Do you keep your hard cases?

[BopEuph]

I have my three horns and a hard case for each of them. The sousaphone makes some sense since it lives in its case most of the time (and I'll probably leave it in storage if I get a unit), but the two hard cases just take up unnecessary space in the garage.

I also have a gig bag for every stringed instrument I own, including a Mooradian upright bag that's really not compact. An SKB golf case for flying with bass guitars.

I have no need or desire to get rid of my instruments, but I'm debating on getting rid of most of my cases, with the exception of what it takes to get to/from a gig. The tuba cases (Kanstul 5/4 BBb and Conn 12J) never see any use, and one's storing a tuba that's not even worth the scrap metal, and the other one is stuffed with gig bags. The studio closet is floor-to-ceiling gig bags, with a large SKB hard case pedalboard.

I don't like selling off things, especially my music gear, but I'm coming to a point that it's just too much space requirements.

Do you guys keep each case that came with your instrument? What about hard cases? I have a feeling I'll be really hard pressed to find homes for the tuba cases.

[donn]

Hm, I went to some trouble to fix up my Kanstul 5/4 BBb case.

[bloke]

I'm currently moving BACK to hard cases for all of my instruments.
I have my (not low-quality) bags all hanging overhead, and have no intention of selling any of them (as I might change my mind again).
I'm currently looking for a case that would fit an old 16-1/2" bell 186 (for my B&S F tuba), yet not some behemoth way-too-large case.
Winter used to make an ideal case (for those Cerveny 4/4 rotary B-flats), but they're rare and (probably) mostly dogged out.
(I'm not seeking any wood/GWW/Costa-Rico cases.)

storage for my cases...??
probably next to the wall, verticalized behind the TV couch in my tuba room

[Stryk]

I store my cases in a unique way - I keep my horns in them. I have also gotten rid of all but two gig bags.

[bloke]

Most of mine are sitting on their bells on an old Persian rug in a semicircle near a music stand with all sorts of sheet music on it (and more stacked on the floor). This geometrically increases the likelihood of me picking one of them up and playing it.

[Nworbekim]

yep, and they're a PITA... between 4 tubas, couple euphs, my guitar collection and several folksy string instruments AND my ham radio/computer gear... my li'l 13'X24' room is FULL!!

I keep the 186 on a stand and put the gig bag in the case and the case out to the garage, and that saves a little room.

[bloke]

If that 186 case is an old Jakob Winter black molded case - designed to fit a 16 1/2 inch bell, you have a potential buyer in me.

[2nd tenor]

With the instruments that I’ve had over the years I’ve tried hard cases and gig bags, both types of protective enclosure have their plus points.

If I had to pick between the two then for any valuable and easy to damage instrument it’s really well worth keeping the hard case. Save space by keeping the instruments in their cases and leave it like that in your playing area. I mix and match; my small Eb (it’s not particularly valuable) is left out all the time in a corner and its small case is stored elsewhere, the big Eb (which would cost a lot to either repair or replace) lives in its case and only comes out when I want to play it.

I’m not opposed to gig bags, I do use them, but they are called the repairman’s friend for a reason. Both my Tubas came with hard cases, if the expensive one hadn’t got a case then I’d consider trying to make something. That something - I have in mind a simple shell - wouldn’t be perfect, but I think that it would offer more protection than a typical gig bag.

YMMV.

[Nworbekim]

If that 186 case is an old Jakob Winter black molded case - designed to fit a 16 1/2 inch bell, you have a potential buyer in me.

it is molded plastic, i believe it's a 3rd party generic... not a miraphone case. but i'm using it. i don't trust gig bags. i use one occasionally but i'm very very careful.

it's a HUGE case!! the guys in the band have christened it the "WINNEBAGO"...

[BopEuph]

Wish I could keep the cases in here! The room's 10x10, and the cases are on those hanging shelf racks in the garage. Girlfriend thinks I'm being selfish by having them at all; but my frustration happened when I needed a gig bag in the Kanstul case, and realized how dangerous it was that I'm pulling down a 30+ pound case from 8' up with only a folding ladder--in a 100-degree garage. I almost dropped the case a couple of times trying to squeeze it back into its space.

Here's why keeping the cases doesn't exactly fit in here:

[bloke]

I'm seeing where a shelf - at the 4-foot level - could be mounted on the wall to store tuba cases vertically, if you make that Hercules stand disappear and set that 12J on the floor - in the small manner the other tuba is stored.

If you're in love with the Hercules stand, collapse it and stick it in the back of the closet.

I would recommend a brace at every stud:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/ClosetMaid- ... /100114022

(I chose this shelf, as I assume you won't wish to toss a bunch of dough at this enterprise.)

