Hi,
I've narrowed down my gig bag choices to two bags that I think will fit my tuba. One is the Thomann Student Tuba gig bag. Their student tuba is basically identical to my Musica Steyr tuba which is identical to the Cerveny 783 (actually the bell diameter on mine is smaller, I think it's identical to the original Cerveny 783 but newer 783s increased the bell diameter). I think this gig bag is actually a rebranded Soundline gig bag that they used to sell for the 783.
The other is a Mirapahone gig bag for the Petrushka F tuba, which I have been reliably informed by an instrument shop will hold the 783 (they tested it).
The Thomann is $170 cheaper. But shipping (from Europe) is $120, which makes them in the same ballpark.
Are Miraphone bags better, worse, or similar to Thomann (Soundline I think) gig bags? Looking at the features they look about the same. Handles, strap, backpack straps, big rectangular outside pocket. Leaning towards the Thomann since it is specifically for my exact tuba shape, but also I wouldn't mind rewarding that shop that checked bag fit for me, so I'm awaiting any relevant opinions.
Thomann gig bags?
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thomasafine
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Re: Thomann gig bags?
Actually I think I'm wrong that Thomann and Soundline bags are the same. And I've found the Soundline gig bag for the same tuba from fmb-direkt dot de, for quite a bit less (they now ship to the U.S for only 35 Euro), and the bag itself is 160 Euro. I've heard good things about Soundline. Under $200 delivered is looking like the way to go. Any thing I should know about fmb-direkt?
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Andy Rummel
- pro musician
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Re: Thomann gig bags?
Hi there!!
I have purchased several gig bags from FMB and it has always been a very positive experience. Their $35 international shipping is a steal compared to other companies outside of the US...heck, even within the US! I have owned three of their "FMB" brand tuba bags in cordura and I have loved each one of them. They are built very well with more-than-adequate padding and they held up daily use. They look strikingly familiar to the Stencel bangs made in Poland...perhaps they manufacture the bags for FMB?
At any rate, I was intrigued by the Soundline bags and purchased one for my F tuba. It was shipped VERY fast, I think it arrived in about a week, which is much faster than other purchases from FMB. The Soundline bag is also built very well with adequate padding. One minor-ish gripe...with three college degrees I could not figure out how to loosen the backpack straps beyond about an inch or so. My wife took a stab at it and was also stumped. I ended up taking it to a local cobbler/luggage repairman who also came to the conclusion that the series of straps and buckles were overengineered and couldn't be loosened. He ended up cutting the strap, sewing a metal D ring on the bag where the backpack straps attach and then added heavy duty metal clasp to the backpack straps. The bags is now way better than new and is MUCH more comfortable to carry. To top it off, the cobbler only charged $20 which I felt was a steal.
I have only had the Soundline bag for about a week so I cannot speak on the durability, but with the improvements made, I think it will be a great bag.
Andy Rummel
I have purchased several gig bags from FMB and it has always been a very positive experience. Their $35 international shipping is a steal compared to other companies outside of the US...heck, even within the US! I have owned three of their "FMB" brand tuba bags in cordura and I have loved each one of them. They are built very well with more-than-adequate padding and they held up daily use. They look strikingly familiar to the Stencel bangs made in Poland...perhaps they manufacture the bags for FMB?
At any rate, I was intrigued by the Soundline bags and purchased one for my F tuba. It was shipped VERY fast, I think it arrived in about a week, which is much faster than other purchases from FMB. The Soundline bag is also built very well with adequate padding. One minor-ish gripe...with three college degrees I could not figure out how to loosen the backpack straps beyond about an inch or so. My wife took a stab at it and was also stumped. I ended up taking it to a local cobbler/luggage repairman who also came to the conclusion that the series of straps and buckles were overengineered and couldn't be loosened. He ended up cutting the strap, sewing a metal D ring on the bag where the backpack straps attach and then added heavy duty metal clasp to the backpack straps. The bags is now way better than new and is MUCH more comfortable to carry. To top it off, the cobbler only charged $20 which I felt was a steal.
I have only had the Soundline bag for about a week so I cannot speak on the durability, but with the improvements made, I think it will be a great bag.
Andy Rummel
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thomasafine
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- Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2018 2:50 pm
Re: Thomann gig bags?
Just to follow up, I did end up buying the Soundline gig bag from FMB Direkt. I had no problem with the order. It arrived in under three weeks, and was well packed in a large heavy duty box. I had actually expected they would compress it more than they did but they basically shipped it full size, and just pressed flat with the bell cover turned ninety degrees and pressed inside.
The quality seems great. It's vastly easier to deal with than a hard case. But of course not as protective. It has backpack straps, a suitcase handle, and a shoulder strap all included, so you can carry it multiple ways. I've so far used it mainly with the backpack strap slung on one shoulder, and with the suitcase handle.
