TromboneChat

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

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.

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

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.

Bonearzt wrote: ↑Sun Nov 03, 2019 8:10 pm 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

Eric, that would be fantastic! Thank you!

Burgerbob wrote: ↑Sun Nov 03, 2019 8:11 pm 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.

Aidan, would you trust one being check on a plane?

Yup. I have several times. I'm using my original one from 2008, actually. It's beat up but still protects the horn.

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.

dukesboneman wrote: ↑Mon Nov 04, 2019 9:10 am 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.

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.

pompatus wrote: ↑Sun Nov 03, 2019 7:15 pm

-How sturdy are the smaller SKB cases?
-Are the SKB cases universal enough to fit a Bach 16M well?

Terry

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.

What happened with Reunion Blues? They don't seem to make brass bags anymore. I had a textile one for my 42T for years.

tbonesullivan wrote: ↑Mon Nov 04, 2019 11:22 am What happened with Reunion Blues? They don't seem to make brass bags anymore. I had a textile one for my 42T for years.

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.

BGuttman wrote: ↑Mon Nov 04, 2019 11:27 amReunion 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.

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.

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.