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Is a case necessary?

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(@darkcanuck)
Active Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 6
Topic starter  

Hey, I recently bought a new acoustic guitar. I figured that since I will not be going and jamming for a while I could save some money and skip out on the guitar case.

however, i heard that i should keep my guitar in a case when im not playing to protect it from moisture etc.
is this true? do I need to buy a case? if so does it matter if its a hard or a soft case?

cheers


   
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(@denny)
Reputable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 452
 

A case will protect it from being damaged. Even on a good stand, a guitar can be accidently knocked over or just banged around. IMHO a good case is needed. Gig bag or hardshell case is your decision. Anything is better than nothing.


   
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(@ignar-hillstrom)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5349
 

I have six or so guitars and a bass-guitar and not a single case. They are next to a windows that's nearly permanently open. Occasionally a bit of rain falls on them. Two electrics have received the beer-treatment during parties, the bass falls from the stand once a week. You must spend $60 against moisture or damage? Don't make me laugh. :D Just don't deliberatily kick them around or set them on fire and you'll be fine. Don't forget to use a strap when playing in the bath.


   
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(@embrace_the_darkness)
Honorable Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 539
 

I'd only get a case if you plan of lugging the guitar/s around to different places. If they are not going to be leaving your house, don't worry about it.

I've found that putting my guitars in the soft cases I have actually lends itself to needing to re-tune after I take them out again, as the tuning pegs can move with any knocks while in the case.

As for moisture? Don't leave your guitar standing up against a radiator (or near a fire) and you should be fine :wink:

If you are really concered about storing your guitar, you can get a stand, pretty cheap from your local guitar shop, or even wall-mount of you feel flash 8)
does it matter if its a hard or a soft case

A hard case will no doubt protect your guitar better, particulalry if you are storing it on a train / plane etc. but it comes at more cost :(

Pete

ETD - Formerly "10141748 - Reincarnate"


   
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(@rahul)
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Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 2736
 

I have six or so guitars and a bass-guitar and not a single case. They are next to a windows that's nearly permanently open. Occasionally a bit of rain falls on them. Two electrics have received the beer-treatment during parties, the bass falls from the stand once a week. You must spend $60 against moisture or damage? Don't make me laugh. :D Just don't deliberatily kick them around or set them on fire and you'll be fine. Don't forget to use a strap when playing in the bath.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Btw, getting a case for your acoustic is a good idea especially if you travel and want to take guitar in your car's trunk or on a flight.

Have one if you can. Wood is always a treat to termites.


   
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(@pearlthekat)
Noble Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 1468
 

I didn't keep my Seagull acoustic in a case when I first bought it. It cracked. I spent $90 on a case at that point then another $100 to repair the crack. It has since opened up. Get a case.


   
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(@darkcanuck)
Active Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 6
Topic starter  

I didn't keep my Seagull acoustic in a case when I first bought it. It cracked. I spent $90 on a case at that point then another $100 to repair the crack. It has since opened up. Get a case.

did it crack because of being knocked around or because of moister/dryness?

my buddy said even if you have a case it should never be inside. "out of sight, out of mind" he says. but his advice did not take in mind the humidity factor that i heard (or may have misinterpreted)


   
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(@indiana_jonesin)
Estimable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 190
 

I haven't noticed a great deal of humidity affecting my guitar, and this is in the rainy Pacific Northwest. I also find that the more I see my guitar out on its stand, the more I am reminded to play. I have a padded gig bag with backback straps for traveling purposes, but it's stuffed in my closet the rest of the time. Just my .02, but you may find better use for that money now, like the five other things you want to get (you know what they are!) ;)

"Yes and an old guitar is all that he can afford,
when he gets up under the lights to play his thing..."-Dire Straits
http://www.myspace.com/misterpete42


   
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(@pearlthekat)
Noble Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 1468
 

I didn't keep my Seagull acoustic in a case when I first bought it. It cracked. I spent $90 on a case at that point then another $100 to repair the crack. It has since opened up. Get a case.

did it crack because of being knocked around or because of moister/dryness?

my buddy said even if you have a case it should never be inside. "out of sight, out of mind" he says. but his advice did not take in mind the humidity factor that i heard (or may have misinterpreted)

it cracked because of dryness. it wasn't being knocked around. i kep it under my dresser. i thought i was being real careful with it.


