Ok, I'm old and I remember the good old days of buying a guitar.
I just bought a used 2004 MIA Strat from the local Music Go Round. The tag says sold with case. The case turns out to be a cheap soft Gator case. I want a real Fender case. I go to ebay, and theres plenty there. The usual selling price is $80 to $250 used, plus shipping. Some of the cases had broken latches, some were beat, and some of the higher priced ones were really nice. There was even a 1957 Strat case, broken latches and hinges selling for $3000. I did finally find a nice used 80's style Fender case for $50 from a guy on craigslist that I bought.
In the old days, when you bought a Fender, you got a Fender hard shell case. Period. No options, no gig bags, no paying an extra $100 for a case. You're already paying over $1000 for a guitar and you get a gig bag? Are cases that expensive for Fender to provide nowdays? I know the Custom Shop products come with a nice case, why not everything?

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Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

It's a valid question, seems kind of a cheap ploy to squeeze out more cash by making you buy one.

I have only hardshell cases on mine, and I've never bought a $1k guitar either. It just makes sense to protect them, especially the basses which go to gigs all the time.

Hey I hear ya...
On the other side of the coin, what if they didn't sell the guitar with a case at all, totaley your option, And LOWER the price of the guitar.

Personaly I have enough cases, and not much more room to store them, so I would opt for a "bag" at this point.

Bill

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Hey, Boy Blue is back!

Agreed. The gig bags that come with guitars are nothing more than dust covers. When you spend your hard earned money on a guitar costing anywhere from $700 and up you would think you`d get a hard case to protect your investment. Today everything is about production savings and the consumer gets garbage in return.

Now that you mention it, whenever I purchase a new or used trumpet or sax I always get a case. It's just ridiculous not to get one and nobody charges extra for it, it's part of the instrument. Guitars should be the same way.

I just noticed the tweed case for my hotrod is losing rivets. The thing hasnt been out the house more than twenty times.

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No no and no

Dude, when the guitar came new from Fender in 2004, it had a hardshell case.

I have a `63 Gretsch in its original hard shell case. I took it out the other day and noticed the case is falling apart where its joined together...but thats after 47 years. A gig bag would have been dust by now.

This guy's '52 refinished Tele case made him add an extra control switch.

http://tinyurl.com/ykd2pw8

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

When I purchased my Tele in 1994 I didn't even get a case. I had to by an aftermarket case for $60.00. Not a bad price but I wish I would have known it should have come with one.

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I'm sure it did. For some reason, the guy they bought it off of didn't have it when he sold the Strat to them, or maybe Music Go Round kept the case and put the Gator case in it's place. Who knows? All I know is the price of a used case is crazy.

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Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

Yeah, no way to know for sure. I wouldn't be surprized if they sold the case seperately. Anyway, you did the right thing by going to the trouble to get a hard case. I wouldn't have a gig bag if it was free.

for around $1K, I agree Fender should provide a quality hard case as a default. Current MIA Std have one that seems a lot better than the molded ones in the past.

All the guitars above $300 mark should have a quality hard case to come with. As an upgrade (more $) they should provide a heavy duty gigging hard case.

Hey Fender how about this proposal:

1. Guitar + standard hard case (maybe current MIA Std square case) = standard package.

2 Guitar + upgraded HD (heavy duty) case = more $.

3. Guitar - case = less $ for folks that have already a few cases and don't want more.

Fender has already lowered the price (or not raised it) by not including a hardshell case with the purchase. I too think that the MIA instruments at least should come with a hard case. They are the top line standard instruments and should stand apart.

For those consumers who chose to go less expensive (MIM, Squier) I feel that the instrument coming with a gig bag is appropriate or with a hardcase as an upgrade.

It's all about FMIC doing what they can to keep both investors and customers appeased.

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"Life is like eating jalapenos. What you do today may burn your arse tomorrow"

Yeah the made in China cases these days are built a little flimsy. Sure it could be lack of quality control on the OEM cases. Fender doesn't actually make any of their own cases, but they should be aware of their case suppliers quality issues.

Don't blame Fender for a retailer not including a case. Guitar Center is notorious for this. A newbie comes in and buys a Fender that shipped to the store in a case and the case is included in the price of the guitar. But the sales person doesn't tell the newbie that. The sales dude says "Oh you want a case? That will be $$$ extra." Newbie doesn't have the extra cash and doesn't get a case.

But there is really no reason to complain about Fender cases these days. Did you know that in the 50's and 60's (maybe even the 70's too) Fender guitars didn't include a case built into the price? Yep, just check out some of the catalogs from back then. Cases were extra and cost a LOT relative to prices these days. I'll see if I can find a link to an example.

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.