changing a top loader to a side zipper

[MaryAnn]

Actually.....having gotten the concept from Matt to leave the tuba on its bell and put the bag on that way, I didn't follow his directions any farther than that but found it much easier to get the bag on than previous efforts, wiggling it all the way to the floor before upending the tuba. I still need a wall to rest it against after I turn it over, and putting on the bell protecting part is a royal pain in the neck. However, I may be able to use this otherwise nice bag after some practice sessions. The tuba itself seems to weigh even more than my old Mphone 184 CC but that may be just because that one was before The Demise. Thanks for all the input.

[MaryAnn]

Matt, I'm sorry if you felt insulted. I had no intent to do that.

[clunkertruck]

Mary Ann ...
I did this to a bag I had ... I took it to a local upholstery shop and they did a great job ---

[TheGoyWonder]

Just throw it in a sleeping bag. $29 at Walmart.

[GC]

Lots of people with Altieris don't bother with the bell cap. They just pull the drawstring and go.

[davidgilbreath]

This ↑

[MaryAnn]

Because it's a royal pain to put it on, and people figure they can get away without it. I think if I were making modifications to make a top loader easier to use, I'd get something sort of hard, cut it round a bit bigger in diameter than the bell, and pad the bell side quite well. Just stick it in there on top of the bell and drawstring the bag around it.

[MaryAnn]

One more question.....if you have a tarnish protection bag (for silver plate) and you wash it, it is wrecked for its intended purpose, right?

[MaryAnn]

.

[MaryAnn]

I wonder if a Gard Wheeled gig bag might be a good fit for you. Personally I've never owned one but I've heard good reviews from some who have.

http://www.gardbags.com/eng/brasswind/t ... ather.html

This is the next thing I'm looking at....the 3/4 is too small though. Because of how tall the Star is, I'd have to get the 4/4 size. It's a good 37 inches tall, plus. 3/4 isn't high enough inside, the 4/4 is only an inch too tall, room for padding under the bell, which is good. (I'd like to put it on top of a properly deflated ball of some kind, a la Bloke.) Less than what I paid for the hard case, but would still fit the bill for getting away from the for-me-difficult top-loader.

And of course there is always the bloke option of a well padded sleeping bag with a bungie around it. I'm seriously considering that too, with phooey on the bonnet.

[scottw]

Try Andy Loree at Wessex, in Michigan. Give him the dimensions and he will suggest a bag of theirs that will best fit your horn. A pretty good bag and a very nice price. Service is excellent, too.

[MaryAnn]

Already did that and got a No from Andy.

[PaulMaybery]

Okay, so we're back at it again.
Just spent a month with a gig almost every day. The tuba is upright, now it is inverted, time to play, time to bug out. When I play and switch to either the F or the Cimbasso it gets inverted. (Had I a nice stand like Herr Putcammer in the Berlin Phil I would keep it upright.) When I leave the stage I never invert the horn but rather rest it flat on the floor or propped on a chair. I hate having the condensation run out the mouth pipe. A sloppy mess. It's then time to wipe it down and also dissassemble the cimbasso and also prep it for the case. So when it comes time to pack up, the tuba is no longer inverted (has not been since I left the stage.) To slip it into a side loader or in my case (which happens to be a side loading foam case) is a piece of cake. Plus the foam case has wheels. (Besides with the foam case it is more of simply lowering it into the case.) A big plus. Being now at 70 years, I can kick "butt" as a player, but the shoulders just do not deal with weight or lifting the horn into the bag, or reinverting a tuba in the bag once it is in. Simply put, it's just no fun.
Perhaps it does not look quite as cool to stroll to a gig with a foam case on wheels, say as with a nice funky "Altieri" or "Cronkite" bag, but it is far easier on the player, and much safer for the tuba.
I have top loaders for my BMB CC BAT and F tuba and they are for this old codger a PITA. I get plenty of compliments on my playing and could care the least if I sport a cool image upon arival to a gig.
So, for me side loading, or a foam case with wheels is even a better choice. I wind up using a hand cart with my top loaders anyway. Wheels are the deal. When I play Winter Carnival concerts in St. Paul in January, I often need to move my horns from several blocks away in sub zero temps. So the least possible effort is the key.
I'm really not sure why I bothered to write this, as most of us will do what we please and think is most advantageous. If one or the other is not an issue for you, then so be it. But I try to picture the worse case scenario and figure what will work the best. For a bit of candor, I would honestly prefer not to use a case or a bag at all, considering the added weight, but naked tubas can initiate rather inane conversation on the street. So best keep it clothed.

[tofu]

For a bit of candor, I would honestly prefer not to use a case or a bag at all, considering the added weight, but naked tubas can initiate rather inane conversation on the street. So best keep it clothed.

I've got a couple horns that are far easier to carry around in the gig bag then just the horn. My Cronhkite bags really help balance out some horns that are otherwise very unwieldy to carry by hand. The horn in bag ends up feeling far lighter than just the horn in hand due to the better balance. Gig bags also don't put any stress on the horn. While you as a pro you know how to carry your tuba I see an awful lot of tubas being lugged around by hanging on to the first valve slide. I bet a lot of horns don't play as well as they could due to the slides being out of alignment from all the stress from being transported improperly.

[Rev Rob]

I have a pro tec for my old King 1291. It is a zippered side loader. But trying to load said tuba in gig back is like trying to dress a 3 year old to go and play in winter time - not always the most cooperative effort between horn and bag to get packed up. I make use of the back pack option. Once I get it loaded on my back I feel like a real sherpa. The horn weighs 35 pounds and is quite a load. I am 6'5" and weigh 197 or so and am scaled up to handle such a load, but being 64, I feel time taking its toll.

We all value our instruments and want to take good care of them and keep them from being damaged. The only other instruments which are more taxing to case and transport are double basses and harps. I suppose if we were not up to the challenge we would be vocalists. Playing and transporting our instrument is a labor of love, otherwise why would we do it?

[MaryAnn]

Maybe I'll try a protec, but not sure I'd be any better at loading it. Only the oldsters here understand the physical strength problems that come with age, and ya'll weigh more than my 100# and probably have twice my strength, even in your dotage.

(comment on picture of self mit tuba: You don't LOOK 67.)

[Rev Rob]

There are days I may feel like I am 67, but I'm not there yet, just 64 and in a few months I will be 65; God willing and the creek don't rise.

[MaryAnn]

Gard went back. Don't like how the tuba fits, and it won't go in the car, only the truck, and scrapes the sides of doorways in the house. I'm not driving that huge mother of a truck to every gig, some of which have tight parking. Backup lights on it are useless through three layers of tinted glass, plus the 22 feet long or whatever it is with extra cab and eight foot bed. Great for hauling the trailer.
So....portable $20 folding hand truck from Costco, leave the bonnet off, take a garbage bag for the bell in case it's raining, plastic bin to put the bow in and bungees to attach it all to the hand truck, and it works. Sort of. Maybe, now, I would even have trouble with my old 184 CC and its wonderfully fitting side zip bag on my back, now that I am not as strong as 10 years ago.
So off we go tonight to rehearsal and we'll see how it works. Whining complete for the moment.