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Does anyone gmhave experience wit gigbags from Superfine Handcrafted Cases? I ordered a Cronkite but was very upset with the service of the company so i was looking for something different and the Superfine Handcrafted Cases look quite similar to the cronkite

The pictures look fantastic, others have said that Superfine stuff is fantastic, and Superfine is openly eager about desiring to serve customers.

Tom recently made me a custom bag my MW3450. The quality is absolutely top-notch. On top of that, he was extremely helpful, communicative and most of all, timely. 100% recommend reaching out to him.

I am long on thoughts but short on time, but if you send me a PM, I can answer any questions that you might have.

The short story is that I have had one for about 6 months, and they are the real deal. Great construction, great materials, and all around a very fine big bag. I've said this before, but both the bags and Tom are super fine. Tom is also a tuba player, so he very much gets and understands the things that make a tuba gig bag good and bad.

The bag that I have was not custom built for my tuba, so I can't really say things about exactly how well it fits or does not fit when ordered to measure. However, since that's kind of the whole point of a custom gig bag that's handmade, I don't think you're going to have anything to worry about.

My bag is also a top loader, which actually does not exist anymore in the super fine lineup. I forget the exact reason why they decided not to make top loaders, but Tom can chime in with that information if he thinks it's important. What I really wanted, was a top-loading leather gig bag. I'd still like to have one in leather! (The Cordura is still very nice)

Any questions? Want photos? Let me know!

Someone have a link, or web address? Thank you.

tclements wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 10:18 am Someone have a link, or web address? Thank you.

https://superfinecases.com/

I'd be interested in knowing why they don't offer top loaders anymore. I'd been planning on getting one when I make my first tuba purchase.

Great! Thank you all for very helpful informations!

TubātōTubŏtō wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 2:09 pm I'd be interested in knowing why they don't offer top loaders anymore. I'd been planning on getting one when I make my first tuba purchase.

I’ve been talking with Tom today and he told me he stopped making a top-loader because of difficulties in getting a consistently good fit. They offer a split top loader, which is what I’m going for.

ronr wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 7:40 pm

TubātōTubŏtō wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 2:09 pm I'd be interested in knowing why they don't offer top loaders anymore. I'd been planning on getting one when I make my first tuba purchase.

I’ve been talking with Tom today and he told me he stopped making a top-loader because of difficulties in getting a consistently good fit. They offer a split top loader, which is what I’m going for.

Adding to this, the lift-over height is significantly reduced.

With rotary or top action valve horns, you can probably design a true top loader that fits snugly. However, with the larger front action horns, especially those like the modern Conn 5xJ tubas, the body has a very large and asymmetric shape compared to the bell which would cause fitment issues.

On first glance, that spit top loader seems like the perfect middle ground, though I've never personally used a bag before, so I'm trying to approach this with open ears.

I've had top-loaders for many shapes and sizes of tuba... and never a real problem based on geometry.

I hope I'm not oversharing, but Tom had once told me of challenges in the geometry/making the cap for the top-loader. Maybe that was the problem, maybe not. Personally, I think the bigger problem for top-loaders is that they aren't as popular, and it's a new design that's not really derived from the original Cronkhite design. Is it worth all of the R&D to build and continually improve the design, just to sell a few of them? That's a question that I can't answer. I know I would have bought a leather top-loader had it come to fruition. I think Tom would have sold some top-loaders, but not as many as the side loaders. Of those people who wanted a proper top-loader, some of them are likely to buy his other tuba bag models, and others may simply move on to another brand that does make a proper top-loader.

For me, the amount of floor-space required by the clamshell bags is just excessive; I'm already clumsily taking up enough space in my house, backstage, etc... I've dealt with it before (and have owned a few of them), but it's just one more thing to get in the way. I much prefer the compactness offered by a svelte top-loading bag.

There are relatively few tuba gig bag options, and it has to be a tough business -- even for crappy bags, it takes a while for them to wear out. And for really well-made bags, it's kind of one-and-done (they will last an extremely long time).

I’m currently using a Miraphone top-loader which is...ok, but don’t like the way the top flops around when open. It just makes the case really unwieldy, particularly when you’re trying to manage the case and the horn.

Best top-loader I ever had was an Altieri back when Donna was making them. Sadly those days are gone.