So ... are guitar case covers extinct?

[Johnny.guitar]

I totally get it wanting an insulated cover in extreme conditions. But a cover to protect your case from getting scratched?.....that's the whole point of a case is to protect the guitar and take the scratches no?
I don't get it.....

[ChrisE]

Originally Posted by Johnny.guitar

I totally get it wanting an insulated cover in extreme conditions. But a cover to protect your case from getting scratched?.....that's the whole point of a case is to protect the guitar and take the scratches no?
I don't get it.....

It's not that cold where I live and I don't get the "a case for your case" thing. What do you use to keep your case cover in good condition?

[RustyAxe]

I don't get the idea that a case cover insulates from the cold. It does ... for a short while ... but without an internal source of heat won't it will soon reach ambient temperature, like everything else around you?

[SongwriterFan]

Originally Posted by Johnny.guitar

But a cover to protect your case from getting scratched..

I own a case cover. I use it because it turns the hard-shell case into a back-pack (complete with straps) for carrying. Comes in handy occasionally.

[Johnny.guitar]

Originally Posted by SongwriterFan

I own a case cover. I use it because it turns the hard-shell case into a back-pack (complete with straps) for carrying. Comes in handy occasionally.

Ok. Makes a little more sense
Although I think I'd go for a decent gig bag as the weight of a hard case strapped across my back sounds a little uncomfortable

[Christian Reno]

Originally Posted by RustyAxe

I don't get the idea that a case cover insulates from the cold. It does ... for a short while ... but without an internal source of heat won't it will soon reach ambient temperature, like everything else around you?

I think this is dead-on. This is why these insulated cases do nothing to help when an instrument is left in cold conditions overnight or longer. An instrument that has been in, let's say a 65 degree environment, has a certain amount of heat stored in it from its surrounding temp. If you cover that instrument and take it out into, let's say 10 degree outdoor temp, the cover will keep that instrument somewhat warmer for a short period of time because the heat loss will be slowed. BUT, once that stored heat dissipates from the instrument, let's say it's left in the trunk of a car in 10 degree temp over night, the cover does absolutely nothing after that short period of heat dissipation.

[Ryan Alexander]

Originally Posted by RustyAxe

I don't get the idea that a case cover insulates from the cold. It does ... for a short while ... but without an internal source of heat won't it will soon reach ambient temperature, like everything else around you?

In my personal experience, problems seem to arise when an instrument is subjected to rapid and extreme changes in climate. I believe the benefits of using an insulated case cover are to slow this inevitable shift to avoid drastic expanding and contracting of the wood molecules (perhaps not the proper scientific explanation, I'm a player haha) which can cause cracks, finish checking, binding separation etc.

[Johnny.guitar]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Jayne wrote:



Well, an insulated case cover does add some noticeable weight when used over a hardshell case that's big enough to hold an acoustic guitar. I also found that my guitars weren't bothered by walking through a cold parking lot nearly as much as my mandolins were.

If I had to put my guitar in a sled pulled behind a snowmachine, which I've done many times when I've taught or performed music in Alaskan Native villages, I might bring along a case cover for that.

Cargo sleds pulled behind Alaskan snowmachines

But what I almost always do instead is carry the guitar in one of my Calton cases. That's the reason I bought a Calton case in the first place: I had been accepted into the Alaskan Artists In The Schools program, and a friend of mine who had been in the program for a while warned me that what usually happened in the Native villages was I'd get dropped off by the Bush plane at an airstrip a mile or two outside the village, then stand around for a half hour or so at -35˚ Fahrenheit until somebody (usually the school custodian) finally showed up on a snowmachine with a cargo sled behind it.

As it happened, she was exactly correct: that's basically what's happened every time I've flown into a village. So I got my first Calton case, and have never regretted it for an instant.

The Calton case by itself weighs about as much as a hardshell case with an insulated case cover on it. Caltons offer excellent thermal protection, so that's what I use when things get too cold up here, even when still I'm in town.

I don't worry whether they get any surface scratches; they're tough.


Wade Hampton Miller

You've lived an interesting life Mr Miller

[George Henry]

A Colorado case cover came with my used Gallagher. No wonder the case looked brand new. But it proved so cumbersome that I stuck it in the closet.

