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You can still order "custom" (super great fit, super high price) gig bags on their website, apparently, but they have genericized these bags to something like superlative ProTec bags. I am not sure how I feel about this, but the price has come down some, and promised delivery times are faster.

I spent against my soon-to-come Easter gig check to pick up a Cordura bag for my Kurath. It is burgundy and is the generic "medium" size. All in, it was under $600. I trusted their size chart, which showed the Willson 3400FA Eb and the 3200RZ F (but oddly enough not the 3200FA) as well as the PT-10 series of F tubas. The Kurath is essentially the 3200FA with a generic rotor rather than the later ROTAX used when he switched over from the Kurath label to Willson. The 3400FA Eb and the 3200RZ rotary F are essentially the same bell and outer branches, so if these horns actually fit then mine also ought to fit. In looking over the fit guide, it appears my horn is one of the largest, so we shall see. If the chart is correct and my horn fits, then many of the horns that are clumped together to use that bag will have a really loose and floppy fit. That single thing would have driven Glenn insane. He hated loose-fitting bags.

I bought it on eBay. Torpedo has two listings, one for leather bags and one for Cordura. The drop-down menus include material (there is only one choice), one of four generic sizes, and a limited palette of conservative, single-tone colors. This means that they keep these specific sizes and colors in stock, so you do not have to wait for them to be cut and stitched together. I will get mine in about two weeks.

If your horn is in the fit list for a given size and is on the larger end of the scale, it will probably fit snugly, as it should. The Medium size was a ton of F and Eb tubas and some smaller CCs. The Large one included the Alex 163 and 173, Miraphone 186, and the 186 (old style) which is about an inch taller with a smaller bell flare. I used this same bag for my Alexander 163, and it was TIGHT and took about two years for the leather to stretch to fit, and after 12 years was still sort of tight. But it did fit and it did a great job of protecting against small bangs and bumps. I might get one of these for my 1971 186 at some point. I don't have the $$$ right now, and the blue Miraphone bag fits it very well.

I use the same model Miraphone bag for my Kurath and it's just too big to make me happy. And, of course, the next size down is too small. (Miraphone does not make a tuba with the same outer dimensions as the old Kurath/Willson F tuba.) I am hoping this Torpedo-made Cronkhite will have the same padding and the same quality build of straps as my old Glenn-made bags. I bought a beautiful, black leather one for the 186 and it was really slick. I was very pleased with what I received from them. However, we took in some cats just before I got this bag that destroyed my other leather Cronkhite bag, so I only used the new one a time or two. Then I wrapped it in plastic and stowed it away to preserve it. I gave up on ever using it and sold it recently. That was a $1200 bag. This new Cordura one is half that in cost, and my cats do not seem to like shredding Cordura. I am hoping it protects and fits my tuba as well as (or better than) the Miraphone bag.

I will post back with photos of the bag, both empty and with the tuba inside, to review the construction and fit.

By the way, the website has a new leather choice that I *love* called "Badlands" but I can never have it while these kitties are alive. Maybe in another decade.

Heck, *I* may not be alive in another decade. Oh, well…

This is what I bought…


This is what I would love to have one day…

What history am I missing here? You put Glenn in past tense. I was aware of the RB going Chinese and then Glenn making his own, but somehow I missed an apparent transition to Torpedo. ??

Mary Ann wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 8:02 am What history am I missing here? You put Glenn in past tense. I was aware of the RB going Chinese and then Glenn making his own, but somehow I missed an apparent transition to Torpedo. ??

Glenn sold his business to Torpedo in 2017 or so. Here is his letter talking about it:

https://glenncronkhite.com/from-glenn

His divorce saw RB split up between himself and his ex-wife. She got the business and he got the patterns. I believe she had to license the patterns from him or come up with her own. In 2000 she outsourced RB to a maker in China. Glenn got all the patterns and set up shop making the old RB bags under his own name. He retired and sold everything to Torpedo Bags in 2017.

EDIT: And @arpthark beat me to the punch. HAHAHA!!!

Very interested in your review.

I had a blue cordura Cronkhite bag that I got back around 2008 or so. It was excellent.

Getting back into the tuba game and getting myself a nice horn, I wanted a nice gig bag, and being a Kentuckian I wanted to support Messina Covers based in Louisville, so I got their blue cordura bag, too. I am moderately happy with it; the construction is top-notch, but the zipper pouch is oriented weird (zipper on the short side) and I feel like it isn't quite as padded/sturdy as my old Cronkhite. I'm curious if Torpedo Cronkhite is as good, construction-wise, as Glenn's old stuff.

Me, too. The leather one I bought was just the same as my Glenn-made bags, but it felt stiffer. My experience with the stiffer padding used in stuff like this is that as it ages it starts to disintegrate into an awful, dusty mess. I hope this is not going to happen to either my erstwhile leather bag or this one that is on the way.

I have considered asking Messina to make me a bag using double padding, or perhaps stuff I source and deliver to him. Our trumpeters in the MSO all have Messina bags, and they also are more or less happy with them, but one disliked the way the side pocket and top flap interacted. (I think she eventually sent it back and had it modified.)

