Musafia quality

[hollenbach]

So about four years ago I invested in a Musafia Master series exclusive (through my luthier, who might recognize me). I had never seen one of them in real-life before, so I ordered sight unseen. It came and I was very impressed, but there were a couple of details that I thought were kinda funny or wrong. Being a player that actually played, I put the case to good use and forgot about the quirks of the case. I figured that if it did its job there was nothing to worry about.

Now that I play a little less I'm starting to notice even moreso some strange on my case. Yesterday I was checking out their page and saw all of their literature on how stylish, well-made, so on and so forth their cases are. I couldn't help but cringe.

Last night I had the idea of posting pictures on this board. Check it out, it's the most obvious (and bothersome).

You see what I mean? Both sides of the case have a glitch in the rope design.

Yes, that tan line in the corner is the wood shell. I tried pushing the rope towards the corner crack, but it feels like it's pretty solidly glued there. The brown leather won't budge, either.

Has anybody else encountered faulty craftsmanship on a Musafia case?

[C.B.Fiddler]

I have a Masters series Musafia that I purchased from a friend in 2000. It was 6 years old when I bought it, and has been a magnificent investment. Email Dmitri Musafia - he is an incredibly fair and ethical person that has gone above and beyond as far as customer service is concerned.

Ask your luthier if he perhaps purchased the case from the "scratch and dent" section of the Musafia website. They sell "irregulars" at a discount price in that section - this may be one of them.

You still have a top quality case there!

[Ron MacDonald]

I have exactly the same problem with my Musafia Master series case except that mine is a bit worse than yours.

I keep intending to contact Musafia but with the case in daily use it's very inconvenient.

However, I will have to act soon because it is now interfering with my bows. I expect it will be quite expensive to ship it back to Italy.

Good luck with yours!

Ron

[C.B.Fiddler]

The only thing wrong with my case is the leather on the handle is come undone, and the case cover is starting to show wear. Not bad for 14 yrs, several international tours and daily use.

That's interesting that your cases are demonstrating the same issue. I would contact Dmitri ASAP. I have a feeling he will will be more than helpful.

[RWOlson]

I, too, bought a case from Musafia, about a year ago. I got it directly from their discount page. It was an "exercise of style". The workmanship, strength and design were all first-class, and I have been thrilled with it and give them the highest recommendation. They were also extremely helpful in answering my questions. Timing, though, seemed to be an issue. I would hear from them, eventually, and it took 6 weeks to ship the case to me. Contacting them, I always got the impression that the workshop was filled with pouty women in red dresses and oversized sunglasses, lolling around, shouting "Ciao, Lorenzo!" if the workmen actually got up to fill an order. Well, they are Italian, after all. And, they ship to Seattle, and then distribute the cases from there. What, are the New York Italian restaurants not good enough for them? Great cases, though.

[hollenbach]

I actually hope you're joking, RW. That's pretty inflamatory. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one. I'm gonna write an email to them right now.

[Bob A]

I'thrilled with my Musafia cases as well, and have had no trouble with customer service - they are very responsive and quick to communicate, I've found.

It's true that shipping delays are time-consuming, but I've found that unless you're willing to pay the outrageous sums involved in air freight there's no way around it. This applies to anything ordered from Europe for US delivery.

I've been recommending Musafia cases constantly ever since I received the first one. I'd be very surprised to find that the above issues were not addressed promptly to the owners' satisfaction. Please let us know how this turns out.

[STRAD~STYLE]

I do upholstery by trade and have always thought on thoes ropes and see no way they can be secured to a point were they would never come off .I really dont even care for them reminds me of a sail boat.

[Ron MacDonald]

I do upholstery by trade and have always thought on thoes ropes and see no way they can be secured to a point were they would never come off .I really dont even care for them reminds me of a sail boat.

They haven't just come off. They've shrunk and pulled away from the sides of the case. It's impossible to glue them back in. Oddly enough, the cording in the bottom of the case is fine.

[STRAD~STYLE]

thats very odd for them to transform that much unless they were in water or hell i dont know how they would do all that but it is not an actual welt cord and maybe its twists would wal against the material,you should be able to have anyone who is a good at sewing or costum wor can fix that or replace,what exactly was it conected to or was any of the lining sewn to it??

[STRAD~STYLE]

One thing you could do is blind stitch by hand the welt to the material and if the material has shrunkin you could blindstitch another piece of fabric to extend it then sew the welt cord to that and if any material is lose tape off the area and get a can of industrial web adhisive make sure it would be industrial

[Bob A]

Personally, given the cost of the case, I'd hold off on the industrial adhesives at least until I heard back from the mfr.