MW Fafner and Protec Bag

[armytuba]

Hey, Tubenetters!

Does anyone know if a MW Fafner would fit properly in the larger, 22" bell Protec gig bag? No one seems to know at WW and BW so I thought I'd toss this question up to the jury.

Thanks!

[Rick Denney]

Does anyone know if a MW Fafner would fit properly in the larger, 22" bell Protec gig bag? No one seems to know at WW and BW so I thought I'd toss this question up to the jury.

It should fit, though I've not tried it. I have that bag and I use it for my Holton. The Holton is fatter than the Fafner, so that should address the width dimension. And the bag is about six inches too long for the Holton, which suggests the bag should accommodate a tuba 44 inches tall. I don't think the Fafner is that tall. I believe that the bag will handily hold a Rudi Meinl 5/4, which is taller than my Holton but not quite as wide, and I doubt the Fafner is any bigger than the Rudi.

Rick "not sure what 'properly' means" Denney

[WakinAZ]

Santos post your horn dimensions and I can check it vs. my large protec bag. Or I can sell you mine on trial and if it don't fit, send it back... I don't need it any more since the horn I am buying comes with a gig bag.

People love to hate on the ProTec bags, but I found it to be pretty nice for the price. It was the only bag that would fit my 187, which is wider than a 186, but not as big as a Fafner (drool). I had to put a rolled up towel in the side and a bed pillow up top to suck up the excess space in the bag. This is a big bag.

The only glove fit you'll probably find would be a Cronkhite, but you can try mine for $80 plus ground shipping

Eric "shameless plug" L.

[tubeast]

Why don´t you just contact the company and ask THEM whether they already have the cutting patterns to fit the Fafner ?

I have experienced this to be the best way to get a well-fitting bag.
If I were to run this kind of business, I´d keep close contact to tuba manufacturers and inquire a list of basic dimensions for all the instrument models. Then I´d try to figure out a "five sizes ´ll fit ém all" set of bag dimensions. I´m sure that´s just what bag manufacturers do.

[poomshanka]

I used a large Pro-Tec gig bag on my Miraphone 190 CC, and it was a comfortable fit (i.e. not squeaky tight, but not flopping around either). That thing had a 19.75" bell, and if I had to take a guess, I'd say it's bigger than the Fafner in every possible dimensional measurement.

Just my experience, FWIW...

...Dave

[WakinAZ]

Hans, the ProTec bag is a "one size fits none" offered in two basic sizes. There are custom fit bags for the Fafner made by Cronkhite and others, but the OP was asking about the larger ProTec bag.

Eric

[Rick Denney]

Why don´t you just contact the company and ask THEM whether they already have the cutting patterns to fit the Fafner ?

Pro-Tec sells bags for all sorts of applications beyond musical instruments and their business model is based on a low price point compared to gig-bag makers who do custom bags. I doubt you could get them to match a set of dimensions and I doubt they even know what a Fafner is, but I could be wrong.

I use the Protec bag, even though it's too long for my Holton, because there are no other options at an affordable price. I have a Reunion Blues bag (made when Cronkhite was there) that fits a grand orchestral tuba, and it's tight as a drum with the Holton. I don't like it that tight, and that's why I started using the Protec. I use the RB bag for my York Master.

Rick "attracted by all the handles 'n stuff on the Soundwear bags" Denney

[Rick Denney]

I recently purchased a Protec for my Cerveny. The bag is longer than the horn, but otherwise I'm really happy with it (great price). Do you do anything to add a little extra "padding" at the bottom near the bow? I'm just a little concerned about carrying with the shoulder straps for any distance.

No, I haven't added any padding. The side shoulder strap on mine looks good, with strong metal D rings and clips instead of plastic that eventually breaks.

My only beef with the Protec is that the backpack-style shoulder straps are too high on the case, and the instrument hangs down so far as to interfere with walking. But with this bag I find I use the shoulder strap on the side and have taken off the backpack straps.

And none of the bags I own or have owned have handles where you really need them. I was impressed by the locations of handles on Andy Smith's Soundwear bag, but they do not seem to come large enough for the Holton. It's a bit taller than your average CC yorkophone, and it makes a difference.

Rick "who could fix the Protec with a little sewing" Denney