Calton Case Fit

[UsuallyPickin]

Ahh the search for perfection goes on …. and on. To heavy , to loose, not sturdy enough to go on an airplane ride … I'll take a Calton as the best of the lot all aspects considered. If I didn't already own two I would buy a Hoffee and for cool looking I can't ever get past a Pegasus … having never actually had one in hand I can't say more than that about them. Lastly each time a Mark Leaf comes up for sale I have to say NO Richard you don't need it..... R/

[Ray(T)]

Personally, I suspect that many people express prejudices against cases they may never have owned or even seen. Part of my personal collection weighs in as follows.

TKL rectangular case (including blanket) - 3.915 Kg
2008 Standard UK Calton case - 3.855 Kg
Ameritage case - 3.7 Kg
Old UK Calton case (circa 198?) - 3.460 Kg
Shuster case - 2.920 Kg

So much for those who say Caltons are too heavy!

[foldedpath]

Al - The headstock certainly seems to have plenty of room around it . I think that the more 'squarish' shape of the case halps greatly in that respect. The more 'rounded' case shape makes the case 'taper' too much.

I'm still waiting to hear when the new Northfield cases will be available in the UK / EU ?

You can have a rounded case if the area around the headstock is large enough, like the Pegasus I use:



Bonus with the Pegasus is you get to choose your own lining and outside color. Available in the UK too, since they're made in Scotland. It's a great case. I like how the small size makes it easier to manage in tight pub sessions, or in an airline overhead compartment. The lid gaskets seal well enough against rain in our Pacific Northwest climate, so I don't need an outer cover.

The downsides are cost and waiting time, it's a bit heavy for the size (but very strongly built), and the storage area is limited. I still manage to pack spare strings in the compartment under the headstock, and my StroboClip tuner, picks, and spare battery in the compartment under the neck support. That's all I need when playing out.

[AlanN]

Does the F-5 wiggle in the Pegasus with lid open, closed?

[foldedpath]

Does the F-5 wiggle in the Pegasus with lid open, closed?

Nope, there is no room for sideways wiggle with the padding, it takes a slight push to seat the mandolin firmly in place.

It passes the "shake it vertically and feel for movement" test with the lid closed too. There is a small circular pad in the top of the lid opposite the headstock (visible in the photo above) that keeps the neck from moving, and enough light pressure on the body front and back to keep it in place. Works with a ToneGard also, which this mandolin has.

[BrianWilliam]

Calton agrees that the headstock scroll is too close to the edge of the case and that they'd like to fix it for free. I'm impressed and grateful.

[Ivan Kelsall]

That's a decent offer from Calton Brian. I suspect that they'll move the neck cradle to give more room around the headstock.

Many of us on here can't understand why Calton didn't simply made that area larger in the first place,as apparently,the tooling for the new cases was also new, & could have been made larger in the headstock area - just a lost chance to put this problem to bed once & for all,
Ivan

[Mandobar]

That's a decent offer from Calton Brian. I suspect that they'll move the neck cradle to give more room around the headstock.

Many of us on here can't understand why Calton didn't simply made that area larger in the first place,as apparently,the tooling for the new cases was also new, & could have been made larger in the headstock area - just a lost chance to put this problem to bed once & for all,
Ivan

The new cases have plenty of room in the headstock. I believe that Brian's case has an issue (more of a QC issue than a design issue) that is limited to this particular case, because I own quite a few Austin-made mandolin cases and none place the headstock angle this way. Calton has suffered the loss of it's production manager (he was killed in a car accident, I believe) and they are probably still reorg-ing a bit.

Either way, I am glad that you finally got an answer, Brian.

[Ivan Kelsall]

IMHO - Despite there being several other hard cases on the market of the 'Calton type',i believe that Calton themselves are still the best value for money for the build standard & quality that you get,but, i know of one Cafe member,who,after having received his own US built Calton,was decidedly unhappy with the room in the headstock area. It's been a bone of contention for many years. Even though the original problem with the 'rivet' was sorted out,folks still thought that the headstock scroll was still too close to the side of the case for comfort - so why not give them some extra space whilst you're re-tooling ? - it's so easy !.

I spent the last 10 years of my working life as the principal production engineer in our ''Plastics'' dept. dealing with mould tools of every type that you can think of,& i know what they cost to produce. Scrapping the current Calton mould tools probably isn't on the cards,but when they were being made,adding an extra 2" to the headstock end would have been so very,very easy,& would have ended this 'perceived problem' for good,
Ivan

[V70416]

My Gilchrist Fern suffered a broken headstock scroll in a 1980's Calton. But I got to meet Charlie Derrington in his old repair shop
because of it. When I told about it back then nobody seemed to believe me. The case fell to a hard floor from a height of about 2.5 feet.

So at that time I bought The Mother of All Mandolin Cases for travel:
It weighs a ton


I haven't used any of the newer cases. Have two Pegasus cases;one F-style,one A-style. Shipped(next day air) several times
in the F-style Pegasus.

[V70416]

That wasn't a great pic;but,you get the idea.

I'll try another one:20 year old Calton Double-style case



Looks kinda like a coffin.

Really heavy. Never weighed it. It's a tank.

[V70416]

No movement in my Pegasus cases. Best case I have used.

[AlanN]

Had one of them big bad boys, too. Tank.

[V70416]

AlanN,that is the only other MOAMC's(Mother of All Mandolin Cases) I have ever seen. Got mine thru Mandolin Central in the old days(90's)

Thought of selling it;not sure anybody would want it unless they are in a touring band with roadies.

[AlanN]

Ha, you may be right.

I actually had 2 of these, the first I also obtained from Tony, it was black out/vintage green in, sold it to Alan Bibey. The one pictured above was custom ordered from Al in Canada (with Lawrence Smart's help); it had some improved appointments over the other one, like this plate inscription - spurred by a nosy NJ picker who didn't rightly ask permission before opening the case. I sold it maybe a year ago.

[AlanN]

Also had a Small Dog cover made expressly for it.

[BrianWilliam]

Looks like one of the tanks is in the classifieds: https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/126302#126302

[AlanN]

Dat's da one! A dandy...

[Mark Seale]

The real MOAMC is a custom Calton with Blondie (currently at The Music Emporium.)

[AlanN]

The real MOAMC is a custom Calton with Blondie (currently at The Music Emporium.)

Gorgeous!

[Mark Seale]

If you can't quite make it out, it has "The Gibson" engraved on the top.

[gummia]

My Calton is like that as well. The scroll sits tight to the padding. But in 7 years of banging that case around I never had any problems with it. I was worried to begin with though.

[Hendrik Ahrend]

The real MOAMC is a custom Calton with Blondie (currently at The Music Emporium.)

Those briefcase style cases are being made by Mainstage (with various layouts) up in Canada.

[Kevin K]

So the new Calton's have enough room and no headstock rub?

[AMandolin]

Yes, more room, Nothing touches in headstock area.