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With respect to Michael's FedEx claim for his damaged guitar I bestow my condolences!And Paul Woolson's claim last year as well.
It's really a shame that these shipping Co's don't take a little more care when transporting our precious cargo.

The point I am trying to make is really about the poor quality of the so called "Hard Shell Cases".
I have been around guitar cases for nearly 45 yrs now.
I can tell you that the cases of yesteryear were really built well and could take one heck of a bouncing!
Back in 1960 I weighed 300Ilbs and played a great game of football. I know what it means to take a hard hit.
I had a Martin Hard shell case that would take a number of bounces from me and not so much as a sound would come out of that case. Most all cases made by Guild, Gibson and others could equally take a strong beating without breaking down.

The cases today may look a little prettier, but far from
being any more sturdy by yesterday's standard's.
They are pure junk in my opinion they are not worth the price we all pay for them.

If you can ever buy one of the older cases...buy it and put a new cover on it. You will never regret it.
Trust me on this one.

walter

Walter, I would beg to differ, I use Ameritage cases now and they are better than any other case I have ever had my hands on.
I began playing guitar in 1978, and have owned more guitars than I can count, not a single one came with a case better or even close to equal to the Ameritage cases.
I cannot comment on any others, I know Calton is great, and of course you could always get an anvil case.

Truth is, if you wanna break it, you can.
I have heard stories of guitars having there head stocks broke off (inside a perfectly undamaged case)

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

That must feel better hey Walter?

My lowly Takamine has been to Japan, Thailand, Russia, Sweden and all over the US and Canada on planes, and I've been so fortunate with the $70 plywood case, it's almost like it was sitting on angles laps during the flights.

Have you seen a Calton case before? This will last through a fire and still protect the instrument. Sure they are expensive, but they do the job better than any other I've ever seen.

Check these pics out.





You can read more customer reviews here.

I think we should all offer our customers a calton as an option. Than it's up to them regarding the protection they want.

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I am going to be using Ameritage cases from now on as I think they would be the best bang for the buck.

Thanks again Lance and Brock for the great sponsor.

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Lance-
Geez, those Ameritage cases should be good! $450USD is a lot of money- though I gather that 'real luthiers' don't pay the prices they want from the rest of us.
You can buy a small fiberglass dinghy for that price! (I know, they don't fit my guitar either...)
Surely there must be 'knock-offs' available that are comparable to the Ameritage?
John

I can get UK made Caltons at a pretty good price, at least compared to Canadian and US cases which have prohibitive shipping costs for me (and I assume most Europeans). They custom make the interior to fit my guitars perfectly, and these things are tough; "Simply the Best" to borrow from Tina!

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

re: Calton case and fire
Rod-
They may be great (impact resistant?) cases, but being close to a fire- not in a fire- is no great test. Look at the outside of that case and the intact nylon and rubber carry strap. It was not 'in a fire' from the looks of it.
If that is ad copy (aka hype) from Calton, they've just dropped a notch in my estimation.
Drive a UPS truck over that puppy- then I'll be convinced!
John

I have the opportunity to work at a local music festival every year. We have dozens of great players come from all over the world. Almost without exception every guitarist/bouzouki player who travels is using a Calton. I have yet to see a better case than a custom fitting Calton. These players will tell you stories of sitting on planes and watching their prized instrument (which are worth thousands) fall out off the luggage compartment when being loaded or unloaded. For the most part the instruments are okay and the Calton cases have held up well.

I will likely be switching to Ameritage for most of my guitars, but a Calton is always an option for my customers.

josh

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[QUOTE=Arnt] I can get UK made Caltons at a pretty good price, at least compared to Canadian and US cases which have prohibitive shipping costs for me (and I assume most Europeans). They custom make the interior to fit my guitars perfectly, and these things are tough; "Simply the Best" to borrow from Tina! [/QUOTE]

Hey Arnt, how much are they if you buy them from the UK? Do you buy them from the factory or through a dealer?

Ameritage case is my standard case now. I am not knocking the Access Stage 5. It is a great case for the money, and was in no way the culpreit on the Narra/Carp Fedex issue. But I am sold head over heels on the Ameritage.

Sorry, I'm not about to drive a drive a truck over my guitar case, thank you very much! But for someone travelling by plane and generally setting his case up for abuse, I think most people will tell you a Calton is pretty much your best insurance. By the way, they are even more expensive than Ameritage, more in the $650 range.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

John, give Ameritage a call or email Nancy and ask for there price list. Every company that sells products has a "retail" price.

