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Post by SoloBill on Nov 8, 2011 23:02:13 GMT
Hi Michael and all, I found quite a good review of guitar cases including the ones mentioned in this thread. Although the reviewer didn't do any extreme tests he does note most/all of the things that are important e.g. support for the headstock. www.acguitar.com/article/default.aspx?articleid=26297(Unfortunately this link to a review in Acoustic Guitar magazine no longer works as of November 2013.)
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Post by alexandre on Nov 9, 2011 0:16:46 GMT
Excellent link Solobill ! Thanks to all, we have a quite complete thread now... So, we know three other cases company interesting productions, we can see that Calton is actually producing carbonfiber cases, and learn that the BAM case-cover is largely reinforced & louder than the case itself !! We can also confirm that we definitively have to base our choice of case on our effective use & needs concerning our instruments...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2011 7:42:18 GMT
aside from that calton may be having some trouble...
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Post by washboardchris on Nov 9, 2011 9:06:53 GMT
Hi, I dont think that Carlton Cases UK are the same as Carlton Cases US ( I think the US cases are made under licence) I have two Carlton cases and have had no problems.( but just to show that if someone is determind enough to break your guitar it can be done, I have seen a Carlton case with the tang of a forck lift run through it & the guitar & out the other side( I daont think anything would be proof against that.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2011 9:24:05 GMT
Good point Chris. There's been some recent discussion about USA calton on that site 'where resonator guitar players can hang about' if you know what I mean. There is also this from the UK side though. Maybe this is where a carbon fibre expert can step in? www.caltoncases.co.uk/future.htmlp.s. I'm not sure this thread is complete yet TT
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Post by Michael Messer on Nov 9, 2011 10:01:51 GMT
Thanks Bill, the reviews are excellent.
This thread is not over yet, but from everything I have learnt in the past couple of weeks, I am sticking with my tried and tested Caltons that I have used on hundreds of flights over the past twenty years.
The Hoffee cases are beautiful, but at only 1.3 kilos lighter than a Calton (and double the price) I don't really see any advantage to them.
The lightest weight case is the Bam at 2.8 kilos, but the problem there is that it is just not strong enough for air travel and 'unsupervised handling'.
The only other contender for me at present is the Accord, but until I know more I will not say anything about it, except that it is carbon fibre and weighs only....3 kilos!!!
Shine On Michael.
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Post by Stevie on Nov 9, 2011 11:09:38 GMT
This has been a very enlightening thread, in particular the reviews posted by Bill. Thanks. "USA" Caltons are indeed made under license. Last I knew, they were over $1000 Canadian! I There would appear to be a premium to pay over one of Keith's own cases (based on a dread) I have four Caltons. They have not had to work hard in the manner that Michael's ones have had to, I'll admit that- but they are excellent. I bought the first one in 1980 for my Gordon Smith and my Takamine "lawsuit" dread soon followed. Then a banjo and finally a Fylde mandolin. Deuce, I think that it is probably correct to say that Calton USA is nothing to do with Keith, excepting the license that they (presumably) have to pay to him. Dealing with Keith is a pleasure, as I can affirm. I believe that his business is up for sale, rather in the manner of realising a pension. Any takers? One could carry on the business in a (large) garden shed. No stock, you buy it in as needed. There would be no noise to annoy the neighbours. Well, a cordless electric drill perhaps! You'd get tremendous goodwill. I can just see it now "original Calton case included in sale"! I have read all the foregoing and based upon my own experiences, I would agree with Michael. On balance, a (UK) Calton is the way to go. It is nonetheless very interesting to see the "competition". It is a leap of faith to splash out on a Calton, even if you are a professional, but I have never heard of anyone being disappointed with one of Keith's cases. Stefan Sobell supplies them with his instruments as standard. Says it all really.
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Post by Michael Messer on Nov 9, 2011 12:24:38 GMT
I am just keeping this thread up to date with any info I get in about cases >I just received a very nice email from Zeljko Kovac, the owner of Accord Cases in Croatia. Their cases look very good and unlike some of the other manufacturers that we have discussed on here, they have said this about airports and unsupervised handling >"We have two regular type of guitar cases, Ultralight (about 3 kg) and Flight (about 4 kg). If you travel a lot and have to hand over the case with the instrument to staff at airports, we recommend our Flight case. It's strong enough to endure careless handling."
Accord Flight Cases for classical guitar (National/Dobro etc..) cost 685 Euros
Shine On Michael.
