Andy
April 10, 2008

Rating: 8/10

I have been using hiscox bass cases for several years and you cannot get a better case for this price. I have spent twice as much on other brands that have been smashed within weeks whilst out on tour. I still have my first hiscox case and it has been more reliable than a guide dog! It has been slung in the back of vans, trailers, dropped and thrown around by baggage handlers at dozens of airports and the bass inside has survied every time...doesn\'t even go out of tune!

The weight is reasonably light and the shape is not clumbersome, so it is easy to carry for a long distance, if necessary. The only gripe I have with handling is that the handle is made from smooth plastic. With a heavy bass inside and a sweaty palm it can get tricky to hold and I have often dropped it when it has slipped out of my hand. That said, the handle is very strong and I have never had any issues with the fastenings coming lose which is a common design fault with many other more expensive brands.

Inside is very soft and there is thick padding in the top half of the case that gently hold your bass down to prevent movement. However, I use these cases for a couple of Warwick Thumb basses and I have had to place chunks of foam around the body as the case is too big, so check to see how well your bass fits inside before buying. My Fender Jazz and Lakland fits very well. There isn\'t much room for your headstock. I have used this case to transport an MTD Heir and was incredibly tight, so modern shaped basses and extra long scale basses may not fit. The strap compartment is quite big, but very shallow. Not enough room to put a padded or leather strap or even a box of strings, which defeats the object of having it in there first place. The lid is not that secure either. It is held on by a piece of gaffer tape! So, this is something that can be easily damaged, which some of my cases have already suffered.

Overall...this bass offere the best protection in this price range hands down. Hiscox focus more on protection rather than features, so this case is ideal for the travelling working musician, but not so good for the player that likes to keep all of his nik-naks one place and may find himself or herself carrying an extra bag. It is let down by a very shallow and poor quality strap compartment and a small headstock area. I have trusted this case to carry £3k instruments in the cargo hold of plane for thousands of miles with complete confidence and has never let me down.

Robin Ogleby
June 25, 2007

Rating: 10/10

For £17 how can you go wrong? I had bought a condenser mic for my sax and was extremely disappointed when I connected it to the band's small PA - it wouldn't work! After some research I discovered that what I needed was some additional phantom power. This unit did just the job - it is small and light (I can easily carry it in my sax bag), and easy to connect. Exactly what I needed - and now the mic works brilliantly, and those guitars no longer drawn me out!

Ali
June 15, 2007

Rating: 8/10

I have been using this case for a couple of weeks now, and in that time have come to love it. Well almost. There are some things about this case that just annoy. For example, the handle feels loose and clicky on a case that feels otherwise unbreakable. It just lets it down slightly, but its kinda like that story about the princess and the pea, you can always feel it there.

But asides from that, the case is very solid. Its very stiff in all directions, doesn\'t twist, buckle or bend. The finishing outside is very good too.

Inside, the lining is soft and fuzzy, and a nice colour too! no complaints in here, except that the space for strings etc. is a bit too small for such a big case. just a minor niggle however. It held my Fender Jazz Bass very well, a perfect fit. Haven\'t tried any other bass shapes, but a cheap jazz copy also fit inside, albeit slightly tighter.

The latches and lock all work well and have a saisfying action. in fact, almost everything about this case satisfies, especially the price. I think its a very good idea to get one of these if you own a bass (measure up first though!) and move around a lot, but aren\'t sure if you want to blow all your hard earned cash on a full blown fortress for your instrument. This thing does the biz, is lighter than most and wont cost you much.