Travelite lament.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Anybody reading any Cafe threads re.mandolin cases will know of my liking for the lowly Travelite cases. I tried to buy a T case for my Weber Fern a couple of years back to no avail. It now resides in a Gator moulded ABS case,which is fine -but - the headstock scroll is too close to the side for real comfort.

I just got off the phone to Gremlin Music,Hobgoblin Music's UK import arm & importer of SAGA goods. They told me that SAGA have raised to price of a Travelite case by quite a bit,but the real reason they won't import Travelite cases, is that SAGA have imposed a 30 unit minimum order quantity on them,so,no Travelites available in the UK.

I thought i'd post this on the Cafe just in case any other persons in the UK might attempt to look for a T case here,
Ivan

[Roger Moss]

Such a policy is puzzling to me and can only hurt Saga. Is there not enough profit in selling 10 cases to 3 dealers? It seems to me a little give in this policy would yield benefit in good will.

[Ron McMillan]

Sorry to hear this, Ivan. Have you looked at the Gator light case? It looks vaguely similar to the Travelite, if perhaps a bit less substantial.

[Daniel Nestlerode]

I'm trying to find time to get down to Trevor at TAMCO to grab another Eastman case. (My Mix F5 usually resides in a gig bag, but it really needs a hard case.) IF anyone knows if I could have one shipped to me here in the UK, I'd be grateful. Otherwise I'll have to wait.

Daniel

[Johnny60]

Yeah, Travellite's are rare as hen's teeth over here in the UK. They're a good case - a friend of mine has one for his Summit. I tried and failed to find one here and, in the end, I went for a Hiscox - which is a great case with tons of room, and deep enough to accommodate an F5 mando with Tone Gard attached. It's not a light case though!

Regarding the mimimum orders, it seems that many instrument manufacturers are imposing these kinds of restrictions on stores, which is killing the smaller shops who don't have the cash flow or customer base to order, say, 12 Martins per month!

[mandroid]

Pound: Dollar exchange strong, in your favor.

Case, Light, so shipping across the Pond from a US seller is Only an Inconvenience.

[dhergert]

... -but - the headstock scroll is too close to the side for real comfort. ...

Ivan, the ABS Gator cases can be pressure fitted to allow more space. The Styrofoam cushion material can be "pressed" to compress it, and it will "remember".

Like you, I also found the headstock scroll on my F9 to be too close for comfort, so I used my thumb and fingers to compress the cushion and make more space. I also did the same around the bridge, around the end pin, and around the pick guard, plus it happened within just a little time for the tone guard.

It works.

-- Don

P.S. Amazon offers the Travelite mando cases.
http://www.amazon.com/Travelite-TL-4...=sr_1_1&sr=8-1
(Duh, just noticed Amazon says "Usually ships within 2 to 6 months". They must also be having trouble getting them from Saga.)

[Ivan Kelsall]

Many thanks for all your comments guys. I did have a look at the Gator 'semi-soft' cases,but i'd rather have a hard case & the Gator hard case i got at a good price from a UK retailer. If it wasn't for the headstock room (or 'lack of'),i'd be pretty happy with the gator case as it is. I decided a while back that if i take my Weber ''out to play'',i'll swap my Ellis & Weber cases over & take the Weber in the Travelite. My Lebeda in it's TKL 'American Vintage' case with it's additional reinforcings,is safe from everything other than a direct nuclear attack - or my own stupidity !!.
I have considered buying from the US & may actually do so. I may ask a favour of a friend & fellow Cafe member who visits the US on a fairly regular basis, to bring one in for me on his next vist. He bought one for his own mandolin on his last visit - i'll see.

Daniel - Does Trevor still sell cases at all ?. I thought that he'd given up on selling anything but mandolins,which usually come with their own case. I know that he did sell them at one time. I bought one of these cases from him ages ago,an Eastman Violin style rectangular case. It was ok until i noticed that the colour of the lining was leeching into the binding on my Weber,so i part-ex'd it for a Hiscox case,which i eventually found to be too bulky. As an alternative to a Travelite,i wouldn't mind buying another one,but this time,i'd place the mandolin in a cotton bag inside the case. Unfortunately,i think that the Eastman cases are just as hard to find as a Travelite in the UK.

