Call me picky, but I don’t want to use a rifle or other gun case.
Some bagpipes may have been called an “instrument of war” in the past,
but the idea of putting a musical instrument into a case made for a weapon
seems incongruous to me.
I don’t want to have to remove partitions and padding made for other instruments.
The partitions and padding were designed to protect those instruments.
Uilleann pipes deserve to be protected just like those instruments,
and not just thrown into the empty shell of a case after all the nice
soft padding for some other instrument has been stripped out.
The ideal case for uilleann pipes would have suitable padding
shaped for the various highly valuable components.
However, since virtually no two sets of uilleann pipes are the same,
the padding needs to be customisable. The grey cell foam seems
appropriate—the little cubes can be removed to make the right
shapes for each chanter, drone, etc. Has anyone done that?
Some space for accessories, like spare reeds, waxed hemp,
plumbers tape, electronic tuner, etc.
Strong & Secure.
Lightweight.
Sensible price.
Does anyone have a case that satisfies these requirements?
I have been using a Reunion Blues Trombone case for about 10 years, and it works great. It’s a leather gig bag, and I think it is perfect, very padded, has a hard sleeve for the chanter to protect the keywork, fits nicely in an airplane overhead, has shoulder straps, etc.. But if you want a hard case, how about a hard trombone case?
I have an Accord guitar case that is really great, very light and strong. You might check out some of their shapes. They aren’t cheap, but if you have to walk with your instrument, it is nice to have the case be light.
Consort Case Co. in Mooncoin does an Uilleann pipe case. I fit a C half set and a Concert Pitch half set with a small box of wax , tapes etc in there. Didn’t cost the earth , is quite light and definitely sturdy.
Outside of a pipe-major’s case, a viola case works well.
Inside of a pipe-major’s case, not only is it too dark to read, but the internal compartments are pretty disgusting.
best solution Ive found so far is a Giardinelli bass trombone gig bag. not perfect, but it’s 90% there. You dont have to take the bass drone apart. There is ample room for the bellows. Since bone players want their slides bent even less than we want our drones broke, it’s stiff.
Porblems are, the body of th epipe rolls around a wee bit too much, and although it dosent bend, it’s still a soft exterior, so Im always extra careful in transport or on a gig.
When staying home, my uillean’s live in a pakistani hardshell case with my French pipes, and their jingle strap. Its a happy marriage.
There is this light-case-job an American seller had sold me a set in. It is ideal for the home but not for a plane. I don´t have a pic and can´t remember who supplied it. I would love to buy another one. It is made from a light-coloured plywood and the interior is black. Could somebody help me?
Thanks in advance,
Hans
Hans,
The case you refer to was hand made in Australia by one of Ian Mackenzie’s suppliers.
Ian shipped many half sets with cases like this. It was built to his specification.
Although expensive, back then the US dollar exchange was nearly 2 Australian dollars.
So, it was less than buying something locally.
I’m very happy with my case made by Marc van Daal - costed some 200 euros, and although not overly light, it certainly is durable.
And I’m afraid that no case can really satisfy your criteria.
cheap, durable => not lightweight
cheap, lightweight = > not durable
durable, lightweigh => not cheap
You mentioned three cases: One from Rogge, and two from Savage & Hoy.
You also gave a link to Kingham MTM cases (which are very expensive: £500 for a viola case).
It’s not clear which case(s) you are showing in your photos.
I disagree; Cheap, durable and lightweight are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
Aluminium is a light metal, and durable, and quite cheap.
The price of an product depends on the manufacturing costs and the
market value. Some cases are made from inexpensive materials, like wood
or plastic, and yet they are expensive because there is a market.
Anyone who has paid £10,000+ for a good violin will probably be prepared to
pay several hundred pounds for a “suitable” case. There are many, many
people in the world who own expensive violins, and so there is a market
for expensive violin cases. There are not so many uilleann pipers in the world,
but their instruments can be very valuable too, and yet there seem to be
a very eclectic approach to cases for uilleann pipes!
It seems uilleann pipes are like hermit crabs, often borrowing some other instrument’s case,
and only rarely having a proper home of its own.
I have one of those cases (above). It’s big enough for a full set (without bellows) and convenient enough, but I wouldn’t trust it to prevent damage to its contents in the event of impact or other mishap.
