HARD CASE DRUM CASES

EXCLUSIVE
RECOMMENDS
92 RHYTHM NOVEMBER 2009
O
nce upon a time, if you were a
drummer and had the dubious
pleasure of carting your own gear
from gig to gig, youused
reinforced Spaulding Russell fibre cases or
similar.The buckle straps were fi ddly and the
cases themselves tended to fall apartifthey
got wet. Nowadays, yougenerally fi tintoone
of two camps – either you’re a ‘softie’ or a
‘rigid’. I am, of course, referring to the choice
of case – soft padded gig bags or rigid plastic
cases. By far the best known brand of the
latter is the eponymous Hardcase.Formerly
avid users of the Henry Ford palette (any
colour as long as it’s black), of late they’ve
expanded into glorious technicolour, as well
as endlessly adding new products to let you
move your odds and sods in cleverer ways.
Build
We’ve been sent a selection of new Hardcase
products to test: 10", 12" and 14" coloured
tom cases, a 14" lime green snare case, a
wheeled 20"bass drum case,two hardware
cases and two cymbal cases.
All cases share the same Hardcase basic
features – rotary-moulded waterproof
high-impactpolyethylene shells, high-tensile
PRICES
10" tom case, £43
12" tom case, £45
14" tom case, £47
14" snare case, £45
Hardwarecase with
wheels, £73
Hardware case, £96
Entry-levelcymbal
case, £43
Cymbal case, £72
Large utility case, £85
SIZES:
8"-18" toms, 18"-26"
bass drum, plus
multitudinous
other cases!
CASE MATERIAL
High-impact
polyethylene plastic
COLOURS
Dark Green, Light
Green, Light Blue, Dark
Blue, Red, Black
EXTRA FEATURES
Integral stacking
system, ID discs,
internal foam grip pads
CONTACT
Hardcase
International Ltd
Broombank Road
Chesterfield Ind Est
Sheepbridge
Chesterfield
S41 9QJ
Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]
www.hardcase.com
polypropylene webbingstraps with quick lock
clips and plastic comfort handles riveted to
the case for extra strength.
The HN20B bass drum case is in Hardcase
traditional black with yellow fixings, but
includes anifty set of wheels set into the
bottom to make manoeuvringyour bass drum
easier overlongdistances. The tom cases are
in a selection of baby blue, dark blue and red
colours, and instead of yellowfixings feature
black straps and handles. There’s also a snare
case in searinglime green with the same
fi ttings.The HN40W is asmall/medium
wheeled hardware case, and the HNUTIL3 is a
square old-style ‘traps’ case, both are again in
standard black/yellow. The HN6CYM22
entry-level cymbal case now includes five
foam dividers to accommodate six ‘standard’
cymbals. The more upmarket HN9LCYM22
comes in dark green and can house nine
cymbals, including inverted bell chinas.
Hands On
Entrustingmyvintage Gretsch to the
Hardcases’ tender embrace proved to be a
wise move as, after a gig, one of the toms –
stashed in the baby blue 10" case – was
inadvertently kicked by one of the tech crew
and rolled offthe edge of the stage,bounced
down some steps, and clonked hardontothe
fl oor! Thankfully the rigid plastic shell and
foam internal padding worked as designed to
prevent any damage.
The tom and snarecases utilise three
quick-lock clips to secure the drums, the
straps of which can be adjusted to fit the
depth of your tom, although specific standard/
fusion/power tom depth cases are available.
The new bright colours mean you’re less likely
to miss your kit on adark stage,though if you
had afull set of lime green cases youmay
need to wear sunglasses!
The addition of wheels to the 20" bass
drum case worked perfectly,allowingeasy
transportation from the car which wasparked
some wayaway. Similarly the HN40W
hardwarecase swallowedall my stands and
glided across the car park into the venue –
although it was less effortless when it had to
be lifted onto the stage! The HNUTIL3 lacks
wheels, and might be better suited for
ancillaries such as stool, music stand, sticks
and possibly a snare drum.
Both cymbal cases use the same basic
clamshell design, although the cheaper
HN6CYM22 joins both halves together with a
HARDCASE DRUM CASES
From £43 At school, Jake Stacey used to runwhensomeone mentioned ‘hardcases’
for fear of being beaten up. So does he have the nerve to review these?
ESSENTIALSPEC
DARK GREEN
HN9LCYM22 model can
house up to nine cymbals
20" BASS DRUM
case has a nifty set of
wheels set into the bottom
RHY170.gear_hardcase 92 2/10/09 1:59:11pm