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

I'm with Lance.
Actually, he's with me, since I started buying these things ages ago...and spent ages talking him into trying them.


Ameritage makes THE finest cases for the money today bar none. The old cases way back were good, but even they had their problems and wore out eventually.

Even if you could get an old case and re-cover it, odds are it's sustained a lot of structural wear over the years, and would be a far cry from what it was. So just call up the good folks at Ameritage and get their cases.

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Lars, I buy direct from the factory, e-mail Keith Calton [keith.calton@ntlworld.com]. They have a form where you fill in all your instrument's measurements, and you send these along with a tracing of your body outline and they custom make the interior.

PM sent!Arnt39063.644375

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

No John, that is a client's post on a Calton case, granted it's on their website, there are many other's there as well for the reading.

As far as driving a UPS truck over it........ that's a very poor example of standard protection required. Any case that could stand up to a truck, car UPS van being driven over it would be to heavy to lift and would cost an absolute forturne to ship, that's just a bit over the top.

You can think what you want about Calton John, but anyone who has had one and has traveled with it will tell you that it just can't be beat. They really are second to none in my books and would offer them standard if the clients would pay for it. But they wouldn't, to bad.

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

[QUOTE=LanceK] John, give Ameritage a call or email Nancy and ask for there price list. Every company that sells products has a "retail" price.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the 'heads up',Lance. Do you have info on any other of the OLF 'sponsors' who have special prices for those who know the special contact person to ask? Perhaps a list of these would be useful?
Sounds like 'business as usual'...pros pay the real price and the 'marks' pay extra!
John

[QUOTE=Arnt] Sorry, I'm not about to drive a drive a truck over my guitar case, thank you very much!    [/QUOTE]
Arnt-
Just ship your guitar by one of the 'courier/parcel services' and you may be doing just that!
John

[QUOTE=JohnAbercrombie] [QUOTE=LanceK] John, give Ameritage a call or email Nancy and ask for there price list. Every company that sells products has a "retail" price.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the 'heads up',Lance. Do you have info on any other of the OLF 'sponsors' who have special prices for those who know the special contact person to ask? Perhaps a list of these would be useful?
Sounds like 'business as usual'...pros pay the real price and the 'marks' pay extra!
John
[/QUOTE]

Ill never tell

Guess youll just have to call..

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

[QUOTE=JohnAbercrombie] Sounds like 'business as usual'...pros pay the real price and the 'marks' pay extra!
[/QUOTE]

Of course! Why is that such a bad thing?
If I have a store and wish to sell Ameritage cases, why should I pay retail cost and then sell them for more than what Ameritage sells them for? Duh!
EVERY manufacturer has retail and wholesale pricing, otherwise they would have to do all their own retailing. And that's just plain crazy. Characterising people who pay retail prices as "marks" probably isn't the best thing...

Don Williams39063.6593518518

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

If you really want to protect anything you ship. Use FedEx Custom Critical with White Glove Service. Assuming you ship in the US the same driver that picks it up, delivers it and never leaves the package. Its $$$...but worth it.

Any one ever make there on case?

I SUPPOSE REINDEER REALLY DON'T FLY.
OR DO THEY?

you lost me?

Walter I will agree that 40's thru early 60's cases for the major case companies and guitar manufactures were made with better plywood than most of the med end case are today. In fact many used hardwood plywood. but the upper end cases like Cedar Creek, Ameritage and Calton are as good of cases as have ever been made. of course we don't get real alligator exterior anymore. At least not without paying for it.MichaelP39063.7212847222

[QUOTE=Don Williams] [QUOTE=JohnAbercrombie] Sounds like 'business as usual'...pros pay the real price and the 'marks' pay extra!
[/QUOTE]

Of course! Why is that such a bad thing?
If I have a store and wish to sell Ameritage cases, why should I pay retail cost and then sell them for more than what Ameritage sells them for? Duh!
EVERY manufacturer has retail and wholesale pricing, otherwise they would have to do all their own retailing. And that's just plain crazy. Characterising people who pay retail prices as "marks" probably isn't the best thing...

[/QUOTE]
I have no problem with quantity discounts.
If you order 20 cases for your 'store' and I order 20 for my private guitar collection, why should we pay different amounts?? Because you know the name of somebody in the back office? Because you refuse to pay cash (and buy on a 30 days account)? Doesn't make sense to me.

We used to see the same thing with tools and building supplies. Every time a 'regular guy' walked up to the counter he was paying 50-100% more than the guys with 'accounts'. For all their faults, places like HomeDepot put an end to that right quick.
John