For a while now, I've been struggling to find a decent case for a Tenor Viola that I have on loan.... it originally came in a small cello soft case, which works... but I'm a bit scared about the lack of real protection when transporting an instrument that isn't mine! So, I also started exploring small cello "firmer" cases for 1/8-1/10 size celli... but those are pretty expensive as most celli of that size are just cheap children's instruments that aren't really worth protecting with that much of an investment... plus, they are still quite huge compared to the body of the tenor viola!

So, to get a feel for the problem... the tenor viola is around 17-18 inches in body length (not counting the actual string and scroll length as well. A regular modern viola is 15-16 inches, and most cases are designed for that. Tenors died out in the the early Classical late baroque period... to big to play easily! So, there just don't exist cases that aren't custom (and expensive) for this size of viola.

However, a colleague recently pointed me to the Singaporean maker, JBL Cases, which had an oblong case that said that it was for 15-16 inch violas... but could easily be adjusted to fit the tenor! And seeing as this colleague had just bought the case and fitted the sister instrument to mine in it... well, I was intrigued... however, only one little potential snag... my instrument was still a good inch longer than his...

... but fingers crossed, I ordered the case anyway!

It just arrived... and the carbon fibre shell seems pretty sturdy, at any rate, much much better than a soft bag! The fittings are plastic, which is okay... and the clips are lock into place, but are also held in place by magnets! Weird... sadly, there are only two clips... I do prefer additional redundancy on these things, three or four on different parts of the case are best for peace of mind.

The case itself is a touch on the heavier end of shell cases... no problem, I won't be travelling too much with this case anyway, I think it is a bit big on the size footprint to travel easily by air anyway!

There is a handle little music pouch... seems to be a good size for A4 formats, but a good chunk of my music is irregular sizes, so I'm not sure how much use I will get out of this... but still, better than not having it!

You can also see the various anchor points for a straps to wear it slung over the shoulders or as a backpack. I tend to prefer the one-sided off the shoulder version, the backpack method tends to either whack me in the head or the butt as I'm walking!

As far as cases go, it is very low on compartment spacing. The critical design feature seems to be just upon maximising the viola area space... which is EXACTLY what I need! So, it is pretty much an empty oblong instead of a fitted area... with the only exceptions being the fitted area for the lower bouts (just big enough for the fat tenor...), and the adjustable neck support area. There is a little pencil-case like pouch for little things though... but the rest of the area is sort of wasted a bit!

Now, this was the critical feature for this case... the fact that the neck support area is held in by strong velcro... and can move significantly away from the 15-16 inch sweet support spot. I need to move it a good two or so inches further to accommodate the larger body size.

... and there you go, a perfect fit! The total case length is just long enough... and the width as well.... but the Tenor fits And as a plus, a cello length baroque bow also fits as well!

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