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A few months ago, I bought myself a Gator Allegro Series Pro Medium Gigbag for my birthday. Amazon (shipped from Sweetwater) had it on sale for $255.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9XNMYG6

I figured that was a good deal for a tuba bag. It was shipped straight from Sweetwater, including their standard bag of candy.

This morning I finally opened the box. My first impression was "how did they get this bag in this box." It's very sturdy. I have similarly priced Protec Platinum series bag and the Gator is more sturdy. It's a top loader and my horns all fit nice and snug. At first I was like "the bag is too short," but it's not. The attached zip on bonnet has some height to it. My Besson 995 fit perfectly. The backpack straps are comfortable and far superior to the Protec.

My first impressions are excellent. I would recommend it.

My only nitpick is that I wish the big pocket was big enough for a music folder.

tubatodd wrote: I figured that was a good deal for a tuba bag. It was shipped straight from Sweetwater, including their standard bag of candy.

The most expensive candy on the planet.

Happy birthday!

Eric

You can decrease the cost of the candy by ordering less expensive items -- and they still include the candy! I suspect that most people immediately toss it in the trash anyway.

I used one of those Gator gig bags with my big Wessex Champion (19" bell) Eb horn for about 10 years, and when I sold it, it went with the horn (via the Tuba Exchange). It was great, and still in great shape at that time. At first, I thought I wouldn't like the top-loading feature, but it turned out to generally be less hassle than the side-loading Giardinelli bag I'd used for my Cerveny BBb -- at least if you're capable of hoisting the horn into the bag. And the rigid insert in the bell end of the bag avoided dents on a few occasions.

My only knock on Sweetwater is that it took me the longest time to discourage them from phoning me at random times to ask if I needed anything. Finally, they seemed to stop. Well ... that and the fact that I'm pretty sure their sales "engineers" don't have much acquaintance with engineering of any sort -- and (on occasions when I've tried to get specific information about an item) didn't seem to have successful communication with anyone else there who might have been helpful. But I do still seem to order from them regularly (including a trombone stand just last week) ... but the candy went in the trash.

Yeah I'm a trash-tosser. I actually requested that they stop sending it so I don't get tempted.

ghmerrill wrote: Mon Aug 24, 2026 5:13 pm My only knock on Sweetwater is that it took me the longest time to discourage them from phoning me at random times to ask if I needed anything.

I have emailed “my” sales engineer (at least he tells me he’s mine) when buying some expensive-ish stuff and asked if they could make me a deal, and usually come out a little better than what they and everyone else lists stuff for. Which also makes the candy a little cheaper.

Eric

TxTx wrote: Tue Aug 25, 2026 11:38 pm

ghmerrill wrote: Mon Aug 24, 2026 5:13 pm My only knock on Sweetwater is that it took me the longest time to discourage them from phoning me at random times to ask if I needed anything.

I have emailed “my” sales engineer (at least he tells me he’s mine) when buying some expensive-ish stuff and asked if they could make me a deal, and usually come out a little better than what they and everyone else lists stuff for. Which also makes the candy a little cheaper.

Eric

Yeah.....I forgot about that. My sales guy was Nick. I probably could have gotten it even cheaper.

tubatodd wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2026 6:32 am Yeah.....I forgot about that. My sales guy was Nick. I probably could have gotten it even cheaper.

Yeah, at times dealing with Sweetwater is a bit like horse trading or buying from a rug merchant who's dealing out of the back of his truck from a vacant lot. My wife loves that sort of approach, but I just find it a bit irritating.

The most disappointing response -- for me -- was some specific questions I had about an XO 1240L bass trombone that they had on sale at a great price. The description said it was in excellent condition (it was either a rental return or a "floor model" they were selling), but had a "minor bell crease". I was seriously looking for a bass at that time, the sales engineer was totally unable to answer any questions at all about the horn's condition (and weight) and couldn't arrange to have them send me photos of it, or to connect me with someone who could. He said he was passing on my query to their "shop" (or something like that), and I'd hear back from them. I never did, and for a fairly big ticket item that they were clearly trying to unload, this seemed odd. It resulted in my purchasing my (used, but appearing new) Getzen horn from Noah Gladstone at Brass Ark -- a decision I've been very happy with -- for about the same price as the Sweetwater XO was.

I contrast that episode to multiple instances of interacting with -- for example -- Hickey's, where you're immediately connected with someone who is a musician, knows exactly what you're talking about, and can often provide specific details based on personal experience with that product (or, alternatively, immediately put you into contact with someone else there who has such experience). I've had some outstanding and very beneficial conversations with people at Hickey's about the nuances of playing on a given horn with different mouthpieces -- because the guy I was talking to had actually done that. Now THAT's a "sales engineer". The same is true of Dillon's and similar companies.

My overall approach to buying instrument-related products now is, first, to see if it's on Amazon (which has a super shipping and return policy, especially if you're a Prime member), otherwise (if it's just some more or less normal/standard piece of equipment), try Sweetwater, or (in the case of more specialized products or where I need further details or consultation) try Hickey's, Dillons, or The Horn Guys.

Interestingly, I just bought a trombone stand via Amazon, and the price from Hickey's (once you factor in shipping) is about the same. But I have a mute on the way from Sweetwater that's about 25% less than Hickey's listing, and a little bit less than Amazon's (once you figure out on Amazon exactly what mute it is). So it can pay to shop around a bit (factoring in the cost of shipping where appropriate).

I'm just surprised you were able to get a gator into that bag.

arpthark wrote: Wed Aug 26, 2026 8:38 am I'm just surprised you were able to get a gator into that bag.

"...and how an elephant got in my pajamas, I have no idea"

I bought that Gator bag about a year ago from Sweet Water and like it. I load it by setting the tuba on its bell and sliding the bag down over it. Then I upend the whole works and zip the top closed. I reverse that process to unload it. I can load my Martin Mammoth, less the bell, and carry that to a gig. I have to load it differently, having somebody hold the bag open while I heft the Martin body into the bag. The bell goes on the front seat under the seat belt.

As one would suppose from a heavy duty bag, it is heavy. Because of my failing hip I have to get help to carry either into the hall. But that should end soon as I'm scheduled for a new hip next month. The big side pocket holds an 8-1/2 x 11 inch file folder but with not much to spare.

We received two large and two medium bags in at Willis and I quickly did a fit check with a few models. The medium bag fits the Eastman 836, 834, 622/534, and Yamaha 623 CC. The large bag is definitely suited to the Eastman 825, GR55, and similar tall models. It resembles a Goetz Supersac and adds two pouches on the front. Straps are adjustable and padded nicely (edited: I needed to pay attention). The lid has a plywood (or similar material) hard disc Padding seems good but only long-term use will tell the tale.