• Introducing Chapman Cases, Premium Flight Instrument Cases Made in Bath UK

    by
    Mandolin Cafe
    Published on Oct-05-2023 12:00pm Views: 2559
    4 Comments Comments
    Chapman Mandolin Case - built in Bath, UK

    BATH, UK — Chapman Cases, hand-crafted flight cases built in Bath, the brainchild of renowned UK banjo player Leon Hunt, has announced the resumption of production of their cases for mandolin, tenor and 5-string banjo, ukulele and guitar.

    Originally conceived as a one-person operation in 2017, the company enjoyed a brief but energetic takeoff before pausing business due to the pandemic.

    Flash forward to 2023 and a chance encounter at a local bluegrass jam, Hunt meets Icelandic musician Bragi Olafsson and luthier Gary Leddington. The three immediately hit it off and begin talking cases. A few weeks later Chapman Cases is moving forward again and building cases.

    Chapman Cases fills a hole in the UK and European market, offering premium quality, lightweight instrument flight cases that boast a water-resistant and highly resilient GRP shell to protect high end instruments. From classy black and white to bright and bold orange or even the glitz of sparkling glitter, their cases are simple and elegant and can be customized to suit individual tastes.

    Specs

    • Made from reinforced GRP (fiberglass)
    • Fitted with a custom designed weather seal
    • Durable latches and a high quality leather handle
    • All cases fitted with the locks for a backpack system (purchased separately)
    • Can be fitted with D-rings for regular clip-on straps.
    • Inside, unlined measurements are 750 x 305 x 100mm for mandolin
    • Colors: orange, red, white, green, blue, pink, glitter green, glitter silver, glitter blue
    • Interior offered in red or silver crushed velvet
    • Pricing: £650 + Shipping for mandolin
    • Pricing: £750 + Shipping for guitar or banjo

    Mandolins cases are suitable for all popular mandolin models as well as ukulele and other similarly sized instruments as measurements are taken of the client's instrument and lined with form-hugging foam and crushed velvet to fit.

    Additional Infomation


    Chapman Mandolin Cases


    Chapman Mandolin Cases


    Chapman Mandolin Cases


    Chapman Mandolin Cases
    Comments 4 Comments
    1. Ray(T)'s Avatar
      Ray(T) - Oct-05-2023, 2:45pm
      Great to hear of another source of quality cases in the UK but, fortunately, I have no need for one at the moment - the asking price is nearly three times what I paid for my last UK made Calton.
    1. Mandolin Cafe's Avatar
      Mandolin Cafe - Oct-06-2023, 10:11am
      Quote Originally Posted by Ray(T) View Post
      Great to hear of another source of quality cases in the UK but, fortunately, I have no need for one at the moment - the asking price is nearly three times what I paid for my last UK made Calton.
      This suggests you paid £200+ for a new Calton. Not questioning the accuracy of that, just perplexed. What year would that have been? Those haven't been produced in the UK for quite awhile to my knowledge but it's not the kind of thing we typically track. We have a discussion here where people are talking about them being made in the UK but it's dated back to 2012. Prices and case construction technology have changed and improved quite a bit in a decade.

      Don't think there's anything unusual about the pricing Chapman is charging whatsoever. A glance at current Calton pricing, all substantially over $1K and £1K for a mandolin case ($1,250 - $1,500), and around $1,500 and up for guitar cases. If Chapman is a comparable product, as it appears to be, that's a very good price that is low by the standards of the US market of Calton, Hoffee, etc.
    1. grassrootphilosopher's Avatar
      grassrootphilosopher - Oct-06-2023, 11:36am
      Calton cases (for mandolins) sell for about 1.800,- EUR which is about the same in USD. They cost about 600,- EUR pre pandemic (let´s say 2018). The pre pandemic price is from my memory. The current price I just looked up. This is for referrence.
    1. Ray(T)'s Avatar
      Ray(T) - Oct-06-2023, 1:26pm
      Quote Originally Posted by Mandolin Cafe View Post
      This suggests you paid £200+ for a new Calton. Not questioning the accuracy of that, just perplexed. What year would that have been? Those haven't been produced in the UK for quite awhile to my knowledge but it's not the kind of thing we typically track. We have a discussion here where people are talking about them being made in the UK but it's dated back to 2012. Prices and case construction technology have changed and improved quite a bit in a decade.

      Don't think there's anything unusual about the pricing Chapman is charging whatsoever. A glance at current Calton pricing, all substantially over $1K and £1K for a mandolin case ($1,250 - $1,500), and around $1,500 and up for guitar cases. If Chapman is a comparable product, as it appears to be, that's a very good price that is low by the standards of the US market of Calton, Hoffee, etc.
      The markets in the UK and the US are miles apart and I’ve always been surprised at the price charged for US made Caltons.

      For info., I bought my first Calton case way back in 1976 - not long after Keith started production, I believe in the garage behind his house. Keith made the particular case I’m talking about in 2009 and it cost me £225 including delivery. I remember it well as the ‘phone rang whilst I was eating breakfast - it was Keith telling me the case was ready and he wanted paying! Three times £225 takes us to the approximate price of a new Chapman case which does not include delivery.

      We could get into the technicalities of inflation and increased production costs but I think the price somebody is likely to pay for a case will depend upon what they’re intending to put into it. My £225 Calton was built for the Kimble A5 I bought the year before and that cost me £3500; i.e. 15.5 times the price of the the case. Even if you were able to buy a Kimble in the UK, I doubt it would set you back anything like £10,000 today. Also, given the dearth of quality/expensive mandolins available in the UK, relatively speaking, my thought is that the Chapman cases could well be more costly than the market will stand.

      I hope I’m wrong as the UK could well do with a “Calton” replacement - just as we are missing the likes of TAMCO!