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Post by twang1 on Nov 10, 2011 9:08:02 GMT
Interesting thread: Here's another case who is supposed to be good and light: www.karuracase.com/I know a touring musician who travel with only one (expensive) guitar, and he only uses a good soft case, and he always manages to carry it on the plane. On a few flights I carried my guitar in a soft case and my clothing in a hard case, ready to swap the content of the two cases in case (!) they didn't allowed me to carry the soft case on the plane with me. (Sorry, too many cases in a sentence!). Frank
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Post by mitchfit on Dec 16, 2011 15:46:13 GMT
i have to wonder how does the sealed Hoffee case handle the pressure difference from sea level to up to 40,000 feet? i don't see any pressure equalization valve in the system. pls see: pelican.com/cases_detail.php?Case=1020www.skbcases.com/sports/product/fishing/waterproof.htmlpresure variations in air travel are a real concern, even the military issue "bunny boots" that i used to wear in alaska had a manual air valve included because of this. pls see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunny_boots..."Both Mickey Mouse boots and Bunny Boots have an air valve on each of the boots. These air valves must be opened prior to flying, to ensure that the air pressure differential between the walls of the boot and the outside air does not cause the boots to rupture."... i watched the video, but my sound card has gone the way of the dinosaur. did i miss mention of same due to that? mitchfit
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Post by Michael Messer on Dec 16, 2011 18:26:22 GMT
As far as I know, the air pressure in the hold of a plane is exactly the same as in the cabin. I discussed this many years ago with baggage handlers, this was in the days I could put my guitar in the hold myself.
I have flown hundreds of times with guitars and I know that the only worry is rough handling, not air pressure.
Shine On Michael
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Post by mitchfit on Dec 16, 2011 21:52:34 GMT
Michael,
checked online, true even beyond your statement, some are heated also. guess i should have realized this because of them carrying pets/animals in there!
the info i read was from a person who repairs door seals, and in some cases only part of the hold is heated. as he stated that at those altitudes, minus -40F [oddly, the same in celsius] is ambient, it might just be worth the time to make sure your treasured instrument doesn't get cold feet.
gotta be a brutal temp change at the sort of time period it would happen in!!!
mitchfit
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Post by Stevie on Dec 16, 2011 21:54:19 GMT
Isn't the hold pressurised, just as the cabin is? I know that they turn the hold heating up if livestock is being carried (down Rover!) but I believe that the air pressure is equalised. It would add unnecessary engineering constraints to maintain a pressure differential between the cabin and the hold.
"Pressurised" means that it is pressurised with respect to outside airframe air pressure? Not above sea level atmospheric pressure. I seem to be particularly sensitive to these pressure changes, even driving up small hills, you can imagine the ear canal gymnastics that I have to perform on take off and landing!
I think that it is still lower than ground air pressure level inside the airframe during flight, despite being "pressurised" to make air travel tolerable. Provided that the case (and instrument ) has no air tight cavities, then the air pressure will equalise and no harm will come to the case or contents. If on the other hand the case is so super-duper air tight then watch out. All closed off cavities inside aircraft should have pressure relief holes or valves built in to them. You cannot underestimate this problem. Wings ( which are largely fuel tanks) have to be leak tested. Even under as little as 3 psi, a blow out in a wing fuel tank is quite impressive (so I'm told!) I find it difficult to believe that any of these bling cases are so air tight that it would be a problem in practice. Certainly, my Caltons are not air tight (and knowing Keith are not intended to be) I did like Franks idea of carrying the clothes in one case and the guitar in another! I always travel wearing fell walking boots! It saves room and weight in the checked luggage and allows my feet to expand more comfortably (as they inevitably do during flight)
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Post by kiwi on Dec 17, 2011 6:29:03 GMT
There was that sort of meme going around about cold and pressure etc for years. My best mate of 30+ years (we went to varsity together early 80s) has been a pilot with Air New Zealand for a lot of that time. I asked him about this years ago. They fly Boeings, and the holds are pressurised and heated to about 12-14 C, standard for all planes I understand. Otherwise your toiletries would be ice when you got to the hotel. Handling is the problem. I went around the world 2008, drove across the USA for 3 months carrying a guitar (and tube amp in my case, it took the biggest hits) using an SKB case that did its job. But a fair few scrapes and grazes on the case, this one.
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Post by Stevie on Dec 17, 2011 9:07:29 GMT
As they are both intensive properties of "air", the relationship between pressure and temperature is well understood and predictable using a Smith chart. (don't go there!) Any change in one intensive property affects the others, somewhat loosely in accordance with the gas laws. This all goes back over 30 years for me, so apologies for any inaccuracies. It would be easy to Google anyway.... It's the rate of change of pressure over time that matters. If the change is too swift for the "leaks" in the case to allow pressure equalisation, then even a quite poorly constructed example could have a problem. I don't think that it would be a problem in a typical ascent or descent (controlled crash!!) I trust that you had a good trip Dirk?
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