Cut costs for an Ameritage/Invest in a Hoffee

[jonnymosco]

Hi Marcus - my Kostal was shipped in an Ameritage (to Europe), Jason packed it in a box with padding though.

Very solid, but to be honest incredibly heavy and bulky - I'm going to invest in a Hoffee so I can fit the guitar in my trunk. Also considered BAM as a friend has one of his Somogyis in one, they are lighter but don't feel as solid.

Good luck with your search.

Jonny

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by jonnymosco

Hi Marcus - my Kostal was shipped in an Ameritage (to Europe), Jason packed it in a box with padding though.

Very solid, but to be honest incredibly heavy and bulky - I'm going to invest in a Hoffee so I can fit the guitar in my trunk. Also considered BAM as a friend has one of his Somogyis in one, they are lighter but don't feel as solid.

Good luck with your search.

Jonny

Hi Johnny, thanks for sharing! I do intend to invest in a Hoffee in the future if I do decide not to get one this time round. Glad to know that your Kostal made it over safely

[Howard Klepper]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wong

Hi guys,


I am stuck in a dilemma and would appreciate advice from the community. I am thinking to cut costs and go with an Ameritage instead of the Hoffee to upgrade my back and sides.

My only concern is the safety of the guitar during shipment. Are there any horror stories out there regarding shipping (suspended in a cardboard box with sufficient padding) in an Ameritage as opposed to a Hoffee?

The guitar in question is valued at 5 figures. I know that ideally, I would upgrade my back and sides AND get the Hoffee, but my budget has already been overstretched by quite a bit and I REALLY cannot afford to get both. So I would like to know from your personal experiences and good judgement if it is safe for me to ship such a valuable guitar in an Ameritage case.


Cheers,
Marcus Wong.

Upgrade back and sides from what to what? I take it the guitar is not yet built?

Your only concern is safe shipping? You mean you won't carry the guitar around in this case, and you don't care about weight?

Where are you? Where is the builder? Is the builder insured for shipping damage? Can you tell us who the builder is?

Don't let bubble wrap contact a lacquer finish; don't use bubble wrap to pad the headstock. Your builder should know how to pack a guitar.

Ameritage cases cost about the same as Hiscox PRO-II here in the US. And if you don't care about bulk, there probably is no better case for shipping than these SKBs, at about the same price: https://skbcases.com/music/products/...set=&c=75&s=75

[El Conquistador]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wong

Ameritage is covered in the base price of my build so there will be no surcharge involved. Hiscox will however incur a surcharge :/

Originally Posted by Howard Klepper

Your only concern is safe shipping? You mean you won't carry the guitar around in this case, and you don't care about weight?

Ameritage cases cost about the same as Hiscox PRO-II here in the US.

1. I do not understand why your builder would not simply substitute one for the other. It should be economically neutral to him/her. I have done this very thing by requesting the Hiscox from my builder rather than his regular case. He liked it so much, he ended up using Hiscox as his standard case going forward.

2. Howard asks a great question. Do you intend to schlep your guitar around in a case at all? If so, the Ameritage is waaaay too heavy and, frankly, not nearly as protective.

Just my $.02

Steve

[jperryrocks]

I would prefer to have the back and sides I wanted over a fancier case.

You can't play the case.

Unless you're a touring mucisian or doing extensive travel, even the lower end molded cases that companies like martin, gibson, collings, Taylor, etc use offer very good protection. You don't have to spend $1000 on a case if it's not in the budget.

You can always upgrade the case later. ......Can't do that with the back and sides of your guitar.

[swiftz07]

Marcus I believe we may be in the same locale. I have shipped many guitars in every case imaginable (TKL, Cedar creek, ameritage, calton) they arrive just fine as long as they are well packed during shipment

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by Howard Klepper

Upgrade back and sides from what to what? I take it the guitar is not yet built?

Your only concern is safe shipping? You mean you won't carry the guitar around in this case, and you don't care about weight?

Where are you? Where is the builder? Is the builder insured for shipping damage? Can you tell us who the builder is?

Don't let bubble wrap contact a lacquer finish; don't use bubble wrap to pad the headstock. Your builder should know how to pack a guitar.

Ameritage cases cost about the same as Hiscox PRO-II here in the US. And if you don't care about bulk, there probably is no better case for shipping than these SKBs, at about the same price: https://skbcases.com/music/products/...set=&c=75&s=75

Hi Howard. Yes, my only concern is the shipping. I actually already have an Ameritage case which I have been lugging around. It is quite inconvenient, but I have survived it in the past, I think I could tolerate the weight for this one too Haha I would probably look to upgrade my case to a Hoffee in the future. Meanwhile, I was thinking that the Ameritage could be used to survive the shipment, while I get a substitute lightweight hardcase here like a Gator or TRIC? Would that be recommended or should I always leave it in the Ameritage?

