Guitar Cases

[kpcart]

in my experience in classical gutiars, Presto cases are terrible. they are heavy as hell - and too rigid, so when the guitar is dropped, the guitar will absorb the shock, as also they are not padded enough for shock absorbtion. most guitar damage happens in transit, baggage staff throw guitars across in their line of work. also the interior quality of presto is rubbish, they do not glue the material linings properly at Presto.. lastly they are overpriced, the only thing they are good for is they have offered customs size cases to your specifications.

Hiscox are better cases then Presto, Hiscox sell their product on "crush strength" but forget crush strength, in the real world that line of logic is only applicable if you back your car over the guitar in your driveway.

the worst cases for guitar protection are the hugely overpriced and totally dud carbon fibre cases. i have seen about 3 incidents in the past 2 years of guitars damaged in air transit, and they were all in carbon fibre cases - they are far too rigid, and the guitar inside absorbs all the shock - ie. of the guitar being thrown around by baggage handlers.

To save yourself some money, get a high quality foam case (ie over $100). the better foam cases have great crush strength (enough for everything besides a once in a lifetime accident), and have far better shock absorbtion then solid cases. one brand i recomend available in australia is "Kaces". Good quality foam cases are cheap and do the job better then overpriced rubbish that hasnt been thought out with any real world "Physics" about damage that can happen.

[DarwinStrings]

I have been giving that a bit of thought lately Kpcart (sorry don't know your name) and wondering if fibreglass would be better than CF just because the polyester on glass is a bit more giving than epoxy on CF. The glass will be a bit heavier but that don't bother me as I usually only carry one case at a time so a 6kg case is no big deal.

The price is interesting if you consider one of those floppy fibreglass cases from China ends up at about $300 then a custom fitted case made in Auss at $600 does not seem outrageous provided the fit is okay. Polystyrene seems like a good idea but hard to make unless you are making factory quantities of them for the same guitar shape. Polyurethane seems like a reasonable alternative for a custom case but a fair bit of labour cause you would have to work out a mold for custom shapes each time you line a case.

I agree with Martin in that having a full neck and headstock cradle in one piece does seem like a good idea and I wonder why no cases are made with this simple extra.

Seems nobody makes a case for a Martin 0 size and if you make a guitar body a little deeper then you are really stuffed.

[DarwinStrings]

I meant to add that Shellie Morris was around here the other day with a dready in a Presto case, she does quite a bit of air traveling for gigs and seemed very happy with the case, the weight didn't bother her either. She did have someone put different draw latches on the case as she didn't like the original Atco latches (mind you I would guess that the chrome on a USA made latch would be better that some of the chrome that comes out of China)

[peter.coombe]

I don't have a great deal of experience transporting Presto guitar cases, nor Hiscox guitar cases, but I have a Presto case for my personal mandolin that is close to 20 years old. It has been to countless gigs, in aeroplane holds numerous times, and no damage to my mandolin ever. If checking on as luggage only thing to be careful about is to make sure there is nothing that can come loose in the case, because if there is it will come loose. The case has gathered many scuffs over the years, but a bit of metho, a rag and some elbow grease and it is looking as good as new. I do like the Hiscox guitar cases, and was intending to offer them as the standard offering with my guitars, but I ordered one well before Christmas and it still has not arrived and is not likely to arrive until after Easter. I needed it for Port Fairy FF and the National. This has forced me to buy another case and think about what are the alternatives, I can't wait 5 months for a goddam case!

[Mikeson1510]

I've been trying to find someone who makes custom cases also and I'm from NZ and my guitars are a bit different sizes and shapes to what fits in a standard case, but I've decided I'm going to try my hand at making a carbon fiber case for mine and if it is successful I'll let you know!

[peter.coombe]

Resurrection of an old thread.

Presto Cases has closed down, so they are no longer an option. The last Cedar Creek case cost me around $1800 and nowadays would be well over $2000, so not really an option anymore unless desperate and the customer is prepared to pay. I did find a quite nice carbon firer or fiber glass case made in Hong Kong, but they disappeared after Covid. I did find a Chinses made mandolin case available locally that fitted, but that is now out of stock and I don't know when or if it will be restocked. Otherwise has been hours wasted going over specifications trying to find cases that will fit, mostly a dead end. Someone really needs to start a case making business to replace Presto. There is a market, Presto were always back ordered. The case nightmare continues and I can't see any end to it. Add to this LMI's closure and my favourite mandolin strings that all my mandolins have been designed for have been discontinued, it does not get any easier. Anyone know where to get Macassar Ebony fingerboards and 1/4 x 1/2 carbon fiber rods now there is no LMI? Oh, and what about LMI yellow glue that I know and love.

