Wiseman Cases bought by JL Smith CO

[RoseCityInstruments]

Hi everyone,

Just saw this on LinkedIn and I thought I'd share with the community. Looks like Wiseman Cases are now owned by JL Smith and CO, owners of Flute World, Altieri Bags, and more. Jeff is a great repair person and a wonderful human being, but he never has come back to making Altieri's gig bags, even though we were told a revamp was coming. I am not sure what this means for anyone wanting a Wiseman Case, but I think it's worth sharing.

[arpthark]

Huh, I didn't know that's what happened to Altieri.

Can't say I've ever really heard too much about Wiseman cases, either. Did they use to come with old Eastmans? I vaguely remember thinking there may have been a Wisemann (Chinese tuba)/Wiseman (cases) connection but it seems like not.

[bort2.0]

I've never heard of either company before right now.

[bloke]

I'm thinking that those are/were the "garbage can" cases, which - supposedly - were adaptable to hold nearly all common shapes/sizes of tubas, and not inexpensive.

I'm pretty sure that Wiseman/Wisemann had nothing whatsoever in common (UNLESS a Chinese Buffet/B&S tuba was stuck into one of those cases).

[RoseCityInstruments]

Bloke is correct, they are a maker of fine travel cases for a wide range of instruments, including euphonium and tuba. I've not seen one in person, but the people I know who bought them are extremely happy with their purchase and really talk about how protective and high quality they are. Super common for woodwind doublers to get a Wiseman case made that would hold multiple instruments.

And it's sad about what happened with Altieri. I was at the National Flute Association conference here in Portland a month or so ago, and I met a couple of workers from Donna's operation. They make some really nice flute bags, and are interested in working on some tuba and euphonium things. That was about the only good thing I got out of my day pass to the flute show. Not my scene!

[Mary Ann]

Their horn cases are very high level. And very expensive. Several rich friends have them.

[Mikelynch]

The Wiseman cases are excellent. I got one years ago when they first came out. They can configure them to be adaptable to accommodate different instruments, which selective placement of velcro-strapped dense foam blocks. Mine came with blocks to fit 6 different instruments. A prime advantage is being very light weight, so they are easy to handle, while still providing excellent protection.

Mike