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Gear II: BAM Trekking Cases for Saxophone

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It’s been over a decade since I last wrote a post dedicated to saxophonic gear. As I wrote then and I’ll reiterate now, I’m not a gearhead. I’m rarely interested in the latest gadget or who’s playing what. And I have yet to be in the market for a vintage horn.

All that said, I bought quite a bit of new auxiliary hardware the last several years to increase overall convenience, comfort, and efficiency. The end result was worthwhile, my distaste for the process notwithstanding. Spending all that time poring through product reviews, messages boards, and the like was vexing. Part of the frustration stemmed from a lack of specific information regarding several items. So, as a public service of sorts, I thought I’d write a post for anyone in a similar boat.

I wanted to compare how various instrument cases fared regarding storage, transport, and general usability. Many reviews focus primarily or solely on protection, which is understandably paramount, with occasional back-and-forth regarding the enclosure (latch vs. zipper, etc.). The second salient factor tends to be compactness. Consequently, flight cases seem to generate the most attention and discussion, and those searching for different types of cases may come up empty.

Approximately five years ago I acquired BAM Trekking cases for my soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, replacing my BAM Cabine (alto), Walt Johnson (tenor), and BAM/Selmer double (alto/soprano) cases, respectively. I still have the latter cases should I need to fly with them, and they each served their own purpose. However, given the types of regular gigs I’ve developed, the flight cases were cumbersome. Despite their sturdiness and because of their compactness, I always had to carry along at least one extra bag (sometimes more) to every rehearsal and performance, as the cases lacked space for anything beyond the horn, mouthpiece, reeds, and neck strap. Eventually I wanted to minimize not the size of my individual cases but the quantity of parcels I had to bring with me to any given rehearsal or gig. An instrument case and a backpack or messenger bag are okay, but those plus a music stand and/or an instrument stand plus anything else are obnoxious over time.

For context, I live in the suburbs and drive to all rehearsals and gigs. (I have flown with my horns, but that’s a rare exception.) Additionally, I rarely leave the house with the same gear for consecutive engagements, and rarely do I need only one instrument. Consequently, I don’t like having an auxiliary bag for additional gear that can’t fit in my case, because that can change from day to day. I’d hate to leave with a tenor but have only backup alto reeds in my backpack, for example. To illustrate this, I regularly play with the following groups that require different instrumentation:
– Big band 1: alto, soprano, flute, piccolo, clarinet
– Big band 2: alto, flute, clarinet
– Big band 3: bari, flute, clarinet (& occasional bass clarinet)
– Trad. jazz band: soprano, clarinet
– Cover band: tenor, alto, flute (+ small suitcase for microphones, cables, etc.)

Add instrument stands, music stands, and music to any of the above, and having extra bags for necessary gear (reeds, etc.) is burdensome. At a minimum, I generally need:
– 1 saxophone
– secondary instrument (either a second sax or a flute(s) or clarinet(s))
– instrument supplies (reeds, cleaning materials, etc.)
– misc. supplies (tuner, earplugs)
– instrument stand(s)
– music stand & table attachment & music

The straw that broke this particular camel’s back was a pit gig a several years ago for which I played alto, flute, and clarinet and had enough of all the cases and bags: alto (flight) case, flute case, clarinet case, bag with instrument stands, and backpack with sheet music and supplies. It seemed like an extraneous number of items to carry for only three instruments, and the bag with music and supplies ended up a mess each night.

Enter BAM Trekking cases. I got one for my soprano and loved it, and quickly bought the alto and tenor afterward. Though bulkier than others, the Trekking cases seemed to check off the boxes for me in terms of storage and protection. What was important to me was whether I could streamline my luggage for routine gigs and rehearsals. I originally wanted to have one case per instrument plus, if needed, my carrying case for music, microphone, and instrument stands. These cases have allowed me to mostly always have just one parcel per instrument for all gear except my music stand.

I have the “original” BAM Trekking line. There have been subsequent Trekking variations, each with their own stylistic and slight functional differences, and there are also the New Trekking and Hightech models that are less bulky. But, ultimately, I went with the original model for functionality (storage) and color (solid black).

The BAM Trekking cases have proven to be great investments. Though a seemingly peripheral change–this doesn’t affect what I’m doing on stage or in rehearsal–it’s been a significant quality-of-life improvement when going to and from. I can fit the following in each such case (inner compartment and outer pocket) when also utilizing the instrument’s bell:
– instrument
– mouthpiece in pouch
– cleaning supplies (body + pad swabs), kept in a separate, vented external pocket
– reed cases + extra box of reeds
– harness/strap + backup strap
– tuner
– ear plugs
– Reed Geek
– pencil case: pencils, screwdriver, hand sanitizer, business cards
– instrument stand (single foldable Hercules stand, with the soprano case carrying the Hercules peg & base)
– iPad and/or physical sheet music
– attachable table for music stand

For example, here’s a photo of my tenor case and standard accessories:

bam trekking case tenor saxophone and accessories

Whether I need a single horn or five, I can simply bring one case per instrument plus a music stand. Gone are the days of me rifling through a case and a separate bag to make sure I have everything–or, alternatively, assuming I have something in one bag or another only for me to not have it at all. It’s admittedly redundant. For instance, every case has its own backup neck strap and pencil case (pencils, screwdriver, etc.). But I’d rather not reinvent the wheel multiple times per week because I’m playing with different groups each time. I realize this doesn’t work for everyone, but this has worked wonders for me.

