Description

We offer design services and custom gig bags for people on the regular, but it is not an easy or cheap process. If you want us to do this for you, there are some important things to keep in mind:

1. Without having the actual instrument here, we can’t guarantee the fit. You are still on the hook for the first draft, even if you can’t use it, as revisions are part of the prototyping process. It is rarely possible to nail these down in one try, and you should go into the process with the expectation that we will need to make revisions. A 2nd draft usually costs less, is likely to fit great, but the cost will likely still be significant.
2. You are buying the design process, not a bag. The first version is so that we can check the fit, decide on handle and strap locations based on the balance point, etc.. Once that is determined, we still have to make the bag, and those take 3-12 hours (3= trumpet, 16+ = upright bass), which is a wholly separate purchase.
3. If you want a guaranteed fit the first try, you will need to send us your insured instrument and assume all risk to the instrument, including theft. We are careful and know how to handle music instruments, but the shop is not located in the best neighborhood.
4. If you can’t part with your ax for a few weeks, we need ACCURATE tracings of ALL relevant profiles. You must use a square to carefully take these measurements, and provide tracings on flat tagboard (or, email us a CAD file!). Please watch THIS VIDEO for how to measure an instrument.
5. All custom designs may be listed for sale by us, unless you hire us to design an OEM product, in which case you would retain ownership of the patterns and we would not make or offer finished products to the public without your permission. The price is higher for the OEM service.
6. If the first version is close, but you ask us to shorten one area by just one inch, that sounds easy, but it is not. Any change to any pattern piece requires us to change most or all of the other dependent pattern pieces, and that takes a ton of time. Even a small, simple pattern is made up of 15-20 pieces (foam, liner, exterior, plus all the cams, handles, and straps). A large harp bag can have 30 parts or more.
7. We will make yours fundamentally similar to our existing bags, since we know these materials and techniques won’t fail. The customization is for designing the shape, not sourcing or experimenting with materials new to us. Our brand will be on this like any of our products, and we need to ensure it performs to our standard of durability. In other words, don’t expect us to make an art bag for you — you get 6 leather choices and 8 nylon choices, and it’s going to look similar to our existing products. Upholding our reputation means we generally won’t work with materials you send us or source, either. This doesn’t apply to prototyping unrelated OEM products, of course.

Again: You are buying a prototyping process, and the first version may not fit and may not be usable, despite our best efforts. You still have to pay us for our time and materials, as well as a production sample — it will probably fit your instrument, but might not! If you can’t see this through past $1500, this is not an investment you should be making. Your initial purchase on this page may cover the whole process, or it may not, and you may be expected to pay more before we send the prototype to you. The prototype will always be nylon — we use the cheaper material to check the fit and determine if we need to make changes.

Here are some estimates based on some of our recent design services. This is pricing for JUST the design services portion and the nylon prototype, and does NOT include the final bag (be SURE to check our website for comparable products — after we finish the prototype, you will then need to buy the bag):

Custom guitar bag = $700, 1st draft, good fit. We’ve done several that required revisions and extra charges.

Gig Bag inside a Gig Bag = $1150, 2 drafts. Instruments were provided and the fit was perfect.

Large, complex Harp Bag = $1250, 1st draft didn’t fit due to incomplete tracings, project paused. Another harp bag we did fit well based on good CAD tracings.

We bill in $50 increments for 30 minutes of labor, and add for materials, sewing labor, and shipping. Your payment here is a down payment to get things started.

If you want to make changes on a bag we offer, plan on 3 hours ($300) for any single minor alteration of an existing bag, in addition to the bag. For multiple changes, add $200 for each additional change, knowing that NO refunds or product returns can be offered if we have a different interpretation of your description, even if you believe you made the request very clear. Please also send us high quality drawings and a clear description of what you need. We may not be able to accommodate your request, and if that is the case, we will refund the additional fee and ask if you’d like us to proceed with the stock design. We may also need to charge more than $300 for some requests, and will let you know before we start.

To start a new bag from scratch, place a down payment of $750, and then send us your accurate tracings of all profiles, with accurate measurements (or the insured instrument if you’re able):

Torpedo Bags
1195 7th St E
St. Paul, MN 55106 USA

Email CAD files here: steve@torpedobags.com

We won’t have a final price until we complete your design services product or custom gig bag.

If you want a purse or a duffle bag copied, or something simple like that, ask us about your project first. Non-padded objects are much, much easier to create. It’s the foam that quintuples the complexity of a gig bag versus that of a one-dimensional panel found on a non-padded duffle bag or purse — the reasons for this are hard to explain!

Additional information