Accessories How about those ultra cheap cases? How bad can they be?

[ellinas]

I'm receiving my new alto ( Vito alto special by beaugnier ) next week and I'm looking for a replacement case.

I saw this one
http://www.gear4music.com/Woodwind-Brass-Strings/Alto-Saxophone-Case-by-Gear4music-ABS/89E

well my initial thought is that it might be crap.
But I've seen friends with ultra-cheap chinese saxophones having similar cases and I remember telling them that I only thing I liked from their setup was the case!.

Having granted that I'm not going to fly with this case, how bad can it be?
I will use it to store the sax when it's not on it's stand and to put it in the car when I go to rehearsals etc.

I'm really really careful with my saxes.

How bad can this case be for my purposes? What are your opinions

 

[Fraser Jarvis]

For £18 it's got to be worth a punt.

 

[saxismyaxe]

I haven't personally inspected the generic molded plastic bodied case you are considering, but it HAS to be more secure than a gig bag. Make sure your make/model horn fits in it properly before laying down your cash if at all possible.

 

[ellinas]

I haven't personally inspected the generic molded plastic bodied case you are considering, but it HAS to be more secure than a gig bag. Make sure your make/model horn fits in it properly before laying down your cash if at all possible.

gig bags are out of the question.
Too risky. They're really light but when the damage is done you wish you've never bought them.


For my tenor I have a Gator contoured case which is marvelous, easily compared with more expensive ones, but my main sax will always be the tenor. I'm not going to gig with the alto that much.

If anyone has a g4m sax that comes with this case and can comment that would be really helpful.

Thank you mates!

 

[zootsaxenberger]

I have a Gear4Music vintage alto which came in one of these cases, my advice would be look on EBay for a second hand case
These cases will protect your sax from the odd knock but are not padded enough to stop your horn rattling around
Which given enough force could do some damage

 

[trimmy]

If you've paid good money for your sax then buy proven case to protect your investment

I have a Hiscox for my sax and can recommend them, you can pick one up for around £100-£130 new

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HISCOX-Li...UK_MusicalInstr_Access_RL&hash=item4152fb82aa

 

[kevgermany]

I've a feeling the Beaugnier Vito has LH bell keys. It probably won't fit the G4M case.

 

[altissimo]

Well, any case is a good case if your instrument's inside it and you've remembered to do up the latches... a lot of accidents occur when people forget and pick up the case and the horn comes tumbling out...
If it's only for home use and the occasional journey via car to rehearsal, then one of those with some bubble wrap to stop your sax rattling around would seem to be a cheap solution, as long as the latches are secure and the hinges are decent quality..
Many more expensive cases aren't well padded and need a bit of extra cushioning.
If your ambitions are to do more gigging and touring, then a Hiscox or Jakob Winter case would be a worthwhile investment.

Re gigbags - although I would never recommend anyone do what I do, I've used a gig bag for over 10 years and not had any problems. But I don't have a car and the extra 2 kg of a hard case on my back when walking home at night would only slow me down... and I've been in a few situations where walking fast has been an advantage...
One day I'll have an accident and you can all say 'I told you so'
I've been checking the weights of hard cases and the Winter Fiberglass is the best option

 

[jrintaha]

I have a G4M tenor and the case is okay for the occasional lugging around, worth the 18 quid I suppose. The plastic is a bit too soft and wobbly, so when I'm carrying it, the half with the handle on it tends to bend upwards so it's a millimeter or so higher than the other half. Not enough to put a big strain on the latches I guess, but might be a problem if you like to really load up your case. Of course an alto is much lighter so it may not even do that at all.

 

[jonf]

Kev's point is the most important one for the original poster.

I've had some of these super cheap cases, and they're basically OK, just about. A few things about them:-

The ABS is brittle, and cracks easily.

The latches are OK, but really easy to inadvertently flick open.

On one particular example, the support for the sax was a hollow plastic molding, and there was nothing between it and the outer case - just air. Cured by filling the gap with builders' expanding foam.

Jon

 

[QWales]

I can highly recommend the Trevor James rucksack type case, very much like this:

https://www.woodwindwarehouse.com/Accessories/Foraltosaxophones/TrevorJames/Liteshapedrucksackaltosaxcase

I've been bundling mine in and out of the boot of my car for a few years now and you'd be hard pushed to damage your sax using one of these.

 

[saxismyaxe]

gig bags are out of the question.
Too risky. They're really light but when the damage is done you wish you've never bought them.

Thank you mates!

That was exactly my point. I equate the security provided by a gig bag to that of a brown paper bag i.e. nill.