SKB Large Universal Tuba Case with Wheels

This case is top quality! It wouldn't fit my horn (a Rudolf Meinl 5/4 BBb) so I had to send it back. If it had fit, I would've kept it because it is a well-made case.

For the most part, it's good. I don't like the way it twists on the hinges and doesn't close straight. You have to be really careful to get it closed properly. Once it's open or closed, it's fine.

I was unimpressed with this case. I bought it for my daughter's miraphone 186 which fits snuggly. So if you want to know whether it's gonna fit the 186, yes, but.... The case if VERY heavy at about 50 lbs when you add in the 30 lb tuba it's a whopping 80 lbs. In fact, the case it so heavy even when empty that if you lift it by the main handle, the top of the case bows outward and looks very much like it's going to break. When you add in the tuba it looks even more so. Remember how I said it fits "snuggly?" When empty, the case closes and all of the edges meet up precisely, but when the tuba is in there, it deforms ever so slightly and the edges no longer line up. I had to tweak at it a bit to get the edges to line up and it closed, but I worry that over time that would put a lot of extra strain to hinges and latches and the case would fail. I am a middle school band director, and I might consider buying this case if I had a tuba that was just going to live in the band room and only get carted out to the bus or truck 4 or 5 times a year for performances, but it would not stand up to taking from the house to the car to rehearsals on a weekly basis. In the end I decided to return the case to the store where I bought it (not Amazon, sorry). Right not the tuba lives in a gig bag with back-pack straps. I wouldn't let me daughter put it in the luggage compartment under the school bus for her contest, but it is fine for being stored at home and transported in my car to and from weekly symphony rehearsals.

EDIT: A few years in and I've changed my tune. The case has held up well, and SKB sent me a couple new handles free of charge when I popped one. It's been so much easier having a hardshell, despite it's massive size. I can just throw it in the back of the pickup and go, or back of the minivan with the kids and not have to worry about it getting stepped on. I still wish they would have put some thought into how the thing is supposed to sit open without a horn in it, but a small price to pay for the added versatility. I'm happy I was able to get a deal on a damaged case, because I'm sure I wouldn't have spend $500 to get a case for a $800 horn, but it's sure been nice to have. This case is OK, I guess. The real problem is that I don't know if there's a better hard-shell tuba case out there. I will say there's no way this thing is worth retail. If your horn is so valuable that you can afford to spend this much on a case, then surely your horn is brand new and came with a case? Anyway, I bought one damaged (a small crack where it had been dropped in shipping) which reduced it to 1/5th retail, and I still find it an iffy investment. The molded plastic seems sturdy enough, despite the crack in mine. The rest of the hardware seems a little cheap, and I'm especially interested to see how the hinges hold up. The case is not made to sit open on the floor, so as soon as you remove your horn, it will flop over. SKB website says they warranty their products and supposedly you can get replacement parts for free. Waiting to see if that's true since the handle snapped the first time I tried picking up the case with my tuba in it. I also found a youtube video on how to replace the wheels. Also, according to the website, there's only two tubas that fit in this "universal" case. (Yamaha YBB-202M and YBB-641) It would fit more if they made the pads changeable, but the pads are all glued in instead of being attached with Velcro, and the padding they use is all much too stiff, a mix of Styrofoam and some other foam that won't give enough. I've heavily modified with a pocket knife and glue-gun, and my YBB-321 now fits in it well enough that I trust I can haul it in the back of my truck, if only I can trust the handles to lift the thing in there. The main thing to get used to is the size of this thing. A tuba is not a small instrument, this case is a monster about the size of the computer desk I'm currently typing on. With my horn in the case, I weighed it at 60 pounds. Wonder what the airline would charge for that?

The case cracked where the hindge meets the case on the back side. I have only had the case for 60 day's IM hoping to get it exchanged.

Excerlant Value, lovely case, arrived quickly, and is exacualy as described!