Regarding minimun orders - It seems stupid. Saga aren't selling as many cases as they could do if they were willing to sell in ones or twos as they most likely could do,or as 'special orders' from any store. However,we are talking about orders placed not by individual stores,but orders placed by 'wholesalers' who then sell to the stores. That might work in a large country such as the US where there are many more music stores selling mandolin orientated goods,but not the 'mandolin wilderness' that is the UK - apart from ''Mandolin Oasis'' such as TAMCO,
Ivan

[Shelagh Moore]

I used to have an Eastman fibreglass mandolin case bought from The Music Room/Acoustica in Cleckheaton which housed a Fylde I had back then but I don't know if they do them any more. Jimmy Moon also had some at some stage. Nowadays all my mandolins are in Hiscox cases which are a bit bigger but which protect them very well. I think Eagle Music in Huddersfield also carry the Gator ABS and TKL "Zero Gravity" hard foam cases.

[Beanzy]

Have a look on Gremlin who supply a lot of builders and shops in the uk.
If there's something that grabs you then you could give the numbers to whoever your nearest dealer is.
https://www.gremlinmusic.co.uk/produ...tGroup=310-080

Phil says there's a delay on the Golden Gate fibreglass ones at the moment.
One of our orchestra players has his mandolin in one of those Ashbury premium cases and it seems a good one for protection. It's a bit hefty but no problem for car to gig stuff.

[Daniel Nestlerode]

Thanks Ivan. I think it'll be a good idea to give Trevor a call before going down there. Last I heard he was selling them, but he stopped selling accessories over the internet.

Good luck with your search!
Daniel

[Ray(T)]

I used to have an Eastman fibreglass mandolin case bought from The Music Room/Acoustica in Cleckheaton which housed a Fylde I had back then but I don't know if they do them any more. Jimmy Moon also had some at some stage. Nowadays all my mandolins are in Hiscox cases which are a bit bigger but which protect them very well. I think Eagle Music in Huddersfield also carry the Gator ABS and TKL "Zero Gravity" hard foam cases.

I also bought an Eastman fibreglass case from the Music Room for my '23/4 Snakehead. There is only one case listed on their website at the moment. Eagle music have a whole range listed but not an Eastman.

[Ray(T)]

Thanks Ivan. I think it'll be a good idea to give Trevor a call before going down there. Last I heard he was selling them, but he stopped selling accessories over the internet.

Good luck with your search!
Daniel

Trevor stopped selling small accessories - picks, strings etc - 'cos it cost him more to administer the accounting side of things than he made on them. Whether that applies to cases you'd have to ask him. He did stock them and he sold me a TKL case in 2008 with my first Kimble - the lid on the case it was originally shipped in was twisted - so he may just keep them for occasions when needs must.

Jimmy Moon's website claims that he at least had some Eastman cases in stock - at a price - but there's no obvious way of ordering one other than 'phoning him.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Beanzy - I mentioned in my first post in this thread that i'd just contacted Gremlin by phone. It was Gremlin who,once again refused to import a Travelite case for me,as they did 2 1/2 years back - but,at least this time they gave me a good reason.

On Jimmy Moon's site,the case shown is an Eastman Fiberglass "A" styled case. I had a look at an Eastman F/glass "F" style case a few years back,stunningly good looks but fairly flimsy, & no space at all inside for anything,unless you use a piece of string for a strap.

The real downer is that there doesn't seem to be any direct access to any of the companies ie.SAGA or Eastman within the UK.
Who the importers are for Eastman i don't know - maybe a call (or visit) to my friend at Forsyth Bros. in Manchester,who sell Eastman products, might get me some info.,
Ivan
Pretty,but flimsy !.

[Beanzy]

I missed that it was them you called. I contacted Eastman directly last year looking for one of their bowl-back mandolin cases and they said they were looking at importing those in 2017/18 as they were reassessing their distribution, so there may be some light at the end of the tunnel there at least.

