Description
This is an increasingly expensive baritone case that is still a necessity for the gigging musician. Along with Walt Johnson, which is not currently available, it is the gold standard for pretty much all serious baritone players I know. If it prevents damage to your instrument even once (and believe me, it will), it has mostly paid for itself. Plus, it is the only bari case that is comfortable to wear with backpack straps, so you can take it on the subway easily. It is around ten pounds lighter than a typical bari case, and feels more like a tenor to hold. It also has sturdy wheels and a second handle for getting it around. The interior foam is the highest quality and will protect the horn from shocks better than any other modern case for sure. This is the only gigging bari case that I would feel comfortable gate checking on an airplane. It works with low A or low Bb baritones and it fits everything from vintage Conns to modern Selmer and Yamaha baritones. These are usually back ordered with BAM because of demand, but I will try to keep one around for my customers.
If you want a cheaper but still reasonably good baritone case, get anything BUT Pro-Tec contoured. That particular case has damaged more neck recievers than I can count. SKB has a hard shell, but has too hard interior foam and insufficient bell padding. I’m working on stocking a cheaper but good option with the HighTech price getting up over $1500 with shipping and tax.
Helen –
I have had a BAM Hightech bari case for over 12 years now. I bought it for my low Bb Mark VI. It is the BEST case. Period. I know it has saved me in repairs over the years, because when others have handled my horn, it has been bumped around and into things, yet when the sax comes out of the case, it plays just as well as it did when it went in.
The bonus is the case is so light, it feels no heavier than one of my tenors in their original cases.
Today I switch my baris around, and whichever horn I take out on the gig, goes into the case. My Martin Committee III fits in the case, as does my low A Medusa.
Although the case price has gone up since I bought mine, I look at it this way: If you have $5,000+ horn, it deserves to have top of the line protection. Because once it has been damaged because of bad case, it may never be the same again. And ultimately, its value can be adversely affected.
admin –
Thanks for the review, Helen! I love your Bassic-sax.info website and have learned a lot from you through it.
On the case, I put whatever baritone I am using in my BAM case too, and the others stay in other cases! It’s nice that they fit almost everything. The only bari I have had that did not fit well was a King Super 20, but even that would just barely fit.
Luke –
I have this case for my Keilwerth SX-90R bari. For one, it’s one of the only aftermarket bari cases that fit the instrument – the size of the bell and the bow length kept it from fitting other cases – but besides that it is incredibly light, has excellent wheels, and holds the horn firmly in place, which is the best feature any case can ever offer.
This case with the horn in it weighs less than just the empty wooden coffin case that the horn came in originally!
Guillaume Chanfreau –
The case is beautiful and fits both a Bb Selmer Mk VI as well as a modern Yanagisawa low A horn. It is built like a tank, yet much lighter and easier to carry than the original case that came with the Yanagisawa. Yes it isn’t cheap, but when you think of the value of the instruments that go into it, it’s a worthwhile investment…