If you’ve ever bought a vintage saxophone, you have likely encountered the same problem that I have: Either the case needs to be replaced immediately, or at some point during your ownership of the horn.
Most vintage cases offer very little protection for our expensive instruments
The worst examples of ultra-bad protection for horns that I have seen are the cases that were offered by a wide range of high-end German saxophone manufacturers during the last mid-century. The cases all appear to be made of the same ultra-cheap, paper-covered cardboard—with maybe some thin wood somewhere—and were standard issue for many mid-century German brand names.
Manufacturers that used these cases extensively included: Dörfler & Jörka, Julius Keilwerth, Hohner, as well as Hammerschmidt. These cases did not hold up well, and lead to serious damage if the horn was dropped or seriously bumped while in its case.
However, poor protection was not limited to these cardboard-based Euro cases. Look no further than the cases that came with the Martins, Bueschers, and Conns until the 1960s. Despite their plywood base, they still offered very little protection for our valued instruments.
And even if your horn came with its original case from the 1960s or newer, there is still a good chance you will want to replace it due to wear, or in some cases smell.
Finding a replacement case for your vintage sax just got a little easier
If you own a vintage horn, you likely know that finding a replacement case for your vintage sax can be a bit of a challenge. Every horn is built slightly differently. Add to that differences like split or left-sided bell keys, or a bigger bell and/or bow, and you are left with the question: How do you know which case is going to fit your model of saxophone?
With so many cases on the market, and many dealers not having more than one or two in stock, how do you try them out in order to determine what’s going to work?
A member on SOTW started a thread last December, in an effort to make this case choosing easier for owners of vintage, and not so vintage, saxophones. The Definitive case compatibility chart thread contains 97 posts at the time of writing, and covers many of the most common—and lesser common thanks to yours truly 😉 —SATB saxophones, and how they fit into the most common replacement cases.
The SOTW member who started the thread, luispa, created an Excel spreadsheet that he updates as people post to the thread. I encourage all of you who use replacement cases with your horns—both vintage and modern—to look at this chart, and help luispa fill in with more models of horns.
In the meantime, this is already a very helpful chart to assist you if you’re looking for a replacement case for your vintage baby. You will find a link to the Excel chart in the first post of the thread.
Bought a Pro Tec Contoured XL for my Martin Committee lll tenor. It doesn’t fit at all. Won’t sit flat and therefore won’t close either. Don’t know why is keep reading that it fits. Even on the Sax on the Web site. IT DOESN’T FIT! Had to return it. Still can’t find a case. I use the XL for my split bell Conn New Wonder. Works great. But not for the Martin tenor.
Greetings to all,
My experience with Protec™ cases has been mixed. I tried them when they were first available almost twenty years ago. The flute, clarinet, and straight soprano models have held up very well. The baritone sax one fell apart after two gigs and I returned it for a refund. The alto model is seriously compromised, but still useful for storage at home. I have no experience with the tenor sax model because I have a number of other cases and bags to hand available to me. (Speaking of GAS, at one point I owned over a dozen tenor saxes, but that was when I was an active Road Warrior™.) The weakest element of the design is not the formed-plywood shell, nor the Cordura™ covering, but rather the use of too-short self-tapping screws to tack them together. These cases would be Totally Awesome™ if Protec™ used resin epoxy to fasten the covering to the shell and the screws as reinforcement, IMHO.
Speaking of epoxy, one of the more bullet-proof solutions for travelling musicians was the fiberglass-reinforced case such as the ones branded “Walt Johnson” or “Selmer Flight Case”. However, these are decidedly right handed bell key biased, and would require significant hackage [aka “customization”] to make them suitable for saxophones that deviate significantly from the dimensions of a Selmer SBA. They are also quite heavy, despite the form-fit shape.
One of the more flexible solutions for a travelling saxophonist was the Selmer™ Sax-Pak™, allegedly designed (or at least endorsed) by Ray Hyman. This case intelligently allows for every possible permutation of bell-key position.
