Recommend cheap ukulele hard case

Hi,

The cheapest hard case I found on line is

https://www.glarrymusic.com/glarry-ukulele-boa-leather-hard-case-black-p19.html

$30 each.

They look ok; but they only have feet on the bottom and don't have feet on the back/bottom sides (do you need them for ukulele? I know it is very useful for guitar cases).

I'll need 2 soprano and 2 concert cases, mainly for storing the ukuleles at home. They'll see some car travel, maybe once a week to the local ukulele club meets.

What do you think of these?
Any recommendations for cheap hard cases?


Thanks.

oh, because they'll be mainly used for storage, I prefer the cases to be stackable.

I have one.

Noticeably lighter than my other hard cases. I think it's made of cardboard.

Still valid as a case though.

I think those styrofoam cases would be better protection. Wood edges, and more padding.

Edit - you added the "stackable" bit after I typed this!

chris667 said:

I have one.

Noticeably lighter than my other hard cases. I think it's made of cardboard.

Still valid as a case though.

I think those styrofoam cases would be better protection. Wood edges, and more padding.

Edit - you added the "stackable" bit after I typed this!

Click to expand...

How do you like them? Would you buy again at $30?

You were joking about the cardboard construction, right? I'm hoping they'd have plywood or fiberboard inside like the normal hard cases.

Wow, thanks; that is really big for a soprano case. Good idea; I'll order one and check it out.

clear said:

How do you like them? Would you buy again at $30?

You were joking about the cardboard construction, right? I'm hoping they'd have plywood or fiberboard inside like the normal hard cases.

Click to expand...

Nope. Too light for plywood.

I have my high end ukes stored in hard cases mainly because they get humidified in the winter. But otherwise these cases are big and awkward for storage and transport. When I visit Hawaii I am always amazed that pretty much everyone there uses gig bags with straps to transport even their highest end K brand ukes. So yeah if you don't use soundhole humidifiers then there is no advantage to bulky hard cases.

My new custom tenor guilele came in one of these. Seems fairly sturdy, certainly adequate for home and local transport. I don't know that I'd fly with it, but it was shipped in it (inside a box with other packing materials of course) and no damage. As far as the "no feet on the end" - I don't think there's enough space to provide a stable base to stand up like that so that's probably why they don't come there.

I have 3 of the Glarry concert size cases and I love them. I think they are a great value. For your intended purposes, storage at home and moving from home to ukulele club and back these would be more than adequate. I don't know what the interior construction is but it is not a cheap cardboard case. The material is hard and rigid so it is very protective. (Not check it as baggage on a plane protective but moving it around protective.) The concert size cases run smallish to no room to spare. My Ohanas fit snugly in them but they are too small for my concert sized Kala. For a cheap hard case I recommend them and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another. They are my first go-to if I need another case and the uke will fit in it.

[edit] sorry, the cases to which I referred seem to be gone. they still have a few soprano 'tweed' archtops for $50.

Check the Kala website ( I believe it's kalabrand.com ). They have a number of hard cases on sale/clearance, some under $30 depending on size. The concerts and tenors are discounted the least. FWIW, I just picked up a "travel" soprano for under $150 and shipped free. Solid spruce top, blah blah blah. Wasn't even looking but the price was right. Until then other online sellers were in the $220-280 range.

I tried one of those $20 generic hard cases from EBay. I was very disappointed in it. The top wasn't straight and didn't close and latch easily. The metal hardware nailed on and the nail ends poked through the wood into the instrument compartment. There was no foam padding inside, just a thick fleece fabric that didn't protect much from bumps or from the nail ends. Maybe some of these generic cases are better than others, but they are hard to pick from because they have no brand names and all the photos on EBay look the same. I returned mine and the seller gave me a full refund.

On the other hand, I have been happy with budget-priced brand name hard cases from Carrion, Gator, Musicians Gear, Crossrock, and Dean. Also the foam pod cases from Knox. All of these were less than $40 each (some might have been on sale).

In real life, I am an upholster and leather craftsman. In my alter-life, I am a uke-aholic. Often I am asked about what to do with a "too big" case. A can of spray glue, an appropriate thickness of foam rubber and a fabric you like makes the case fit the contents. I make all of my patterns first on thin paper and then glue that onto construction paper. {the thin paper makes a crummy tracing pattern for the next step} trace your side wall pattern onto what ever thickness of foam you need to make it fit. Depending on the shape of the instrument and your own ideas of how simple or complicated you want it to be determines the shape of the foam. For the top and/or bottom I just cover it all. I have made tops and bottoms out of shag rug pieces. For the foam, I spray glue a piece of fabric on it that covers the front and the top of it before I put it in the case.. It makes it look really nice when you open the case. Foam and fabric are lighter in weight than shag rug. If you want more information contact me a t thecraftedcow@comcast.net

I don't know where to get this type of case, but it came with a Caramel Tenor I bought on Amazon...

It stores flat, and the handle screws will not pull out of the foam case because there are no screws.

The grip/strap is sewn all the way across each flat side. Very good design.

-Wiggy

Thanks for the replies and suggestions.

I've put in an order for 1 soprano and 1 concert Glarry case; based on your comments, I want to check out their fit/quality before buying more. I'll put up a review here once I get them for future reference.

WFT the Musician's Friend hard case that somebody mentioned on this thread; I own 2 of them. They are good quality (for $50, which is their normal sale price). I would have bought their ukulele cases but I'm not seeing their usual coupons this week and don't want to pay full price.

The cases came today.

Pretty much everything mentioned in this thread is spot on. Including that the cases are made of cardboard @chris667 !

I'm going to buy another concert case because the overall fit and quality is totally acceptable for my purposes (storage and car transport) and at $30 without a sale, it seems to be the cheapest.

As mentioned by @Ukecaster, the soprano case is too big. Width and height are ok. The length; however, is .5" too long for the ukulele body. I will not be buying another soprano case due to the poor fit.

In the pictures below, I've pushed the ukuleles forward as much as it'll go. I used a regular soprano, a long neck soprano, and a regular concert.

I was curious about its material so I took a knife and opened a portion. I can confirm it is not made of wood. It looks like hard paper mache; so I think it is cardboard with some kind of plastic-like glue.

There is no padding on the entire bottom and the sides of the headstock area, just felt covering.

There are feet on the bottom and long side of the case. The latches are surprisingly good (heavy, smooth edges, and aligns perfectly). The case lid also aligns perfectly to the case, making for easy open/close.


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clear said:

Hi,

The cheapest hard case I found on line is

https://www.glarrymusic.com/glarry-ukulele-boa-leather-hard-case-black-p19.html

$30 each.

They look ok; but they only have feet on the bottom and don't have feet on the back/bottom sides (do you need them for ukulele? I know it is very useful for guitar cases).

I'll need 2 soprano and 2 concert cases, mainly for storing the ukuleles at home. They'll see some car travel, maybe once a week to the local ukulele club meets.

What do you think of these?
Any recommendations for cheap hard cases?


Thanks.

Click to expand...

I've bought several of them - black and tan. They've been available for $25 and $29, and they're fine. Of course, if you need something super strong, then look elsewhere. I don't plan to drive over mine or drop them from planes, so any hard case will do.

On the other hand, I've bought some beautiful, fancy cases.

Again I repeat, it is not rocket science level knowledge or experience to put additional padding inside of a case to make it as snug as a bug in a rug.