Another point to consider on ATA flight cases. I ordered my first Alembic with an Anvil flight case, back in the late seventies. It was sitting in the case in my living room when I am some friends got home from a bar to continue the 'party' there. A drummer friend grabbed the bass and put it in my bedroom, as he did not want it getting messed with. About 30 to 45 minutes later, we all went nutz, as the living room was filling with smoke.
It seems the drummer had put it next to the wall, where there was an inserted electric heater - common in older Washington homes in that area. My baby was on fire - as in flames! We got pans of water and put out the fire. I was very depressed. The plastic was burned through in about a 1.5' x 1' area, and the wood in that area was charcoal.
When I opened the case, the drummer knew his life was to be spared, as to all our surprise, the bass was in perfect order. No blistering or finish checking at all, and it was still pretty cool to the touch. Amazing! We had obviously got to it in the nick of time. Had it have been a regular case, I am sure the story would have been much sadder. Therefore, I always buy a good ATA case for basses I definitely want to keep. Added bonus is that the fasteners confuse little kids that come a visiting, so they give up trying to open the big, mysterious box to play with its contents.
To get back on track, the main point to consider about the above story is that finish checking occurs not because an instrument was exposed to a temperature that was too cold or hot, but that its finish and wood were exposed to a change in temperature too quickly. The wood and finish expand at different rates, therefore the finish cracks in hairline fractures. A good flight case not only protects the instrument from hard knocks, but it helps insulate it from quick temperature changes. This is the reason I do not get too concerned about putting my bass through a trip on a plane. Except, what if the plane crashes?!?!?!
