Tortajada double case info

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jeterbone
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Tortajada double case info

Post by jeterbone »

Im curious to know more about the Tortajada case, which looks kind of the same as the bags of spain cases that were discontinued. I've been looking for a double case and this one is very cheap but, I wonder why is it so cheap? Should I invest in this or just go for the Marcus Bonna?
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TromboneConcerto
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Re: Tortajada double case info

Post by TromboneConcerto »

I have one. Feels the exact same as my friend's bags of spain version 2. Not really sure why it's so cheap, it has the same hardware as the bags one. It's been a great case for me so far, but I've added some extra foam pads and a couple folded up cloths in places that I'm paranoid will touch, and I'd recommend you do the same if you get it.
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WilliamLang
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Re: Tortajada double case info

Post by WilliamLang »

i love my torajada case and find it to a good and cheaper alternative to a bonna case. be prepared to wait awhile for it to clear customs though
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jjenkins
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Re: Tortajada double case info

Post by jjenkins »

The website seems to be down. It's been down for the past few days, actually.
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pedrombon
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Re: Tortajada double case info

Post by pedrombon »

The new line of Bags of Spain is much higher quality than Tortajada. Also, they have recently presented a new screwbell case.

https://musical-bags.com/en/home/
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tombone21
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Re: Tortajada double case info

Post by tombone21 »

Bit of an unpopular opinion here, but I really cannot recommend this case after having owned one for several years.

The curved plastic exterior of the case flexes quite easily. Like with just my thumb. Since the slides are stored inside the lids of the case, it was easy to torque the tubes. I will say that I did not really notice this as much when I was using it with a Yamaha Xeno slide, but when I started putting my Shires in there, I ended up taking the slide in for alignments every couple months. The price of those slide check-ups alone made up the difference between this and the MB double.

If you do buy one of these, be prepared to spend a couple hours (yes, hours) organizing the velcro blocks to keep the valve linkage from touching the slide tubes. I ended up not using the big velcro blocks that are supposed to go between the slide tubes because even though I was using wide tenor slides, I could feel the tubes flexing a bit to fit around the block. They may have changed the dimensions of the blocks, I bought mine new in 2017.

I also creased the bell on my tenor from a 3-foot fall when the case rolled off my bed a couple years ago. I could not find an arrangement of the movable velcro blocks that made the bell section line up with the edge of the case. It was always askew; one side of the bell was always touching the edge while the other end of the bell flare was an inch or so away from touching, if that makes sense.

You also cannot fit any alto with a trigger in the case, as far as I can tell.

The most redeeming quality of the case, to me, was when I was travelling with just my tenor and was able to fit a week's worth of clothes, including my concert black, in the alto side of the case. Very practical in that sense. A pair of jeans fits really nicely between the slide and bell section on the tenor side and keeps anything from moving inside the case.

I understand the want to buy this case. The price for a Bonna double case looks pretty absurd at first. But if you're someone that spent a pretty penny on TWO trombones, a case that costs about 10% the price of both horns seems pretty reasonable. Save your money, carry two cases for a time, or just keep your alto at home for a bit. We're not really going anywhere any time soon anyway.
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pedrombon
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Re: Tortajada double case info

Post by pedrombon »

tombone21 wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 4:39 pm Bit of an unpopular opinion here, but I really cannot recommend this case after having owned one for several years.

The curved plastic exterior of the case flexes quite easily. Like with just my thumb. Since the slides are stored inside the lids of the case, it was easy to torque the tubes. I will say that I did not really notice this as much when I was using it with a Yamaha Xeno slide, but when I started putting my Shires in there, I ended up taking the slide in for alignments every couple months. The price of those slide check-ups alone made up the difference between this and the MB double.

If you do buy one of these, be prepared to spend a couple hours (yes, hours) organizing the velcro blocks to keep the valve linkage from touching the slide tubes. I ended up not using the big velcro blocks that are supposed to go between the slide tubes because even though I was using wide tenor slides, I could feel the tubes flexing a bit to fit around the block. They may have changed the dimensions of the blocks, I bought mine new in 2017.

