How to cut guitar case to fit preamp?
 

Hi all,

I've bought a 'Tanglewood' Travel guitar and a SKB 1SKB300 Hard Case (advertised to fit Baby Taylor/Martin LX).

The Tanglewood would be a 'snug fit' (if it were not for the preamp controls) as it is with Taylor/Martin guitars, according to my research as is shown in the photos on the SKB website. (my point being that a Baby Taylor or Martin LX would have the same issue if a preamp with controls was installed)

I have a preamp in the Tanglewood with a volume and tone knob that protrude from the guitar so that it won't fit in the case (without 'squashing' the knobs). Thus I need to cut a piece out to make room for the preamp so that the guitar will fit.

Has anyone had any experince with this particular case or how to go about this in general. Essentially I don't want to 'destroy' the lining in the process....

Any insight would be appreciated.

Some time ago with a similar problem I was able to compress (crush) the structural foam to make room for a side mount preamp in this type of case. It worked fine and probably looked a lot better than cutting a piece out.

How dod you 'crush/compress' the foam? With a clamp or something like that?

I recall compressing it a little bit at a time with the handle side of a large screwdriver.

I would use a standard C-clamp to crush the foam a bit, making room for the control buttons. Some padding would be appropriate on the outside surface to avoid marring the case's exterior.

Not sure how the control buttons are,but you can maybe find some buttons with a lower profile.i found some low profile control knobs for a guitar that came without a case but didn't fit some existing cases that i had.these were top mounted controls.

I've pulled back the lining before and carved the foam where I needed more room, then glued the fur back in place.

A regular hot melt glue gun (the kind you find at a craft store, etc.) is the perfect tool for regluing case lining.

Around 20 yrs ago I got a new SKB case for my Ovation and only after I got home did I realize my old guitar's controls were different from the current models so my guitar wouldn't fit. I carried the case and guitar back to the store and they got on the phone with SKB to get their advise on how best to proceed. I'm not kidding--their advise was to use a small hammer. They said to use a hammer with a fairly small head and with light force hit the area that need to be compressed. They explained that once you fractured (my word, not theirs) the "shell" of the polystyrene you could easily tap in the proper shape and dimensions without hurting the rest, and without damaging the lining. I was more than a little nervous watching the repair guy use a tack hammer on my new case but it worked exactly like they said it would. 20+ years later and even the lining is still in great shape.