The only downside for me is weight. Because of all the contents, the cases do get heavy. However, I’m happy to trade that for a smaller number of bags and cases.

My testimonial aside, here is a valuable in-depth review of the Trekking Peak model. It was one of the few comprehensive evaluations I learned from years ago,

For all gigs except some pits, I can carry all of my gear between the car and the venue in one trip while having a free hand for a door. It can get heavy, but I’d rather do it in one go than unload via multiple trips and then have to go back to park my car. For anyone who may be looking for a saxophone case to serve a similar purpose, I highly recommend BAM Trekking to enable such a setup.

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[NOTE 1: My bari setup is slightly different. I use the ProTec Micro Zip case, which accommodates all of the above except the instrument stand and music.]

[NOTE 2: Both my flute/piccolo double case and my Bb clarinet case have large external pockets, so a similar logic applies: everything I would need for each instrument (including pegs to attach to sax stands) is in the case. Ditto my bass clarinet case, though the instrument stand is too large to fit in the pocket.]

Gear

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I recently decided I wanted to invest in some new hardware for a couple of my saxophones. There are a couple ligatures and mouthpieces that need to be improved upon if not replaced. On top of that, I’ve recently been experimenting with different tenor reeds. While many  saxophonists would find this sort of thing exciting, I don’t.

I’m not a gearhead. Never have been, and likely never will be. I occasionally like to know what certain saxophonists use only out of intellectual curiosity, but it ends there. I care about my own setup of course, but to a certain extent. All of my saxophones and related hardware are of course professional grade, but I’ve never been one to be on the constant search for the “perfect” mouthpiece, neck, etc. Everything I have was selected after much testing and comparing (e.g., my alto saxophone was the best of 13 I play-tested; mouthpieces, etc. were also similarly chosen). Changes have been made along the way, however I tend to largely work with what I have. And even though I have all Selmer saxophones, that is because those are what I was happiest with when shopping around. The Selmer v. Yamaha (Selmer v. Yamaha v. Yanagisawa v. Keilwerth) debate interests me as much as the Apple v. PC v. Linux debate, which is to say not at all.

For many of my peers and colleagues (past and present), such an investment is just the beginning. I can’t tell you how many other saxophonists I know who have spent years searching for the next perfect mouthpiece, reed, ligature, neck, and even horn. Really? Really. I can understand it to an extent. Instrument technology is continually improving, often allowing for more options and flexibility. However, unlike advancements in computer technology, new models don’t necessarily negate their predecessors. I’m sure that if one took all the time spent thumbing through catalogues and/or vendor websites and spent it practicing tone fundamentals, a relatively similar amount of progress may occur.

Before anyone tells me that I think gear is completely irrelevant, allow me to say that I do think it matters, but only to a degree. I believe that once a certain threshold is met, user error is more to blame than mechanical error. Tone and projection can be affected a myriad of ways by a new/different mouthpiece, and that, coupled with personal taste, means that not everyone will play the same thing. When it comes right down to it, you sound like you. If you’re happy with your sound, great. If not, perhaps its time to look in the mirror as opposed to your instrument case. A few anecdotes that have stuck with me:

• In 2003 I saw James Carter milling around the vendor area at World Saxophone Congress XIII. JC is arguably the best technician of the instrument alive today, and he attended the conference (an almost exclusively classical event) simply to test horns, mouthpieces, etc. Being a big fan, I loitered around the vendor area just to hear him do his thing, free and up close. And no matter what he played, he sounded unmistakably like James Carter. I saw walk by one table and presented with a neck screw by one vendor who claimed it would really free up his sound. (!?!) Carter gave him an ARE YOU HIGH? look, tested a horn with and without the magical screw, and claimed nothing changed.

• In 2006 I saw the Dave Liebman Group at Ann Arbor’s (unfortunately extinct) The Firefly. They played two sets, and during the first set I noticed Lieb was playing on a new Yamaha tenor (either an EX or Z model) which was brought by a regional Yamaha representative to court the guru. For the second set, he switched back to his standard Keilwerth (his partner) tenor and still sounded like Lieb. (I attended the show with my friend Drew Whiting, and we both noticed a slight timbral difference at the very bottom of the horn’s range, but we’re both saxophonists and were visually cued to listen in for a difference.) Although Liebman’s tone has changed over the last four decades, I would hardly attribute it to one or two of the hundreds, if not thousands, of iterations his setup has undergone through the years.)

• Throughout my undergraduate study, I had a classmate who was obsessed with mouthpieces, reeds, and ligatures. Every few months his setup would change slightly. (Occasionally he would say something to the effect of, “James Carter plays on _____ mouthpiece. I’m going to get it.”) All that time and money invested in continuing to basically sound like himself, squeaks and all. JC was nowhere to be found. I’m sure one cause for the long-term occasional chirping was that his muscles and mind were unable to focus on his sound via one specific setup.

That being said, my temporary search for new gear continues. Regardless of how annoying it may be (though it of course is always fun to get a new toy of some sort), I can rest assured that purchasing the next ligature or mouthpiece will mark the end of this search, not the beginning of another.

(Pictured above: My toys.)