I believe there were quite a few reports years ago about the shell of the case actually flexing inward first and causing damage to the horn...and then rebounding back to normal shape so it looked like there was no actual case damage, but the inside of the horn was mangled.
Someone correct me if I am wrong on the details, but to my memory there were a few prominent members here reporting similar incidents and advising others away from WJ cases.
- Saxaholic
This is exactly what happened to my Yamaha 62 Baritone Saxophone. The D Ring on the case strap sheared in not one but two places. It was a clean cut across the metal. No stress. Just a clean shear. My sax was bent forward in three spots and bent to the side in five spots. The left hand C key was two inches higher than it should have been. There was zero damage to the case. I called Walt Johnson and talked to his then wife who promised me the company would do something to help me the repairs which were twice the cost of the case. Walt refused to do anything claiming that the case was not at fault, that it was not his problem since he did not personally make the case, and claimed that he had no say in quality control of his cases or say in their manufacture. He then told me I was free to go on the internet and tell my story.
Since that day, I have heard many stories from my repairman and others telling me of similar incidents happening with Tenor, Alto, and Soprano saxes in Walt Johnson cases. I have seen saxophones destroyed in Walt Johnson cases due to the instrument falling from a small height while in the case.
I was standing still talking to a member of a band I was playing in at the time when the D Ring on the hook on the case strap broke. It was a very clean break. Walt Johnson and his cases are a fraud. He never stood behind his cases. He never cared about the idiots, like me, who thought his cases were good, trustworthy cases.
It took six months to fix my sax. It required a great deal of work to straighten the body, realign the keys and pads, and smooth out the creases. I lost about thirty-five gigs during that time because I did not have a Baritone Sax.
Dennis Bamber at Woodwind and Brasswind sent me some reeds when I called him to tell him what happened. I had bought the case from WWBW. This was before Walt Johnson made his deal with Selmer. When I talked to the Selmer rep, Boosey and Hawks rep, and any one else I could find at the various trade shows and Music Festivals that year, most reconsidered doing business with Walt Johnson.
Buy a Walt Johnson Case at your own risk. There will not be a single person who will stand behind the case when it fails including Walt Johnson himself.
My experience cost me over $1,000.00 when it was all said and done. That included the cost of the case, the repairs and adjustments to my sax, the loss I took on selling the case, and the cost to replace the small items that were also broken when the case hit the deck.
Since that time, Walt Johnson divorced the wife who promised me Walt Johnson would do something to make this right and his company is gone. All I have to say is Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish!