They are indeed nice bags, and I may get one for my Holton 345, but since it is a one-off tuba with valves that project out from the bugle quite a bit I was thinking of driving out to let him actually *see* (and measure) the horn rather than sending in a 2-D paper pattern.

I'm not seeing the non custom bags listed on either the torpedo site or Glenn's custom bag site. Maybe I'm blind, but could you give me a link, or is it an ebay only thing?

Messina needs a leather handle upgrade.

Three Valves wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 9:41 am Messina needs a leather handle upgrade.

Yeah, the handle, and also mine came with a weird belt thing on the backpack straps that just gets in the way (for me). Thinking about getting a seatbelt cutter and taking that off.

LeMark wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 9:21 am I'm not seeing the non custom bags listed on either the torpedo site or Glenn's custom bag site. Maybe I'm blind, but could you give me a link, or is it an ebay only thing?

I was wrong. Both materials are available but the drop-down menu only shows what is available by color.

Torpedo's Cronkhite eBay store. They are not custom, but premade, and only available in four sizes and limited colors. The website has everything available, but it is more expensive. However, there is a 25% discount for new customers running right now.

I altered the title of this thread to reflect that this is their eBay store and not their main website.

I remember asking them about a custom bag a while ago... they said to fill out their measurement guide and send it in. I did that:

Cronkhite: Sorry, we don't have anything that's a really close match.
Me: Ok, but that's why I filled out the form for a custom bag.
Cronkhite: The closest would be for XYZWhatever model of tuba.
Me: Yes, I'm also able to tell what tubas are kind of close in size to mine... but don't you make custom bags?
Cronkhite: We offer about 100(whatever) different patterns in many sizes, that you can pick material, colors, etc...
Me: But do you cut new patterns for unique sizes?
Cronkhite: ______ [<-- I don't remember what they said, but it didn't make me happy... extra costs, or extra time, or "no" or something...]

the elephant wrote:...my soon-to-come Easter gig...

$h!t

Today is WEDNESDAY (reh.)
Every day is the same, at blokeplace (other than the particular horns that are being written up or repaired, etc...possibly cutting up a fallen tree between torrential rains...)

I THOUGHT IT WAS TUESDAY....

THANK-YOU !!!

Got a rehearsal tonight? I do, too.

UPDATE (but not an UPDATE UPDATE)…

Torpedo contacted me through the eBay messaging system to ask what specific model I have. So it is NOT a generic, pre-made bag at all. It is the same thing as in the past, which is excellent.

I explained it to him and that it should fit into a 3200RZ bag (since the much more common 3200FA-5 was not listed for whatever reason, nor was he Kurath).

So now we wait…

* removed for irrelevance *

.

I am hoping that the eBay-listed window for delivery is correct. I was thinking that with four sizes listed that these would be pre-made "generic" bags that you could get quickly.

This does not seem to be the case, though.

So the bag will still be made to fit, and that means that my order is in the normal stream of production, so my delivery window of April 19 through April 22 is probably bogus

If eBay promises it by a certain date and I do not receive it on time should I give feedback that reflects this? The whole point of this thread was to announce that it looked like you could get these quickly now if you were willing to order one of four sizes from what appeared to be a pool of pre-made bags. The fit might not be perfect, but you could get it in a reasonable amount of time.

I guess we shall have to wait and see how the boys in Minnesota are handing eBay-backed orders with buyer's protections and Feedback and all that.

Yes, the price them by generic size category but still use Glenn's old patterns. I don't think they are building solely from measurements, just from the patterns. I'm extremely impressed with the trumpet case I bought from them so I feel like they are building quality stuff and the tuba bags SEEM to be very close to what Glenn made.

I'm in no hurry for one for my Besson 983 and prefer a used Cronkhite or Superfine, but if I get to the summer and still don't have a bag (and Tom's not making them yet) then Cronkhite it will be.

the elephant wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 9:05 am Me, too. The leather one I bought was just the same as my Glenn-made bags, but it felt stiffer. My experience with the stiffer padding used in stuff like this is that as it ages it starts to disintegrate into an awful, dusty mess. I hope this is not going to happen to either my erstwhile leather bag or this one that is on the way.

I have considered asking Messina to make me a bag using double padding, or perhaps stuff I source and deliver to him. Our trumpeters in the MSO all have Messina bags, and they also are more or less happy with them, but one disliked the way the side pocket and top flap interacted. (I think she eventually sent it back and had it modified.)

They are indeed nice bags, and I may get one for my Holton 345, but since it is a one-off tuba with valves that project out from the bugle quite a bit I was thinking of driving out to let him actually *see* (and measure) the horn rather than sending in a 2-D paper pattern.

I think a trip to see David would be extremely worthwhile and possibly save quite a few headaches along the way. Hopefully you are not too far away!

We all know that all foam rubber is eventually going to disintegrate.
I suppose we hope we croak before it does.

Those OLD (1960's) GWW wood cases (and other makers' misc. cases) feature BATTING (rather than foam rubber) underneath the plush lining.
Batting (the same stuff used to stuff quilts) doesn't turn to dust, but it's also not nearly as protective against shock impacts.

bloke "hard cases...even though my knees and feet are beginning to screw up"