$18.00 Cases for psaltery

[Madelyn]

My psaltery did not come with a case, and I searched the net for one, and did not really find a suitable one that I knew would fit. My first choice would've been hardshell, and second choice heavily padded gig bag, and of course reasonably priced is always desirable. The dimensions of my psaltery are 22 in long, 8" wide at the base, and about 2" tall/deep.  The issue I ran into is that not all listings for cases specified the dimensions of the case/bag. Of course, this is critical to knowing whether the case will fit your psaltery or not. Roosebeck sells cases, but I spent a while trying to get the dimensions, but the only thing their description said was 'meant to fit the Roosebeck  blah-blah-blah psaltery (insert the words tenor, alto, or baritone). Since my psaltery is not a Roosebeck, that did not help me determine which of theirs (if any) would be suitable. I have read posts on Psaltery Strings suggesting that one might look to cases intended for other instruments, so I searched fiddle/violin cases and the like. Ran into the same issue of not specifying dimensions, but rather saying things like "fits most 1/4 violins". Didn't really have the time to research the dimensions of a 1/4 violin in order to make a determination, PLUS, even if I were to choose one of these, I would have to do some carving of the internal padding, since it's specifically shaped to hold a violin. Tearing up the upholstery inside of these wasn't attractive to me.

As an avid patron of estate sales, yard sales, antique shops, thrift stores, etc., I supposed that I could eventually pick up something suitable for a very reasonable price. But since my poor psaltery is sitting in its shipping box, wrapped in a bath towel, I hated to wait an indefinite period of time until I might luck across one of these deals.

So, it was Ebay to the rescue. I purchased a soft gig bag made for a ukelele for $17.99 with free shipping, and it arrived in a flash. It has one internal pocket(with no closure)  and one external pocket with a zipper closure, and it has a long shoulder strap as well as a sturdy hand strap. I could put the bow inside, but most of it remains exposed and would be in contact with the psaltery itself inside the case, so I opted to put the bow in the outside pocket, with 2/3 of it exposed. Not the most heavily padded bag one might want, and not the case of my dreams, but for $18.00, my psaltery now had adequate protection until I can find something better. The ukelele case will afford me the luxury of time to search (either physically or on the net) for a better and more permanent alternative.

If anyone is interested in pictures or the vendor from whom i purchased it, I'd be happy to post upon request.

Regards to all. :)

[Tim Smith]

Thanks for that!  Finding cases is a pretty big problem.  I wish someone could post a list of the cases for sale, who sells them, and their real dimensions.