I recently had to fly across the country for a recording session, and this time I needed to bring a bass. Normally, I would just use whatever was on hand in the studio, but circumstances demanded otherwise. Excitement for the trip was quickly followed by dread; how was I going to get my bass to a destination 2000 miles away, undamaged? Shipping was out; too many variables. Buying or renting one after arrival turned out to be a headache, with hours potentially lost shopping. That left one option: I was going to have to bring it on the plane.
Friends and colleagues offered advice. Pelican-style “explosion-proof” vault cases, custom coffins, or just simply well wishes. The most outlandish suggestion was a reinforced case resembling a gig-bag from Reunion Blues. A soft-shell bag? No way. I’d seen instruments shattered in hard cases. But a trusted bassist vouched for it. On Reunion Blues’ Instagram, they packed their custom bass into an Expedition case, dropped it, and even claimed they checked the case with their baggage! Curiosity piqued, and I set out to test this myself. I bought their RB Expedition Bass Case ($289.95), but they also have options for acoustic and electric guitars, banjos, even cymbals and accessories.
The case arrived in three days with free shipping. The exterior has a rigid EVA (Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate) foam backing below the scuff-resistant fabric, adding stiffness, and the interior features Reunion Blues’ trademark 1-inch thick Flexoskeleton (with a separate piece to cradle the neck). A major factor in the Expedition’s protection is that when the case is closed, the instrument doesn’t have any way to shift during transit.
Anecdotes and website testimonials are one thing; evidence you gather yourself is another. With that in mind, I stepped into my garage and launched my case down onto the concrete. No thud, no snaps. I pulled the bass out, tuned it, and played – sounded good. The other issue that gave me pause was thinking about the case flying off a luggage cart on the tarmac, so for a second test, I went to a quiet parking lot, put my bass in the Expedition case on the tailgate and, drove until I shook it off the back of my truck. Afterwards, the protective exterior showed minimal scuffing, and the bass inside suffered no damage.
I checked the case in at the ticket counter before my flight. Hours later at my destination, it rolled off the carousel intact. No scratches, no warping – headstock attached. A pleasant surprise overall, the Reunion Blues Expedition lived up to the hype. My session went off without a (guitar related) hitch and I made it back home with a fully functioning instrument.