Is this covered by Martin warranty?

[Dut4907]

Hello? My father inlaw owns a D-41 and the molded hardshell case has started separating on the seam on the lower bought opposite side of the handle. Would this be covered by the warranty?

[Athens]

Good question.

Martin warrantys the guitar to the original owner, but I don't think I've ever heard a clear cut answer on the case.

A call or eMail to Martin's CS folk would be a good start.

Let us know what they say.

[jklotz]

Hi. I can't answer your question, but I did have a Martin (TKL?) case where the tolex separated from the case at the lower bout after a few years. I just put some wood glue under the effected area and used a few large rubber bands to hold it overnight. Painters tape or clamps would probably do the same thing. It fixed it for the 3 or 4 years afterwards that I owned the guitar. My guess is it is still just fine, although I don't still have it.

Honestly, after the repair, it looked factory fresh.

[zoopeda]

I say this as a Martin guitar super fan: the garbage plastic cases they stil put their standard series—let alone D-41s—in should be outlawed. They put even their 15 series in something decent. I am very curious to hear if the warranty applies to cases. If they do replace it for the original owner (as I believe they should) do yourself a favor and sell it (if you can) and just buy a ply D-18 case, or, better yet, a used Harptone. Martin should be embarrassed; The D-41 deserves better!

[Tnfiddler]

My 2018 Reimagined D-41 has a very nice TKL case, not a plastic one. I think it’s a great case.

[Rev Roy]

Originally Posted by zoopeda

I say this as a Martin guitar super fan: the garbage plastic cases they stil put their standard series—let alone D-41s—in should be outlawed. They put even their 15 series in something decent. I am very curious to hear if the warranty applies to cases. If they do replace it for the original owner (as I believe they should) do yourself a favor and sell it (if you can) and just buy a ply D-18 case, or, better yet, a used Harptone. Martin should be embarrassed; The D-41 deserves better!

Are you confusing the 640 thermoplastic cases D-28s come in with the much nicer 545 Geib hardshell cases D-41s arrive in? I have no complaints about my D-41 case. None.

[justonwo]

Originally Posted by Dut4907

Hello? My father inlaw owns a D-41 and the molded hardshell case has started separating on the seam on the lower bought opposite side of the handle. Would this be covered by the warranty?

I don’t think it would hurt to email them and ask. Try to be polite and take some photos and you’ll likely get a positive response. Even if it isn’t explicitly covered, they may “good will” a fix.

[ManyMartinMan]

Don’t email. Just call. It’s much quicker and you’re more likely to get a personal answer rather than a form response. I doubt it’s covered as the case’s job,is to take abuse and protect the guitar - like brakes on a car.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by zoopeda

I say this as a Martin guitar super fan: the garbage plastic cases they stil put their standard series—let alone D-41s—in should be outlawed. They put even their 15 series in something decent. I am very curious to hear if the warranty applies to cases. If they do replace it for the original owner (as I believe they should) do yourself a favor and sell it (if you can) and just buy a ply D-18 case, or, better yet, a used Harptone. Martin should be embarrassed; The D-41 deserves better!

The new Standards now come in a TKL arch-topped ply hardshell case. Very decent and quite substantial, but I agree the old plastic cases weren't much good for anything much more than keeping dust off.

[keith.rogers]

If the case is covered at all, it would have been by a much more limited warranty, i.e., vs. the "lifetime" one that applies to the guitar, maybe a year or even a coupla-few, but not forever. You'd have to have the actual warranty wording that came with the guitar, since they have changed over the years. (For instance, the factory electronics have a very short warranty - one year IIRC.) I'd just buy a better case, honestly, unless you're talking about something a year or two old that's been relatively unused.

[zoopeda]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

The new Standards now come in a TKL arch-topped ply hardshell case. Very decent and quite substantial, but I agree the old plastic cases weren't much good for anything much more than keeping dust off.

I’m so glad the new 40s come with nice cases! That is great news.

So that leaves just the d-28 and d-35 with plastic? I wonder why they cling to this for such beautiful guitars.

[musicman1951]

Martin's general turn around time on repairs is 5-6 months. Do you really want your case there for an extended period?

If you can't fix it yourself you might want to consider having it repaired locally - probably for less than the shipping back and forth to Martin.

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

The new Standards now come in a TKL arch-topped ply hardshell case. Very decent and quite substantial, but I agree the old plastic cases weren't much good for anything much more than keeping dust off.

I got a 2019 Martin HD-28 and it came with a thermoplastic case (that I chose to upgrade before sending it to me). D-18s come with ply hardshell cases along with D41 and above. But 28 series and 35 series (at least) come with molded plastic cases.

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

The new Standards now come in a TKL arch-topped ply hardshell case. Very decent and quite substantial, but I agree the old plastic cases weren't much good for anything much more than keeping dust off.

They are actually really good for keeping in humidity. Otherwise I agree. I have a D-35, and the case is a huge disappointment on such a nice instrument.

I do however, only have to fill the humidifier about half as often with that case.

[CoffeeFan]

I would think that, given the intended purpose of a case, that it wouldn't be covered...