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Thread: SKB 375 case

  1. #11
    Randy - does it look like that case will protect a euph as a checked item? Can you provide pics?
    Adams E3 0.6 with SS Bell
    K&G 3.5D
    ---------------------------------
    Founder and Solo Euphonium
    San Francisco Brass Band

  2. #12
    Jake,

    It looks like the case is very well made and would protect a horn as well as you could expect. It is molded with stiffener braces on the sides to minimize deflection from side impact. Here is a link to the SKB site where you can see pictures: http://www.skbcases.com/music/produc...set=&c=79&s=79

    The latches also seem very substantial, and the hinges are piano-style hinges that look to be about 8" in length.

    So that's the good news. The bad news is that you're so far away from me, because I guess this case will go up for sale, for reasons that I will express in a separate post (since the topic will be so different from this one).

    Randy

  3. #13
    Arrrrrgh!

    So my son brings his horn (Besson Prestige 2052) home to see how well it fits the case. DOESN'T FIT! The shapes of the top and bottom bows do not both fit the cutouts for them, and the lid will not close without putting excessive pressure on the front of the horn. I'm not sure that it will close at all; I was mainly watching my son diddle with it and did not attempt it myself to see what it felt like.

    So I didn't do my homework well enough. The SKB site provides some information about horns that fit the case, but they list only 4 models: Two Yamahas, an Anthem, and a Willson (misspelled). It mentions no horns at all that do not fit. This is a pretty pitiful listing of horns that fit.

    I didn't read anything on this site about the SKB case not fitting some horns (except the Miraphone 5050 [as I recall], which is too long). And when I google "does besson prestige 2052 fit skb 375 case," I get no hits that treat that question.

    If anyone reading this post carries a Prestige in the SKB 375, please let me know so I can try to figure out what is amiss before selling off the case or sending it back. I will also contact the company to see what they say, and I'll post again when I have an answer from them.

    Randy

  4. #14
    More information: a new problem.

    When a friend came to buy the case (thankfully!), we discovered a new problem that I had not yet noticed. The mouthpiece holder is sized for a small-shank mouthpiece, and a large-shank will not slide down into it very far at all. Not sure what a medium shank would do. It looks like there are at least two remedies for the problem. A compartment is provided for a tuner/metronome that is wide enough for at least a normal-size mouthpiece to fit in it. I don't believe the mouthpiece could come out during handling. The mouthpiece holder consists of a length of plastic tubing held by friction-fit in an opening in the styrofoam case insert. The top end of this tubing is finished with a somewhat soft plastic flange that is press-fit into the tubing. It might be possible to ream out the opening in that flange sufficiently to hold the mouthpiece, but doing so may leave the sleeve section that fits down into the tubing too thin to hold up under use or to maintain adequate friction with the tubing. The flange can be removed entirely, at some loss of cosmetic attractiveness. The white tubing could be painted black to look a little better. Not sure what would happen over time to the edge of the velour that is exposed by removing the flange.

    I think SKB needs to go back to the drawing board with some of the details of this case. It looks like a great case, in general, but it definitely has room for improvement.

  5. #15
    One other point here that might help someone trying to determine whether their horn will fit the SKB case. Lay the horn as flat as possible on a table, and measure the vertical distance from the table to the tuning loop that juts up farthest. As I recall, the Prestige that doesn't quite fit measures about 4.5". The best estimate I could make about the total depth of the horn cavity in the closed case is about 4.25", which I arrived at by laying a flat surface across the opening on each side of the case and measuring from there to the deepest part of the main-body cavity, and then summing the two numbers. This is an inexact method of judging whether the horn will fit, but I would guess that anything much above 4.25" is unlikely to work. The Besson doesn't reside here; my son has it at college, so I can't measure again for exactness and to confirm my recall. If I think to double-check this later, I'll post again with the exact front-to-back depth of the non-fitting horn.

  6. I was a little irritated when I found out that my mouthpiece wouldn't fit in my SKB case. So instead I stored the mouthpiece in a little drawstring bag with my music, valve oil, and left-hand strap.

    Was the Besson just too fat/deep for the case? Or was it also too wide and/or too tall?
    T.J. Davis

    Wessex Dolce
    G&W Kadja

  7. #17
    I think the depth was the main thing. Not too fat and certainly not too tall. The wrap may be a little different; the two bows didn't both seem to want to lie in their places. I think this may be related to the depth. The horizontal axis of the bottom and top bows don't lie in the same plane; the top bow has to angle across the main body of the instrument. I think the greater depth of the Besson horn may increase this angle compared to "shallower" horns. So the horn did not lie down quite right in the "bottom" half of the case even before closing the case and finding that the two halves won't meet without crunching the horn. The misfit was not extreme; I think it could be tolerable if the case would close without excessive pressure.

  8. Euphoniums are too varied in shape for a molded case to be truly universal.

  9. #19
    True, but the design of this one seems to be more restrictive than necessary. For example, does the channel for the upper bow really need to fit the most common wrap so closely? And when the manufacturer can list only 4 horns known to fit the case (none of which is the horn shown in the picture, since the four listed all have 4 valves and the horn in the picture has only 3), you get a strong impression that they have not worked very hard to make sure the design of the case accommodates as many horns as possible.

    I suggested in correspondence with them that perhaps one of their dealers who also sells a broad variety of horns might help them expand their list of what horns fit and what horns do not. From there, I would hope that perhaps they'd go back to the drawing board to see whether they might be able to accommodate more horns than the current design does. We shall see what happens; no change on the website yet. I really love those stiffener ribs on the sides of the case. They make it highly resistant to side impacts. So I hope they can move the design toward greater universality.

    Randy

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