Zips and bow cases

In one of yesterday's post, I wrote about a faulty zip on one of my bow cases. This afternoon, I went to the music shop which I had gotten that bow case several years ago. I asked if the shop does any repair for the zip, but I was told such a service was not available.

My mother said about a decade ago, she had approached a shop to help her sew a new zip to replace a faulty zip on one of her handbags. A decade ago, I wonder if that shop still existed? Anyway, to play safe, I shall just not pin too much hope on that shop.

I wonder who on earth can help me repair that faulty zip? The rest of the bow case is still working fine, but with a faulty zip, there is a higher chance that the other zip will also fail one day due to overuse. By then, the bow case will be of not much use when I need to have a case to put and bring the double bass bow from places to places (e.g. home to rehearsals).

The person at the shop told me that it is likely due to the design of the bow case which had increased the chances of the zip going faulty after a number of years of use. Furthermore, I use the bow case pretty often.

Hopefully, I could find someone who could replace or repair the faulty zip for me. At a reasonable price of course. But looking at the structure of the bow case, I am not sure if it would be easy to replace the zip. I could only hope for the best to come.

Anyway, as I wanted a hardcase bow case to carry a double bass bow for practices and rehearsals very soon, I spent some time at the shop to select a bow case. In the end, I decided to get a bow case that could fit two French bows. I did not like the texture of the exterior of the bow case, but its interior was alright. It did not have a zip, the bow case is fasten with a latch. A pity it did not have a compartment to put a rosin. It took me quite a while to finally decide on getting it.

Actually, I would prefer a hardcase whose design looks similar to the one with the faulty zip. Yes, the case works with a zip. At least I like its colour and the texture of its exterior better. Furthermore it has a compartment to put a rosin. The pity was that the shop did not have existing stock. The stocks for that bow case would probably only be sent to the shop on the coming Wednesday, and I was not quite keen to wait till then to get a bow case for myself. But I guess I could return to the shop on another day to get my preferred bow case, if I can't any other better and reasonably-priced ones. Such is the woes of a double bass player in Singapore. There seems very limited good quality double bass related products to begin with, let alone reasonably priced ones. Maybe I am wrong, and I would be happy if you could correct me.

Whatever it is, to comfort myself, I told myself that the bow case that could fit two French bows may come in handy if I were to travel overseas. Afterall, I have been intending to look for a bow case with such a function. Then I could bring two French bows overseas, so that at least I could have a spare bow at hand in case of any unforeseen circumstance. Otherwise, I could bring one bow overseas and then buy a bow when I am overseas, and still have the space in the bow case to bring both the two bows back. Yes, it was not the perfect bow case, but it was functional. At a price of S$35, it was still quite a reasonable buy despite the fact that I don't like the texture. Maybe it is just a matter of getting used to the texture and the colour of the exterior?

Now I realised how much thought could be spent on just getting a replacement bow case.