I'm in Singapore and my luthier, Joel Michaud, is in Canada. I know it is superficial, but I wanted to upgrade The Tree b/s to a more highly figured Tree b/s. He is insured but he mentioned that it is really difficult to handle such issues with the shippers and would rather not let it come down to that.

Yes, I am sure Joel knows how to pack the guitar. I clearly don't, was merely throwing ideas out there haha He assured me that he packs really meticulously, but just didn't want to leave it to chance which is why he expressed concern about the Ameritage case. He has had one incident with it before where the guitar cracked but that was possibly due to the fact that it was packed and shipped to him by a customer and not the other way around haha

Apologies for not mentioning this before, but my guitar will be having a Manzer Wedge which requires a custom case. This is possible with the likes of Ameritage and Hoffee. Otherwise I would indeed go for a Hiscox

And no, the guitar is not yet built. He will start next year as it will be a show piece for the Memphis Guitar Festival

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by El Conquistador

1. I do not understand why your builder would not simply substitute one for the other. It should be economically neutral to him/her. I have done this very thing by requesting the Hiscox from my builder rather than his regular case. He liked it so much, he ended up using Hiscox as his standard case going forward.

2. Howard asks a great question. Do you intend to schlep your guitar around in a case at all? If so, the Ameritage is waaaay too heavy and, frankly, not nearly as protective.

Just my $.02

Steve

Hey Steve, like I have responded to Howard, I would be going with a Manzer Wedge and would need a custom case to fit it.

And it is indeed waaay too heavy and would have liked to go for a lighter alternative, but I have been using Ameritage for a while now. I suppose I could continue to do so until I upgrade to a lighter case like Hoffee, or maybe just get a regular hardcase like Gator/TRIC for travel by foot

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by jperryrocks

I would prefer to have the back and sides I wanted over a fancier case.

You can't play the case.

Unless you're a touring mucisian or doing extensive travel, even the lower end molded cases that companies like martin, gibson, collings, Taylor, etc use offer very good protection. You don't have to spend $1000 on a case if it's not in the budget.

You can always upgrade the case later. ......Can't do that with the back and sides of your guitar.

My thoughts exactly! I was just afraid that the Ameritage might not have been safe enough which you guys have more or less assured me that it is.

Originally Posted by swiftz07

Marcus I believe we may be in the same locale. I have shipped many guitars in every case imaginable (TKL, Cedar creek, ameritage, calton) they arrive just fine as long as they are well packed during shipment

Thank you for chiming in! It is good to hear that the guitar will indeed be shipped over safely

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wong

Apologies for not mentioning this before, but my guitar will be having a Manzer Wedge which requires a custom case.

My baritone has a Manzer wedge and it's very happy in its stock TKL case. Who's telling you you need a custom case?

Also, wild guess, but if you're considering spending $1k on a case and $10k+ on a guitar, maybe you could get a good deal on airfare and come to Canada, pick it up yourself and carry it home in a $75 used TKL off kijiji while in Canada

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by rogthefrog

My baritone has a Manzer wedge and it's very happy in its stock TKL case. Who's telling you you need a custom case?

Also, wild guess, but if you're considering spending $1k on a case and $10k+ on a guitar, maybe you could get a good deal on airfare and come to Canada, pick it up yourself and carry it home in a $75 used TKL off kijiji while in Canada

My luthier recommended a custom case for a snugger fit as one side would have to be more padded than the other to accommodate the wedge. I've also seen another post where the Ameritage was also wedge shaped to accommodate it. The Ameritage is part of the base price anyways so I don't have much to worry about price wise going with the Ameritage.

That is a really good idea actually! Haha But I've decided to stick with the Ameritage. If I had decided to go with the Hoffee, that would have definitely been a plan :P

[El Conquistador]

Originally Posted by Marcus Wong

Hey Steve, like I have responded to Howard, I would be going with a Manzer Wedge and would need a custom case to fit it.

I really do not mean to badger you, but, the guitar I mentioned that the luthier swapped a cedar creek case for a Hiscox was also a Manzer wedge.

Steve

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by El Conquistador

I really do not mean to badger you, but, the guitar I mentioned that the luthier swapped a cedar creek case for a Hiscox was also a Manzer wedge.

Steve

Hey Steve, no worries My guitar will also be of a custom size that MIGHT not fit a Hiscox. I'll definitely check with my luthier about the Hiscox regarding fit and cost. Thanks for bringing it up!

[justonwo]

If your only concern is safe shipping, the Ameritage case should work just fine.

[Marcus Wong]

Originally Posted by justonwo

If your only concern is safe shipping, the Ameritage case should work just fine.

Hi Juston, thanks for the reassurance