Is My Uke Case Too Tight?

canamerukegal

New member
Joined
Nov 11, 2015
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Location
Ontario
I just received my nifty Blackbird Farallon tenor ukulele, and it comes with a fairly nice gig bag. However, we have a big dog, and so I always feel safer if my ukes are stored in actual cases. Someone here on Ukulele Underground said they had gotten a Crossrock Fiberglass case, so I ordered one. It looks great, but the Farallon is sitting up quite high in the tenor case, and when I close it the strings are pressing on to the velvet lining.......

Would that compromise the ukulele or damage the strings over time? All my other ukes sit down in their cases a lot better......this case and ukulele combination looks like the uke is just hovering in the case.

Anyone else had this situation with the Farallon or another custom uke? The Crossrock case is nice, but it looks like a strange fit.....
 
If it's only the strings pressing on the lining I wouldn't be too concerned but if it's pressing down on the headstock/nut/neck then I'd be concerned. Does the back of the uke lay flat against the bottom of the case or is it lifted a bit from the neck supporter/divider in the case? With one of my cases, the divider in the case caused the uke to sit at a rising angle when you looked at it from the side. The bottom edge of the front of the uke sat lower than the neck and headstock and the back of the uke didn't lay flat against the bottom of the case. Fortunately it was fairly easy to remove the divider and shave off a little from the bottom so the uke would sit flat in the case and I didn't have to worry about the lid putting pressure on the neck/headstock.
 
Last edited:
I have a Ohana Tenor in a Kala case. The strings leave string marks in the plush velvet. It stays in tune so I don't imagine it's pressing too hard. Now that you have sparked my interest, I am going to do some testing by placing various items on the strings and see if it can help me gauge the kind of pressure being put on the strings. Starting with thin paper, to see if the pressure leaves a string depression mark on the paper. I like Mike'z777 idea about removing the neck brace and removing a small amount of material to lower it. I will have to see after my tests.
 
Last edited:
Well I'm probably the poster who mentioned that the Crossrock fiberglass case worked well for my Farallon. I just checked, and there does not seem to be any impression on the lid of my case. BUT, I'm pretty sure that the cases are not all the same, since I've noticed (for example) that they often differ in the number of latches and strap rings. So just because mine fits doesn't mean that yours will.

But as others have mentioned, I wouldn't worry if it's only the strings leaving a slight impression, but you don't want the lid pressing down on the bridge all the time either. On a Farallon I wouldn't worry too much about the headstock or neck though.
 

Attachments

  • Crossrock 1.jpg
    Crossrock 1.jpg
    97.2 KB · Views: 39
Top Bottom