Vincent Bach Stradivarius Trumpet Gig Bag 818H

Couldn’t be more pleased. This is truly an exemplary product and incorporates the quality and excellence the Vincent Bach Corporation has consistently delivered for decades. The horn in the photo is a 2000 Strad with a custom 3rd valve slide they made for me. Took them 9 months, but I don’t think they do that any more. 🙂

This is my first time ever using/owning a gig bag and I don’t own any other gig bags. I’ve owned a Bach Stradivarius Bb trumpet for about 15 years or so, and I’ve always just used the brown hard case it came with (that includes through 6ish years of marching band!). I’ve recently gotten back into playing and, as I don’t have my marching band “arms” anymore, and since I don’t need to carry EVERYTHING to my community band practices and gigs, I decided I wanted a gig bag to lighten the load.

I know the Pro-Tec gig bags are popular, but I’ve never owned one and can’t compare. However, I will say that I did a ton of research on gig bags and ultimately landed on this one.

Long story short: I am very happy with my purchase and would recommend it to anyone who needs a sturdy, gorgeous gig bag. It’s perfectly lightweight for going to and from concerts and practices. If I was still in marching band, I think it’d be perfect for that.

Full description: Since I didn’t see a ton of reviews on this bag on Amazon and I like to research products like this more thoroughly before investing in them (since I hate dealing with returns or exchanges), I thought I’d write up a detailed review.

Here are my main reasons for being satisfied with this bag:

– It’s beautiful. I hate the way a lot of other gig bags look… this one stands out. It’s classy, styled after the original Stradivarius case, and I just love it.

– The bag feels very sturdy and the padding feels more than adequate. Part of my reasoning for always using the original case was fear of damage to my expensive baby during years of marching band… but honestly, I wish I had this bag back then as it is very lightweight while staying protective. There appears to be an inch or two of thick, soft padding that goes on the left and right side of the trumpet, and an inch or two of thick padding at the bottom where the bell goes. There is also an additional layer of something very sturdy where the bell goes to prevent any bending or damage to the bell. Without taking the case apart, I can only guess what it is: maybe a layer of light wood in between some layers of soft padding, or maybe a thick layer of canvas. Either way, it feels VERY sturdy.

– The bag comes with a removable, sturdy shoulder strap and built-in backpack straps. If you don’t want to use the backpack straps, you can tuck them away and they become totally invisible. I like having the option depending on the circumstance/how full my arms are.

– There are rubber feet at the bottom of the bag where the bell goes so that it can be stored upright if you needed that. There is also a hook on the back of the case so that it could be hung up in a locker, closet, etc. if needed.

– The accessory pocket on the front is reasonably roomy. It looks to be slightly expandable, so if you don’t need all the space, you could make it smaller and more compressed on the inside than what I have attached to this review. This will be a problem with any gig bag, as the whole point is to be lightweight and compact. If you are a hoarder and need a TON of accessories with you all the time, you’re going to have to either be stuck with the original case or you’ll have to explore accessory bags in addition to this bag. However, if you’re content with carrying the basics, I think the pocket it comes with is more than enough. See my attached picture, but I was able to fit: a Korg tuner, Korg metronome, Pro Tec mouthpiece holder, two additional mouthpiece (in a nice little mouthpiece pouch that came with the bag, although they do bump together, so also shoved a cloth in there to protect them), a pencil, A Harmon 3-in-1 straight/cup/plunger mute, bottle of valve oil, and a bottle of slide grease. There is some room to spare for some smaller accessories like chapstick or whatever else I will come up with in the future. I could probably stick some cleaning supplies in there, but it’s not necessary… if I’m gonna clean the trumpet, I’m gonna do it at home, so the gig bag doesn’t need all that.

Some notable downsides:

– The backpack straps are made out of a strange material. It feels like a weird plastic or faux leather… hard to describe, but maybe you can tell from the picture. It does not feel “cheap” by any means, but I do wonder about how those straps would hold up in the long term with heavy use.

– As with all gig bags, the storage space is somewhat lacking. I think it is more roomy than a lot of the other cases I researched, but I saw a couple of reviewers commented that there was room for mutes and mouthpieces… for the life of me, I can’t figure out how they’re cramming all that in there. The main accessory pocket in the front is quite roomy, but I can’t fit more than my Harmon multi mutes. If you need more than that, you’ll probably need to invest in a mute bag.

– The accessory pocket in the front is NOT long enough to store my 15in conducting baton in its protective tube. I could take it out of the tube and it would fit with about an inch to spare, but as the accessory pouch is on the outside (and it’s a pretty cheap baton), I’d worry about the baton somehow absorbing some damage or snapping.

– I would be wary of leaving this bag out anywhere where it might be stolen. It does very clearly say “Bach Stradivarius” on the front and it does draw a bit of attention which is what attracted me to the case (but I could see someone else not liking it). Sometimes, I think gig bags can pass for random bags of other things or can “blend in” with their environment. This one doesn’t and could very well attract the attention of thieves. Just be careful with where you store it or leave it!

The product arrived in a timely manor and exceeded my expectations in sturdiness. It comes with 3 different ways to carry it, including a handle, shoulder strap, and backpack straps. It has plenty of room for mouthpieces, valve oil, or mutes. This is by far the best gig bag I’ve ever owned.

Light weight and makes it easy to carry my trumpet. Might provide better protection against damage if it had better (thicker or more dense) padding.