Cases

[Karate Kenneth]

Yeah, like title says, let's discuss cases.

What cases do you use?

Which brand makes the 'best' cases?

The reason for this is that I'm currently looking for a new case for my snare drum.

I was thinking about this case from SKB:
SKB D5514 14"X 5,5" SNARE CASE - U.K. International Cyberstore

So, fire away!

[Dr. Mordo]

It depends entirely on what you will use them for. Really the question is how much stuff is gonna be stacked on top of your drums. If you are just gonna load your drums in your car and drive to a gig, padded bags are fine and easier to use.

If you are gonna be touring extensively, you'll want nice cases. I like the Humes and Berg Enduro cases (comparable to your SKB), but you can get even more industrial flight cases if you need them.

[Karate Kenneth]

Well, I have hard cases for the rest of my stuff. They are Protector Elite Air cases,
and they are really good. I could probably have bought soft (padded) cases instead
but what the hell, you never know. And for the snare drum, I will always use a hard
case, simply because it feels more secure. Especially now since I got my Ludwig Supra
from the 60's. Feels like it's worth spending an extra $40 to keep it in good shape.

As for flight cases, that's not needed since we never have been abroad, and when
we do for the first time, I'm pretty sure I will have saved up a little bit more funds.

What is the big difference between hard cases like the ones from SKB compared to
flight cases? Are they just more heavy-duty or?

[Dr. Mordo]

Flight cases should meet specific ATA guidelines that will allow them to survive a certain number of trips as cargo. Cat 1 will be 100 trips, while Cat 2 is at least 10. I don't know if there are other Cats. It all comes down to toughness. Flightcases are heavier duty with a metal reinforced shell.

[Karate Kenneth]

And I take it they are considerable more expensive?

Anyway, I think I'll go with the case from SKB, it has the features I need for the moment.
Is it suggested to pud in some foam or other padding in the cases? Or is that unnecessary?

[Dr. Mordo]

Honestly, I think the foam may be excessive, but really it depends on how much you tour.

To me, the main purpose of cases is to protect the drums/heads from scratches/dings during transport. That's why bags will usually work also. But if you want another level of protection you get cases which will also protect again impacts from other instrument cases hammering into them.

I would think the main reason for foam would be to protect the steel parts of the kit from scuffs from sliding around in the case during transport. For me, unless I was touring pretty extensively, I wouldn't bother with the foam. If I was touring a lot, I'd get cases with no foam. That said, I also wouldn't tour with a $5000 kit. If you are touring with a really nice kit, you might as well splurge for the foam.

[uncle duncan]

Go ahead and laugh, but...

I picked up a $29 Rubbermaid 45 gallon tote box with plastic wheels on one end. I put a 1/4" plywood divider in the middle. In the wheel end of the tote you can fit a 10" tom between the wheel wells, put a carpeted plywood divider on top, and stack a snare on top, with a few chunks of foam wedged in so it doesn't bounce around. In the other end of the tote you can fit a 14" floor tom with room above or below it for a drum throne seat. I built a little box to fit under my floor tom, to hold wood wedges and such for when we do the private party back yard gigs and we need to level the drum kit. The tote lid clamps on top, with a piece of foam under it to keep the drums from bouncing.

I'm a skinny old dude, and I can lift the tote into the back of my truck no problem. I've been meaning to post pictures, but RL keeps getting in the way.

For kick drum, we're using a new converted 18" floor tom, with the cardboard box it came in as the case. For hardware, we're using an abandoned keyboard case, long enough for the hi hat to fit without breaking it down. It holds 3 stands plus the hi hat and a couple of cymbal boom arms. For the kick pedal, I found a nice plastic box at Office Max for $12, but I could have fit the pedal in the tote box if I wanted to get anal with some more foam scraps.

So, not counting the keyboard case (which was home-made out of 1/4" plywood with aluminum angle metal on the corners) I've got my whole kit in cases for approximately $50 total. The plywood and carpet scraps would probably add another $20, but I had that stuff laying around from previous projects. Building an equivilent hardware/keyboard case would add another $60 or so. Probably more, since I always underestimate these projects.

It all comes down to how much your time is worth. In this economy, I come out way ahead going the DIY route.

(Snare roll - cymbal crash) Thank-you-very-much