what do you think would be the best case ever.

[JeffD]

hi all, i'm getting ready to make my molds for carbon fiber/ fiberglass/ carbon kevlar cases and i need some opinions on what you guys would like in a case. Shaped, rectangular or teardrop? size? material? inside lining? etc? thanks guys..(and gals)

My own preference is against a case that does it all. A sturdy hard shell case for air flight and long car rides. A sturdy light soft sided case for short hops from home to the local jam, or walking from the tent to the festival jam, or from hotel room to gig. A light and sturdy mando-fiddle case for carrying fiddle with mando to the jam or gig. I think function specific cases are more to my interest.

Carbon fiber may allow for both sturdy and light.

[Bill McCall]

Sturdy, light and cheap.

Choose two.

[pheffernan]

In your case the "best case ever" would be that you bought a lottery ticket and won. Then it wouldn't matter, you could buy one of each case.

You mean you can have more than one case?

My F5G has been in 3 cases since I got it. The first two were changed within months. The last one is a Calton and it will stay there. I understand your pain. Try to think in the long run.

Thanks, Mike. I have, to date, struggled with the concept of spending more than I did on my first mandolin for a used case (or my first two mandolins for a new case). I might need to get over it.

[MikeEdgerton]

The good thing about buying a nice case is that it doesn't have to leave you if you sell the mandolin. My Calton was $400.00 when I bought it new in 2005. I actually was in Atlantic City with my wife on our anniversary. We were playing the penny slots and I hit for $200.00. I had been saving for about 6 months to get a Calton case. I needed another $100.00. I took $100.00 and put it in my pocket and gave her the other $100.00 and she promptly gave it back to the casino. I went back upstairs and ordered my case. It's something that can move to a new mandolin if you want it to.

[Ray(T)]

$400? - the last Calton I bought was £225, in 2008, and that included delivery. The first cost me £80, for a deadnought, but that was back in 1976.

[John Soper]

Ray(T): Look at the prices of the current crop(s) of Caltons. I have a few for travel, but use some thing lighter for gadding about the town (not that there is much of either these days).

[pheffernan]

$400? - the last Calton I bought was £225, in 2008, and that included delivery. The first cost me £80, for a deadnought, but that was back in 1976.

The cheapest new one I’ve found is $825 shipped.

[MikeEdgerton]

$400? - the last Calton I bought was £225, in 2008, and that included delivery. The first cost me £80, for a deadnought, but that was back in 1976.

I bought it from Greg Boyd and the price was the price. It was a Made in Canada model. You were probably buying direct from Keith.

https://themandolinstore.com/product...in-case-white/

[Aaron Bohnen]

I really like the Ameritage cases - both shaped and rectangular are good. The best of the traditional construction cases I've tried. The downside is they are heavy.

There was a thread from a year or so ago on the forum.

Enjoy!

[Jim Garber]

From dealing with players over the years I've concluded that most people want a case that weighs a pound or less yet can be run over by a 747 with no damage, is small enough to fit in a brief case yet has storage enough for three years worth of old set lists, three or four electronic tuners, a strap or two, a music stand, a wind breaker and a bag lunch, has a comfortable handle, a shoulder strap and backpack straps, is totally water and weather proof, automatically maintains proper relative humidity, and costs about $40.

Actually that same case is included with the price of the legendary mandolin The Shmergel Devastator. The big problem is that no one as ever seen one although they play like butter and the A-model has a lot more bang for the buck. Or so I am told...

[Tim Logan]

This year I shifted from away from the "Sherman tank" camp to the smaller lighter camp. Purchasing a Collings factory made Vintage case gave me a whole new perspective and resulted in me selling my Calton A-style case. The Collings case is a work of art (several threads exist about these cases). That acquisition spurred me to rehabilitating my 1925 Lyon & Healy Model A case which now looks like new and is quite cool. I have a custom made Calton case for the LH but I doubt I will ever use it. I may sell it too. My bowl back resides in an Eastman case. And I am in the process of having an Armitage case made for my octave mandolin. Gone is my interest in the Calton, Hoffee style approach - just too bulky and cumbersome for 90% of its use.

[mandroid]

My Hodson D'jangolin came in a Red Metal flake plastic case, seems they offered blue & green too . .Vacuum formed.

fount a Eastman fiberglass case shaped specifically for A5s .. 3 D rings for back pack carry a +

Pegasus is another great case, he backs up the headstock with storage ..

Less easy to carry is the Calton, but all my non wooden cases take shoulder straps ..




''//..