Another Awesome SuperFine Bag [updated]

[the elephant]

Just wanted to comment on the awesome soft case/bag that Tom (@greenbean) made for me.*

I’ve only had one other custom bag made before and it was a Dolly Bag for my Mel Culbertson Neptune. This case is far better made on first inspection. The workmanship is impeccable. To top it off, the purple and gray Cordura is a great combo and the red lining is a wonderful visual surprise in terms of contrast.

It fits this horn like a glove. Nice and snug but easy to get in and out of the bag.

Some photos:





I’d definitely recommend talking to Tom if you’re wanting a well made and protective bag for your instrument. I’m excited to get the bag for this horn’s bigger brother!

*I paid the same price for this bag as anyone else would. This review is unsolicited but absolutely warranted. Posting this footnote for full disclosure.

[bloke]

He's got one of his super fine SuperFine cases/bags in queue for my best friend (for a specialty instrument - shown here in another thread).

[barry grrr-ero]

That's gorgeous. Tom made one for my B&S "Neptune" that works great! It's fairly easy to load that monster into the back seat of the car. Then I put a moving blanket over it. One nice thing about a Neptune: NOBODY in their right mind would try to steal one. You'd kill your back within one block. Anyway, congratulations!

[KingTuba1241X]

Love the color on the inside. Nice..

[bort2.0]

I loved the top-loader that I had for my Alexander. Maybe the only top-loader to ever hit the streets?

Nice looking bag! Show the other side, too! What color are the straps? I can't say I would pick any of those colors for myself, but glad the options exist!

I need a gig bag for the Besson... Have planned to get one for a while but keep putting it off, since I have the hard case for that tuba, and where the heck am I going, anyway! Tuba #2 has no bag or case, so that's a must-do... And a tremendous source of anxiety to not have at least a crappy bag for the horn.

I think a good gig bag makes a big difference in the tuba experience... my B&S GR-41 was a really nice tuba, but had a garbage gig bag with it. I hated getting it out, because I hated dealing with that bag. Stupid and petty, but true!

Has anyone here bought a leather Superfine?

[Three Valves]

I like the brown leather handle option.

I would forgo the backpack straps, they get in the way and I don't like using them.

I prefer one strap on my left shoulder, across my body to the bag supported by my right hand.

[bort2.0]

@bort2.0, here’s the side with the straps:

[prairieboy1]

That's a terrific looking bag! Great purchase!

[Doc]

SWEET bag!

[the elephant]

The bag for Odin (my 2165) showed up today!

First, let me note how precise this bag is. I placed the horn in backwards, despite my original notion to make sure I didn’t do so, and the zipper would not close. Originally, I thought maybe the bag needed a little working, as Tom (@greenbean) practices some magic gig bag origami to fit into a reasonably sized box, so maybe it was a little squished.

Nope, I had it wrong. Once I flipped the horn around, it fit like a glove. Perfect. I find this “poka-yoke” a feature and certainly not a bug.

The bag is quite handsome in purple and black with black leather handles and straps. A welcome replacement for the “one size fits many” MTS case. Note: I’ll probably keep the hard case, provided I can find a place to store it.

Anyhow, on to the photos…







Nota bene: like mentioned above, I paid full price for both bags and they are well worth the price. Top notch quality and construction along with the ability to do customized changes with a customer-friendly person.

[bort2.0]

Ooh, Baltimore Ravens colors.

[bloke]

Were I to buy a brand new bag, I would only buy this brand, but I would also only buy black - as much as I really like some of the colors, because every once in a while I have to leave something in one of my cars for a little while, and - with my windows being somewhat tinted - black is less likely to be seen through the tinted windows, and particularly after sundown.

[bort2.0]

@greenbean -- do you have camo?

Sidebar to @bloke -- people around here are getting their cars broken into out of mere suspicion of having something good inside, or hidden beneath a blanket or coat.

[bloke]

No better here, but we don’t want to utter the c word (cr!me) and trigger people.
When ever I’m told that “it’s safe to leave my instrument in the hall”, I think “yeah, right”, because I’m always able to go in there and get it later without anyone questioning me…so I never fall for that crap.
I can hide one instrument under that vinyl thingie in the back of the Toyota Matrix, but if I’m using two or three instruments, they need to be (again) in black bags on the other side of the tinted glass, and - when we’re eating in a restaurant - I need to park where I can see the car (with the back of the car backed up to the window of the restaurant) and I keep my eye on my car.
Again, I have very high-quality California-style bags and very nice instruments, crime exists, and I want to keep my nice instruments and my nice bags, so black is the wise choice for me… and even the cars themselves don’t attention, as they are silver, white, and black, with two of them being manual shift, and only the (white) full size work van being an automatic vehicle.
I have a horn player friend (my age) who lives in Memphis in a “nice old“ neighborhood that is about ten blocks from Memphis most dangerous neighborhood, and parks a Tesla on the street. He told me about the house next-door to his was sold to some strange people who only come and go every once in a while. After I explained to him that that house is used to store drugs, he naïvely asked me, “Do you really think so?“ I think he’s nuts.
…Admittedly, I continue to digress, but I also continue to make the point for my choice of black very high-quality bags.

