Superior fiberglass mandolin case. (in white)

[mandolin tony]

does anyone out there have one & what do you think ?. I have 2 stores I"am thinking of buying it from the frist is the Mandolin store,the second is Elderly. both great stores.do you know of any others that carry this cases at a good price please let me know.I'am thinking of getting it from Elderly.Robert if you read this please let me know if you have this case,here is Elderlys # for a F case sfmc1-white,thanks every one who reads this for there input.

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

There were a couple of reviews on these that I can remember:

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...ior+fiberglass
http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...ior+fiberglass

The prices are pretty consistent out there amongst all the retailers (including Amazon) so I don't think you can go wrong ordering it from either one of the stores you're considering. Let us know how it works out.

[Paul Kotapish]

It's fine for around town--nice and light and more rigid than a gig bag. As per the other thread, it wouldn't take the place of a Calton, Pegasus, of Hoffee for serious travel where heavy-duty protection is a consideration.

My main gripe is the lack of feet/bumpers on the hinges side, which makes it precarious to set down in the most natural position. I've looked for a good system to install, but haven't been pleased by any of the options. If they've fixed that problem, I'd say it's a good, cost-effective alternative to a bulkier (if cheaper) Travelite.

[jim simpson]

I've installed rubber feet/bumpers on the hinges side and it has held up fine now for several years. One of the original feet on the end has split apart and fell off.

[mandolin tony]

back ordered at both stores.does anyone of a store that has this case in stock.

[Tom Sanderson]

Looks like amazon has a couple in stock. I have 2 that Work just fine for me since I don't travel so much anymore. I have smalldog case covers on mine. I've had them for about 2 years. I sold my Caltons which weigh about twice as much.

[cmajestro]

A word of warning about this case. I have two of the Superior Standard model A style. One in white that I ordered from Elderly about a month ago, and one in black that arrived from Amazon today. The center compartment (and the padding on either side of it) in the black case sits 1.5 inches further to the left than it does in the white case. That means that the white case fits my pancake mandolins, but the black case does not. Both cases were marked with the same style number, so I think it is a quality control issue.

Cindy in WV

[mandolin tony]

well I tried calling Robert 3 times. I guess hes out of the running.

[Timothy S]

I've got one that I purchased from The Mandolin Store and it's suited me just fine. Not top of the line protection, but very good for around town. I've flown with it twice now and I had no issues.

[mandolin tony]

thanks Tim, does your case have the crome hardware or the black hardware ?.

[Paul Kotapish]

I've installed rubber feet/bumpers on the hinges side and it has held up fine now for several years. One of the original feet on the end has split apart and fell off.

Hey Jim,

What kind of bumpers did you install, and how did you install them? With a rivet or some sort of screw assembly or what?

Thanks,
PK

[mandolin tony]

Jim what pressing do you have ?, frist run or second ?. do you have the black hardware or the crome ?

[jim simpson]

Paul, Tony,
I used rubber feet with course self tapping threaded screws. I drilled undersized holes to allow the screws to grip. I'm not sure if I could have secured them with a rivet or not. In another thread, some expressed concerns about potential damage from attaching the way I did but to date no issues at all from bumps or otherwise.
Mine must be a first generation as it has chrome hardware.

[Paul Kotapish]

Paul, Tony,
I used rubber feet with course self tapping threaded screws. I drilled undersized holes to allow the screws to grip. I'm not sure if I could have secured them with a rivet or not. In another thread, some expressed concerns about potential damage from attaching the way I did but to date no issues at all from bumps or otherwise.

Thanks for the photos and explanation, Jim. I've looked at those self-tapping bumbers, but was afraid they wouldn't hold or would protrude too far into the case. I'll check them out.

Did you do any grinding or add any additional material to the inside of the case where the screws came through?

[mandolin tony]

thanks Jim, all the above that Paul said plus were did you buy the bumbers,thanks Tony.

[jim simpson]

I didn't reinforce the inside plus the screws didn't protrude far enough to be of concern. I don't recall buying these anywhere, I may have salvaged them off of old electronic equipment.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Jim - If those 'bumpers' are held on by self-tapping screws only,be very careful that you don't sideswipe them.They'll rip out & leave you with a hole that you might not be able to repair so easily. If the screws in the bumpers are removeable,it would have been better (albeit a longer job), to have eased the inner lining away from the case side,drilled a hole & fitted the bumper using an engineering type screw/bolt using a nut with a washer under the head to spread any load.Then just glue the lining back in place.
Your idea of using a rivet would have worked as well if you'd used a long 'split' rivet,again with a washer to prevent any hole damage,although hammering away at a rivet against a fibreglass case to open it up,is something i'd rather not do myself,hence the nice easy use of a screw or bolt - finger tight is all it would need to be,& easily removeable if you ever need it,
Ivan

[padawan]

If anyone else is thinking of doing this I suggest using one of these instead of screws:



They are cheap and work like a charm for light duty jobs:

[mandolin tony]

Paul how do you like your frist generation case. do you think its made better than the 2nd gen case, or is the new ones better.I don't know which one to get the old ones seem to go for more money.

[almeriastrings]

It is a shame the old Eastman cases are no longer available. They were also a very nice case at a great price. Surprisingly solid. The first generation Superior cases have slightly thicker shells, but the arching and contours on those Eastmans really contributed to strength. They also had the feet (good ones) in all the right places, too. Both good cases and both excellent value. I use them for 'light' duties. I would not want to throw one down a flight of concrete steps with a 10K mando in there... but for normal carrying around, they are both absolutely fine. Not much storage in the 'Superior' and none whatever in the Eastman.

[almeriastrings]

For comparison:





Superior hinge with stuck-on foot (works OK)



Eastman hinge with original feet (very good). Better hinge too.



Inside:





Neither are Pegasus grade... but at the price, you can't complain.

[AlanN]

Nice side by side. I'm curious: the Eastman seems to have the strap thingy on the bottom, so carrying the case by the strap would be upside down. No biggie, if the mandolin doesn't move inside. And when you set the case down on the floor, does the little U thing ever get in the way?

[almeriastrings]

There's a bottom and a top end strap hanger, in fact (you can just see it in photo no.1), so it would be upright. No, it does not contact the floor at all. The feet are pretty high and there is adequate clearance. They are (or were) a very decent case. Shame you can't get them any more.

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

Thanks for the side-by-side almeriastrings. Looks like your Eastman was the older design - narrower in the neck area and smaller cavity for the headstock. I had one of the newer design, and there was a little more room in both of those areas. In addition, the top strap hanger is installed in the same location (near where the neck goes on the bottom of the case), and but other two bottom strap hangers are now on the bottom of the case as well (positioned for a back-pack style strap configuration). I would have preferred the strap hangers to be installed in the same way they are on the Superior case ( and other higher end FG case). In spite of that, I really liked the Eastman case and am also bumped they have been out of stock everywhere.

[almeriastrings]

Elderly seem to have a couple of Eastman's in stock right now.

http://elderly.com/accessories/items/EMC1.htm

I'd grab one myself, but the international shipping costs on cases these days are outrageous. Fortunately, I just found a new banana-yellow one in Europe