[Lake Sagatagan]

Originally Posted by Johnny.guitar

I totally get it wanting an insulated cover in extreme conditions. But a cover to protect your case from getting scratched?.....that's the whole point of a case is to protect the guitar and take the scratches no?
I don't get it.....

Yeah, I know. I once nicked a guy's Porsche and he became so upset, even though it still drove perfectly fine. I mean, he bought it to drive it, didn't he?

[Johnny.guitar]

Originally Posted by Lake Sagatagan

Yeah, I know. I once nicked a guy's Porsche and he became so upset, even though it still drove perfectly fine. I mean, he bought it to drive it, didn't he?

Ummmm....sure. Guitar case & a Porsche. That's exactly the same, I totally get it.....oy

[Larry Pattis]

I remember discussing a lot of this here:

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=487451

[varmonter]

I have a nice hard presto case for my Ellis mandolin.'
I gig frequently here in Vermont. It's zero right now.i have found hybrid
Lightweight cases work better in these conditions then hard cases.
Cases like tkl zero gravity cases are lightweight
Have shoulder straps and provide great thermal
Protection. I never leave instruments in the car
Overnight. But from house to car to gig these cases work
Great for equalizing temps.

[Wade Hampton]

First, Rusty wrote:

Originally Posted by RustyAxe

I don't get the idea that a case cover insulates from the cold. It does ... for a short while ... but without an internal source of heat won't it will soon reach ambient temperature, like everything else around you?

Of course. But that's not what they're for. Nobody is putting insulated case covers on their guitar cases, then leaving their instruments out overnight in subzero temperatures.

Correction: maybe SOME nitwits are doing that, but that's not what the covers are intended for.

Then Christian wrote:

Originally Posted by Christian Reno

....these insulated cases do nothing to help when an instrument is left in cold conditions overnight or longer. An instrument that has been in, let's say a 65 degree environment, has a certain amount of heat stored in it from its surrounding temp. If you cover that instrument and take it out into, let's say 10 degree outdoor temp, the cover will keep that instrument somewhat warmer for a short period of time because the heat loss will be slowed. BUT, once that stored heat dissipates from the instrument, let's say it's left in the trunk of a car in 10 degree temp over night, the cover does absolutely nothing after that short period of heat dissipation.

Understood and acknowledged.

But then the intrepid Nova Scotian Ryan Alexander, shivering as he types in blustery Halifax, NS, wrote:

Originally Posted by Ryan Alexander

In my personal experience, problems seem to arise when an instrument is subjected to rapid and extreme changes in climate. I believe the benefits of using an insulated case cover are to slow this inevitable shift to avoid drastic expanding and contracting of the wood molecules (perhaps not the proper scientific explanation, I'm a player haha) which can cause cracks, finish checking, binding separation etc.

Exactly. It's not about leaving valuable cars out in the car overnight, it's about getting them through a cold interlude and keeping any extreme cold that might hit them at that time from having a shocking effect on the instrument.

Then Varmonter summed things up nicely when he wrote:

Originally Posted by varmonter

I have a nice hard presto case for my Ellis mandolin.'
I gig frequently here in Vermont. It's zero right now.i have found hybrid
Lightweight cases work better in these conditions then hard cases.
Cases like tkl zero gravity cases are lightweight
Have shoulder straps and provide great thermal
Protection. I never leave instruments in the car
Overnight. But from house to car to gig these cases work
Great for equalizing temps.

So, short version: the advantage of insulated case covers is the way they protect the guitar from rapid temperature differentials. It's not about going tent camping in January with your guitar, it's about keeping it safe for those times when it's briefly but unavoidably exposed to serious cold. No long term exposure to subzero temperatures are involved.

Hope that makes more sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Ryan Alexander]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Exactly. It's not about leaving valuable cars out in the car overnight, it's about getting them through a cold interlude and keeping any extreme cold that might hit them at that time from having a shocking effect on the instrument.

Always a pleasure to be validated by the mighty (and handsome, or so I've heard) Mr. WHM! A Renaissance Man if I've ever known one! Hope all is well with you, my friend. My Lowden and I are doing well, if not a bit cold these days