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Outside of ordering an Accord case, I was thinking maybe a modified hard case that is designed for the 3+1 BBb's? The Yamaha YBB-632 Neo comes to mind.

The Yamaha YBB-632 Neo BBb is listed to have a height of 1048mm (41.26 inches) which is below 44 inches that your Kaiser is. The Yamaha does have a 500mm (19 5/8" or 19.625" in decimal form) diameter bell though.

Yes the YBB-632 has the valves are on the other direction plus the case is still mostly likely pre molded like the ones offered for their other instruments. But a one-piece, relatively light weight hard case, and more affordable than a custom Accord is the best that I I could think of at a moments notice.

Yamaha YBB-632 Neo specs. Not entirely sure why the USA."webpage" doesn't list all of the specs.
https://europe.yamaha.com/en/products/m ... specs.html

Hardcase: BBC-632 Case image was found at this site. The url says ybb621, for some reason, but it does pull up the YBB632 tuba like it should.
https://www.theinstrumentplace.com/yama ... -1047.html

BRS wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 7:26 am @Rick Denney

Was the case Ray Grim had possibly a Kariso? They orient the bell down. Nice cases.

https://www.thomannmusic.com/kariso_bag ... _tuba.html

Yes! Maybe not that brand (it was about 45 years ago) but certainly that is the design. And the price is not unreasonable (though I bet shipping from Germany is no small thing).

I've searched for these before but never found them--thank you.

Notice the flat top corner? That corner is usually facing the ground on conventional cases, and can't be flattened and still put a corner down onto the ground (especially if there are wheels). Removing that corner dramatically improves the case's ability to fit in cars and trunks, in my experience. This case should be little or no more space-consuming than a gig bag.

Rick "saving money now" Denney

PlayTheTuba wrote: ↑Wed Feb 14, 2024 5:00 pm Outside of ordering an Accord case, I was thinking maybe a modified hard case that is designed for the 3+1 BBb's? The Yamaha YBB-632 Neo comes to mind.

Top-action tubas are really flat front to back (except for the bell) and the cases can be a low narrower. They usually do not have a sufficient cavity for the valve mechanism for front-action tubas (either rotary or piston). The Yamaha case for my YFB621 has a bump molded in it to provide a cavity for the pistons.

Inches matter, of course. A half-inch too small might as well be a foot.

Rick "the Hirsbrunner kaiser is 1120mm tall with a 480mm bell" Denney

If (??) that Yamaha case is made of the same thin plastic as they've been made from in the past, I would rate them as something to avoid.

Several years ago, thinwall carbon fiber was going to be the solution whereby we could use hard cases that only weighed as much as bags, but actually they were not as lightweight as bags, and - when presented with the airline challenge - they cracked to bits.. at least those that I've seen that have been stuck underneath airplanes.

I'm thinking someone else came up with a thickwall carbon fiber case that could be adapted for any tuba and that resembled a curbside trash cart. I've not seen any of those used anywhere.

Ask the current mechanical engineering class at MIT (which in the past has had to construct a "case" such that a raw egg dropped from the roof of a building does not break upon hitting the ground) to design a tuba case that is lightweight, un-bulky, and protective against airline personnel. Probably though, the egg case is like the old Saabs and itself is destroyed on impact.

Just found THIS:

That's interesting, but they are never able to open up the eggs and examine (not just their yokes, but) microscopic-level examinations of the embryos.

======================================================

Those lightweight (in vogue for a year or two) carbon-fiber cases:

Not only were those smashed up (and those things cost about the same as competitively-priced Jinbao tubas' retail prices), but the tubas were smashed up as well.

I use a Miraphone bag with my Mack horn... I've taken to flipping the lid over the back of a chair (from the back) which hold the case open nicely and lets me use two hands to guide the horn into it.

travisd wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 12:37 pm I use a Miraphone bag with my Mack horn... I've taken to flipping the lid over the back of a chair (from the back) which hold the case open nicely and lets me use two hands to guide the horn into it.

