New Bass Case
Lately I’ve been looking around for a better case for my trusty Warwick Corvette fretless. It came with a reasonably sturdy gig bag, but I wanted something that would offer a little more protection for this instrument. I do have access to an Anvil flight case, but that is overkill for local gigs and adds substantial weight to an already heavy bass. I recently decided to purchase one of the newly redesigned SKB 44 bass cases, which seems to be a good fit for my needs.
The alternatives were either to get a wooden rectangular case, similar to the common Fender cases. These tend to be pretty tough cases and last fairly well, but don’t offer much protection against moisture and don’t have mating edges to add rigidity. SKB cases are molded from a “space-age molecular polymer” with an aluminum valence; in plan terms, they’re plastic with a metal mating edge. I’ve had some experience with SKB cases in the past and my results have been mixed. On one hand, they are light and a good value. On the other hand, they seem to eventually develop cracks around the latches and handle. In my years of touring with Jumbalassy, I had 2 SKB cases for my Stratocasters. In both instances, the cases lasted about 2 years on the road before they became too beat up to continue using them. The attachment points for the latches and handle were cracked and damaged. The latches were always getting bent and needed constant realignment.
In the intervening years, SKB seems to have addressed my major concerns with these cases. The latches and handle have both been redesigned. To be fair, there were things that contributed to the road wear on my guitar cases. They were constantly exposed to (1) a variety of road crews (2) the elements and (3) to armored flight cases with metal edges and corners. The issues.. Some road and stage crews aren’t particularly gentle. Exposure to the sun is generally bad for plastics (and humans). In the equipment truck, gear moves around and vibrates. Those flight cases can cause some serious wear marks on anything they’re in contact with, including my old guitar cases. When we tour, I’ll put this case inside a flight case to protect it.
I will continue to provide updates on the road worthiness of this case.