Guitar Cases: They REALLY don't make them like they used to.

[asb]

Some years ago I bought a genuine Jackson hardshall case for my Soloist figuring it would probably fit better than the aftermarket case (from approximately 1988 or so) I'd been using up until then.

The aftermarket case was one of those plywood affairs with a light leatherette fabric over the top held into place with steel case corners and the case lid was held on with steel latches screwed into the wooden case bottom with foam and fabric to protect the guitar and it weighed a lot but did the job very well.  

The inner lining for both the bottom and top was really robust and the whole thing was built well.

The Jackson case is another story.  This was bought through Sweetwater some years back for probably $120 or so.

What I've found is that basically, in the rush to make guitar cases lighter and less bulky they have been made more and more likely to fail especially if used as intended.  I don't gig more than a handful of times a year but I do take my guitars out of the case and play them a lot but a lot of my cases can pass for new since they sit here most of the time.

I will post pictures showing the issue a little later as I'm still taking them.

The problem: Basically the polycarbonate (plastic) case top and bottom has a stryrofoam insert for the top and bottom of the inside of the case with fabric over the foam to cushion the guitar.  The stryrofoam is held to the case plastic by double sided scotch tape.  This is INCREDIBLY cheesy and looks like it was assembled by a 10 year old in some backwater republic.

Then the polycarbonate case top and bottom are held together with steel latches that are riveted into the plastic then the rivets are held into place by thin round plastic grommets. You have to see this to believe it.

Over time, getting moved around and opened and closed and the case over time getting used will produce stress fractures in the plastic case top/bottom adjacent to these rivets which caused both rivets holding the guitar body side of the case lid just gave way and popped out.

Pictures forthcoming.  Myself and a friend tried to repair this case today and the thing just disintegrated.  I'll play with it again but it's likely going out in the trash very soon.

I tried EIGHT guitar cases today by different brands and they all are produced this way - thin, light poly plastic with steel hinges that are riveted into the thin plastic and the other side of the connection is a thin round grommet just waiting to give way the second you encounter anything more than "junior takes the guitar to his lesson once a week".

I've got two "old school well built" cases (the Heartfield and the Kramer) but the others are cheesy affairs that aren't really designed to last.  Even a $170 case had a similar construction method.

I'm trying out a WolfPak cloth covered "better than a gig bag, but not as hard as a hard case but might stay together longer than a thin light plastic case" that was about $130 USD.
More in a day or so if I return it - I've got some time.

Anyone else run into this kind of thing?



 

[Infinite Ego]

I think I mentioned this before, but go look at the cases that Collings are making for their guitars. I guess they got fed up to and decided to go Park Place and Boardwalk

[mirth]

Interesting, also a bummer.

I pretty much use gigbags (cheap ones too, like 25 bucks) for all of my guitars. So I got to believe almost any case would be better than that, haha.

I do cases that came with some of my guitars...like carvin, Ramirez, schecter and G&L (though that's from the mid 90s and is destroyed)

[Infinite Ego]

I was skeptical of gig bags until I got my first really good one that came with my NiteFly. After that, I was sold on the idea.

[paulc]

I've been trying to destroy a Hiscox Liteflight for 15-20 years. I think they are still made the same as ever.

[sonicdeviant]

I haven't used or beat my cases up enough to register their cheapness, but I wouldn't be surprised. We live in a disposable society; everything is made to fail so that you'll keep buying. Cars used to be made of steel. Now they're mostly plastic.

[chromedinette]

My Nite Fly and Suhr gig bags were nice.

I have a double Mono bag that I used for a long time, though it has started to come apart.

The gig bag I use for my tele has a broken zipper on the pocket. I would like to get a new bag, but prices have reached comedic levels.

[asb]

I present the Jackson case I bought from Sweetwater approximately 9 years ago.
I know their current cases are TSA certified so this is likely not representative of what they make now.

Inside of the upper padded insert - styrofoam and fabric. Whoopee.  The bottom of the case was so slippery in terms of the plastic used the second you took the guitar out of the case with the case upright the thing would fall over on the floor which is why the stress fractures that lead to the latch detaching from the top lid of the case in the first place.  Also, almost unbelievably light which is why it could concievably have been a counterfeit.



The case lying out by my trash cans.


Inside upper shell. Yes, that's double sided scotch tape that holds the styrofoam in place.


Here's the plastic grommets the rivets go into - they are so thin it is not immediately obvious.  Almost paper thin.


Stress fractures in the upper lid that enlarged the holes the rivets go into.


The open case in all its glory missing the upper styrofoam insert covered with fabric.


The other hinge that was still intact. Barely.


See? Unbelievable. They no longer make a case like that that I am aware of - the newer TSA certified case is a lot beefier and not quite so light but wow, check it out.

[sonicdeviant]

You should send those photos to your Sweetwater Rep and Chuck. Haha !!! 😄 Sucks but I bet the cases I have aren't much different.

[asb]

I talked to one of the guys there and he said "hey, you bought that 9 years ago" sort of saying "you got your use out of it. The outside of the case still looks new-ish. Oh well.

[Infinite Ego]

just put all your guitars in a big trash can with wheels and haul them around in that

[asb]

And the "updated design case" is a lot more beefy:



inside:



But I fully believe despite what it looks like it might fall apart if I breathe on it.

[Infinite Ego]

I think that's the one EBMM uses

[mirth]

Since I never buy cases...I just use them in whatever raggy condition they're in...My G&L case is so junked at this point, but it works well enough for me.

I know some guys who buy the really nice cases (for like 1k) I think I'll pass. I'm not sure I have any guitars even worth that much (I know I don't) haha.

[asb]

Weirdly, that's a USED case I found at a local shop for a bit less than half of the going rate on a new one.

I'm looking for old guitar cases now since they basically are built better all the way around.

There was two I saw at the same shop that seemed sturdier but the previous owner, obviously a smoker thought he could eliminate the smoke smell to sell them by pouring half a bottle of paco rabanne men's cologne into the case as well. So imagine an effluvia of stale cigarette smoke and the worst cologne imaginable mixed with the glue they use to make the lining adhere into the case. Horrific.

I also saw a used case that was super nice but all the metal hardware had rust all over it. What do people do with these things?