Hello Scot06 and All,

I'm probably in the minority here but for me a
case is like a frame around a painting... I know
this thinking is a bit over the top for many, but
I'm pretty shure I'm not totally alone.

I infrequntly travel with my guitars, if I did more
I suppose I'd be apt get a case for the case.

Cheers.

I mainly just want something that I can take back and forth to practice and not have to worry about messing up my guitar.

I do need some storage space inside for cables, tuner and at least one stompbox. So for me the storage ability is the most important feeature (asuming that all hard cases offer sufficient protection)

can anyone that has one of the new Fender cases (the ones that are coming with brand new standard series strats with the new type of clasp) tell me what the storage is like inside?

I can't seem to find a good pic of the inside

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2009 Fender Strat MIM
2002 Squire 20th Aniv. Strat
30 year old Les Paul copy which is currently in the process of being rebuilt.

I have a g&g tweed ,a new american standard case and the tweed cheapie from musicians friend.I usually take whatever guitar i am playing whether it be to rehearsal or gig and put it in the American Standard case.It has plenty of room for extras, it is well protected and i dont worry about it getting banged around.The g&g is a nice case , but it will get beat up faster and the cheapie is alright , but the hinges are kind of fragile and it doesnt support the neck of my guitar that great.

I got a really nice roadrunner soft/hard case from GC for $52.00

is this the American Standard case you have? I was interested in this one. But I'd like to see the storage area and an inside shot of it. Can anyone post a good shot of the inside please?

http://www.fender.com/products/search.p ... 0996101506

_________________
2009 Fender Strat MIM
2002 Squire 20th Aniv. Strat
30 year old Les Paul copy which is currently in the process of being rebuilt.

+1

_________________
RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

You payed $2 more for your "soft/hard" case which is little more than a "molded" gig bag, than I payed for my tweed hardshell. Nice.

Here's the hardshell I got from Amazon.com for $50...by the way, I got mine with no tax and free shipping .




For those interested, the guitar in the case is the Squier Bullet I bought last year on an impulse. . Didn't really need another guitar let alone another "cheap" guitar but seemed decent to have around the studio for others to bang around on. Also, I was learning a lot of SRV at the time and I was getting tired of retuning every time I sat down to practice so I set this one up for Eb tuning. It was really the only guitar I had at the time I took the picture that had a "vintage look" to go along with the case.

Anyways, for $50 it's a great case...no complaints at all. Sorry...but I'll take a real hardshell over a "hard/soft" case ANY day.

L8r,
Jim

I'll have to disagree with that. A good metal bound flight case is far better, more durable, more protective and will last much longer than a cheaper plastic hardshell case. I've seen plastic cases chewed up on planes, in terminals, on tours and just in the course of normal local gigging.

Yea - your case is a better value than mine. I just like the way mine is as light as a feather - I'm an old dude and I walk with a cane. It's difficult for me to carry a big case like yours.

I disagree with Jay's comments as well...but for a very different reason. Before I get in to that though, there's a few things here I"d like to point out.

In reference to "cases chewed up on planes, in terminals, on tours...", these are of course more drastic situations. I certainly agree that in these types of situations, a good ATA flight case is the ONLY way to go. I have a mental vision of trying to ship a guitar in something even such as an SKB molded case and as the flight people are loading the instrument tossing it onto a conveyor belt, the latch breaks loose, the lid pops open and the guitar goes skidding across the run way. Ouch!!! Certainly "roadies" have a reputation for being hard on equipment so the same thing applies for someone who is touring.

For "normal gigging" though...while certainly having an ATA isn't going to hurt anything, I would have to say that's a bit of over-kill if not shear paranoia. I'm a cautious guy when it comes to my gear but really...that's a bit much. I think in this situation, "personal care" would serve the average player a bit more than the extra bucks spent to get an ATA case...in other words, just be caseful and use some common sense. Don't load the PA speakers or your amp on TOP of your guitar case! LOL!!!

