Bag/case for Burns B3 Deluxe?

Can anyone recommend a bag or case for a Burns B3 Deluxe theremin? Something to keep it safe and dry if I take it out and play it outside my own house :) I'm particularly paranoid about the volume loop somehow snapping off - at the moment I'm just storing it in the cardboard box it was posted in.

I got this for my B3 Deluxe:

http://www.amazon.com/Tamrac-324-Tripod-Bag-Medium/dp/B00005KG4K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8

It fits the B3 perfectly, but it's only a "gig bag" like the one Moog sells for the Etherwave: it won't protect it from being crushed, but it will keep it clean and dry. I cut a short (5") piece of 1" dia. PVC tube stuffed with foam rubber to place over the retracted pitch antenna for a little extra protection, and I stick a block of foam under the volume antenna. There's still enough room in the bag for the power supply and a 1/4" line cable. (I put them in a separate cloth bag and then into the case on top of the B3.)

It's fine for gigging so long as you don't drop anything heavy on it!

Other than that, a case company like Anvil can make a real road case for anything, but it'll cost more than your instrument!

Another good way to protect the instrument is to use the tri-pod bag as mentioned, but for added protection from hard knocks, use a cardboard box, a little larger than the theremin, but small enough to fit into the bag, and cut soft foam with an electric carving knife to the shape of the instrument, lay a about a 1 inch thick layer on the bottom, then the cut the mid layer of foam to go around the theremin, and have a top layer go over the instrument. You only need to cut the top and bottum layers to fit the shape of the box. Cut the top layer thick enough to provide protective spacing between the theremin and lid of the box while keeping the pitch rod clear of the lid.

The middle layer with the theremin can be cut to a length that allows the volume antenna to lay over the top of it while the instrument nests inside the cut dimensions.

You also want to have enough space between the theremin's top, and the box lid so as not to risk bending the antenna.

If anything, the pitch rod is what you need to worry about most. The volume antenna will not snap off. It's made of a thick solid rod stock, and goes at least an inch into the instrument through a block of wood.

Replacing the rod is actually easy to do, and requires no soldering, but you would have to open the cabinet to access, and remove the antenna.

Also, Burns is very nice about sending out replacement antennas. :)

Good luck with your case design.

You know, lots of outlets carry the Tamrac 324 Tripod Bag, and it really does, no kidding, fit the B3 Deluxe perfectly. I was going to suggest to Dan Burns he sell them himself as an accessory, like Moog does with their gig bag for the Etherwave.

Even without any reinforcement it's a perfectly good gig bag like guitar players use. Put it this way: any force likely to crush an instrument would crush a B3 [i]or[/i] a guitar (in fact, a B3 would more likely survive), and something that could snap off an antenna could snap off a tuning key or even the headstock of a guitar. But guitar players still use gig bags because they're easy and convenient.

Hi Joe, I've talked with Dan about this recently, and he is considering it, but I think the added cost of a bag is what's keeping him from including the bag at the moment.

I was thinking Dan buy a bulk order of gig bags and offer them for sale himself. Why let someone else make the profit? Slap a little self-adhesive "B3" label on the outside and put it in the catalog. It would be convenient, believe me - do you even know how long I looked for a bag that would fit the B3-D so nicely?

I'd bet he could set up a deal with a road case manufacturer to make cases for the B3-Pro. It's not likely many people would want a road case for a b3 or B3 Deluxe - a real custom-fitting road case would probably run $150 or more, but for a Pro it'd be worth it.

It's the kind of arrangement where a customer places a special order through Dan, who passes it on to the case maker, who has a template all ready to go. When it's ready, the case gets "drop-shopped" directly from the case maker to the customer.

So the customer knows where to get a gig bag or a case without having to search for it, Dan makes some extra profit and everybody's happy!

Guys,

If your serious about protecting your theremin, why don't you make a wooden casing similar to any musical instrument case. IE: use 3/16 plywood and cut it in a rectangular shape two inches longer and wider (same with the height) than your instrument and just make a wooden frame with with 1/2inch or so, wooden sticks that you can buy at your mone depot hardware store. Glue these with carpenter's glue. Line the bottom with this flexible foam as Thomas said. The cut another piece to shape your instrument. Have a 1 inch layer at the bottom and top and insert the cut to shape foam form in the middle. You can even buy the black
vinyl mactac at upholster shops or hardware stores. It will look like an official musical instrument case and add a handle.

How's that. That's what I plan to do with my B3 Deluxe.

Just a suggestion! ;-)

Mario

The only drawback I can see is the same for any "anvil" style road case: it'll weigh about ten times as much as the B3 itself!

I used to carry an Anvil briefcase on the road, but the damn thing was so heavy I stopped using it. Now it's in the closet being a tool box.

I like my gig bag for just, well, going to a gig. I'm not shipping the instrument anywhere, and it stays slung on my shoulder unless it's in the boot of the car.

JOE MAX WROTE: "anvil" style road case"

Yes, I can understand if your building it out of 1/2 plywood, but I was referring to slightly less than 2/16th of an inch rather than 3/16 of an inch which is about as thick as a light cardboard box. But the main thing is that you are happy with what you have. Whatever works for you. I was referring more to those who need to do a little more carrying than the occasional transport.