Those of you that know me know that I am perhaps the biggest trumpet equipment geek out there. (With the possible exception of my dear friend, Trent Austin who is one of my favorite players and has recently opened his own music store in the Boston area. I can’t think of anyone that I would rather talk with about buying a trumpet. Trent has either played or owned every trumpet ever made! Check out Austin Custom Brass here.) Anyway, I have also been through many horns and an equal number of trumpet cases over the years. There are some great ones out there these days but I have gravitated to two makers. Torpedo Bags and Marcus Bonna. They serve different purposes for me so I can’t put one above the other. In my opinion, the Torpedo Bag is the best single case out there, bar none. It’s handy, extremely protective, easy to maintain, exceptionally made and the look is totally KILLING! The mute bag and sheet music bag are great additions and well worth the extra $. My only complaint is they only carry one horn. Steve at Torpedo has created a multiple-horn case but I have not seen one of these except on his website which is here. (You can also get the Torpedo bags at Austin Custom Brass.) For the situations where I need to carry multiple horns, my favorite is the Marcus Bonna cases. What I like about these are the outside shells are rather compact, able to fit in an overhead, very protective and the insides are modular; all the dividers can be taken out and moved around. This means the same case could accommodate two trumpets and mutes, three trumpets, or a flugel horn and trumpet; all by shifting the inner dividers. The best part is the protection-factor is not compromised by the modularity. The M-B cases are a bit pricey ($300+ for leather) and harder to find but I have had great success doing business with another great friend-trumpeter-shop owner, Mike Thompson. He carries the full line of Marcus Bonna here.
Cases deserving honorable mention would include Walt Johnson and Wiseman. Both are wonderfully made with emphasis on durability and protection. These were great but a little too big and cumbersome for me over the long run. The same goes for the new flight cases that are out there. These are either the Anvil-like cases or the hard plastic suitcase-with-wheels cases; great protection but not for everyday use for me. The other extreme are the cases like Reunion Blues and other soft cases. These are wonderfully light and convenient but do not give the protection I’m looking for. I have a few of these and use them when I bike to work with my horn. The backpack idea works for this situation but I am nervous the whole time I’m using them.
My closing thoughts are I want a case that can be dropped or kicked or have something set upon and not worry about my horn, at the same time convenient enough to sling over a shoulder and carry on a plane.
Good luck and I would love to hear other thoughts and suggestions out there.
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Hey Dave! Have you tried the Eastman single hard case? It’s about the same size as the reunion blues. I have used it for a long time and love it! It has shoulder strap and backpack capabilities. Best of all, it comes in a variety of colors. I have plain old black but a friend of mine has a green/yellow/beige Eastman case. It truly is a work of fine art!