Molto Harmony Cello-Shaped Violin Case

I did hours of research when looking for a new case for my 15-year-old violinist. He's been playing for 12 years and had some specific needs in mind. He has a Bonmusica shoulder rest, but he typically swaps between his Kun and his Wolfe shoulder rests so it was imperative that his case have enough room for either the Bonmusica or the other two together. He also really wanted a place to store his music incorporated into his case. While the music pouch isn't large enough for his usual music binder, it is big enough to store concerto music books. He keeps the binder in his backpack when going to school. The only thing that would make this case even better would be to have a slightly wider music case so that he could fit the binder in it. He loves the unique magnetic bow holders, and there is plenty of room for anything else he needs, such as rosin, a tuner, a cleaning cloth, an extra set of strings, etc. It is also much lighter in weight than his former Bobelock case, which was another dealbreaker for him.

In addition to all of that, everyone at Great Violin Cases has offered us incredible customer service. They helped with the research and gave me options when I told them exactly what we were looking for. They answered questions promptly and even offered extra bonuses with my purchase when they had promotions going on, of which I wasn't aware. When my son lost a screw that held his music folder onto the case, they sent a replacement and advised us on how to prevent that from…

I like my new cello shaped case very much. As other reviews from this brand mentioned, it does have a strong chemical smell in the beginning, but it gets aired out in a few days if you leave the case open. This case has plenty of storage for all my needs (especially for the shoulder rest!), but the music pouch will not be enough if you have many big books. One of the reasons I picked this case is its weight and the backpack straps, which worked well for transportation when cycling. The only reason I took one star off is that the color pictures might be a bit misleading. I really liked the mint green and Olivia was so nice to organize a special shipment for me since the color was out of stock (the customer service of this company is AMAZING!!). However, unless you have professional photography lighting with you at all times, you will never see the color in the advertisement picture. With everyday lighting it's more of a light blue/gray, which is still pretty but definitely not mint green. My advice, if you don't see the case in the color you want in one of the review videos or customer review pictures, is to ask for an actual picture (If all the employees are like Olivia they are extremely competent and professional and reply to emails almost immediately). Which brings me to my last comment: I can't repeat enough how good the customer service of this company is, ordering online from businesses you don't know can be a bit of a nightmare at times, but with this company you…

I recommend the return insurance, unless you've seen the case in person before. My budget was $300, but I splurged sight unseen expecting it to be nicer than the cheaper Eastman CAVL30. However they are nearly identical with small differences. Molto is 0.4 lbs lighter (Eastman weighed 5 lbs in-store) with more color options, nicer flat latches, a Molto logo on the music pouch, and a velcro neck strap. Eastman has a pleather feature on the neck strap with magnetic clasp and the latches are pretty basic. If weight and latches are important to you, Molto is better.

Compared to Tonareli, I prefer the Molto. Tonareli looks nicer inside with quilted fabric, you can move the base cushion to better fit your instrument, and the bow holders are better placed. But the neck cushion is weirdly high, you can't fit a BonMusica shoulder rest, no music pouch, and it weighs more.

Pros: Light and easy to maneuver, polycarbonate, comfortable handles including a subway handle, nice latches, fits large shoulder rests (I verified BonMusica, Everest, & Kun non-collapsible - in the photo I have Kun feet on the Everest), interior pouch for rosin and small items, padded music pouch, padded shoulder and backpack straps, attractive exterior, stands on end, the lid stays open easily, and there are no alignment issues with opening and closing the case.

Cons: The bow holder situation isn't the best. If you loop the flap around the whole frog, this pushes the bow stick against the case neck.…