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Hard Case for Sandberg Forty Eight Bass?

Dub56

Dub56

May 28, 2005
1,453
1,687
Colorado
#1
Hi all,

I picked up a Sandberg Forty Eight bass a while ago, and I'm looking around to see if I can find any hard cases that might fit.

I searched this topic and someone had asked the same question earlier this year, but there were 0 replies.

All I have so far is that I saw a Reverb listing that mentioned one of these shipping in an "Epiphone case" (presumably a Thunderbird case of some sort). I also saw a picture of a Forty Eight in a case that appeared to be pretty form-fitting, but I don't know what kind of case it was.

Any other ideas? Has anyone had any luck finding a case for one of these beasts?

For those who don't know what a Forty Eight looks like, it is a "Thunderbird style" body (pics below). I'm just not sure how close the body shape is to a T-Bird when it comes to using the same case.
20181031_210212 (2).jpg 20181017_195019.jpg

Thanks for the help!
 
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#8
higain617 said:
It might fit the Epiphone Thunderbird case. Somewhat cheesy, but a coffin case may also work.
Click to expand...

So... after seeing an old Reverb listing which mentioned a Forty Eight shipping in an Epi case... I went ahead and took a chance and tried an Epiphone Thunderbird case.

Well, I actually got a Thunderbird Pro + case. I figured I might as well just buy the bass + case at that point, the price difference wasn't huge. I also figured I could resell the bass + case a bit easier than just the case if it ended up not fitting the Sandberg.

It didn't quite fit at first, but it was close. It was so close that I decided to perform a little bit of minimally invasive "case surgery" :) and now it fits nice and snug.
20181205_210117.jpg


I only had to pull back the case lining and cut a bit of foam to get this pointy section to fit. There isn't a huge margin, but it works. I added a little extra foam near the edge when I put it back as well, just in case.
20181205_210203.jpg


I'm satisfied :thumbsup:. Now, what to do with that Thunderbird...
 
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#10
higain617 said:
Good deal. I have the same case, and it looked to me like it could work. That's a killer bass! I've never seen one before.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I had been eyeing Sandbergs for a while, but I wasn't familiar with the Forty Eight until fairly recently. I fell in love with this white one when I saw it at Thomann online. For some reason they don't show white with black stripes as an option on the Sandberg Configurator, so I was really happy to find this one.
 
#11
Dub56 said:
So... after seeing an old Reverb listing which mentioned a Forty Eight shipping in an Epi case... I went ahead and took a chance and tried an Epiphone Thunderbird case.

Well, I actually got a Thunderbird Pro + case. I figured I might as well just buy the bass + case at that point, the price difference wasn't huge. I also figured I could resell the bass + case a bit easier than just the case if it ended up not fitting the Sandberg.

It didn't quite fit at first, but it was close. It was so close that I decided to perform a little bit of minimally invasive "case surgery" :) and now it fits nice and snug.
View attachment 3238280

I only had to pull back the case lining and cut a bit of foam to get this pointy section to fit. There isn't a huge margin, but it works. I added a little extra foam near the edge when I put it back as well, just in case.
View attachment 3238283

I'm satisfied :thumbsup:. Now, what to do with that Thunderbird...
Click to expand...

Hi Dub56,

Could you tell me how do you have perform the case? I have the same bass (but in red color). It's sounds as the same devil playing the bass!

A friend of mine has a thunderbird and I tested keeping my bass in his case but the edge of my bass didn't fit in. I would like know how have you pulled back the case lining and messure the cutting.

Thank for your advices and escuse me if my english is not good, it is not my first language.
 
#12
Pericothunder said:
Hi Dub56,

Could you tell me how do you have perform the case? I have the same bass (but in red color). It's sounds as the same devil playing the bass!

A friend of mine has a thunderbird and I tested keeping my bass in his case but the edge of my bass didn't fit in. I would like know how have you pulled back the case lining and messure the cutting.

Thank for your advices and escuse me if my english is not good, it is not my first language.
Click to expand...
Hey there,

Glad to help! In the Epiphone Thunderbird case, I basically just pulled back the grey case lining from the side of the case (it was attached with adhesive originally) and cut a bit of the foam out underneath to get the following section to fit:
3AED07FB-231D-4C47-B768-65401596C01D.png

I didn't measure anything specifically, I just cut a little chunk of foam out with a knife until that pointy section of the bass (lower horn) was able to fit. Then I just tucked the grey case lining back in, and that's it! It wasn't anything super precise on my part, more just getting it to fit functionally within the case.

Hope that helps!
 
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#13
Dub56 said:
Hey there,

Glad to help! In the Epiphone Thunderbird case, I basically just pulled back the grey case lining from the side of the case (it was attached with adhesive originally) and cut a bit of the foam out underneath to get the following section to fit:
View attachment 3405460
I didn't measure anything specifically, I just cut a little chunk of foam out with a knife until that pointy section of the bass (lower horn) was able to fit. Then I just tucked the grey case lining back in, and that's it! It wasn't anything super precise on my part, more just getting it to fit functionally within the case.

Hope that helps!
Click to expand...

Perfect! Thank you Dub56!
 
#16
To add to the debate:

TLDR: The Epiphone 940-ETBCS hard case (the tapered shape) fits with one minor modification.

I recently faced the same issue, finding a hard case for a five string Sandberg Forty Eight without breaking the bank. A custom flight case would have set me back 350€. Sandberg support suggested a SKB i-series open cavity case for about 400€.

So after finding this thread I went out and got a Tbird case and then figured I might as well elaborate here.
I peeled back the plush from the padding to cut the styrofoam. Could have glued it back, but didn't have any propper glue and also tucking it back in holds up sufficiently well. Even after cutting away some of the padding there is still enough material left between the instrument and outer hard shell.
There is plenty of space between head stock and case walls, also the body is tightly embedded into the padding and does not move around. However, the offset between body and neck is smaller on the Forty Eight than on the T-Bird, so the instrument rests on the neck and there is a small gap between upper body and padding. This should be solvable with an additional layer of acoustic foam.
Also the neck on the five string is a tad wider than what the case is designed for but since the padding is styrofoam it has enough leeway do squish, so no need to cut. Wouldn't make a difference anyway, since the storage compartment in the middle is not styrofoam. Case closes nicely, no need to force it shut.

1: Before cutting, 2: Styrofoam marked for cutting, 3: After cutting and tucking back, 4: Body fit, 5: Headstock room
20250324_152349.jpg20250324_152625.jpg20250324_153138.jpg20250324_153305.jpg20250324_153317.jpg
 
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