My violin luthier says she can get their violin and guitar stuff no problem but her importer just doesn't know anything about the mandolin cases. Rather than wait I'm making my own this summer, i figure the shell can't be much different than doing the kayak.

[mandroid]

Beanzy - I mentioned in my first post in this thread that i'd just contacted Gremlin by phone. It was Gremlin who,once again refused to import a Travelite case for me,as they did 2 1/2 years back - but,at least this time they gave me a good reason.

On Jimmy Moon's site,the case shown is an Eastman Fiberglass "A" styled case. I had a look at an Eastman F/glass "F" style case a few years back,stunningly good looks but fairly flimsy, & no space at all inside for anything,unless you use a piece of string for a strap.

The real downer is that there doesn't seem to be any direct access to any of the companies ie.SAGA or Eastman within the UK.
Who the importers are for Eastman i don't know - maybe a call (or visit) to my friend at Forsyth Bros. in Manchester,who sell Eastman products, might get me some info.,
Ivan
Pretty,but flimsy !.

get a Pegasus then they're made in Scotland.

My Eastman is OK, Its light, I wear it like a backpack.. Mix-A5 in it ..

Want rugged handling safety, accept the added layers of Glass in the Lay Up and the extra weight. .

yea the Business World is: Manufacturer > Importer/distribtion hub> dealer> consumer. thats how it is.

Maybe small craftspersons, the consumer and producer can have a direct relationship.

You and Sam , maybe?

[Beanzy]

I was considering the Pegasus for my new mandolin but it is £580 and takes six months. My approach is if I need rugged then the case will be in a proper flight case anyway so the instrument case is just that, the case that contains the instrument for normal use.

[allenhopkins]

Thomann UK seems to carry a half-dozen brands of mandolin case; no Travelite, apparently.

[Beanzy]

The SKB on their site looks interesting for the price ( just over £100 with shipping)
http://www.thomann.de/gb/skb_1skb_80...dolin_case.htm

[Ivan Kelsall]

Beanzy - I had considered the SKB "A" style,for my Ellis. They give some of the internal dimensions,but not all,so i e-mailed Gear4music in Yorkshire to ask for a couple of dimensions = no reply. So i bought the Gator case for my Weber "F" style & put my Ellis in my Travelite. I have to admit that i hadn't seen the SKB "F" style case - but then,i wasn't looking for one !, The only thing that put me off the cases slightly,are the overlarge locks,they do however look pretty robust,
Ivan

[Ray(T)]

Have you seen this one Ivan? https://www.hobgoblin.com/local/sale...se--rrp-£5999/ Might be worth a morning out!

[Mark Wilson]

I do like my travelite, but after examining the Gator case at a festival booth recently I think I would like it better for carrying around all day.

[Mandobar]

The first Travelite I received was very nice. The last one I ordered was stiff, and the materials are not as nice (the hinges seemed flimsy). That said, manufacturing costs in China are skyrocketing (wildcat strikes and worker demands have increased). I know that a lot of companies are trying to move out of the more populated areas in China to reduce costs, but I can understand Saga's reasoning. They are looking for the most revenue from their efforts. The small stores have to compete now with the large retailers like Amazon. If Amazon is willing to buy 300 cases, the company's efforts are going to towards making the most for their efforts.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Ray - Thanks for the info.,but that style of case isn't really what i'm after.

Mandobar - Your comment above has me confused !. I'll ask the question because i honestly don't know - but do Amazon actually sell any products themselves ?. Every item i've bought 'from' Amazon has actually been via Amazon,from retailers who use Amazon as a 'shop window'. If that's the case,(no pun intended) then Amazon wouldn't buy any cases at all. It's still down to the retailers who buy from wholesalers who import the goods. In the UK there's simply not the number of music stores with the requirement for mandolin cases to warrant an importer importing them, & US postal charges have risen to the point where they add a considerable sum to the total cost of importing goods from the US,
Ivan

[almeriastrings]

Mandobar - Your comment above has me confused !. I'll ask the question because i honestly don't know - but do Amazon actually sell any products themselves ?.

Yes. They do. In the UK and throughout Europe, as well as in the US.