Now as I said, I do disagree with Jay's comments as well but for different reasons. In essence what he says is true...that a case is just a device intended for protecting your instrument. However...for better or worse, "image" and "style" are important factors to a lot of people. Lets say for example that you are going out to play with a new band for the first time. The moment you walk thru the door, people WILL start to judge you...I know I do this. If a person shows up with broken down, ratty looking gear, this tells me that this is a person who doesn't really care for his gear. If he (she) doesn't care for the gear, then are they really going to care about something like "the band"?

Similarly, when I walk in to audition for a new band, not only do I try and play my best obviously, but I also try to look my best. Ok...granted...I have my own personal "style" if you will. I have often described myself as a "walking dichotomy of fashion", LOL!!! Now part of this also includes the way my equipment looks as well. I know I judge other people in this regard and I tend to assume that others will do the same. That said, I feel more "confident" when I walk in with something like a rather stylish tweed case and I pull out a nice looking Strat instead of some beat up piece of whatever. If I feel confident, then I typically tend to play better. Ya look good, ya feel better about yourself and the rest tends to fall in to place just a little easier.

In theory, none of this should matter...if a person "plays well" and their playing fits the sound of the band, that should be the important thing but in reality, very often that's just not the case. For better or worse, I am a product of Western culture and appearances ARE important. I am a big believer in function over form...I admit that freely. You can have the nicest looking, most expensive car on the block but if it don't have an engine, it's not going to get you from point A to point B...however that's not to say that form becomes unimportant and if I can have both, I'll take them.

As tennis great Jimmy Connors once said, "Am I vain? You betcha! That's why I dress the way I do, that's why I speak the way that I do, that's why I style my hair the way I do...", etc.. I want myself and my gear...including my cases...to look as good as possible because very simply, I -know- people are looking at me.

Anyways, just a few additional thoughts there for consideration.

L8r,
Jim

I can actually sympathize with you here. While I'm not quite an "old dude" yet and I don't typically walk with a cane, there have been periods when I have had to use a walking stick as I certainly have lower back issues...one of the main reasons I tend to prefer combos as apposed to the half stacks I used to haul around in my own youth. In my case at least, as they say, "it's not the years, it's the mileage".

That said...and obviously this is a personal choice but when it comes to something like the protection of one of my instruments, I'm simply not willing to compromise that much. I really don't mean to be rude here but I've looked at those Roadrunner cases at GC and I just wasn't impressed...my wife even looked at them and said "What's the point?". Of course, I do feel the years creeping up on me...particularly lately...and some day all of that may change. On the other hand, maybe by the time I'm at that point, they will have come up with guitars cases that are as light as a gig bag but stronger than steel. Hmmm...I wonder how that stuff with nano tube technology is progressing?

Peace,
Jim

http://www.reunionblues.com/rbcontinental/index.html
like this?

_________________
I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

^^^^ no, like this: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Road-Runner-Polyfoam-Electric-Guitar-Case-103726725-i1172595.gc

It fits a strat perfectly. GC uses it to ship used stuff. I bought a beautiful used mint Powerhouse strat, navy blue metallic/maple from across the country and the sales associate said I could return the case to my local GC for a full refund. I suppose I could still return it, but I liked it so much, I kept it!

It all boils down to what I have screamed about 5 times over that you should get a guitar case from Fender when you buy a new guitar. As I stated before I researched and found that no MIM guitars come with a case which I never knew. Even guitars that cost a grand like the Blackmore strat or the Jazzmaster reissue which is a joke. The Blackmore cost more than an American standard but comes with a gig bag which is saying if it is not MIA it is not worthy of a case. Because I can see no other reasoning. But the last time I brought this up it was like 60-40 on who cared about a case. Now that case lomitus got for $50 would probably not even cost Fender $20 because they buy them by the thousands so how cheap you want to be. Every guitar I have came with a case but I bought my MIJ teles so long ago that I cant remember if they came with a case because they are the only Fenders not in a Fender case so I think they pulled the same $@!& 25 years ago. Well at least I am glad you guys are talking up maybe someone from Fender will glance at the forum one day and report back to say the customers are not to happy about not getting a case or the next stop will be you walk out the door with a strap.

I like the Gator cases, too. They're hard to beat for the price ($80, delivered and a lifetime warranty).

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Telecaster > Mustang Floor > FOH/BJr III/V1512T/HRDx III