[andre251]

Hello everyone! I had been shopping for cases for a while and had particular interest in the Bam New Trekking case. I visited a local music store yesterday and they had one. I put my sax in and bought it.
Upon taking it home and looking at it more closely I noticed that when in the case, my F Palm Key stays compressed and open just a little bit. I have a palm key riser on the key. Is this something that could potentially be bad? Is it bad for a palm key to be held partially open when stored in the case?

Thanks for any help!

 

[turf3]

I wouldn't.

I'd probably crush down the padding so the key experiences no force when in the case. The key touch is not a particularly strong item.

 

[soybean]

Yes. See if you can push in the foam under the F key with your thumb.

 

[andre251]

Soybean, it is not that type of case. I can’t move it or crunch it to make it fit.

 

[Guto]

I don't think this is a concern. the trekking has a thick soft foam. I'd argue that having it slightly push the key can actually help dry the pad. I use a riser on the D palm key on my mark VI and it also slightly push open in my BAM Cabine case.

 

[bruce bailey]

OR use a removable riser on that key.

 

[andre251]

Bruce, it is a removable riser. I just don’t have any clarification yet whether holding that key down will even be doing any harm to my instrument. My concern is that a spring will lose something. If I need to I would put it on and off. Or I will sell the case. I don’t want to go there unless I am sure it is actually an issue.

 

[turf3]

I would not allow the key to be pressed on by the padding of the case.

1) It's at least possible that the spring can lose some tension.
2) If the case takes a shock, that will be transmitted to the keytouch, which could cause it to bend.

I would remove some of the padding under the key that's holding it open, to the point that there is clearance between the key (in its closed position) and the padding. The horn in the case needs to be supported by the body tube not by the keys. If the part of the case that's pressing on the key is an unpadded part of the shell, then I would definitely not use the case.

 

[Guto]

I would not allow the key to be pressed on by the padding of the case.

1) It's at least possible that the spring can lose some tension.
2) If the case takes a shock, that will be transmitted to the keytouch, which could cause it to bend.

I would remove some of the padding under the key that's holding it open, to the point that there is clearance between the key (in its closed position) and the padding. The horn in the case needs to be supported by the body tube not by the keys. If the part of the case that's pressing on the key is an unpadded part of the shell, then I would definitely not use the case.

While these are good general advices, I reckon the BAM cases are designed to hug throughout the sax with semi-soft foam touching the instrument across a large area, distributing the pressure. In contrast, cases like Manning's do only touch the instrument at few body points with a harder foam, arguably a more protective design.

While the BAM foam does have cut-outs to prevent pushing keys, several still get in touch with the foam and are lightly pushed once the case is closed. IMO, the force applied to these keys is still insignificant in a shock even. That's my opinion, take it or not at your own risk.

It's common to see keys imprints on the BAM foam after long use (I have half a dozen Cabines, SoftPacks which are padded similarly to the New Trekking). Even more so if you use them on saxes that are not the Mark VI model they are molded after. Here we are discussing the LH palm keys, but OP, check also whether any of the front keys are putting marks on top lid of the case as well. I bet you will find some that are. E.g. I use the Oleg risers on my RH side keys. All (and specially the taller high E key) have put marks on the foam as well.

 

[andre251]

I ended up being too paranoid about the issue and decided to return it while I still could. I tried the Cabine to compare and it just didn’t sit right inside the case. The shape doesn’t work. This was the same issue I had trying to fit my 991 into a cabine the first time I saw one.
Well. The case search continues. :-/
Thanks for the replies, everyone.

 

[adamk]

Protec?

 

[Guto]

The case search continues. :-/

It's not like there are 36 options out there. Protec is probably your next best option. Not many left after that.

 

[B Flat]

It’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
I really wish these were the only issues we have with cases.

 

[saxoclese]

I have had success with cases that have a hard foam structure under the lining by hitting the area that is too tight repeatedly with a hammer. This breaks down the cells in the material allowing it to form a better shape around the instrument.

 

[andre251]

saxoclese, I have used cases before where I kind of shape the foam myself with my fingers. It is almost like I can "crunch" it into place. That is not how this particular case worked. The section holding down the F palm key is part of a moveable wall separating the accessories area. The wall moves all together and cant be crunched in any individual space. I remember crunching the SKB flight case around a decade ago to make everything fit correctly. I could not do that here.

 

[soybean]

I ended up being too paranoid about the issue and decided to return it while I still could….

I think you made the right decision.