Posted by Rick Denney on December 29, 2002 at 11:50:59:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Hard cases posted by SHS Tubamaster on December 28, 2002 at 21:08:25:
I suggest you call them on the phone and talk to them. The personal touch really counts when deal-making time comes, and you can't expect a dealer to expose his best price on this public forum.
And the cheaper molded plastic cases are just fine for everyday use. Anvil cases are great for storage, but if you can't carry it up and down stairs, you won't use it and it will be money wasted. And the Anvil cases I've seen have been so bulky that they attract the most unfavorable responses from the airlines, but I don't think I'd trust the airlines with anything less. Now that the airlines want everything left unlocked for the inspectors, the difficulties of air travel with the tuba are even worse. If you optimize for air travel, you'll have a case that is unusable day-to-day. I've kept my 621 F tuba in the cheap plastic case that Yamaha provides because it is light and mobile enough so that I don't mind using it. It's no flight case, but it's far more protective than any gig bag.
I agree that Walt Johnson cases aren't much more portable than Anvil cases. I once nearly herniated myself carrying an empty Johnson case down Chuck G's front stairs. It was heavier by a good margin than the York Master tuba it contained for the train trip, and the YM is even heavier than the Holton.
Rick "who has a home-made flight case buried in his storeroom and used about once every five years so far" Denney