Official Luthiers Forum!

What are some of your more popular guitar case makers? I use Ameritage, but want an alternative.

Mike

Mike, I really like the Hiscox cases, very well designed case.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

I’ve been using TKL. Their Cedar Creek division sells the high line cases to luthiers at a good price.

It's been a while but I liked Cedar Creek too after an exhaustive search. They offered customers name plates and genuine, imitation alligator brown coverings that I like

But you know I had a Hiscox case if you can get by saying their name in public... for my Parker Fly deluxe and it was one of the best cases I've seen. We see them occasionally in our repair shop but not very often. But they are light weight, highly protective, innovative and super fine instrument protection. If I did it again I might go this route as long as I don't say their name out loud.

I tried Ameritage and got super pissed at them for lying to me repeatedly and being a very poorly run company when I dealt with them. The cases were the heaviest on the market which is terrible for a case that is not rated as a flight case. I reviewed Amertage back when I was on the ANZLF forum and the review is still visible on the index page and has been read many, many times. It was the only time in my entire Lutherie journey and history that I lashed out at an industry participant in the form of a very bad review. They deserved it and the person tasked back then with dealing with the public just kept telling me what I wanted to hear and then not doing it.

When I purchased my Collings I-35 it came with an Ameritage case that I have here and they are still heavy making this case the only thing about my I-35 that I don't like.

Hiscox are the best I’ve seen at their price point. They’re the go-to here for a quality off-the-shelf case where the expense of a custom order fibreglass or carbon fibre case is not on the cards. Standard OEM case for many high end UK and European guitar manufacturers. Had a brand new example of one of their current crop of OEM cases in the shop this week. Great fit, finish, light weight. I like their latch design too, compared with the usual sort you see.

Also had a beat up old Hiscox case in a couple weeks ago, containing the workhorse acoustic of a pro who said he’d done around 1000 gigs with both guitar and case. Other than cosmetic scuffs it was in great working order.

We saw a few of the earlier guitars built in the shop where I worked come back in for tuneup, etc., and according to Mr. Stock, all of the guitars that left wearing an Ameritage came back in wearing a gig bag or other lighter protection...no direct experience with that company as by the time I joined Greenridge, they had already moved to Hoffee and Hiscox. That owners chose a lighter option versus what are admittedly lovely-looking OEM-provided cases speaks to the weight issue mentioned earlier in the thread.

Re: Hiscox... if the discussion with Messrs. Stock and Morelli a few weeks back defined a valid timeline, Hiscox should be back in production and moving towards filling orders. I suspect that filling an empty pipeline will take quite a bit of time to see excess-to-prior-orders supply available, but IMO is worth the wait, given the quality, light weight, and wide range of fit from Hiscox.

Keep in mind that the Hiscox GAD dreadnaught-sized case will take nearly ANY ~16" lower bout guitar... Martin 12 and 14 fret 6 and 12 strings, J and M (0000), etc., Gibson square and slope shouldered jumbos (to include the wider-than-standard Jumbo and J-35 vintage items), SJ's, and the oddly shaped Taylor dreads with the flat neck and tail block areas. That is a huge range of fit without even discussing all of the grand auditorium models we were able to fit with that one case size.

Hope to see Hiscox cases coming in soon... Greenridge is supposed to have one for my 00 project (the one that is still languishing amongst all the airplane parts at the Germantown campus).

If you can address the dealer status minimum number per year that Hoffee requires, they are lovely cases as well, although exceptionally spendy. When I was last over in Germantown, the stellar Kim Walker OM I had a chance to ogle came with a beautifully-crafted Hoffee case in natural-finish CF... dealer pricing is lower than retail, but like a Calton, figure on better than $1K in the door, and unlike Hiscox, the range of fit may be an issue without a custom interior plug.

Good luck...with the supply chain issues seen over the last year, cases are what the fellows at Greenridge cite as the primary challenge in sourcing those bits and pieces that go into making a new guitar (or re-casing older ones).

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For the times they are a changin'

- Bob Dylan

+1 for Hiscox. They hit a good point of price/value. Tolex is pretty shoddy these days. Cedar Creek is decent but high-priced for the level of fit and finish. I'm hoping Hiscox becomes available again in the US soon

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Stay with the happy people.
--Reynolds Large

Thanks all!

