A gig bag (or gigbag) is a padded, soft-sided bag used for the storage and transport of

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

s, most commonly a

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

. A popular alternative to the usually heavier, more cumbersome hard shell cases, most gig bags include pockets for storage of

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

, instrument cables, picks,

straps A strap, sometimes also called strop, is an elongated flap or ribbon, usually of leather or other flexible materials. Thin straps are used as part of clothing or baggage, or bedding such as a sleeping bag. See for example spaghetti strap, sho ...

, and other

accessories Accessory may refer to: * Accessory (legal term), a person who assists a criminal In anatomy * Accessory bone * Accessory muscle * Accessory nucleus, in anatomy, a cranial nerve nucleus * Accessory nerve In arts and entertainment * Accessory ...

, along with shoulder straps and grab handles for added comfort, portability, and ease of use. Larger gig bags are used for the

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

. While gig bags are lighter and easier to carry, they offer much less protection than padded hard shell or wooden cases. As such, some musicians will own both soft gig bags and hard shell cases for their instruments. This way, they can use the gig bag for local rehearsals, session work, and gigs, and use the hard shell case when their instrument will be checked onto airline baggage.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gig Bag Bags Musical instrument parts and accessories