[cannonball]

Hello,

I have a Walt Johnson Alto case which is made to fit a Selmer or Yamaha. I need to find out if it will fit a Jupiter Jas 565gl. Unfortunately, I cannot physically try it out so I need somebody's advice.

Thanks

 

[jmathesonjr]

According to Mr. Walt Johnson himself, the cases are made for one specific horn manufacturer: ie, Selmer or Yamaha or Keilwerth and they are not meant for another make or model.

My advice: find another case.

 

[gary]

According to Mr. Walt Johnson himself, the cases are made for one specific horn manufacturer: ie, Selmer or Yamaha or Keilwerth and they are not meant for another make or model.

Yes, but I think many of us have used WJs interchangeably (JK's excepted) with no problems. So I would try the WJ but make sure you can return the case if it doesn't fit.

Regarding whether or not a Jupiter will fit in a case made for a Selmer or Yamaha, my daughter has a Jupiter case holding her Yamaha sax and I've used the same case for my Selmer.

 

[jmathesonjr]

Walt Johnson, in a phone call I had with him after my Yamaha Bari was severely damaged in one of his "cases", told me that the Selmer horns are different from a Yamaha and that his cases are custom made for each manufacturer. If a Selmer horn is different from a Yamaha and both use the same cutout, I can only imagine just how different the Jupiter is from the Selmer and Yamaha horns.

In my opinion, the Walt Johnson Cases are just overly priced garbage bags that one can set out at the curb after the horn is trashed when the case fails. As I have said before, these cases flex and bend when they take a hit. If the case bends, what happens to the horn inside when the case bends? No rocket science training needed here.

There are hundereds of cases available out there. Almost everyone is far superior to the Walt Johnson cases. Get one. Walt Johnson does not stand by his product. His cases have a bad track record of being poor fitting and cheaply made and very expensive. There are better cases available at half the price. My suggestion: go with one of those.

 

[gary]

This is old hat so anyone new reading should know also that:

- this experience is regarding a Bari case, not one of the smaller cases
- there is plenty of anecdotal experience reported on SOTW to the contrary
- a vast number of touiring professionals use WJs
- like I said, many of us have used WJs interchangeably regarding of what manufacture the horn is, with success. You just need to check it out, that's all.

For more info read the infamous thread "The most protective case on the market".

JM, we are all sorry for your loss.

 

[jmathesonjr]

I hang around a fair number of touring professional saxophonists. All were using a WJ case until things started to happen to their cases and their horns. None are using them now. I am the only one who has a baritone saxophone. The rest are alto and tenor players. None of these guys will take their horns in a car in a WJ case, let alone go across country or out of the country in one.

My repairman, who was a good friend of Mr. WJ, and one of his distribtors even sells these cases any more and has not for a very long time. It is his opinion that the damage to my horn was caused the inferior quality of the material used in these cases. When he contacted WJ to tell him about the damage to my horn, WJ gave him a song and dance. WJ refered me to his attorney. As I have said before, I did not ask for any money from or made any accusations. I just reported to him what had happened with his product. He did not care and indicated such vehemently.

You can use these cases if you wish. In my opinion, they are dangerous. They are great protection against the rain, but that is all. Protecs are much better than the WJ cases.

When your gig playing saxophonist repairman refuses to put his personal horns in a WJ case for local gigs, there must be something to my claims.

If you use these cases, just be very careful with them. They are very flawed. They do not hold up well and give a very false sense of security.

 

[gary]

Well, having had both WJs and ProTechs I would not agree that the latter offers greater protection, and my experience with touring musicians, as well as my own experiences, is not the same as yours. That can happen though. I suppose probably the best thing anyone who wants to know what protectivity level a case has should just read the thread I referred to above and then draw their own conclusion.

Cannonball - a compromise solution might be to look into Hiscox cases. That wasn't your question, but you might want to consider it.

 

[jmathesonjr]

I have heard of some legal troubles associated with these cases over the years and got on Lexus/Nexus to do some research. However, when I search for any information including business related documents that should be on public record concerning any and all companies in the US, I find none for Walt Johnson Cases, Johnson Cases, Johnson Musical Products (which is the name he uses on his myspace page).

Anyone know what the registered business name of Johnson Cases is?

Johnson Cases or any possible combination of Walt, Johnson, and cases has yet to yield any result.

Anyone know??

 

[jmm1713]

Yeah -- Get something different -- the Walt Johnson cases are overpriced garbage ( especially the new ones ) - get an contoured skb case or selmer flight tech -- you will save $ and get a better case

 

[Saxaholic]

Geez louis...it's amazing the mis-information that gets spread around here.

The NEWER Walt Johnson cases (past two years) have dropped in quality. Rumors had it that some kind of natural disaster (fire, reportedly) stopped production in their factory. Then, the factory was moved to another country (Mexico, supposedly), where the quality continued to drop on the cases.

That being said, any Walt Johnson from 2004 or before (the majority on the market), is an excellent case. I know MANY student, amateur, and professional players who are still using these "older" Walt Johnsons. None have had the slightest of problems.