BAM and Crossrock fiberglass and carbon fiber cases are popular on the classical side; they both make steel string and electric cases. Calton's web site has a pretty entertaining video demonstrating the toughness of their cases, BTW.

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

Most of my clients prefer a gig bag over a hard case. I keep Access Stage-3 hard cases and gig bags in stock. Are they the best out there? of course not but at about $80 a pop they get the job done nicely. If a client wants a better case I offer to fill out the order form and let them order direct. I just helped a client order a Hoffee, she’s thrilled.

Best, M

PS As a builder, Access will sell to you at wholesale. I think there’s a 3 case/bag minimum.

I also use Access Cases out of Seattle. Not the worlds best cases, but decent and affordable. Easy company to deal with.-Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

I have also used TKL for any guitar that fits a stock sized case and Cedar Creek when I needed a custom. The Cedar Creek were expensive, heavy, long delivery and fit the guitars beautifully.

I’m a fan of the Godwin TRIC cases. Bulky, but oh so light, and backpack straps…

access cases
gator

Hiscox is now out of business

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Does anyone have an opinion on https://www.crossrockcase.com/?

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Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from poor judgement.

I like them, though the standard fiberglass cases, while solid, are not flight cases. The standard ones are the go-to case for most of my classical customers. Design and workmanship are top notch, IMO. They're lighter than the usual plywood/tolex cases such as TKL, Cedar Creek, Guardian, etc. I've not had the opportunity to examine their flight cases.

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I've been using Access myself. Heavy, but well built. And they are great to work with. Their Stage 2 are nice looking. Tried TKL and they smelled so bad I had to send them back. Superior cases, if you can track them down, were also pretty good bang for the buck. Did a Gator for a 00 and was actually impressed by it.

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Tony Thatcher
Bozeman, Montana

Very sad

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Their website is still live! And their email address is still working. Have sent an email asking the position and will post reply.

The case saga is an interesting one. 30-40 Years ago we had a U.S. company, Harptone in Brooklyn, that made good cases at a reasonable cost. Archtop, hardshell cases in stock sizes or custom sizes. As far as I know, they were bought out by TKL who said that they would continue the operation. Did not happen. After that I changed to TKL which were available at wholesale to builders from Jones-Fletcher. That came to an end and I was able to find another TKL seller in Conn. as I remember. When that contact ended, I found a Canadian company, Datt Cases/Flightform Cases and was with them for a number of years before they went under. I was not able to find a new TKL wholesaler, so I floundered for awhile using various cases from music stores. Now I'm using Access Cases. When my son was getting interested in building I told him he could make a fortune if he figured out how to build a good case that you did not need hours in the gym to be able to carry. He never listens to me. He became a fireman. Obviously a better choice! That said, anyone got a wjolesale contact for TKL in the Western U.S.? Thanks, Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

The case situation is so bad that if remember right Taylor had to make their own cases at one time.

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

[See below.]

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Tim Allen
"Never hurry, never rest."

It sure looks like they are in business. They have an active Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HiscoxCasesLtd/

I see a thread from October 2021 on the AGF (acousticguitarforum.com) that reports that HIscox is no longer going to distribute to North America and wants to sell direct from their website. Some dealers may have cases in stock, but once they are sold, you'll have to order from the website.

The Hiscox website is https://hiscoxcases.com; I went through the whole purchase process, just stopping at payment. A standard 000 case would be $399.32 with shipping, which is actually pretty reasonable compared to other premium cases. If there was a US distributor probably the shipping would come down, though there'd be a cost added by having another middleman (middle-person?).

The website of Folkway Music in Canada says they have Hiscox cases in stock. Maybe remaining inventory or the site is out of date.

I was lucky enough to score a used Hiscox case on Craigslist two weeks ago for $150. It still seems completely functional, with the only sign of age being an area of the fabric coming unglued in the middle of the top and sagging a little. Guess I'll continue to watch for used ones.

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Tim Allen
"Never hurry, never rest."

Plenty of Hiscox cases for sale in this neck of the woods. Sad they’ve abandoned the North American market - they had a great product.

I buy my TKL cases wholesale direct from Cedar Creek. I’m local enough to drive down there for a load, but I’m sure they will ship anywhere.