Is have not needed to significantly adjust the backpack straps. Yes, it is weird and complicated. But for me I don't yet need it any different than as shipped, which seems to be near the maximum adjustment in this configuration. As Andy said above, you can lengthen it by about an inch (but read on). It can also be made tighter by about six inches which should be plenty. But it may be possible to reconfigure how the straps are run to add length. The primary strap starts at the bottom attachment point and goes up, through a tri-glide adjustment ring, and then around a loop on the bottom of the shoulder portion of the backpack strap. It then travels back down through the tri-glide again, and then down through a ladder lock which is attached with a short strap to the same attachment point where the adjustable part of the strap starts. It then goes back up and through the tri-glide adjustment ring for (yes) a third time. I think you could pull out this third time through the glide and you'd end up adding 3-4 inches to the length, but I haven't tried it because I don't need to. The straps themselves seem fine and the shoulder/chest part of the backpack straps are wide and thickly padded.
The shoulder strap is much more normal-looking and adjustment is very straigh-tforward. However it may not get long enough for everyone. It's fine if you're slinging it over the same shoulder, but it feels a little tight for slinging across your body onto the opposite shoulder. It is workable though as is. It does unbuckle from both ends, so it would be very easy to change to a different shoulder strap if desired. The rubber grip on the shoulder strap is a bit basic. If the backpack straps are over-designed, the shoulder strap is under-designed.
The top-loading design feels more precarious than I would imagine a a side-loading case would be. So far, I'm holding the case upright, and lifting the tuba up and dropping it in vertically. You could also load it horizontally and slide the bag over the tuba that way, but I haven't tried it.
The fit is basically perfect, as expected, since my Musica Steyr tuba is essentially identical to the Cerveny tubas that this gig bag was designed for. It doesn't feel tight anywhere and it doesn't feel loose anywhere. Because mine is older the bell diemater is smaller than the modern Cervenys but I still haven't noticed than anything seems loose there.
It has a large long pocket that can hold music or whatever, with a zipper enclosure, and a shallower pocket, just as long, with a velcro closure. There's also a small flat zipper pouch in the middle of the bell cover (on the inside) where a mouthpiece or two can easily fit. I do sort of wish there was more structured pockets, like a place for pens pencils lip balm etc without it all just swimming around. But I'm sure I can find some sort of mesh organizer at Steples or whatever to throw in there.
Overall I'm very happy with it and would definitely recommend for anyone that has a model that's a very close match to one of the many models they make bags for.
The quality seems great. It's vastly easier to deal with than a hard case. But of course not as protective. It has backpack straps, a suitcase handle, and a shoulder strap all included, so you can carry it multiple ways. I've so far used it mainly with the backpack strap slung on one shoulder, and with the suitcase handle.
Is have not needed to significantly adjust the backpack straps. Yes, it is weird and complicated. But for me I don't yet need it any different than as shipped, which seems to be near the maximum adjustment in this configuration. As Andy said above, you can lengthen it by about an inch (but read on). It can also be made tighter by about six inches which should be plenty. But it may be possible to reconfigure how the straps are run to add length. The primary strap starts at the bottom attachment point and goes up, through a tri-glide adjustment ring, and then around a loop on the bottom of the shoulder portion of the backpack strap. It then travels back down through the tri-glide again, and then down through a ladder lock which is attached with a short strap to the same attachment point where the adjustable part of the strap starts. It then goes back up and through the tri-glide adjustment ring for (yes) a third time. I think you could pull out this third time through the glide and you'd end up adding 3-4 inches to the length, but I haven't tried it because I don't need to. The straps themselves seem fine and the shoulder/chest part of the backpack straps are wide and thickly padded.
The shoulder strap is much more normal-looking and adjustment is very straigh-tforward. However it may not get long enough for everyone. It's fine if you're slinging it over the same shoulder, but it feels a little tight for slinging across your body onto the opposite shoulder. It is workable though as is. It does unbuckle from both ends, so it would be very easy to change to a different shoulder strap if desired. The rubber grip on the shoulder strap is a bit basic. If the backpack straps are over-designed, the shoulder strap is under-designed.
The top-loading design feels more precarious than I would imagine a a side-loading case would be. So far, I'm holding the case upright, and lifting the tuba up and dropping it in vertically. You could also load it horizontally and slide the bag over the tuba that way, but I haven't tried it.
The fit is basically perfect, as expected, since my Musica Steyr tuba is essentially identical to the Cerveny tubas that this gig bag was designed for. It doesn't feel tight anywhere and it doesn't feel loose anywhere. Because mine is older the bell diemater is smaller than the modern Cervenys but I still haven't noticed than anything seems loose there.
It has a large long pocket that can hold music or whatever, with a zipper enclosure, and a shallower pocket, just as long, with a velcro closure. There's also a small flat zipper pouch in the middle of the bell cover (on the inside) where a mouthpiece or two can easily fit. I do sort of wish there was more structured pockets, like a place for pens pencils lip balm etc without it all just swimming around. But I'm sure I can find some sort of mesh organizer at Steples or whatever to throw in there.
Overall I'm very happy with it and would definitely recommend for anyone that has a model that's a very close match to one of the many models they make bags for.