Car-top cargo boxes
 

Anybody know of a roof top cargo box that is deep enough to fit a bass? The biggest one Yakima makes is 18" - seems like that might barely be enough but I'm not sure if it's an inside or outside measurement.

If somebody made a truly waterproof bass bag, I'd be ok with just strapping it to a rack mount basket or something, but I have yet to see such a bag...

Thoughts?

thoughts?
 

ONE time in my life I put a bass on the roof. That's because my Italian was IN the car and I bought an old German while on a week-long Gig in PA about 6 hours from NYC. I took off the Top in my hotel room and had no room in the car so it traveled home on the roof. Never have I ever thought of putting a working bass on the roof. People maybe, but the bass stays INSIDE.. lol

Well, clearly extra caution would be in order in parking garages and the like, but I think things would be perfectly safe in a nice water tight hard shell cargo box. I mean, people put expensive road racing bikes, kayaks and the like up there all the time. With just a soft case I can see there being some danger of stray tree branches or something though. Clearly the taller the vehicle the more risk.

Well, racing bikes and kayaks don't crack from weather and humidity swings like basses do. Do as you wish with your bass but that's my advice.

I tend to think that walking across town with a bass, putting it in a cargo box or just putting it into a hot/cold car are all going to pose the same unavoidable temp/humidity shift, which in a decent bag shouldn't be a problem. I mean, if just transporting an instrument to a gig is going to cause damage, that's not a very serviceable instrument. It's not like were talking about how to transport a bass coast-to-coast or from BC to Mexico after all - rather, just how to get around town with a bass or two and not have to drive an SUV.

Anyway, I think I'll stop by the "rack shop" with a bass and see about that Yakima box, unless somebody's tried it already... hopefully whatever bass I take won't explode on the way over there. ;)

Yes
 

Someone should design a double bass transport case for roofs. If the whole band is coming along I would rather it in a secure box on the roof than getting a drum hardware case shoved into the top. If someone made one that was sturdy and safe I would definitely use it. If they made it user friendly that it could be switched between different types of vehicles that would help people in larger cities that do a lot of renting of cars for small tours. I'm in! Someone please make this so we can bring the bass more places!

ok..
 

After thinking and looking at profiles I see that you guys are talking about basses that cost less or even a fraction of the car you are driving unless maybe it's not a normal mid-class car. The basses I take out rarely cost less than a car so the care I consider for them is relative.

In buying a car, I never get a car that I can't fit at least one bass in if not two. If you play bass, it's you job to provide a proper vehicle for it. I have seen basses put into small compact cars as well. I don't think putting a bass on the roof is a good thing, period.

lol...
 

Sorry Ken, I tend to forget that a small minority of us aren't able to afford basses that we're afraid to take out of the house, or buy vehicles just to transport them. :rolleyes:

Ken is the 1% :D

I take them all out and drive them around. Just INSIDE the Car where people go, NOT up on the Roof!

1%? :eek:

If that.. lol :D

99.99% of bass players don't have their own forum either Arnie! :p

Kennie, based on the value of instruments owned, you are actually in the .00001%! :D

ahh..
 

Actually, it's KennY ! :rolleyes:

Kennie would be in that % bracket as well ! :D

If Mitt Romney played bass, we know what he would do... :(

Lol.. exactly what I was thinking all along but I was waiting for someone else to say it.

Buy up orchestras, fire the musicians and take over their instruments?

Turn the Storioni into a CD cabinet? :eek:

You must have seen this, Arnold?

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/...-be-president/

Reminds me of the famous Gary Karr "bike trailer" shot. Note that the Maestro's foot is on the ground . . . it's doubtful that this rig actually went anywhere.

Old school.....:)

That's one way to do it
 

I like it. I have a Morelli that I've put a lot of money and time into that is my only bass. Remember the goal is to play your own bass and bring the band along. That way no bass djour. If you've never had to play a different bass every night for 6 weeks you might have a problem with what we are trying to achieve. Not being able to play your own bass on festivals and bigger shows is embarrassing. I don't care how good you are, it will always suck life and energy out of you and make you feel like half a player. Even if the bass is worth $100,000s of dollars. It's still not yours. Those bus cases that aren't ATA just need some sort of locking system on the back to attach to the roof. I know, easier said than done. Hey I play music for a living, I'm not an engineer. But with air travel and instruments being what it is, if you have to drive there is a need for this when the rest of the band comes along.

Why does nobody make a waterproof bag, anyway. Couldn't be that tough - surely I'm not the only one who's been annoyed with a soggy bass bag after walking to/from a gig.

brut bass bag
 

I have a cheap styrofoam bass trunk that is covered with a nylon bass bag that I was hoping to strap to my roofrack so I can take a bass on vacation. I sprayed the bag with campdry silicone spray that is used for shoes and stuff. I haven't taken it for a test drive yet but water beads right off of it.

Jack's Plastic Welding in Arizona will custom make you a FANTASTIC waterproof bag for your bass for a reasonable price. River runners know them as the makers of the infamous "Paco Pads". I have used their guitar drybags on over 7000 miles of commercial whitewater expeditions all over the world and have never had a leak, even when things got really funky and myself and the boat were upside down / submerged / in a complete yardsale floating down the river for a long time. They are so tough that I once had a guitar completely broken, including the hardshell case, inside one of their bags and everything was still dry (Lava Falls on the Colorado river at approx. 30,000 cfs!!!!)

j.

*note to self: remember to pack double bass for next whitewater rafting expedition. And to my next scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef ...