Case for Bach 16M, suggestions?

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pompatus
Posts: 434
Joined: Mar 23, 2018

by pompatus »

Well, it happened, the zipper on my beloved old Reunion Blues bag finally gave out. As much as I’d love to have it repaired and continue with “old faithful”, it’s probably time to move to a sturdier option, especially as I’ll need something “airplane friendly” soon.

-How sturdy are the smaller SKB cases?

-Are the SKB cases universal enough to fit a Bach 16M well?

-Would I be better served by going with something like a Marcus Bonna?

I know the SKB to be a good option, and I’m reasonably certain it embodies what I’m looking for in a hardcase (compact, lightweight, durable), but I don’t know it well enough to know how it would handle being checked on an airplane.

Any other suggestions?

Thank you, trombone colleagues, for your time!

Terry
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SaigonSlide
Posts: 78
Joined: Apr 06, 2018

by SaigonSlide »

I have had my reunion blues bag (for my 16M actually!) since the early 1990s. It is one of my favorite things I own. The zipper was broken for years and I never did anything about it until I moved overseas to Vietnam.

I brought it to a guy that has sat on the same corner behind a sewing machine for probably 20 years, repairing clothes and bags. He took one look at the zipper, adjusted the teeth, and it is good as new. Charged my $1.
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Bonearzt
Posts: 833
Joined: Mar 22, 2018

by Bonearzt »

There's a guy in Pittsburgh CA that used to repair the RB, been meaning to send mine for the same reason.

Adolfo Reyes, I'll email his phone #

Eric
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Burgerbob
Posts: 6327
Joined: Apr 23, 2018

by Burgerbob »

SKB 360 is where it's at. Tiny, very sturdy, good on the horn.

Any gig bag is larger and doesn't protect at all.

Any really better hard case will be much larger and heavier.
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pompatus
Posts: 434
Joined: Mar 23, 2018

by pompatus »

[quote="Bonearzt"]There's a guy in Pittsburgh CA that used to repair the RB, been meaning to send mine for the same reason.

Adolfo Reyes, I'll email his phone #

Eric[/quote]

Eric, that would be fantastic! Thank you!
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pompatus
Posts: 434
Joined: Mar 23, 2018

by pompatus »

[quote="Burgerbob"]SKB 360 is where it's at. Tiny, very sturdy, good on the horn.

Any gig bag is larger and doesn't protect at all.

Any really better hard case will be much larger and heavier.[/quote]

Aidan, would you trust one being check on a plane?
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Burgerbob
Posts: 6327
Joined: Apr 23, 2018

by Burgerbob »

Yup. I have several times. I'm using my original one from 2008, actually. It's beat up but still protects the horn.
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dukesboneman
Posts: 935
Joined: Apr 02, 2018

by dukesboneman »

I`m a huge fan of the Eastman cases

or

When ever I fly with my horn I have one of the old French style Bach cases from yester-year and they work great.

They fit into the over head, light, small and you can have rings mounted on the case for a strap if you want.
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pompatus
Posts: 434
Joined: Mar 23, 2018

by pompatus »

[quote="dukesboneman"]I`m a huge fan of the Eastman cases

or

When ever I fly with my horn I have one of the old French style Bach cases from yester-year and they work great.

They fit into the over head, light, small and you can have rings mounted on the case for a strap if you want.[/quote]

I've still got the original french-style case that came with the horn, but the bell end is nearly destroyed. I keep telling myself that I'll get around to repairing it one of these days.
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Pre59
Posts: 372
Joined: May 12, 2018

by Pre59 »

[quote="pompatus"]

-How sturdy are the smaller SKB cases?

-Are the SKB cases universal enough to fit a Bach 16M well?

Terry[/quote]

I've got a SKB350 and a Gator. The Gator is like a more sturdy, heavier version of the SKB, being a bit wider and the sides seem a little more rigid. Regarding flying, I would prefer to use the Gator over the SKB but I find that the catches are less tight than I would like, so it may be an idea to use a strap as well. I use the SKB as my main case otherwise.

The SKB fits a 3B so a Bach 16 shouldn't be a problem.
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tbonesullivan
Posts: 1959
Joined: Jul 02, 2019

by tbonesullivan »

What happened with Reunion Blues? They don't seem to make brass bags anymore. I had a textile one for my 42T for years.
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BGuttman
Posts: 7368
Joined: Mar 22, 2018

by BGuttman »

[quote="tbonesullivan"]What happened with Reunion Blues? They don't seem to make brass bags anymore. I had a textile one for my 42T for years.[/quote]

Reunion Bliues was adopted by a Chinese company and Glen Cronkhite began making bags under his own name. He retired and I thought Torpedo had bought the tooling.
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tbonesullivan
Posts: 1959
Joined: Jul 02, 2019

by tbonesullivan »

[quote="BGuttman"]Reunion Blues was adopted by a Chinese company and Glen Cronkhite began making bags under his own name. He retired and I thought Torpedo had bought the tooling.[/quote] Yeah, looking now I see that RB closed their U.S. factory in 2000, and prior to that Cronkhite had licensed his designs to the company for 25 years. They were definitely nice cases, but I always wanted one that was a bit more rigid for a trombone.
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Cmillar
Posts: 439
Joined: Apr 24, 2018

by Cmillar »

The small SKB is excellent for a Bach 16M / 16 / 12 / 8 / 6....any of them.

I love my SKB, and I know my horn and slide are protected. And you can put a nice shoulder strap on it of your choosing as well.

Fits in an overhead plane bin too.