Wow - I see I have opened a touchy subject. How about this one, which says it splits the difference between a gig bag and a hard case, although I couldn't find the exact weight anywhere on the web page.
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gator-GL-Lightweight-French-Horn-Case?sku=545837 Having read what everyone has said, realizing that I will not be traveling by plane with my horn (I will fly somewhere to play only in my next life, not this one), and that I will sometimes have it in the car alongside other potentially dangerous objects like suitcases and my children, I think I'm am going to rule out a lightweight gig bag. The link above, however, looks appealing. I have emailed and asked if they could tell me exactly what it weighs. >From what I read, a gig bag about 4 lbs. and a hard case more like 14 lbs. Neither or those is a big concern because, although I'm no spring chicken, I'm plenty strong enough to carry two French Horns in hard cases under one arm for a bit if I need to, as I did just the day before yesterday. I would, however, like to protect my horn for cheap. I know, "light, cheap, strong - pick any two because you can't have all three." An engineer's expression but applicable here. If anyone actually has used Gator brand and/or the model I link to above, I'd like to know that. The other leading contender right now is a Pro Tec hard case, shown here for $160. http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Pro-Tec-Contoured-PRO-PAC-French-Horn-Case?sku=540235 This one, for whatever reason, does not seem appealing to me: http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gator-Molded-ABS-French-Horn-Case?sku=545830 although it is less expensive than the Pro Tec. -S- On Sun, Feb 1, 2009 at 3:14 PM, Brass Arts Unlimited <i...@brassarts.com> wrote: >>> Gig bags are actually "dent" bags. It's not a > matter of if .... it's when and how bad. << > > Jerry is right, of course. I just had a kid bring in a horn in a gig bag. > She had been playing it with a flattened (quite literally) finger hook, > multiple serious dents, multiple broken solder joints, bent mouthpipe, bell > rim creases, out of round bell throat, and on. $350 later I suggested to > the mom that a hard case was in order. Of course, that hard case would be > bad for business. ;D > > Dave Weiner > Brass Arts Unlimited > _______________________________________________ > post: horn@music.memphis.edu > unsubscribe or set options at > http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/steve.freides%40gmail.com > _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
