to bend over all the way to the floor or get on my knees to bag drums. Once all the small drums are bagged, I turn the bass drum bag over to put on one the bass drum already sitting in place. Easy, quick, efficient.
 
criz p. critter said:
All you gotta understand is diff strokes for diff folks. Everyone’s needs are different. I couldn’t fit a four piece kit in hard cases into my Mini Clubman. And I’d rather drive the car of my choice 365 days a year, as opposed to getting a van or a pickup for gig days.

The only soft case I have trouble with is the kick. Spurs, t-rods and tom mount all seem to get hung up on the edge of the case.

Quick tip: lay the drum on the floor and drop the case over it, as opposed to trying to drop the drum into the case.
Click to expand...
Yeah, this, and different tools for different situations. I have a combination of the two solutions.
 
I've always used mainly bags, Protection Racket bags are sturdy enough that dropping even the bass drum in was never a problem when I had them. I did have a hard case for a 20" bass drum which was excellent but now I'm using a 22" it's a job to fit it in the car, no way could I manage with a hard case.
It's horses for courses, the only person who handles my kit is me and even the cheap generic Pearl and Mapex bags I've currently got are good enough. If other people were routinely moving my kit or throwing it in a van then I'd more than likely go down the hard case route.
 
I’ve been using bags for years. With RIMS suspension I always bought 1 size up, especially for the bass. Never been that big of a deal.
With Ahead bags that is not the case, they are great, size specific.
 
dboomer said:
I used to think the same thing until I got Ahead Armor bags which split down the sides for easy loading.
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Couldn't be happier with mine. The term "soft case" is more appropriate for these than drum bag.
 
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Bags are certainly a softer landing...
padded of course 😁
 
I have always been anti bag, mostly b/c I dont tend to trust "helpers" at the end of a gig, but with my jazz set, I have been considering them to make the trips easier. I would buy each bag one size bigger than the drum to avoid the "fight" of getting the drums in, as well as put the bag on the drum - like @ottog1979 mentioned - rather than drum into the bag
 
My BEATO bags work well for me. Robust enough to remain upright while I insert the drum.
 
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