New BAM Cases. Anyone seen it in person?

[rollen]

Here's a link to a new BAM case.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2560580652

wondering if anyone has seen it in person. Hard to tell from the pics, but looks like some decent padding. Also, the flat sides are nice. May actually keep the case from rocking.

[3saxes]

Haven't seen one in person yet, but it looks like the same type of interior padding in the BAM Trekking cases. I am going to order a couple. I will post what they are like when I get them. I did send a question to the seller regarding the exterior material if it was plastic or fiberglass and the reply was plastic. Probabaly ABS Plastic. Stay Tuned!

[Stencilman]

These look beautiful. Are they "flight ready"? For $225, I'd hope to get something that is rated for flight.

[3saxes]

WWBW stated that it is plastic. I would say it is 'Carry-on' ready, it is not an anvil flight case, so I wouldn't check it.

[gary]

Is BAM a European company? That ebay ad is from Paris. I went to the BAM web site and couldn't find these cases.

[kcp]

Yeah BAM cases are made in France. I dunno if they have a website. I don't think so.

Too bad, I like BAM cases. I own one of the older rectancular model for tenor. I really like it. Now I'm looking for one for my alto and maybe a flight-case type for my tenor. I guess that I'm going to have to wait until these new models get here in town to check them out and see it they are worth it.

[gary]

If they really are plastic and not fibre-glass that raises a red flag for me.

[mark_m]

From the pics it looks like plastic shields on a soft case, no?

[TenorReinier]

There is a website for BAM: it's www.bamcases.com . The new ones here discussed are not yet on that website though.

TenorReinier 8)

[Thomas]

These are the exact same cases that Bam makes for Selmer-identical in every detail......you'd be better off with a Hiscox or Walt Johnson

[gary]

Saw 'em "up close and personal" yesterday. The outer shell on one side appears to just be plastic. The other side is a soft, rubbery material. The inside slightly padded. I do not know what the inner structure is made of.

They are attractive and light weight but I would only count on their providing more protection than a gig bag, nothing more, unless it turns out that the inner frame is more substantial than outer appearances.

[kcp]

Plastic uh? Hmmm, that's dissapointing.

Gary, have you seen the older Classic or Trekking BAM models? If so, how would you say that the inner structure of the new model compares to these? Is it different?

Cause I was thinking, the Classic & Trekking models are semi-hard cases and yet protect the horn well because of the substance the insterior is made of is shock absorbing. So if the new BAM has the same type of interior, despite that a plastic shell in unestetic, I'm guessting that plastic must be harder than the semi-hard exterior of the older models.

[gary]

I was at Saxofoonwinkel to try out saxes and just saw some of these cases hanging there and, since some on the Forum were curious about them, took a quick look so I could report back. But I didn't really give them a minute going over, neither did I talk about them with the good folks at the shop. Please keep that in mind.

I haven't seen the other BAM cases in person so can't comment. I can make another comparison, if it helps. I've had the ProTec contoured cases and presently use Berkeleys. I would put the protectivenesss of the new BAM case the lesser of these other cases, even though the ProTec is, I think, wood.

The interior padding is slightly better than my Berkeleys but not as substantial as the Pro tecs or the Hiscox cases. Cheers.

[kcp]

Thanks for the clarification.

When I got my BAM case, first I had the intention of buying a Pro Tec but one of the reasons was the interior of the BAM that made me change my mind. Not that I think Pro Tec isn't any good, I must say that I've hesitated for a long while... Pro Tec?..Bam?...Pro Tec??... :? And then it was other BAM features that revealed to be convenient for me as a street performer. I needed a case that could be carried easy as a back-pack, but must have lots of room to put the content of my refrigirator in it :wink: Because sometimes I'm gone street playing for an entire day. The case even has a pocket where my cell phone fits perfctly 8) And most espescially, I liked the rain cover thing (that is for my saxophone not me) wich I thought is a very clever idea.

[3saxes]

I received the BAM Cases today from France. They are very beautiful and have the same soft padding found in other Bam cases such as the trekking. However as stated on the side of the case "SOFTPACK by BAM" these cases are extremely plyable and have a very soft plastic exterior. In addition, there is an interior storage compartment which has a plastic cover. This cover will come in contact with the backside of the body and bell and cause scratching of the horn. Not a good design point. The case has one handle on the bottom side of the case, two handles would have been a better design and the case is zippered. I don't think that was obvious from the WWandBW auction on ebay.

I am sending these cases right back to the WW and BW. An expensive trial, but much less expensive than putting my very expensive Yanagisawa Silver Series Horns in jepordy! At least the shipping charges were free on the purchase.

My recommendation is to PASS on these cases. I am not sure why a case manufacturer can't get everything we want in one case. A shell like a WJ with the interior of a BAM would be perfect! Maybe I should design and manufacturer the case myself. Hmmmmm....

[kcp]

Thanks for posting 3saxes, that was very helpful.
:D

[gary]

3saxes. Just curious. Is that removable section actually a storage place, or is it removable to allow vintage saxes more room for the keys on the left side of the sax?

[Selmer's_glu]

Try the Phil Barone case!

[3saxes]

Gary, it is a small storage compartment. It may allow a vintage horn to fit better, but the compartment is for storage.

[Keith]

3saxes, I saw your cases listed on the marketplace. What happened? wwbw won't take them back?

[3saxes]

Keith, yes the ww&bw will take them back, but they were going to deduct the shipping cost from my refund as well as I would have to pay to ship them back to Paris. It really would not be worth shipping them back at a double loss, so I thought I would list them on eBay and at least save the return postage. There is still time to bid!