So ... are guitar case covers extinct?

[Ryan Alexander]

Living in Nova Scotia, Canada, I have always appreciated a nice case cover strictly for the added thermal protection. Since Small Dog Case Covers were acquired/absorbed by Colorado Case Covers, followed by Colorado going out of business, it would seem that there may no longer be any mainstream manufacturers of these handy accessories.

Outside of having something custom made, does anyone know of a currently available substitute for the Small Dog/Colorado offerings?

[Jabberwocky]

Try Mooradian

http://www.mooradian.com/Custom_Bags.html

[ljguitar]

Hi Ryan

Yes - kind of a solution that most players are not seeking a solution for (hence good companies going out of business).

I have a friend who bought a mummy bag down filled cover for Arctic sleeping bags, and his wife sewed him a zippered case cover.

He soon discovered it was more work than it was worth to keep transferring it from case to case, and most of the time our winter weather is not Canadian-brutal.

If it is, gigs and services are postponed till the weather gets better.

[Christian Reno]

I won a small dog case cover years ago in some drawing that I can barely remember. I thought it was great idea to protect my case exterior, and then I found out what a pain in the rear it was to deal with. I can't imagine ever buying one, let alone the number of them I would need to cover the cases I lug around.

The only advantage I found was the shoulder strap, but a full hard shell case gets heavy on the shoulder when carrying it in these.

[Steadfastly]

Unless you are living in Cape Breton and are having instances where you must leave your guitar in your vehicle overnight on a fairly regular basis, I can't see the need. Nova Scotia isn't all the cold being surrounded by and ocean that is 41-44 degrees F. Now, if you lived in Edmundston, NB and you were transporting it a lot, I could see it might be something to think about.

[SuperB23]

I always thought that people who bought the $1000 Calton and Hoffee cases bought them to protect those beautiful cases from getting scratched!!

Thermal protection??? its only 65 degrees F here.

In all seriousness I'd check with some of the bigger guitar shops that deal Caltons and ask if they have any left. Shops like Gryphon my have some, they deal Calton cases and have a nice selection of nice case upgrades. Elderly also might know how to get you one.

Good luck in your hunt.

[Todd Tipton]

Originally Posted by SuperB23

I always thought that people who bought the $1000 Calton and Hoffee cases bought them to protect those beautiful cases from getting scratched!!

Yeah, me too! Learn something everyday.

[Lake Sagatagan]

I couldn't bear scratching my beautiful, emerald green Hoffee case, so I bought a laundry bag to slip over it. That's easily done, cheap, light weight, covers a great deal of the case,and the has an interesting applique: https://www.ecomattressbags.com/coll...rom-eco-canvas

[Wade Hampton]

Ryan, before I even knew that there were insulated instrument case covers available on a commercial basis, I had a few made locally here in Anchorage, mainly for my mandolin and mountain dulcimer cases. The best way about it, I found, was to take the instrument and its case in to a local commercial upholstery shop.

Those folks deal with custom orders all the time, whether it's reupholstering a sofa or putting new seat cushions in a boat. So it was no big deal for them to make a case cover for a musical instrument case. I did this maybe three or four times over the years. A couple of times I had to leave the case with them and a couple of times I didn't.

I happen to agree with some of the other comments in this thread about case covers for guitar cases: they actually add a great deal of weight. While I have had a couple of guitar case covers (and still have one,) I've never used them much.

But the tuning on my mandolins in particular goes absolutely berserk if the instrument gets too chilly, so I consider case covers a godsend on that instrument. Plus, if you get a pocket on it the case cover gives you a considerable amount of added storage for extra strings, tuners and so forth, which helps a great deal, given how small mandolin cases are.

Anyway, that's my suggestion, and I know it'll work for you so long as you can find an upholstery shop that will agree to do the work and - this is important -
the both of you can agree upon a price.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

[jaymarsch]

I have two Colorado case covers and I am happy to have them. I actually use them more these days as an extra weather cover when I am transporting my guitars in a lighter gig bag. It gives me great protection in a lighter overall package.

Not sure why they are not more in demand. Maybe beat up looking cases make it appear that the instrument isn't worth stealing.

Best,
Jayne

[Wade Hampton]

Jayne wrote:

Originally Posted by jaymarsch

Not sure why they are not more in demand. Maybe beat up looking cases make it appear that the instrument isn't worth stealing.

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

[drive-south]

Gibson used to provide case covers with thier premium instruments including mandolins, banjos, L5s, etc. These were not insulated, just protected the outside if the case.

If I have to take guitars out in frigid weather what I sometimes do is heat up the car and slide the case into a sleeping bag. It will prevent thermal shock to the case and instrument when going to/from the car.

[Ryan Alexander]

Thanks to all for the helpful suggestions! I have had issues over the years with expensive guitars being damaged due to climate shifts during transport, so I'm not looking to debate or confirm whether they are a worthwhile investment I have owned both Small Dog and Colorado cases in the past.

Oh, and for the record ... the last thing I'm worried about is my case getting scratched!

[rogthefrog]

Chances are your local clothing alteration place can make one.

[drive-south]

My understanding is that Colorado case co was thriving but the owner sold the business due to illness. The new owner ran it aground.

I was planning to get a few case covers eventually for the guitars I transport most often, but at $200 each it never happened.