@greenbean -- do you have camo?

Sidebar to @bloke -- people around here are getting their cars broken into out of mere suspicion of having something good inside, or hidden beneath a blanket or coat.

[Three Valves]

Navy Blue is almost Black but has 100% more pizzazz!!

[Furguson11]

Were I to buy a brand new bag, I would only buy this brand, but I would also only buy black - as much as I really like some of the colors, because every once in a while I have to leave something in one of my cars for a little while, and - with my windows being somewhat tinted - black is less likely to be seen through the tinted windows, and particularly after sundown.

Yeah, that's a consideration, but a black moving blanket in the car to throw over it would solve that issue also if I like screaming yellow.

[bort2.0]

Were I to buy a brand new bag, I would only buy this brand, but I would also only buy black - as much as I really like some of the colors, because every once in a while I have to leave something in one of my cars for a little while, and - with my windows being somewhat tinted - black is less likely to be seen through the tinted windows, and particularly after sundown.

Yeah, that's a consideration, but a black moving blanket in the car to throw over it would solve that issue also if I like screaming yellow.

Well, that was sort of my point... around here, when thieves see a blanket in the back seat, an extra coat, etc... they break into the car because they wonder what's hiding underneath the blanket, coat, etc. It's not a deterrent as much as it used to be.

Even worse, when people are breaking into/stealing/carjacking around here, they know there's stuff in the car that will give them your name and address. And they know that most people have garage door openers, extra keys, etc.. in their car. So a few days later, the car thieves COME TO YOUR HOUSE, often just opening your door with keys or a garage door opener, walk in, and rob your house too.

This Shirt isn't prosecuted heavily, and most offenders are catch and release, if they are ever caught at all. There aren't enough police to handle/respond to this stuff. There's no stand your ground law here in Minnesota either, so self defense options are limited even for an intrusion. I've been considering trying to gather some of my defundy neighbors to organize a citizen patrol, take a few hours shifts to walk the neighborhood at random times in the day just to build a presence and discourage opportunity crimes. I'm not sure my area is quite to that level yet, but I'm not going to deal with this Shirt if it happens here. I'll either suit up and get out there or move.

Point is -- clean your car and keep that Shirt out of view as much as you can.

Nice gig bags. But I'd never put it anywhere besides my trunk. And youse guys know how I feel about tubas that don't fit in my trunk.

[bloke]

We're all different in the way we view things, our decisions, and our methods of coping.
me...??
no personalized license plates, no "kiss a tuba player" rear window stickers, no front-of-the-car-this-about-me plates (not even "John Deere"), no communist/libertarian/religion/religion-hating bumper stickers, no bright-colored cars, no bright-colored clothes, reluctantly-donned name tags at gatherings, etc...
I suspect that the "black clothes" thing in NYC (particularly with "people who identify as women"), are often chosen to avoid attracting the attention of creeps (etc.)

OTHERWISE...(regarding the high-end California-style tuba bags)
I REALLY LIKE the evergreen color, the maroon color, and the dark blue (LOL...which all still tend to be "common subdued automobile interior colors").

bloke "As is known, I own multiple instruments, make use of them, and don't hesitate to bring an instrument to use on 'a piece'. Additionally, it's NOT uncommon for me to be accepting/delivering repair jobs at gigs. WERE IT THAT I had a car with a trunk INTO WHICH several tubas would fit (example, mid-late-60's family-size full-size Pontiac sedan), THAT would attract too much attention as well. "

Racking the front seats FORWARD (yet upright), and sliding a black-bagged tuba on to the BACKSEAT floorboard is a tack that I employ, fairly often, when multiple instruments are on board, and I must walk away from my vehicle.

[matt g]

~sigh~

Not every topic/thread is an opportunity to be a curmudgeon.

[bort2.0]

~sigh~

Not every topic/thread is an opportunity to be a curmudgeon.

Just saying... it's pretty bag. And "pretty" draws attention.