OTHERWISE...
(still) Make the Herc' disappear, and line the tubas - AND their cases - along that same wall.

[BopEuph]

That might not be a bad idea. I think I use the Herc only because I have it. Whichever horn I'm currently using is usually the one that's on the sand.

The Herc is brought out for when I'm gigging in a place where I either need fast switches or when I don't want the horn on the floor, like on concrete. It usually stays at home, though, since it's a bulky piece of gear.

I do like the idea of the shelf; I wonder if the girlfriend would veto it; and I only hope it doesn't make access to the corner for the upright more difficult. I'm probably going to want to move the sousaphone somewhere else, too; as it's not the greatest place for it when I need the speaker cabinets and the upright has to be picked up OVER the sousaphone from an already awkward position for my back to grab it. But I definitely wouldn't be wondering if I would be injured on the ground waiting for someone to notice me so that I could go to the hospital just because I needed a specific gig bag.

[bloke]

I believe some of those small items could find their way to shelves (perhaps higher-mounted ones than 4'...??) as well.

poodle

[the elephant]

Bop, I own more hard cases than tubas. I am not sure how that happened, but there it is. I will eventually convert each to fit one of my project horns.

[BopEuph]

What's funny is this is a repeat of a past TubeNet conversation. You guys are still on the same mindset.

I have a few storage bins of books I don't want to get rid of, and between all the junk, my car's been moved out of the garage, anyway. I'm considering that extra $100/month of storage, but it does also seem like a waste of money. But I don't know; the house is small, too.

[the elephant]

Since then I have converted or restored several to include with horns I sold, but as one case disappears another seems to sprout from the hardwood floor like magic. Strangest thing…

[bort2.0]

Hard cases don't have much value. My PT-606 came with a hard case, which I appreciated for shipping, but the moment it arrived I knew I had zero space for it. I sold it for cheap, and stuck it on a Greyhound bus. I can't imagine paying shipping for a tuba case these days.

My Besson 983 came with the original hard case, and since it was a smaller horn, the case was smaller too. But in my house, it's about 20 stairs up from the garage to the basement. So that was quite a hassle to deal with that on any sort of regularity. For that matter, the Rudy in it's gig bag is a lot to deal with on all the stairs.

Nice to have a hard case to protect a fragile tuba from two young, energy filled, careful-as-5-and-7-year-olds-can-be boys... but there's no space around here for all that.

Unlikely to buy a hard case. Possible that if I got one with something else, I'd sell it. It depends.

[bloke]

What about some of those orange plastic coated bicycle hooks in the ceiling of your garage ?
——————-
I’ve got a whole bunch of cases here, and grab them and throw them into the barn whenever there’s a decent one that I can get for a low price without paying a ton of shipping. That having been said, schools won’t buy tubas without hard cases.
To say more - and to say something I’ve said over and over, I’m looking for a just big enough hard case for my F tuba, but not for $650 - $850 plus $350 shipping. I do have a Johnson case that is just the right size, but that’s overdoing it a bit - for daily use.

[Sousaswag]

When I DID have hard cases, they lived in my basement. I’ve subsequently sold the tubas that I purchased with hard cases, and my current stuff didn’t come with a hard case. I’d never use a hard case anyway. I don’t travel with my tubas somewhere that requires a hard case. I’m not hard on them in the gig bags.

Honestly if it were me I probably would’ve tried to sell them. They’re not worth it to me in the sense that I literally never use them. Certainly someone could find use out of them. If you don’t have the space anymore, it’s time!

[BopEuph]

What about some of those orange plastic coated bicycle hooks in the ceiling of your garage ?
——————-
I’ve got a whole bunch of cases here, and grab them and throw them into the barn whenever there’s a decent one that I can get for a low price without paying a ton of shipping. That having been said, schools won’t buy tubas without hard cases.
To say more - and to say something I’ve said over and over, I’m looking for a just big enough hard case for my F tuba, but not for $650 - $850 plus $350 shipping. I do have a Johnson case that is just the right size, but that’s overdoing it a bit - for daily use.

All good ideas. Yeah, the Kanstul is like 35-40 pounds without a case. That hard case is at least another 15 pounds, and incredibly awkward to walk with, even with my stature. I guess I could get a hand truck/cart, but it's hard enough to put in the car as is.

The 12J is, many times, coupled with upright, and both will not fit in my car at the same time if the Conn is in its case. And then forget about other gear! Even with my Mitsubishi Outlander. It sucks, since my '92 Town Car had more space for this kind of stuff. It could fit the 12J in the gig bag with my two Bergantino speaker cabinets in the trunk, and the cab was free for the upright and whatever else I was bringing. The Mitsu would only fit the upright, tuba, and my Polytone (or only ONE of the two cabinets).