I used one for years, and never had an issue with them. I watched one of my past private instructors literally TOSS his prized Mark VI on a concrete floor in one of these cases. When the case was opened, there was not a scratch, ding, or dent to be found. I'm a repair tech, I know what to look for, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with this saxophone.

I once dropped my case down a flight of steps in a WJ case. Again, the sax was fully functional, no damage sustained whatsoever.

Are they expensive? Yes, they are. Are they extremely protective? Another yes.

The only continued reports of damage were in the older model of Walt Johnson baritone cases. That design fault had been remedied. I know 3 professional players using the new WJ bari case, and no one has had an issue with them.

There are plenty of cases available that are good, quality cases. Protec makes some excellent cases, as does BAM. For ease of carrying, small space, and great protection...the WJ would be the way to go. For incredible amounts of storage for everything, I would say BAM. A medium between the two would be a Protec Xtreme case.

Saxaholic

 

[gary]

Yeah -- Get something different -- the Walt Johnson cases are overpriced garbage

You know, jmm, there are a lot of inexperienced hobbyists on this site. It's always helpful to give personal experiences to back up statements rather than dogmatic, unsupported statements. It helps not only the hobbyists but, well, everyone.

Saxaholic, your post reminded me that once I dropped my sax down a flight of concrete stairs, bouncing head-over-heels. It was in a WJ and, like your anecdote, survived not only without a scratch, anything out of adjustment, etc but even the case hardly showed a mark on the outside, LOL. That thing was built like a Panzer.

FWIW, I no longer use the WJ because not only was it built like a tank but with my JK inside, and having to lug more horns and equipment, it was just too heavy a case.

 

[jmathesonjr]

My sax fell in a Wlat Johnson case from a height of less than 4 feet. There were witnesses to this. The reason it fell was becasue the D ring on the strap broke in two places. They were clean breaks. One witness is a metallurgist whose job is to test metal strength in the manufacture of wire. He lookied at the metal in the D Ring and determined it to be metal coated plastic with enough strength to hold five pounds. When I opened the case, my horn was bent in eight (8) different places. The C key was 1/2 inch higher that it should have been. The case was less than one year old. I bought in it 1996.

This is not really anecdotal evidence. I have witnesses to the incident. I have witnesses to the damage. I have a four hundred labour repair bill to fix the damage (I paid $300.00 for the case). I lost another $200.00 in gigs becasue I did not have another sax at the time to cover me for the 6 weeks that my horn was in the Chicago area getting straightened and repadded to fix the damage that this "flight case" caused. The case was closed and latched. I was holding the case. I was not walking or running with the case. I was not falling or tripped. I was standing still talking to people when the "metal" D ring that holds the hook to the nylon strap broke. It broke so cleanly it looked like it was cut clean through. It separated into two equal halves. It was almost like it started out as two equal pieces and they joined together.

If you think these cases are great, more power to you. I am sure they were. But in my opinion and the opinions of the people who witnessed this, they are an accident waiting to happen. I sold my case to some one who has since sold the case.

The college I attend has its saxophones in Walt Johnson cases. The cases do not closing evenly. They are badly scrathched and chipped.

Walt Johnson, when I called him to tell him what had happened, got very beligerent. I was quite calm and collected. I did not ask for help or monetary assistance with the repairs. He reffered me to his lawyer saying that my horn was expressly made for a Selmer Mark VI horn and should never have any other make or model of horn in it. He laso let it slip that his cases were made in Mexico and that he had not control over the quality of his cases.

Again, I am telling my story here because I think it needs to be told.

Feel free to buy these cases. Just beware that these are not what they appear to be. In my experience, I put my trust into this case. The case failed like no other case I have had before or since. I can no longer trust these cases nor Walt Johnson. Take my experience and believe it or not. It happened. It cost me. I won't make the same mistake again. I will not let any of my horns be damaged like that again.

 

[Saxaholic]

There will always be reports of bad things happening with any kind of "safety" product. You'll have a half dozen bad reports vs. thousands of perfectly satisfied customers. It happens with everything. Same thing with businesses...no matter how perfect customer service is, something bad will happen sometime. That one could have been defective. Easy enough to do and happens with every product ever made.

Sorry your horn was messed up and that Mr. Johnson wasn't very nice on the phone. At least now you know what you like.

Saxaholic

 

[Barbarian Wyte Man]

best bari case ever. i've taken this baby in checked luggage to Australia and Florida, not to mention countless bus trips, and it stands up to anything. it was less then a walt johnson. it was custom built for me by A&S Case in north hollywood.

my horn is very dear to me, and i wouldn't trust a case company that i didn't know was 100% reliable. my dad has a ordered about a dozen A&S cases and each one is as strong as ever.

 

[bcnsax]

I have a WJ case for alto and the only thing I can say is that it's a great case. It perfectly fits your horn without internal movements and its built like a tank.
If you have the "Keilwerth one", I think that these are made for horns with big bells so if you own a Yamaha or a Jupiter, try better the Selmer/Yamaha one.