The Complete Handbook of Hand Percussion Bags & Cases
The practical reference for choosing, using, and maintaining protective cases for djembe, cajon, congas, bongos, frame drums, and every hand percussion instrument in between
by Alumigogo Books
non-fiction
A practical, no-hype reference to choosing, using, and making money with hand percussion bags and cases. For players, teachers, and businesses.
🔒30-day money-back guarantee — not right for you? Full refund, no questions asked.
About this book
You can spend hundreds of dollars on a hand percussion bag, and it can still fail you in the middle of a tour. Conversely, a modestly priced case can give you decades of service if you understand what to look for. This handbook strips away the marketing language and tells you what actually matters: denier counts, zipper quality, strap design, padding density, and the real-world trade-offs between a padded gig bag and a hard shell flight case.
The book is structured as a comprehensive reference. It walks you through the full category of hand percussion bags and cases across nine chapters, covering everything from the different types available for various instruments like djembes, congas, cajons, and frame drums, to how to correctly pack and maintain a case so it keeps doing its job. Separate chapters are devoted to evaluating brands and finding business opportunities in the space, whether you are a retailer looking to stock a better line or an entrepreneur wanting to launch your own private-label brand.
Written for professionals, businesses, and serious hobbyists, this book is deliberately practical and free of hype. It is meant to be consulted before a purchase, used in the rehearsal room, and revisited when a zipper jams or a strap breaks. If you carry hand percussion instruments, your case is the only thing between them and the world. This handbook is about making sure you know exactly what that protection is worth.
Reader Reviews
James Gonzalez
★★★★★The book is solid and covers a lot of ground, and it certainly came across as the most thorough reference on a pretty niche topic. I appreciated the bit about zipper quality and hard vs soft shells, and it actually helped me choose my new bag. That said, it does read like a textbook at times. I found myself skimming the chapters about business opportunities and future trends because that's just not why I bought the book. Also, it could have used more side-by-side comparison tables of specific models, though I understand why it shied away from that to avoid dating itself. A good reference, but not exactly a page-turner.
Jonathan Anderson
★★★★★I run a small percussion instrument rental is a detail I appreciated, but most publications ignore. The chapter on business opportunities alone was worth the price, as it gave me a practical framework for thinking about starting a case repair service. I could have used slightly more detail on the actual construction of soft cases, like how the stitching patterns different brands use affect durability, but that's a minor gripe. Overall, it's a very competent and useful reference that I can see myself grabbing off the shelf whenever a problem comes up.
Emily Roberts
★★★★★Finally, a reference that treats cases and bags as the serious pieces of equipment they are, not as an afterthought! As a drum instructor who schleps my own djembe and a few student instruments across town, the advice on packing for different car sizes and the specifics on strap mechanics was immediately useful. I recommended it to the other instructors at my school. My only real critique is that the brand chapter was a little too generic in places, which I suppose is the consequence of not wanting to be a part of the marketing machine. Still, it's a book I've consulted more than once already, and it won't be going back on the shelf for good.