   
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(@darkcanuck)
Active Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 6
Topic starter  

I didn't keep my Seagull acoustic in a case when I first bought it. It cracked. I spent $90 on a case at that point then another $100 to repair the crack. It has since opened up. Get a case.

did it crack because of being knocked around or because of moister/dryness?

it cracked because of dryness. it wasn't being knocked around. i kep it under my dresser. i thought i was being real careful with it.

do u live in the desert or something? heh

maybe its a good idea to invest in one then...

anyone else hear of problems arising acoustics were not kept in a case?


   
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(@embrace_the_darkness)
Honorable Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 539
 

Only example I know of:

My mum has a spanish classical guitar, she's had it since she was about 12 I think, so a good 30 years at least.

It's never been in a case in its life, and has spent the majority of the last 10 years sitting not 5 feet from a radiator (against my advice, believe me), and it still plays beautifully.

I guess it largely depends on where you live and what the climate / weather is like.

Pete

ETD - Formerly "10141748 - Reincarnate"


   
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(@vic-lewis-vl)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 10264
 

Pete, I know where you're from, so I'm guessing your mum lives in England too - so drying out is never going to be a problem, is it? Plenty moisture in the air........all year round.....

If you're travelling, get a hard case....especially on a plane, the baggage handlers really don't give a hoot - put a "fragile" sticker on a guitar case, all that means is they'll throw it into the hold from 20 feet away as opposed to 40 feet.....

But if you're not going far, a soft case will do - but always carry the guitar away from walls - ie, if the wall is on your right, carry the guitar on your left.....

:D :D :D

Vic

"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)


   
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(@hanzo)
Trusted Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 50
 

Accoustics are more fragile than electrics, especially nicer ones that don't have an inch worth of finish on them. A case might be a good idea. My Tele could be used as a battering ram and probably not even need to be tuned up but something like my friend's Martin accoustic feels like if you breath on it wrong it would splinter apart so he's super militant about keeping it in a hard case when not in use. It sounds amazing though. I guess better safe than sorry.


   
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(@chris-c)
Famed Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 3454
 

Hi,

Wood doesn't usually split, warp or crack because of either moisture or dryness as such.

It usually moves, one way or the other, when it changes state too quickly. To put it another way, if it absorbs or loses moisture too fast then it is more likely to either warp or crack.

The times when wood is most at risk is when the conditions change rapidly - as might happen when a guitar is shipped from one location to another, or where seasonal extremes of heat and humidity are found. Sometimes this can be 'manufactured' by certain types of airconditioning units, plus you can be unlucky with a piece of timber that was weak in the first place.

Mostly, guitars are reasonably robust though. I have a solid top acoustic that I bought well over 30 years ago. But I never bought a teaching book or had a lesson - so I was always going to try and learn "soon". It just never happened. :oops: In the meantime I dragged the poor guitar through all manner of climates and countries. One winter I put it 'temporarily' in the roof space of my house and forgot it. :oops: For 15 years it sat a couple of feet below a corrugated iron roof, in terrible conditions. In the summer it is literally like an oven under there when the temperature is over 100F outside in the Australian summer. :shock:

Two years ago I decided it was time to try and learn guitar, and retrieved it. I expected it to be completed ruined. :cry: Now, it was in a case - so it wasn't thick with dust and junk. But a case is not a humidifier - it's just a cover. It can't manufacture ideal conditions. It will maintain the conditions inside when you shut the lid, for a while, and then it will slowly balance out and match the prevailing conditions outside the case.

I opened the case expecting to find a set of rusty strings lying on a bed of splinters and sawdust. :? But in fact I just tuned it up and it played fine. very nicely in fact. And it's sitting next to me right now.

So yeah, get a case if you feel more comfortable with one, but I'd buy a stand first. I found them a lot more handy. The more I put instruments in cases the less I play them. And if you do buy a case don't expect it to act like a humidifier in the long term. If you have a clear need to keep humidity constant then you'll need more than just a case.

Cheers,

Chris


   
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(@trguitar)
Famed Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 3709
 

Good point Chris, I think a case is more important for transporting a guitar. Door ways and stair wells take a ton of abuse from my cases, but at least it's not my guitars banging on them.

"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --


   
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