MTS Case Refurb… Maybe…

[the elephant]

I got a nice MTS case from Robert Colter some years back. It is a shell molded to fit a Kaiser tuba, and the Holton 345 I got it for is — as Mildred Bailey sings in the Red Norvo version of "St. Louis Blues" — a bit of a "squatty mama" in comparison.

So yeah, with work (meaning the wholesale ripping out of some of the foam blocking) the tuba fits… I guess…

Well, now that I have the Yamaha and the very decent Eastman hard case, I realized that the Holton does not have to ride under the bus in a dress that does not fit her "squatty mama" shape. I knew that all along. I am quite good with care repair and know where to get everything I need to do this, but have been filled with a lassitude bordering on death in regards to this case: I just don't use the dang thing enough to merit an outlay of money or time. Or so I had felt in years past.

Since I got the Yamaha and started lugging these terrible hard cases again after years of not doing so, I have remembered how much better it feels having the tuba in the backseat in one rather than even the very best of gig bags.

So it is time to gut this MTS case and reblock it.

I picked up some really crappy (but better than what is on it now) luggage-grade plastic corner wheels because the very nice "real" wheels I swapped onto the Eastman case made rolling it so much less of a PITA. However, these wheels will not make me happy because they too are cheap Chinese plastic POS chingaderas. So I have started looking for superior ones that will never need replacement during the remainder of my life.

I have also bought a bolt of rather nice "fake fur" liner material as well as rolls and blocks of three grades of padding. One is for the bell and around the sides of the case, which is super stiff, being similar to what is used in car seat headrests. It is not cushy at all but is designed to absorb sharp impacts like a boss. The other two are more for padding as it is rolling along; they are more of the cushy stuff.

I intend to carefully remove and strip the liner from the existing blocks. Some will be retained, using new foam, and the old fake fur will be used as templates to cut the new liner panels. Once these are in place I can fart around with the cheapest of the foam to make models of what I need. I will first load up plastic bags with expanding foam and stuff them into the case shell with the horn in place to take impressions. Then I will trim the soft foam to match (as well as I can) and see how well pads of different sizes and shapes work in different locations. Then the better foam will be carved into the shapes needed, the nice liner will be cut and applied, and everything will be put in place.

I have a mind to finish all these pads' backside faces and then velcro them all in place. I am a messy guy and have managed to spill all sorts of crap into tuba cases since I was a lad of 14, and some have been disastrous. Being the "learning animal" I am, I rather think that having an interior that can be taken out and cleaned is a good idea. If you knew me IRL you would likely agree.

I do not think that I will upgrade any of the hardware, as, upon first inspection, the MTS stuff seems to be adequate. The piano hinge is actually two shorter ones and is made of really thin plates, so that might get beefed up. The valance is also sort of floppy, so maybe that. But the latches, feet, and handles all seem to be okay. I had thought to apply one thin coat of fiberglass matting to the inside of the shell because it is not very thick, but probably not. Either way, that is easy to do — just a stinking mess.

The only real alteration to the design will likely be larger steel plates reinforcing the wheelhouses at the corners. What is in there is a bit small and thin.

This ought to be a very decent case for the old Holton when I am finished.

[bloke]

I've found that there's no "This is THE one!" tuba hard case.

Every make/design (from expensive to crazy-expensive) has shortcomings.

Hopefully, we find one that we can both afford that we can also determine upgrade strategies.

My 6/4 Winter (so lucky that it was included with the tuba) was too flexible...An MTS sousaphone case's salvaged piano hinge came to its rescue...

weight?
tuba-and-case is 75 lbs. (51 lb. case)...but it's REALLY large, and I couldn't have made one smaller nor lighter...
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Y'all remember those thin/lighter-weight C-F cases (purdy colors) that would come off planes all busted up (along with instrument damage)?

...etc., etc.