This comes up periodically, so search the archives. I don't have time
for the full lecture but a summary:
Choosing a case requires a bit of thinking about what you are trying
to do. Simply getting a "hard shell case" doesn't solve everything. A
case can provide some or all the following:
* moisture protection
* thermal protection
* puncture protection
* impact protection
The last is frequently the main problem. An improperly fitted hard
shell case will provide puncture protection but not necessarily
impact protection. If the lute can shift in the case, and what stops
it from moving is a peg or a base rider, they are in danger of being
sheared off, even in a hard case.
The usual proverb is that it is easy to pack a light bulb and easy to
pack a hammer, but very difficult to pack a light bulb AND a hammer in
the same package. Theorbos and such are a light bulb and a hammer,
all in one convenient item. The neck is quite massive and if the
instrument is held vertically and dropped and the only thing that can
apply force to stop the neck is the join with the body, you have a
recipe for splinters.
You can solve almost anything with enough money, mass and padding.
Most oboists just carry their instrument with them. But people who
play traveling shows and play oboe, flute, sax and what have you, all
in the same night, often have the instruments moved by the crew. I
once saw an Anvil case for an oboe (about three times the size of a
normal oboe case) demonstrated in a store. They put a brand new ($3K
in 1980, $7K + now) Loree oboe in it and then knocked it off the
display counter onto the floor. They oboe did better than the
onlookers' nerves.
..Bob
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