[sulyen]

I leaped through hoops of fire, unanswered emails and long distance phone calls to their U.S. marketing office in FLA only to be told that Buffet WILL NOT sell me one of their new backpack cases (that come with their new 400 Series tenor saxes) to hold my vintage SDA. The Buffet marketing guy told me that he's not even sure if the new cases will fit the old SDAs (their most popular saxophone products for nearly 20 years)! I have a shoulder injury that requires equal weight distribution across both shoulders.

Any advice on a good hard backpack case that will hold a Buffet SDA tenor and not cost as much as a vintage mpc (like the BAM trekker) would be a sight for sore eyes. Thanks!

Sulyen

 

[awholley]

Any advice on a good hard backpack case that will hold a Buffet SDA tenor and not cost as much as a vintage mpc (like the BAM trekker) would be a sight for sore eyes. Thanks!

Sulyen

Maybe this would work?

http://www.wwbw.com/Protec-Backpack-Straps-i142225.music

 

[sulyen]

Awholley,

Thanks for your response. I can't seem to find a picture of one a Protec case with this particular strap system on it. Does the strap distribute weight over both shoulders? Also, I can't tell from Protec ads/pics how tough the outer shell of their cases is. Do they have any hard cases you know of? Thanks again.

Sulyen

 

[bfoster64]

Coincidentally, I once put my SDA tenor in one of the new Protec curved hard cases. Great case, but the bell key guard was almost too big for the case. The case didn't want to close very easily, and I felt like any nock on that side of the case would push right into the edge of the key guard, a high pressure point that could impact the horn. Not sure if this is a problem with all the Protecs. For my SDA I use the BAM case that came with my B&S Allora. Great case.

 

[awholley]

Awholley,

Thanks for your response. I can't seem to find a picture of one a Protec case with this particular strap system on it. Does the strap distribute weight over both shoulders? Also, I can't tell from Protec ads/pics how tough the outer shell of their cases is. Do they have any hard cases you know of? Thanks again.

Sulyen

I have not used the strap. My son has just started playing and his Yamaha is in a Protec shaped case. He said he wanted a backpack arrangement, so I found this. However, he found another set of straps and made it work himself.

The Protecs are hard cases. They have plywood shells.

 

[awholley]

Coincidentally, I once put my SDA tenor in one of the new Protec curved hard cases. Great case, but the bell key guard was almost too big for the case. The case didn't want to close very easily, and I felt like any nock on that side of the case would push right into the edge of the key guard, a high pressure point that could impact the horn. Not sure if this is a problem with all the Protecs. For my SDA I use the BAM case that came with my B&S Allora. Great case.

The Gator GL is great for big bells (and it's lightweight and cheap). It might work with the Protec backpack strap, I don't know.

 

[sulyen]

Thanks for the comments. One thing I've noticed is that the case makers & vendors are bad about listing which horns (new and vintage) that their cases actually fit. It seems to be trial and error for the most part and from personal experience I can tell you it's expensive and time consuming. The Eastman case I tried on my SDA was 1.5 to 2 inches too short and I didn't think Buffets were anywhere near as big as old Conns or Bueschers.

I'm going to see if one of the Protecs will fit the SDA.

Sulyen

 

[sulyen]

After looking around I've decided to see if Walt Johnson will customize one of their tenor cases (as soon as they find out if it fits a Buffet SDA) with backpack straps.

Sulyen