I also creased the bell on my tenor from a 3-foot fall when the case rolled off my bed a couple years ago. I could not find an arrangement of the movable velcro blocks that made the bell section line up with the edge of the case. It was always askew; one side of the bell was always touching the edge while the other end of the bell flare was an inch or so away from touching, if that makes sense.

You also cannot fit any alto with a trigger in the case, as far as I can tell.

The most redeeming quality of the case, to me, was when I was travelling with just my tenor and was able to fit a week's worth of clothes, including my concert black, in the alto side of the case. Very practical in that sense. A pair of jeans fits really nicely between the slide and bell section on the tenor side and keeps anything from moving inside the case.

I understand the want to buy this case. The price for a Bonna double case looks pretty absurd at first. But if you're someone that spent a pretty penny on TWO trombones, a case that costs about 10% the price of both horns seems pretty reasonable. Save your money, carry two cases for a time, or just keep your alto at home for a bit. We're not really going anywhere any time soon anyway.

Do you mean the Bags of Spain or the Tortajada?
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tombone21
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Re: Tortajada double case info

Post by tombone21 »

pedrombon wrote: Tue Jan 26, 2021 10:26 am Do you mean the Bags of Spain or the Tortajada?
Mine was Bags of Spain, but the designs are identical.
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pedrombon
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Re: Tortajada double case info

Post by pedrombon »

Ok. The new design (from 2019, I think) does'nt have velcro blocks, and uses better materials than the older Bags. They're much improved since Spanish Brass are the owners of the company:

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tombone21
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Re: Tortajada double case info

Post by tombone21 »

Oh interesting, good to know! Is the exterior shell of the 2019 version stronger?
jjenkins
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Re: Tortajada double case info

Post by jjenkins »

tombone21 wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 4:39 pm Bit of an unpopular opinion here, but I really cannot recommend this case after having owned one for several years.

The curved plastic exterior of the case flexes quite easily. Like with just my thumb. Since the slides are stored inside the lids of the case, it was easy to torque the tubes. I will say that I did not really notice this as much when I was using it with a Yamaha Xeno slide, but when I started putting my Shires in there, I ended up taking the slide in for alignments every couple months. The price of those slide check-ups alone made up the difference between this and the MB double.

If you do buy one of these, be prepared to spend a couple hours (yes, hours) organizing the velcro blocks to keep the valve linkage from touching the slide tubes. I ended up not using the big velcro blocks that are supposed to go between the slide tubes because even though I was using wide tenor slides, I could feel the tubes flexing a bit to fit around the block. They may have changed the dimensions of the blocks, I bought mine new in 2017.

I also creased the bell on my tenor from a 3-foot fall when the case rolled off my bed a couple years ago. I could not find an arrangement of the movable velcro blocks that made the bell section line up with the edge of the case. It was always askew; one side of the bell was always touching the edge while the other end of the bell flare was an inch or so away from touching, if that makes sense.

You also cannot fit any alto with a trigger in the case, as far as I can tell.

The most redeeming quality of the case, to me, was when I was travelling with just my tenor and was able to fit a week's worth of clothes, including my concert black, in the alto side of the case. Very practical in that sense. A pair of jeans fits really nicely between the slide and bell section on the tenor side and keeps anything from moving inside the case.

I understand the want to buy this case. The price for a Bonna double case looks pretty absurd at first. But if you're someone that spent a pretty penny on TWO trombones, a case that costs about 10% the price of both horns seems pretty reasonable. Save your money, carry two cases for a time, or just keep your alto at home for a bit. We're not really going anywhere any time soon anyway.
I recently purchased one (using it for a week after having waited several weeks for it to arrive) and all of this above has been my experience as well. I absolutely would not recommend this case. You can either protect the bell or the slide, but not both. It barely works with one trombone, so I don't see how it would be useful as a double case. It uses decent materials and has a solid exterior shell, but the interior is a mess when trying to fit the bell section and keep it from bumping into the slide. If you pull on the Velcro too much, the fabric below becomes unseated. I'll continue to work on finding out the best arrangement, but as of now, this purchase is a major regret. A for aesthetics; F for functionality.
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