[nkforster]

There really isn't any money in making cases which is why no one wants to do it. For a while I couldn't source cases for my Big Celtic mandolins, so had to buy heavy duty rifle cases. The inside foam was laser cut and my wife would cut and stitch fabric to cover the foam. They were pretty expensive. It worked but I couldn't say I enjoyed sticking the cloth on. Luckily I found a new source for the oversized mandolin cases. Now if folk want the heavy duty case I charge a large upgrade to compensate me for the fact I don't like doing them.

Making case shells isn't that difficult. There are many firms who do fibreglassing if you're willing to make the plug. Its lining the things that is a PITA. I can't see any point in making them if you couldn't charge at least A$1800, and not many are willing to pay that.

As for LMI closing down, much of the slack will be taken up by Stewmac. Chris from LMI has taken a job with them. Allied lutherie is also positioning itself to pickup when LMI closes finally.

[Steve.Toscano]

Anyone know where to get Macassar Ebony fingerboards and 1/4 x 1/2 carbon fiber rods now there is no LMI? Oh, and what about LMI yellow glue that I know and love.

Mac Ebony - Maderas barber, and Madinter stock them.
CF - I get all mine from carbonfiber.com.au probably dont have the exact size you are lookng for (ps. thats a large CF bar for guitars).
LMI yellow - i'd say this willbe non existent, although you could reach out to natalie to see who their supplier of this was - they wouldnt have made it themselves, therefore it could still be available direct from their manufacturer.

As Nigel mentioned - Chris is now working at SM.

[kiwigeo]

As Nigel mentioned - Chris is now working at SM.

Great. Chris gave excellent service while at LMI. I once ordered a bunch of dishes and the wrong sizes got delivered. Chris said to keep the dishes and he'd send the correct ones.

[peter.coombe]

Mac Ebony - Maderas barber, and Madinter stock them.
CF - I get all mine from carbonfiber.com.au probably dont have the exact size you are lookng for (ps. thats a large CF bar for guitars).
LMI yellow - i'd say this willbe non existent, although you could reach out to natalie to see who their supplier of this was - they wouldnt have made it themselves, therefore it could still be available direct from their manufacturer.

Thanks, I was not aware of those Mac Ebony suppliers. Ok if you make classical guitars, but their fingerboards would make for very expensive mandolin fingerboards. Carbonfiber.com.,au don't have the size I am after. Yep it is very big for guitars but perfect for mandolins. I can live without the yellow glue, that won't kill me. I suspect LMI's supplier of that glue would not supply the small quantities I use.

I have been draining the bank account stocking up as much as I can, but there is a limit to what the bank account can withstand. The biggest problem are the D'Addario EFT74 (flat tops) mandolin strings that D'Addario have stopped making. I have been using them for around 25 years and there really is no alternative. The A string is wound so requires a different saddle compensation than plain steel, but it is partly because of the wound A string why I like them so much. I have tried lots of different mandolin strings but always go back to the EFT74. They sound the best to my ears, last longer and frets last around 3 times longer than round wound strings. So there are now around 250 of my mandolins out there that will have the intonation of the A string off for all strings bar Thomastics. Thomastics also have a wound A, and they intonate correctly on my mandolins, but they do sound different, and in most (but not all) cases I think sound worse. D'Addario have suggested their round wound stainless steel strings, but they have a plain steel A string so are not equivalent. I did try them about 12 months ago but they lasted 3 days before I went back to the EFT74s. Some other strings I tried have lasted less than 10 minutes. On mandolins, the plain steel A strings usually is a source of all sorts of problems and that goes away if the A is wound, but a wound A does tend to break more easily. I have broken plenty of A and E strings when setting up a mandolin, but never while playing. The bluegrass players do tend to play heavy and wound A strings will break which has given wound A strings a bad name in the USA where bluegrass music is big, but I don't really make bluegrass mandolins. I have managed to get enough EFT74 by paying exorbitant prices to last for maybe 2 years, but they will run out eventually.

The good news is that the Australian distributer is expecting a new shipment of the mandolin cases I use next month. i did finally manage to source one, so that will tide me over until then. Apparently there have been delays with shipping from China.

[Taffy Evans]

Hi, over the years I have built many instrument cases, starting back in 1964 when I made a dreadnought size-shaped case for the very nice Levin acoustic I had at that time. The case was made to get that guitar from the UK to Australia in one piece…it did that. It also traveled [with the guitar] on the roof rack of my car on a trip from Melbourn to central Australia, a six-day trip due to flooding…and it survived.
I used to build flight cases for the mandolins and dulcimers that I built in the 70’s and 80’s. the one in the photo is around 35 – 40 years old.
I also at times, rip out the lining of a suitable-sized case and make them suitable for a different instrument. As seen in the two black cases. One is made deeper the other shows the case relined for a small parlor guitar.
Also, a bass case converted to take a stick bass and its fittings.

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Cheers Taff