What To Look For In A Guitar Case

Guitar cases are, along with gig bags, your main ways to transport a guitar safely, and securely. The difference between these two is quite significant. The latter is a more practical solution which is comfortable and lightweight, but the downside is a lower level of protection for your instrument. Guitar cases, on the other hand, offer a lot more protection and are considered to be the absolute best way to move your guitar without risking damage.

However, not all guitar cases are the same. There will be several different categories of these cases that will offer different features. The features you decide to get will dictate both the price and ease of use. Today our goal is to find out what requirements a good guitar case needs to meet in order to be considered good.

So if you’re in a market for a guitar case, keep reading. We will give you some info that can save you a lot of trouble down the road.

Additionally, feel free to check out our list of Best Guitar Cases on the market.

What To Look For In A Guitar Case?

The first and most obvious thing that comes to mind is the correct size for your guitar. As you probably know Strats and Les Pauls have a completely different body design, which means different guitar dimension. Cases for these two types of guitar designs will cover most of the electric guitars you can think of. In terms of acoustic guitar, you need to be more specific.

There are several standardized acoustic guitar sizes that you can purchase. Needless to say, you need to match the size of the guitar with the size of the case, despite the shape being virtually the same.

Once you find a case that can fit your guitar, you need to see just how snug your guitar fits in your new case. Even if the size of the case is correct, if the guitar is not snug inside, you are risking damaging your instrument during transport. What you want to find is a case that wraps around the guitar like a glove.

Aside from size, the material used to make the case is very important as well. Most of the time, the outer layer will be made of some sort of hard plastic alloy. This is considered to be a standard hard-shell design. In terms of protection, heavy duty plastic will be just fine as long as you are not constantly touring.

If that is the case, you might want to look into some better options. There are professional guitar cases out there, which come with all the necessary reinforcements that make the cases perfect for constant travel and not so careful handling.

If you have a very specific model of guitar, or a custom made one that doesn’t really fit any known standard, your options become a lot more limited. One thing you can do is have someone build you a custom made case. On one hand, this complicates things a lot, but on the other, it forces you to invest money into a quality piece of gear.

A lot of guitar players who have more expensive guitars usually take this route. When you have a custom made guitar case, you can choose exactly what combination of materials are going to be used, types of reinforcement and more.

What is most often overlooked when people go out to buy guitar cases are the locks or hinges. A guitar case is worth nothing if you can’t keep it closed, or if it comes open on its own. When you go out searching for a case that fits your requirements, be sure to check out the locks as well. If they are sub-par but everything else is superb, it’s better to keep searching.

The amount of protection from the outside elements is important, but so is the protection on the inside. You will want a case that is padded with tweed, suede or similar materials that won’t damage the finish on your guitar’s body and neck.

Conclusion

Figuring out the right case for your guitar is something that you will simply have to do if you want the best level of protection there is. The market is quite large, allowing you to have a lot of choices available for every type of electric or acoustic guitar out there. We hope you had a good run with us here and that you found out little guide at least of some use.

No matter how expensive the case ends up being, it’s an investment worth making. If you need more info on why it’s worth getting a guitar case, check out our article here ‘Why Guitar Cases Are A Good Investment’.