Product Review: Colorado Soft Cases

by R.M. Mottola

Originally published in American Lutherie #75, 2003 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Seven, 2015



The item reviewed in the following paragraphs was purchased by the author at full price through normal sales channels. A draft of this review was sent to the manufacturer/seller prior to publication so that any factual errors could be corrected.

Colorado Soft Cases

High-quality soft instrument cases (gig bags) and case covers are readily available for most standard-size instruments. There are dozens of manufacturers of these off-the-shelf items, and it is pretty easy to find bags for your instruments in a wide range of price and quality. Since the inside dimensions of soft cases are, well, softer than those of hard cases, it is even likely that you can make an off-the-shelf case fit a nonstandard instrument, at least if the instrument is not too nonstandard. But if you’ve got something way out of the ordinary, you’ll need a custom-made bag for it. It is probably safe to say that any bag manufacturer will make cases to your specs if you order enough of them. If you make one-of-a-kind instruments and need just one though, the number of manufacturers that are willing to accommodate your needs drops precipitously. Colorado Case of Fort Collins, Colorado, (coloradocase.com) is one case company that does make custom cases in any quantity, and their cases are the subject of this review.

First, a word or two about soft cases. Why would you want to use a soft case in the first place, when a hard case offers considerably better protection? Probably the most compelling reason is that your customers want the option. In my experience this is particularly the case if the instrument in question is either a solidbody instrument or is particularly large, like an upright bass. Solidbody instruments are pretty robust to begin with and so protection from scratches and abrasions may be all the user wants out of a case. Really large acoustic instruments are no less delicate than their smaller counterparts, but the weight of a large hard case can sometimes compel a user to trade off some amount of protection for some reduction in weight.