Bowlback cases

[brunello97]

No, it was described as a mandolin case. When it arrived it was JUMBO size. Who would have guessed? Fits my (smaller) mandola perfect, with room to spare. A typical bowlback rattles around. Could be a fluke or a misunderstanding on their part. Got an eye out for another, I hope.

Mick

[Jim Garber]

Was that the same style as I mentioned/pictured above? I was actually looking for one for my Calace mandola (17 inch scale). The ones I own from VK were perfect for mandolin. My Pandini does fit nicely and that is a pretty big bowl but that was what i was looking for.

[brunello97]

Jim, it is a 'typical' hard shell bowlback case, and does not resemble the zippered ones you posted. It is just much bigger. I don't know how big the bowl is on your Calace. The length might be tight at 17" scale. I'll post/send some pictures. BTW, I am still working along on the 'coffin case' prototype. Have the foam inserts ready for installing and am looking at some mortise lock hardware. I will probably make some larger ones for the mandbowlas as it seems to be coming together okay. Now I just have to repair those instruments.....

Mick

[Lindsay McCullough]

Jim, it is a 'typical' hard shell bowlback case, and does not resemble the zippered ones you posted. It is just much bigger. I don't know how big the bowl is on your Calace. The length might be tight at 17" scale. I'll post/send some pictures. BTW, I am still working along on the 'coffin case' prototype. Have the foam inserts ready for installing and am looking at some mortise lock hardware. I will probably make some larger ones for the mandbowlas as it seems to be coming together okay. Now I just have to repair those instruments.....

Mick

I read these contributions the other day when I was trying to track down a rigid case for my Suzuki 9655 Neapolitan-style (bowl-back) mandolin. I hadn't anticipated how difficult it would be to find one, whether in a shop (in Edinburgh, in Scotland), or on the net. I had to discount several possibilities because they seemed to be too small, or were not in stock. The dimensions of my Suzuki seem to be fairly generous as Neapolitan mandolins go:

Overall length: 64cm (25 1/4")

Width: 20cm (7 7/8")

Depth: 17.5cm (6 7/8")

Body length: 33cm (13")
Neck length: 31cm (12 1/4")

Depth of neck (at 12th fret): 4.3cm (1 11/16")

Eventually I acquired (through Amazon, little as I like to encourage their business model) a case made by the GEWA, a German company. The product number is 523.810 (on GEWA's site - it's cited as BSX 523810 on Amazon). It feels pretty solid, without being excessively heavy; wooden shell, flat lid, black finish; two hinges, three hasps (one lockable, although Amazon seems to have included the wrong keys); three stud feet on both bottom and on side opposite handle.

I should say that it is a very snug fit indeed for the Suzuki - good news in the sense that it will not rattle about at all in transit, but I did have some qualms about pressure exerted on the bridge between the padding under the bowl and that inside the lid.

However, I think it will do - the lid tensions down when the hasps are closed, but it doesn't feel as if the instrument is being crunched. I hope this is of some assistance. I've had my mandolin for forty years, and I take it out and about frequently; and lately, I'm troubled by a superstitious fear that I'm shortening its odds of survival every time I leave the house carrying it in its ancient soft case.

[Beanzy]

Hobgoblin are now doing the Viking cases, which are more expensive, but look fairly similar in design.
https://www.hobgoblin.com/local/sale...mandolin-case/

I would say to always have a strap to wrap arond the case under the handle inase your clips come undone or you forget to do them up. I've not done it, but saw someone launch theirs out of the case onto the floor before. Since adding the strap I got in the habit of not picking up the case unless I see the strap done up. I'm sure it's saved me coming a cropper many a time.

[Jim Garber]

It is good to have an update on bowlback case availability on this 8 year old thread. I think violinking is long gone or at least not doing business on eBay under that name and I don't recall seeing anyone selling my favorite inexpensive bowlback case. I think there a re a few of those Eastman cases still around but I don't know if Eastman is still importing them to the US or the UK.

[Dave1066]

Thormann sell Bowl Back cases as well, they sell the Gewa case and a soft padded case for bowl backs. https://www.thomann.de/gb/search_dir...und+back+cases

[Beanzy]

I bought one of the Viking cases from Hobgoblin.
They're very deep in the bowl area so I just lifted the side padding from below and inserted foam strips to custom fit it to the Calace, same with the bit under the headstock and along the neck, so there's now complete padding support along the whole neck.
I may lacquer the whole suurface finish of the case, as the covering material seems quite soft & I reckon it could tear fairly easily.
It's very well balanced in the hand when carrying the mandolin & alot less cumbersome than my last case I was using.

[Dave1066]

Cheers for that Beanzy, next week I take delivery of my first ever bowl back, which is the Ozark 2034 ( which I'm informed is probably a Musikalia bowl back ) . When I have my bowl back in my hands and can take measurements, then I will order a case.

[Dusepo]

Thanks for the info about the Viking case! From the picture it looks like it has no straps for carrying around the body? I wonder if it'd fit my domra.

[Beanzy]

Hi Jo, I think you could possibly look at just using short self-tapping screws to add straps. a single length of webbing might be most secure.
To prevent inadvertent opening if you snag catches, the trick would be to put them on the shaped side, but wear it with the flat lid to your back.
My friend Susanna (you probably know her from luty things) has made some very cleverly designed rucksacks for her various bowl-backed instruments; maybe get her to send you some pics if you're in touch.

[Dusepo]

Hi Jo, I think you could possibly look at just using short self-tapping screws to add straps. a single length of webbing might be most secure.
To prevent inadvertent opening if you snag catches, the trick would be to put them on the shaped side, but wear it with the flat lid to your back.
My friend Susanna (you probably know her from luty things) has made some very cleverly designed rucksacks for her various bowl-backed instruments; maybe get her to send you some pics if you're in touch.

Thanks, we've had a chat about it.

[Zane1]

I was searching for a way to attach straps to a wooden case and this old thread came up.
Does anyone know the best way to attach straps to wood? Can I just use wood screws and a piece of webbing that has holes in it, like this in the photo?

[Dusepo]

I ordered one and today it arrived! So here's a review of sorts...



It fits my Brescian mandolin (which I converted from an old broken Neapolitan one) with room to spare. I didn't shorten the peghead for that conversion, just filled 4 tuner holes, so I'm surprised how much extra headroom there is. Presumably this is for Embergher styles with a scroll on the end? It's also much deeper than the body of this conversion (again, no alterations were made to the body depth) though I know this can vary from mandolin to mandolin, so presumably they wanted to cover all types. The bit where the neck rests doesn't move, so this can lead to the peghead being lifted up compared to the body. I don't hear any movement of the instrument when the lid is closed, but impossible to know for sure, so hopefully not an issue!

It also even fits my domra! Again, space to spare at the peghead, and in this case the edges of the body are a more snug fit but not too tight so as to cause any issues. Again, the space for the body is deeper than the actual body depth.

Easiest thing might be to add some extra padding under the body to bring it up the right level. Anyway, would recommend, especially given how rare bowlback cases are at that price.