#ProTip
The optimal use of the Sax-Pak™ involves several hacks, including towels and a belt. These cases are eminently bell-friendly, yet require some support, lest an errant movement, such as a droppage, were to allow enough momentum to accumulate such that serious carnage could ensue. The tenor cases need a bath-sized towel, the alto cases a hand towel. The towel is rolled along the long axis and placed along the spine of the case, the excess length of the towel roll folded such that there is a gap where right hand thumb rest would otherwise come into contact with the interior of the case. Similarly, a rolled-up so-called “face cloth” placed strategically south of the left-hand palm high D key would serve well to effectively obviate any opportunities for damage in that corridor. The attachments to a belt are utterly naff. I replaced the D-rings on mine with split rings such as are made for camera straps or key rings. Even better, the case covers made of Cordura™ solve the problems of poor balance and the inevitable zipper rot.
My preferred case for travel these days is the Gard™ suspension series gig bag. They feature adjustable pads that keep the sax from moving around yet create a buffer zone such that the body and bell of the sax are not in direct contact with the outer material. The alto, tenor, and bari (both low Bb and low A) are designed to be oversized and accomodate large-belled instruments. Packed appropriately in a carton, they are suitable for shipping. There are a number of other useful features, but I would rather invite you to investigate than tout them. I also suspect this would not be much use for a bass sax.
My dream case would be something like the Mono™ cases for guitars, paired with the flexible padding of the Gard™ bag.
Thanks for all your insight Paul!
I have one of those first gen. ProTec cases, but for tenor sax. Mine is holding up well, but then I have hardly ever taken it out of the house. It generally holds horns that are sitting around and not going out on gigs. Currently it is housing my De Villiers tenor. Years ago I took my Mark VI to a few shows in it, but soon stopped because I was worried about the case’s lack of protection for the horn when it wasn’t under my control.
One thing I find with the new ProTec bari case that I have, is that I have to add little shim below the bow to keep both my Mark VI and Committee III from sliding up and down in it. I haven’t tried putting my Medusa in it, so perhaps the results would be different.
I hadn’t heard of the Gard brand of gig bag. I’ll have to Google the brand to find out more about it. Sounds interesting though. I can’t remember now if that brand is listed on the SOTW chart.
Surprisingly, the best stock cases I think I’ve seen are those provided with 1970s Bueschers and Bundys. You know them — ugly injection-molded green, gray, or (occasionally) tolerable black plastic, looking ultra-cheap. And they might have been ultra-cheap to make, but that doesn’t mean they were inferior. Decades later, they have proven to hold up better than plywood with slotted joins, glue, and metal supporting brackets. In fact, they may have done their job too well, setting the bar for tolerance of abuse higher than “classier” stock cases were prepared to accommodate.
The horns were so-so. I’ll take a Vito from any of their sources over a Bundy. But the cases? They got that right.
My vote for most intelligent case was the one that Martin commissioned from Samsonite™ during the 1960s. They really were “gorilla-proof”, and not too heavy at all.
Yes, I recently saw one of those for sale on eBay. I’m not sure I saved the auction pics, but I was going to… Just because they were more of a curiosity for my gallery than anything else.
Ah yes, I have one of those sitting in my hallway right now. It is holding an Bundy II alto, in its pre-lamp phase.
Many of us with left or split bell keys have had good results with Pro Tec contoured cases over the years. Not long ago PT brought out the XL model, which fits big-bell saxes such as Buescher 400s, but is too big to keep most other vintage horns from bouncing around inside. However, PT recently changed the standard case so left or split bells will no longer fit! So from here on out, vintage owners who want a Pro Tec will have to choose the XL, and supply extra padding themselves.
Hard to tell why this was done – maybe PT is tied in with another maker who wants the market niche. Most modestly priced hard cases will not fit a nonstandard sax, and for years PT could be relied upon. No longer!
Yes, I’ve heard that about the newer ProTec contoured cases.
I was looking at the Allied catalogue at my tech’s shop a couple of years ago. I noticed that they had some contoured cases in there for vintage horns. I don’t remember if those were good for split & left-sided bell key horns or not though.