What cases are available for the BSX Allegro. I see some guys are using golf cases.
Burner -
Something happened with my notifications and I didn't see your post from way back when, so sorry for the delay. (And congrats to Big Beat Nut on a successful first outing.)
Almost any hard shell golf case will work, as long as it is big enough. Take your Allegro to the golf shop and try before you buy. You'll have a lot of interested people looking at you - maybe you'll get a gig out of it!
I use an SKB Staff Case. The dimensions of the Staff Case have changed since I bought mine, but it should still work. I chose the SKB brand because its one of the best out there. They also have a no-hassle replacement guarantee if your bag is damaged in transit - which I had to use (fortunately no damage to the bass) courtesy of TSA.
When you load the Allegro into the golf case, take the neck off the bass. Put the Allegro into the gig bag, then fold down the neck area. Put the folded gig bag into the golf case. Then put the neck into the golf case.
You will need some way to protect the neck as it travels. You can wrap it in foam every time, which is what I used to do, but that takes forever. I had a custom soft case made for my neck. Makes packing very quick.
Needless to say, you will also need to take the bridge off the base and secure it to the body so the wires for the pickup (permanently inside the bridge for you non-Allegro readers) don't get yanked. Dino recommends wrapping clear plastic wrap (the kind movers use - get it at U-Haul) around the body and the bridge as it lays flat against the bass. I found this tiresome, not to mention environmentally wasteful. I designed a soft pouch for the bridge with long straps, Velcro on the ends, to secure the pouch to the body. Had a friend make it for me. Works great.
One last tip: Find a thick piece of blown Styrofoam and cut it to fit the bottom of your case. This may help protect the bass, but its really there to protect the bottom of the case. I found that the end pin was putting too much pressure on a single point at the bottom of the case, which was deforming the metal rim and making it close poorly. The Styrofoam will spread out the load (much like the bottom of a golf bag that these cases were made to carry). I used packing tape on the entire piece of Styrofoam to keep it from cracking and crumbling. Also gives it more strength due to the "exoskeleton" effect.
I can pack my bass in about 15 minutes. The longest part of this process is securing the strings so they don't come off the pegs using Velcro cable ties from Office Depot. Everything else packs very quickly. The golf case is not oversize luggage, nor is it overweight, so no special charges. Of course you get a second bag charge these days, but that should end when the airlines get back on their feet.
If anyone wants photos of any of this, just ask. Hope this is helpful.
