changing a top loader to a side zipper

[MaryAnn]

So i love my new Star, which was a given. However what came with it is a top loading bag, and I am not capable of using that bag. It is just too much and I'm going to make a serious mistake and do equally serious damage tot the tuba. I had a hard enough time just getting it out of the bag without trying to put it back in again.
So....trying to find an existing Cronkhite but realize my chances are slim. Wondering if I can find someone to put a side zipper in the top loader but it is hard to find someone with the skill level to do that, and it might wreck the bag totally, or make it too small.
Ideas? .... one of the Far Reach ideas is a properly sized wheeled garbage can well padded and used as a top loader, because at least it will stand up while I'm gently nestling my tuba in it. Stuffed with foam rubber or something, of course.
The tuba itself is not going anywhere for a while, so I don't have to have a solution tomorrow. I'd take any side zip bag of reasonable quality.

[imperialbari]

Who says a top-loader bag has to be held vertically while emptied or loaded?

Changing a top-loader to a side loader will be hard, as the concepts are different. The new zipper area is unlikely to offer any protection unless new material is added.

[soyezu]

I've been eyeing the Wessex gig bags lately. They're side-loaders and look to have good bang for the buck. I imagine that if something wasn't the perfect size, you could add additional padding to a larger sized bag to meet your needs.

http://www.wessex-tubas.com/category/ac ... /gig-bags/

[windshieldbug]

Try laying the bag flat on the floor with the tuba on it's back over it. Then move the tuba down into the bag. Works for me.

[tofu]

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

[The Big Ben]

So i love my new Star, which was a given. However what came with it is a top loading bag, and I am not capable of using that bag. It is just too much and I'm going to make a serious mistake and do equally serious damage tot the tuba. I had a hard enough time just getting it out of the bag without trying to put it back in again.
So....trying to find an existing Cronkhite but realize my chances are slim. Wondering if I can find someone to put a side zipper in the top loader but it is hard to find someone with the skill level to do that, and it might wreck the bag totally, or make it too small.
Ideas? .... one of the Far Reach ideas is a properly sized wheeled garbage can well padded and used as a top loader, because at least it will stand up while I'm gently nestling my tuba in it. Stuffed with foam rubber or something, of course.
The tuba itself is not going anywhere for a while, so I don't have to have a solution tomorrow. I'd take any side zip bag of reasonable quality.

A shop which does work on boat tops might help you. Boat tops are zipped together with heavy zippers which are similar to bag zippers.

I have a Protec bag for my Olds 099 which I bought from Dillon's. Matt Walters could tell you if it fits. I lay the bag down, lift up the top, put the horn in and zip it up.

[Matt Walters]

The SAFE and SMART way to load an Altieri Gig Bag:

1. Leave your tuba sitting on the bell as it normally is after playing.
2. Grab the front / top side opening of the gig bag with your left hand.
3. Face the tuba looking side-on at the bottom bow and top branch away from the bell.
4. Grab a chunk of tuba/tubing in your right hand.
5. With your left hand, fling the gig bag out so that the bottom of the bag is far left and the mouth of the bag is in front of you.
6. Now bring the two together with a crossing motion of your hands with the left hand on top as you tip the tuba down and into the bag.
7. You will have the horn half way in the bag and safely resting on the floor at this point.
8. Move your right hand up to the bell rim.
9. Continue to pull the bag with your left hand as your apply resistance to the bell with your right.
10. Stepping to the right at this time and with a swooping motion lift the bag upwards but not off the floor. The tuba should be slid down in the bag by now.
11. Now that the tuba is in the bag with bell up, install the hood or just cinch the bag without a hood on pretty days.

Takes 1 minute to do. Once you learn this system, you will never want a side loading bag again. With this system, you will not have to lift the full weight of the tuba until after it is already in the bag and you are ready to go.

[tubapix]

I've been eyeing the Wessex gig bags lately. They're side-loaders and look to have good bang for the buck. I imagine that if something wasn't the perfect size, you could add additional padding to a larger sized bag to meet your needs.

http://www.wessex-tubas.com/category/ac ... /gig-bags/

Regarding the Wessex bag, I feel it is more of a side loader since I find it is best to load my Eb tuba (King 2341 size) with the bag standing up vertically. Bag has a dual zipper main opening , hidden shoulder straps, a handle and 2 BIG POCKETS for music and whatnot.

I have an older Gard bag that zips and I have to lay the bag on the ground horizontally to load my YBB 641. This bag has shoulder straps, a handle, a VERY LARGE folder pocket and an attached rain cover conveniently stored in the folder pocket.

[barry grrr-ero]

The problem with the garbage can idea: another piece of heavy hardware you'd have to cart around and find room for in your car (just assuming). I don't think it would be strong enough (or tall enough), but how 'bout some kind of light metal frame that's normally used for a laundry hamper? . . .

Perhaps you should just go with the other practical suggestions offered.

[bort]

I've seen people do some real goofy things with Alteiri bags to get their horns into them. Side-loading bags are a LOT easier for people who have trouble with top loaders. I'm tall enough that top-loaders are not an issue, but I can certainly understand that shorter people could have trouble with them.

At any rate, keep looking for a Cronkhite. Converting a bag from one type to another isn't going to go well or be worth the effort, IMO.

[MaryAnn]

I am not strong enough to use a top loading bag. It is all I can do to put the tuba in my lap. I"m now 67, still weigh #100 on a good day, and do not have the strength I had before my mold exposure ruined my health. So...thanks for all the advice on how to load a top loader, but if I could do that I already would have. I'm taking a huge chance on even getting a tuba; some of you may remember the 3/4 BBb I sent back a year ago because I did not feel I could even hoist it into my lap the number of times that has to be done during a rehearsal. I've improved a little bit to where I think I'm able to do that much, but the top loader is just too much, especially after a rehearsal. I'll talk to Matt and Wessex and see if they have a side zipper bag, which I'm sure I'll be able to manage. I am now identifying as "elderly" because of my lack of physical capacity.

[Matt Walters]

So.....It sounds like I just wasted 15 minutes of my morning on a day off typing how someone can load a top loader bag without the extra weight of first picking up the entire tuba to load it like in a side-loader bag. Why lift up the horn an extra time before you are actually ready to carry it?
For a few minutes there I thought I could help someone by sharing what I knew from years of experience. I guess gig bags are like vacuum cleaners. Most people get what their mom had and I bet most tuba players prefer what gig bag their first teacher used and liked.

[cjk]

A miraphone norwegian star is about the size of a miraphone 186.

Bags in that size are super easy to find.

[The Big Ben]

I've improved a little bit to where I think I'm able to do that much, but the top loader is just too much, especially after a rehearsal. I'll talk to Matt and Wessex and see if they have a side zipper bag, which I'm sure I'll be able to manage. I am now identifying as "elderly" because of my lack of physical capacity.

I'm glad your strength has improved some. I am in average health and, after a two hour band practice steeped in marches and concert band music, I sometimes have to walk out to the car a little slower.
I've noticed that some of my compatriots use wheels of some sort to get their instrument out to their cars. That might be something to consider as well as the side load bag.

[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]

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