^^^THIS!^^^

Considering how much more damage resistant violins are, as they are smaller, thicker, dent resistant, and easier to protect, we should go to a violin chat room and ask them why they don't use bags, and why they all use cases.

bloke wrote: ↑Fri Feb 16, 2024 9:32 am Considering how much more damage resistant violins are, as they are smaller, thicker, dent resistant, and easier to protect, we should go to a violin chat room and ask them why they don't use bags, and why they all use cases.

Because they are small and the cases still fit in the overhead compartment of an airplane, versus not fitting in the trunk of a car or the doorway of a transit bus.

Rick "and they are worth 10 to 1000 times as much" Denney

In your signature, I believe you may have left the work "yet" out after the word "and". You may not have, but - had you done so - it would reflected my views more closely.

Some of us carry around instruments that are worth as much as some pretty darn good violins, yet most of us who do carry them around in thinly padded sacks, with my point being that most of our giant, thin, easy-to-damage instruments - which are worth as much as some pretty darn good violins - are carried around in little more than a sack with a leather or nylon handle on it.

A $25,000 violin in a $1,000 case would probably faire well in most automobile accidents and certainly most casual bumps, but how well would a $25,000 tuba in a sack faire in most automobile accidents or casual bumps? (...and with an added factor being that handmade tubas are often only about a half of a millimeter thick)

Yes, I'm aware that many violins cost more than that, but I believe you would find that most working violinists' instruments don't exceed that cost by much. Further, I spelled "fare" incorrectly actually for more clarity of which meaning of the word I was using... whether or not it was effective. (??)

.

I assume you meant "case" instead of "bag" in the second sentence.

Yes. Cases are heavier and plastic ones are slicker, but to claim that nylon or leather bags stick like glue to seats or smooth plastic in vehicles (or smooth backstage tabletops) is pretty silly.

This is my tuba.
Tubas are always dented, they are supposed to be dented, and that's that...so quit asking "How did that happen?"

It's not tubas' fault that they are large, bulky, and delicate.

If I'm still playing well enough and end up not being able to handle a tuba+case that may weigh 45 - 60 lbs., I'll drop it off inside the door and go park (as I already do) and maybe even ask for some assistance. (We're supposed to help each other, yes?)

bloke "Mostly what I transport - in the back of this thing - are tubas. Old pillows and quilts (rather than having been discarded) are in the back and are placed around the cases. Additionally, I always place them - in their hard cases - all the way forward (with no room for sliding when some idiot driver pulls some stunt), and with the bottom bows (multiple times more resistant to damage) facing forward as well...but yes, I used (the most expensive/best) bags in the past. I wish I hadn't."

.

We all make our own decisions...
Musicians are careful around others' instruments, but (many urban American) drivers aren't careful around other moving vehicles.

bloke "who - unless remuneration is involved - stays way from urban America"

.

I can tell you from personal experience that once you break a violin, it's basically toast. If you dent a tuba, you can have the dent taken out and it might not look exactly the same but it will play the same. You cannot say that for a violin, and they are considerably MORE fragile than tubas, no matter what some may think.

The last time I used my bike (wearing a black suit) was when I had a VERY limited time to get from here to here:

I was doing (at that time) my regular (ending at noon) late Saturday morning lounge/boarding gig, which ended at noon (a cruise ship, which went from Memphis to New Orleans).

If I REALLY hustled, I could get off that ship and into my car in ten minutes.

Less than two hours later, I was supposed to be in my seat (University of Mississippi basketball arena) to play prelude music for one of the commencements (located in the middle of the campus).

As there were multiple (large) commencement exercises on campus (overlapping times), the campus was a veritable "parking lot" - ALL DAY.
Google driving time (on a REGULAR day) was listed as 1:25 - c. 85 miles

How I accomplished this was to
- wear my black suit (only slightly overdressed) for the cruise ship gig
- drive from the Memphis ship dock to the University of Mississippi VERY fast
- (yes) use a tuba BAG
- park at an office building parking lot (closed Saturday) just off the southeast corner of the campus.
- jump on my bike and RIDE (in my black suit, with the tuba on my back) past ALL of the .5 mph cars jammed up on campus
(with a whole bunch of people heard saying to each other: "We should have though of that!")
- arriving at the arena c. 10 - 15 minutes early - with time to use the restroom, clean up just a bit, fix my hair, straighten out my clothes, etc.

(I did that two or three years in a row.)