Case big enough for Northfield F5S and Tone Gard?

[Johnny60]

Hi folks,

just after some advice. I'm now the proud owner of a Northfield F5S - very nice! The only problem is that the wooden TKL case that it came with won't fit the mando with its Tone Gard attached. Obviously I could keep taking it on and off, but I don't really want to do that.

I emailed the guys at Northfield who told me that a Calton case would fit, but I don't have that kind of cash, especially having just bought the mando! Does anyone have any experience of what kind of case might fit?

One idea I've thought of is that my Eastman 505 came in a travel-lite case, which is a little more "forgiving" than a wooden case and the Tone Gard and 505 both fit in the case with no issues. Sadly that's an A style case, but do you think a travel-lite F style case would do the trick?

thanks

John

[Doug Edwards]

How is it not fitting? If it's just tighter getting it in and out, it will get easier over time.

[samlyman]

Yes - a Travelite F-style case will accommodate your mandolin with the Tone Gard on. You might have to work the foam a little bit at first but once done the Tone Gard will stay securely attached when putting in or taking out of the case. The other advantage of Travelite cases is that they are light and inexpensive! A Calton weighs 8 lbs empty! If you do go with the Travelite you will want to remove the metal closure since it poses a scratch risk to your instrument and is not very functional anyway.

[samlyman]

BTW - one easy way to test a case for working with a Tone Gard is to place a piece of paper or tissue over the bridge and then gently close the case. If the paper has string grooves on it when you open the case the fit is too tight.

[onassis]

No personal experience with a Northfield, but I'd vote for the Travelite. I have a similar case, and it is pretty forgiving and adaptable. My F-5 w/tonegard fits just fine.

[bigskygirl]

I have a NF5M and put it in the Gator Case here, one of the reviewers says his mandolin with a tone guard fits.

http://www.amazon.com/Gator-GL-MANDO...620371-9403564

Its pretty roomy and I have noticed there is some movement...not that the mando flops around in there...but I'm thinking it will fit a tone guard. I'm probably getting a tone guard soon so I can let you know if and how it fits.

I only use the case for local car travel but am doing some flying this summer with it and I'll probably just stuff a t-shirt in there for extra saftety.

I'd like a Calton too but yeah...spendy for sure!

[Johnny60]

Thanks folks - that was fast!

@ Doug Edwards - with the Tone Gard on, the mando sits higher up in the case and the lid won't close properly. The bridge sticks up too far and I don't feel comfortable with having to "force" the lid down.

@ samlyman, will have to try the paper trick, but am a bit nervous as you really do have to press down to get the latches fastened, which sounds like an accident just waiting to happen!

[samlyman]

Johnny:

Don't press down or force - I should have included the caveat that no test is necessary if the lid does not sit down as it should naturally without force.

[Jstring]

BTW - one easy way to test a case for working with a Tone Gard is to place a piece of paper or tissue over the bridge and then gently close the case. If the paper has string grooves on it when you open the case the fit is too tight.

Every Collings instrument I've owned or seen leaves pretty deep indentations in the velour on the case lid...and requires a bit of a push to close the lid.

I've often wondered....are Collings cases a bit too tight or are we overly-worried about how tightly a case fits? Hard to imagine that Collings would use cases that would damage their fine instruments....

[David Smith]

I have a Northfield F5S with a Tone Gard as well and the Travelite case works great. It will be snug at first but loosens to a very good fit in no time. I am very satisfied with this arrangement.

[TonyP]

Every Collings instrument I've owned or seen leaves pretty deep indentations in the velour on the case lid...and requires a bit of a push to close the lid.

I've often wondered....are Collings cases a bit too tight or are we overly-worried about how tightly a case fits? Hard to imagine that Collings would use cases that would damage their fine instruments....

There are two things at work here. The padding in the stock case is really stiff. More like styrofoam than foam rubber like in the more high end cases. Also the Collings are about 1/16" larger than say a Gibson. So the two make for a really tight fit. I would not recommend just stuffing it in there, the stuff is too stiff. I lay the Garded mandolin in the case, not pressed in, and use little pieces of masking tape to mark where the arms are. Pull the mandolin out of the way and take the shank of a screwdriver and lay it across the side pad and press into the padding. Do that with all three places and try the mandolin again. If it's still to hard, repeat until it slides right in.

The Northfield rectangular case also has the really tight fit, hard stuff instead of foam rubber. I modded a customers case to be able to fit with a Tone-Gard and it was a very extensive project. Besides taking a rod and mallet to the spots on the rim of the case where the arms of the Gard would go, it was necessary to take the pad that's in the lid that fits over the tail area which already fit really tight, and trim a good 1/4" off it. Then reglued the pad back on. After looking at the amount of flex in the lid though I recommended to him that he get a Travelite or one of the more high end cases. My mandolins are more likely to need strength from something being set on the case like when we are car pooling to a jam or gig than being dropped. Just my 2c YMMV.

[mandobassman]

Yes - a Travelite F-style case will accommodate your mandolin with the Tone Gard on.

Just because one mandolin fits a Travelite doesn't mean they all will. I used a Travelite for several years and loved it. When I bought a Breedlove I wanted to continue using that case but it wouldn't close. It came down on top of the bridge but would not close all the ay, and that was without a ToneGard. I ended up getting a Golden Gate case that fits both mandolin and ToneGard just fine. I now have a J Bovier A-5 and would like to try the Travelite again, but I have no way of knowing if it will fit.

[TonyP]

Of course you are right Larry. And when you talk about Breedlove and Weber and some private luthier made mandolins , they are not made to Gibson spec's. This is not a bad thing, it's just that people should be aware. Just because it looks like a F doesn't mean they are all the same size. I can appreciate how much this can cause problems for case manufacturers and I don't know how they do it so cheap. But maybe there's more variance in cases than we know too. And when you talk of a case like the Travelite that's all foam who knows how much variance there could be?

I've always had a problem fitting my Newson F with a case. It's 1/2" larger than Gibson across the bout! So a friend told me about an ABS Golden Gate case and it fit it good. But I'm not one of those folks who needs a super tight fit like seems the norm right now.

[JeffD]

Obviously I could keep taking it on and off, but I don't really want to do that.

Agreed. That is not good for the tone-gard.