TubeNet

New tuba. . . and yes, I have a hard case for it.
I'm looking to get a gig bag for situations in which I have to carry the horn up steps, up in the air (above the floor), etc.. What do folks like; or, more important, not like, about specific gig bags?
The Altieri seems highly respected, but I've never used a "toploader" before.

You should search "gig bags" on here, you'll come up with a very interesting conucopia of posts.
Here's my two cents. I own both a Cronkhite and an Altieri. My tubas have never sustained damage from the use of either.
In terms of design and convenience, I prefer the Altieri. There is 0% chance of "zipper failure," either from accidentally forgetting to zip, or having one give out. The shoulder straps are MUCH more comfortable. She puts a huge accessory pocket on the front, which I absolutely love. She even makes a "piston pad" to strap down your pistons so the stems don't get bent. She's putting some kind of large hard-plastic sheet on them to add to the protection, but I don't think that the Altieri bags are quite as protective as the Cronkhite.
Of the two Cronkhite varieties, I believe the leather version is more protective. They're heavy as a son of a gun, but from the gigbags I've seen, I think they offer the best protection. Good storage space, but not nearly as good as the Altieri. Shoulder straps are very sturdy, but not as comfortable.
Hope this helps.

Thanks!
Selection turns out to be more complex than I expected. The principle consideration, of course, is horn protection, and different bags advertise foam thickness and density, plus stiffening reinforcement for the bell. Then there're horn dimensions, and those are important to stabilizing the horn in the bag. Could one use towels or swimming noodles to lock it in? Also, while you get best maneuverability with handles, backpack-style shoulder straps are really comfortable for the carry from the parking lot. . . and bag photos/descriptions on the 'net frequently don't talk about those.

My horns have 2 cronkhite cases, and one that says Mr. Tuba on it. I would trust my life to the Cronkhite cases. My horns have never gotten hurt while in them, and I've had to walk about a half a mile every day with them (across campus). I've only gotten to try out the Mr. Tuba one once (from the car to a house and back), but it doesn't have pads on the shoulder straps (something I probably will change). Another thing is that my Cronkhite cases are side loaders, which (at this point) seems to be simplest. Just open the case and lay the horn in there. The other one is a top loader and I seem to have to put the horn down on the bell (I had also made a bell cover so it wouldn't get scratched, but that's somehting else) and put the horn over it. It works, but I think in a rush, it could take longer. I haven't really gotten used to it, though so I'm not entirely sure.

Depending on your skills (and time), you can always make your own. After all, it's not rocket science.

Having an oddly shaped 6/4 Martin Gnageyphone, I faced an inherent challenge of likely not finding an off-the-rack option. Also, I wasn't thrilled with some of what I found, and less thrilled with the cost of other things I found.

I found myself thinking, "I wonder if I couldn't just make something better than that..."

So I eyed up the not-to-be-named-top-loader I had for my F, made a pattern and went to work. Most of the matierials I got from eBay. I used 1600 denier ballistic cordura (flak jacket sort of stuff - heavier duty than I've ever seen on any other gig bag), and double-stitched every seam with kevlar thread (I recommend using a heavy-duty machine that you don't care what abuse you put it through), padded with extra-dense closed-cell foam and lined it with rip-stop nylon. Put a music pouch on the outside and a strap around the middle for reinforcement and another place to pick it up.

Total cost - less than $100.

Total time - about 4 hours, but would likely take less time the next time (not that I want to do it again), due to the eye-it-up design of it all.

But it will likely outlast several horns, perhaps. And no seams will come apart, the fabric won't tear unless under dire stress, and it's padded more than any other gig bag I've ever had.

I was renewing my tuba insurance last week, and a specific exclusion was for damage sustained when the instrument is being transported in anything other than a hard case. I know that flight cases and flying with a tuba has been discussed at length here, but this clause appplied to travelling by train, bus and car as well. Just something to think about...

peter birch wrote:I was renewing my tuba insurance last week, and a specific exclusion was for damage sustained when the instrument is being transported in anything other than a hard case. I know that flight cases and flying with a tuba has been discussed at length here, but this clause appplied to travelling by train, bus and car as well. Just something to think about...

I would sincerely hope that tubenetters are smarter than to try to ship their expensive tuba by train, bus, or plane with anything less than a hard case. I must confess I've never seen anything in a policy about my personal car, though. Things must be tough in Britain, Peter!

scottw wrote:

peter birch wrote:I was renewing my tuba insurance last week, and a specific exclusion was for damage sustained when the instrument is being transported in anything other than a hard case. I know that flight cases and flying with a tuba has been discussed at length here, but this clause appplied to travelling by train, bus and car as well. Just something to think about...

I would sincerely hope that tubenetters are smarter than to try to ship their expensive tuba by train, bus, or plane with anything less than a hard case. I must confess I've never seen anything in a policy about my personal car, though. Things must be tough in Britain, Peter!

I'm sure you're right, the furthest I have to travel to a gig by car is 50 miles, a couple of hundred when the band goes by bus.I have a feeling though that it is aimed at the small local job, when you might be tempted just to put your instrument in the car without its case or in a gig bag.
I'm sure, too, that everyone takes great care of their instruments, but the insurance is against all the malign spirits out there, such as doors that close on instruments of their own accord....

bigpapajon wrote:

peter birch wrote:I was renewing my tuba insurance last week, and a specific exclusion was for damage sustained when the instrument is being transported in anything other than a hard case. I know that flight cases and flying with a tuba has been discussed at length here, but this clause appplied to travelling by train, bus and car as well. Just something to think about...

Never seen that before.

it actually describes the exclusions like this:
"when accidental damage is sustained in transit when handed to a recognised transport provider, unless the property insured is securely packaged in a purpose designed Rigid Body Case"
"Instruments in any vehicle accompanied by you or your representative, unlesss in a Rigid Body Case"

I did shop around, and they seem fairly standard exclusions in the UK

Thanks, all. Sounds like a close-fitting model of one of the higher level bags is in order.
Four hours and $100!! Now, that's an elegant solution.
I notice in the travel insurance exclusion that they include the words "purpose designed". That's interesting, because (looking at the case/bag problem) I just observed that the hard case for my 30 year-old Amati 681 fits the horn well from side-to-side, but the space is about 3-4" longer than it needs to be. . . and there's a slight angle where the bell meets the top. . . AND there's a bell crease that was there when I bought the horn. That crease exactly matches the angle at which the bell meets the top of the case. I've had the horn for 12 years, and I never noticed the correspondence before.