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Curious -- is there *any* difference between an old Reunion Blues gig bag (the old Glenn Cronkhite-made, pre-China ones) and the modern Cronkhite-branded bags?

Or is it literally just a name and branding difference, and the bags are identical?

From what I have read and been told, the Old Reunion Blues bags where made in collaboration with Glenn Cronkhite (who founded Reunion Blues). But, when RB moved their bag manufacturing to China, they parted ways. Cronkhite bags and the Old RB bags should be the same bag as they were/are made by the same person, just the branding has changed.

The old bag just has a zippered compartment for music etc as part of the bag itself. The new ones have a separate much larger detachable music storage pouch.

Thanks guys! And is this to say that the *new* non-Cronkhite RB bags are nothing like the Cronkhite bags?

The new ones are essentially the same design of bag (except for maybe the music pocket/pouch) but I have heard that the durability and craftsmanship of the RB bags have suffered since they moved manufacturing and parted with Cronkhite.

Great. Thanks!

I have a current model Cronkite bag for my 5/4 RM. I've had several Cronkite era Reunion Blues bags in the past.

I must be the only person who is not really a fan of the Cronkite tuba bags. I will admit that the tuba compartment is probably the best one out there.

However, In the current clamshell design, the zippered pocket is on the same side of the bag as the backpack straps, pretty much making it useless for a mouthpiece unless you want the mouthpiece to jab you in the back. It seems that I have to choose between using the backpack straps or the zipper pocket. The removable music pocket is small for both a mouthpiece and a folder. The backpack straps are also too high. I'm 5 foot 8 and I find them barely useable as the bottom of the case is bopping me in the back of the legs when I'm walking around with it on my back. Maybe it's just the huge size of this particular case as the design is scaled up to fit a bigger tuba. The older Cronkite era Reunion Blues bags didn't have these problems, but were kinda difficult to get horns in and out of by comparison. Admittedly, the older ones I had were for 186 sized tubas or smaller. The only problem they did have was the zipper pocket really wasn't big enough, but at least it didn't poke me in the back.

The Altieri bags I have for my 2265 and RM 4345 are much more user-friendly.

cjk wrote:I must be the only person who is not really a fan of the Cronkite tuba bags. I will admit that the tuba compartment is probably the best one out there.

I had the same problems you mention when I had a Cronkhite bag for my Marzan. Especially getting around in NYC -- walking several miles and potentially standing for an hour on the train each way -- it sat a bit *low* on my back. Also, I never really liked the front compartment, and just plain took it off my bag. Main reason there is that a large pouch hanging behind me on the subway just seemed to encourage pickpockets. It also just doesn't look super *clean* to me, and looks *cleaner* without the pouch. Carrying a mouthpiece in the rear pocket was not a problem for me.

Frankly, I'm not sure I'd *buy* a Cronkhite bag, I really prefer top-loading bags. However, when you buy a used tuba and it comes with an existing bag... you don't get a choice for what you get. Only the choice to keep it or replace it later. I'm willing to give it another shot!

[But mostly, I was just curious about the Cronkhite / RB differences, of which there appear to be none.]

One of the employees at The Horn Guys shop who plays tuba posted this note/tip on the web page describing the Cronkhite bags. I also have a Rudy 5/4, and the way the bottom of the Cronkhite bag hits the back of my thighs when walking is a little annoying. I don't have to travel with my tuba often, so I haven't done anything about it, yet, but will be looking into the solution discussed below.

A tip: Though these cases are light, tubas are heavy. When carrying a tuba on my back, I often seem to have a bass trombone and a mute bag with me too. It's too much. So I went to REI and got a waist belt from a mountaineering backpack called the Wonderland. The belt was about $30. I attached it to the bottom connection of the shoulder straps on my Cronkhite case, and now much of the weight of the tuba is carried on my hips rather than on my shoulders. It's much more comfortable, let me tell you.

http://www.hornguys.com/tubacases.php" target="_blank

bloke wrote:

cjk wrote:The Altieri bags I have for my 2265 and RM 4345 are much more user-friendly.

Most of the time, backstage at misc. venues, are several 8' folding tables...
A side-loader (which I use for my "stage" and "rehearsal" Yamaha YCB-826S tubas, as well as my assortment of Thein tubas ) is super-easy when there's a table.

Silly me, I keep my Thein tuba in the back of my Ferarri FF.