Gig Bags...zip busted ;(

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Silly question really, but if the zip is broken on a gigbag, can it be repaired ? I have had a fantastic gigbag for my headless basses (effects units could fit in as well).
Zip is broken and it would be a shame for the gigbag to be thrown away ;(

[mart]

Theoretically you can buy a replacement zip, but the hassle of sewing it in is more than I would be able to face in that scenario. A local haberdasher might be able to do it for you. But I probably only typed that so as to try to be the first person ever to use the word "haberdasher" on basschat.

[icastle]

[quote name='mart' timestamp='1360511803' post='1971471']
But I probably only typed that so as to try to be the first person ever to use the word "haberdasher" on basschat.
[/quote]

[dudewheresmybass]

This seems to be happening more an more frequently.
Over the years I have not had a zip break, but over te past year at least three students have had the zip break on their gig bags.
Perhaps it's down to cutting costs too far in relation to quality?

[JMM]

A tailor or upholsterer should be able to sew a new one in for you if you want, but I'm not sure how cost effective it would be.

(I bought a regular sized guitar Fender Strat Gigbag and it fit my headless perfectly and was just over £10 from Thomann. The same one on UK sites was 2-3x the price.)

Alternatively, I recently bought a leather messenger bag for work and saw this on the website I bought it from:

Zips
If your zip has started to come undone, you can try this simple method to mend it. Make sure the zip is open all the way to the end. Take the zip pull in one hand and using a small, ideally pointed, pair of pliers, press down firmly on one side of the zip pull (on the metal itself). You are just trying to mesh the teeth together a little so do not press too firmly. Then repeat this on the other side of the zip pull. This should allow you to pull the zip once more.

[BassBod]

That almost worked...but not really. Did prove that pushing to one side temporarily fixes it, but once you stop pushing it sometimes comes undone again behind the zip pull.

Thanks for the tip.

[BassBunny]

Have you got one of these locally?
http://www.thezipyard.com/

I have used them for some pretty heavy duty work and they coped really well.

[TheGreek]

By the time you've bought a replacement zip and paid for the repair haven't you pretty much paid the same price as a new bag???..

[BassBod]

Well, mine is on an expensive Overwater/Harvest bag. Apart from the dodgy zip its on great condition!

[uncle psychosis]

[quote name='BassBod' timestamp='1361488819' post='1986644']
Well, mine is on an expensive Overwater/Harvest bag. Apart from the dodgy zip its on great condition!
[/quote]

Depending how old it is you could try contacting the manufacturer? Some companies will replace things like gig bags if you ask them very nicely!

[BassBod]

Funny you should say that! I emailed them a while ago, and their response was send it back and we'll replace it - very helpful, and impressive for them to be so generous without any prompting. But, I bought the bag used here on BassChat so I didn't feel that was fair to the company. I had bought a similar bag new and direct from them a few years earlier, and I didn't want the two to be confused. Not had a reply since I explained that last bit..but that's no big surprise.

[vsmith1]

On another direction - prevention being better than cure - then some TLC for zips will not go amiss. I have a block of wax which is rubbed to lubricate zips - as most zips break when pulled too hard. Just apply once in a while to both sides of the zip. My Mrs used to use it on her life jack zips when she was on the local RNLI crew and as you can imagine lots of salt, sand and zips are not a good mix.