When you're buying a violin, fiddle, mandolin, or bow, the case can feel like an afterthought. You spend all your time thinking about the instrument, and then at the end somebody asks, "What kind of case do you want?"
After years of working around stringed instruments, I've come to think that's backwards. A good case becomes part of your musical life. You may own it for decades. It goes to lessons, rehearsals, sessions, gigs, festivals and airports. It gets put in cars, carried through rain and snow, bumped into doorways and occasionally piled underneath things it probably shouldn't be underneath.
So what makes a good case?
I had an unusual opportunity to think about that when I was Sales Manager at Stamell Strings in Amherst. Case manufacturers and their representatives would come through the shop and present their products, and I saw many more at the trade shows I attended.
I got to examine a lot of cases.
Some were beautiful. Some were remarkably expensive. Some incorporated clever new materials or designs. Some made a terrific first impression.
But the company I kept coming back to was Bobelock.
What I Learned From Seeing So Many Cases
What impressed me about Bobelock wasn't appearance. There were certainly prettier cases on the market.
It was practicality.
Their cases were sturdy. They had plenty of pockets. They came with useful shoulder straps, dependable zippers and sensible closures. The interiors protected the instruments properly. They were affordable enough for working musicians and students, and they lasted.
I sometimes think of them as the truck tire of instrument cases. Not because that's what an instrument case should look like, but because that's how I think about the job it has to do.
It needs to work.
I've put my own money behind that opinion over the years. I own several Bobelock cases myself: double violin cases, violin-and-mandolin cases, bow boxes, and even a green fiberglass case I've used for Irish gigs.
Those aren't cases I bought to display.
They're cases I bought because I use them.
Protection Comes First
The most important job of any case is protecting the instrument.
That sounds obvious, but protection isn't simply a matter of having a hard shell around a violin.
The instrument needs to fit properly inside. It shouldn't move around when the case is carried, but it shouldn't be squeezed into place either. The neck and scroll need appropriate support. Bows need to sit securely without contacting the violin.
The hardware matters, too.
A wonderfully padded case isn't much use if the handle eventually pulls away or a closure won't stay closed.
That's why I encourage students to look beyond the interior when they're shopping. Pick the case up. Carry it. Open and close it several times. Look at the hinges, handles, straps and zippers.
Those are the parts you're going to interact with thousands of times.
Don't Underestimate Storage
This is one of those things you discover after you've actually lived with a case.
Musicians carry an astonishing amount of stuff.
Rosin. Extra strings. A tuner. Cleaning cloths. Pencils. Shoulder rests. Picks. Mutes. Music. Business cards. Spare parts.
And somehow there's always one mysterious object at the bottom of the accessory compartment that nobody remembers putting there.
Good storage isn't just about having a large compartment. It's about having storage that makes sense.
I like being able to open a case and find what I need without unpacking half of it.
Exterior pockets are particularly useful if you carry music, and secure interior compartments keep small accessories from migrating around the case and ending up underneath the instrument.
Think About How You Actually Travel
A student walking from the house to the car has different needs from a musician carrying two instruments through an airport.
This is where shoulder straps become important.
They're not particularly glamorous, but after walking several city blocks carrying an instrument, music and perhaps another case, you begin to appreciate a good strap enormously.
Weight matters for the same reason.
More protection isn't automatically better if the result is a case you hate carrying.
The trick is finding the appropriate balance between protection, weight and convenience for the way you use the instrument.
Sometimes One Case Is Better Than Two
Multi-instrument cases have been particularly useful to me because I've spent so much of my musical life moving between instruments.
A double violin case makes perfect sense if you're regularly carrying two fiddles.
A violin-and-mandolin case can be even more useful for someone playing traditional music. Instead of arriving at a session looking like you're moving into the building, you carry one case.
That's a small thing until you've done it a few hundred times.
The same applies to bow boxes. Good bows are instruments in their own right, and if you're transporting several of them, a dedicated bow case can be far more practical than trying to fit everything into individual instrument cases.
Hard Shells and Fiberglass
My green fiberglass case is a good example of choosing a case for a particular job.
I've taken it to Irish gigs because it's tough and practical.
At a session or gig, I'm not particularly concerned about whether my case looks elegant sitting beside me. I'm concerned about what happens when somebody moves a chair, knocks something over, or bumps into it while I'm playing.
A hard fiberglass shell provides a reassuring barrier between the fiddle and everything happening around it.
For another musician, a lightweight case might make more sense. Someone traveling constantly by air may have an entirely different set of priorities.
There isn't one perfect case for everybody.
Beautiful Isn't the Same as Good
I appreciate craftsmanship. I've seen instrument cases that are genuinely beautiful objects.
But beauty shouldn't distract you from the basic questions.
Does the instrument fit correctly?
Does the case protect it?
Are the handles comfortable?
Are the straps secure?
Do the closures work reliably?
Can you carry the accessories you actually use?
Can you comfortably carry the case where you need to take it?
And is it likely to survive years of doing all of those things?
Those questions matter considerably more to me than decorative trim.
Buy a Case for Your Musical Life
When you're shopping for a case, imagine your life with it five years from now.
Imagine taking it out of the car on a cold January evening. Imagine carrying it across a festival field in July. Imagine putting it underneath a table at an Irish session or taking it into a lesson every week.
Then imagine doing that hundreds of times.
That's the test.
The best instrument case isn't necessarily the most beautiful one in the shop or the most expensive one in the catalog.
It's the one you eventually stop noticing because it simply does what it's supposed to do.
It protects your instrument and lets you get on with making music.
Learn at Sweet Music Studio
I offer private online instruction in violin/fiddle, mandolin, acoustic guitar and double bass, from beginners through experienced musicians.
Students enrolled in the 60-minute private lesson program also receive complimentary access to four weekly virtual group classes: Mandolin Mondays, Klezmer Wednesdays, Celtic Thursdays and Bluegrass Fridays.
For information about lessons, email sweetmusicusa@gmail.com
Adam Sweet
Sweet Music Studio
Granby, Massachusetts
