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  #46  
Old 11-18-2020, 09:39 PM
PowerTube PowerTube is offline
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I have a simple philosophy: if a guitar is worth owning, it's worth protecting. That rules out gig bags.
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  #47  
Old 11-18-2020, 10:30 PM
douglasfan1 douglasfan1 is offline
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If you would like to maintain temp and humidity, hard case is then a must. I don't think a gig bag can help on this aspect
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  #48  
Old 11-18-2020, 11:13 PM
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If I don't have hard cases will I have to dust under my bed?
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  #49  
Old 11-19-2020, 03:12 AM
s2y s2y is offline
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Electric guitars: nah. Really wish high quality gig bags like Mono were available back in the day.

Acoustics, semi-hollows, and archtops: definitely. I'd be leery of using gig bags on mine.
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  #50  
Old 11-19-2020, 06:00 AM
Robin, Wales Robin, Wales is online now
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Default Pragmatism above all else.

Lots of interesting thoughts throughout this thread that show how different folks have different needs. So here are my thoughts perhaps from a pragmatic perspective.

Much loved expensive guitar, requiring constant humidity control and care = good quality hard case for the home.

Going to gigs with p/a gear etc in back of van or car = hard case or, better still, a Pod style polystyrene semi-rigid foam case. If someone else in the band or at a venue may "help out" by loading or carrying your guitar into and out of gigs then go for a cheap polystyrene semi-rigid Pod style foam case (light to carry and best shock absorbance - it is also less likely to be stolen or receive other unwanted interest).

Going to gigs on the bus etc with cheap workhorse guitar = gig bag. Also, gig bag for my camping guitar.

Shipping, including air transport - I know a lot about this as I have personally packed and shipped 800- 1000 guitars. Pod style cheap polystyrene semi-rigid foam case in a tri-wall cardboard box with a handle or good quality gig bag, bubble-wrapped in a tri-wall cardboard box with handle. If the customer wants a hard case then ship that separately. As has been said earlier in this thread, in terms of shock absorbency and thermal protection whilst shipping those cheap polystyrene semi-ridged cases tick all the boxes. And they are light, which makes the box way easier to handle by couriers and so less likely to be dropped. I've had two guitars damaged in shipping - both were is nice hard cases.

Some hard cases are things of beauty and come with your expensive guitar but the pragmatic answer for moving your guitar around safely could well be to also have an ugly cheap Pod style polystyrene case.
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  #51  
Old 11-19-2020, 07:50 AM
Goodallboy Goodallboy is offline
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Hard cases are needed only in situations where you’d like your instruments protected.
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  #52  
Old 11-19-2020, 08:02 AM
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Surprisingly, my 'hard' Yamaha gig bag keeps humidity in as good or better than my hard shells, but I much prefer a hard shell, especially when you have a toddler knocking them over and trying to climb on them. I think the hard gig bag is probably better for getting knocked over, but not getting crawled on. I'm actually planning on buying a hardshell for it.
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  #53  
Old 11-20-2020, 07:09 AM
Guitarplayer_PR Guitarplayer_PR is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Slothead56 View Post
I’m guessing that many, if not most, higher end guitars (for the sake of this highly non-scientific thread say $1,000+) come with a hard shell case or one is encouraged to get a hard shell case. I have 5 acoustics and they all came with a hard case.

Question: is this just an industry norm at this point? Wouldn’t a good foam case, either rigid foam or flexible, do the trick for the non-traveling, non-gigging, non-professional guitarist and be a bit more economical?

Granted, if you’re a heavy gigger or travel by plane, train, subway or auto you’d maybe want a hard case. For me, when I used to be able to play out, I actually left the big heavy case at home and went with a gig bag. Heading to church after work to video a couple songs for on line worship and will be taking the HD 28vs in a soft Gator case....

Great guitars deserve great protection but are we living in the age of overkill?
I don't really need them, but I DO want them to be hard cases. Always.
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  #54  
Old 11-20-2020, 07:56 AM
Rosewood99 Rosewood99 is offline
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The greatest value of hard cases is that you need them when you sell your guitar to ship them.
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  #55  
Old 11-20-2020, 03:39 PM
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Pura Vida Pura Vida is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by paulzoom View Post
The greatest value of hard cases is that you need them when you sell your guitar to ship them.
This. I only use my guitar cases when I purchase them and to pack them when I sell them, even though I only sell locally. I use a case when I travel with one, which is far more infrequently than it used to be, but I could use one third party case for any of my same size guitars (example: I own several dreadnought guitars). For nearly the entire year, they just sit in a stack in my walk-in closet.
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  #56  
Old 11-20-2020, 04:36 PM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by paulzoom View Post
The greatest value of hard cases is that you need them when you sell your guitar to ship them.
And the second greatest value is to provoke the "....in a hard case at all times...." crowd into commenting. Most of my hard cases are in storage in the garage. Anything that leaves the house travels in a very protective Taylor hard bag - but always handled only by me. My two high-end koa guitars live in their hard cases for humidity control reasons.
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