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i bought one of these as suggested by Luthier Jim Redgate i am sure there are cheaper carbon fibre cases out there but...this serves me well... My Hiscock case was wrecked after a return trip from Brazil to Australia... http://www.karuracase.com/
The photo gives me goose pimples. >shiver< - You bet the man didn´t see a dime of refund, as usual with airlines and shippers.
Had a case ruined at NY Kennedy Airport long ago, but the guitar got away.
Interesting to hear how Hiscox do. I got two of them, yet would have hesitated to leave them to the conveyor belt.
On your quest check out Hoffee cases too. They are receiving good revues in the classical guit forum. And their maker seems to aim for good quality to price ratio. http://hoffeecase.shutterfly.com/pictures/16#13
Why don´t they pack in the guitar in that karura case and drop it several times and stomp on it without cameratricks? Would be much more convincing to me.
or send it around the world. Economy class. Then drive a tractor over it. They Scratch Easy. So a cover would be good to keep it in good condition. Mine has a tiny surface crack from a recent domestic flight. Nothing major or of concern. Had the case close to two years, only saw that video today. Wish i had'nt...
I have a cople of Karuras. They seem pretty good. The only test they have been put to is shipping two expensive guitars UPS from Honolulu to Austin, TX. They both took a non-stop flight from the Marshall Islands to Honolulu aboard a Continental Micronesia 727 in Colorado Case Company covers.
They were packed in stout cardboard boxes by a UPS store in Honolulu, while I watched. On arrival in Austin the boxes didn't show any signs of abuse.
The Karuras are a good bit lighter than the Mark Leaf and Reuer cases (both now out of business) in which my '67 Ramirez blanca has traveled more than a million airline miles.
Hoffee cases have been getting pretty good notices here:
I know the originator of that thread. He's a former professional classical guitarist for several years, now gigging part time, and knows what he's talking about.
Carbon fibre is not all that good. When dropped, the impact is very direct and hard and the guitar might crack inside the case without the case being destroyed. Carbon fibre is good if something heavy is put on the top.
Foam cases protect better when dropped. The foam works like an impact zone on cars. But they are not very good when something heavy is put on top.
In all cases, make sure the guitar cannot move inside the case.
In all cases, make sure the guitar cannot move inside the case.
I think this is very important. A friend of mine is a touring pro, and he recently had a neck broken on a guitar that was in a Calton case. The case itself was fine, but the fit inside the case was not snug enough. The guy who did the repair suspected that the combination of the heavy case and the imperfect fit meant that the force from the drop caused the guitar to shift violently in the case. That having been said, anything can happen. He also had another Calton case punctured by a forklift arm a few years ago! Incredible repair performed on that one.
Carbon fibre is not all that good. When dropped, the impact is very direct and hard and the guitar might crack inside the case without the case being destroyed. ... In all cases, make sure the guitar cannot move inside the case.
There arose a dispute once in the classical guitar forum when I stated the same like you above.
Optimal for travelling, I suppose, should be a double shell; with the inner shell elastically suspended in all directions. And the guitar as you just mentioned neatly held in the inner shell. ( Especially beneath the headstock and at the neck rest <-> below corpus.)
Guess, at best with the outer shell being somewhat flexible and the inner stiff ( CF), in the way it is with F1 racing cars, their deforming / decomposing exteriour and the center carbon fibre cabine.
A more slim version could be with both shells of CF, with inside the instrument being suspended and encompassed by a rirgid yet light skeletally fringe. -
Who knows, one day in a time of super batteries the suspending could be provided by magnetic fields with the guitar truely floating yet sturdily dampend. - If MF won´t mess with the planes electronics.
But then again, in such a point in time the cargo systems might have been freed from over stressed, careless or vanadalizing manual work, and you might be checking in your guitar carefree in just a cardbox.
... BTW; anyone here remember the aero neogen times when your luggage would be handled with care? Air travelling used to be quite a pleasant something. Just floating.
Only thing to do is have a guitar to travel with that you sort of care about but a crack or break or whatever is not the end of the world. I have my "shield guitar" that takes all the abuse so my other guitars don't have to. It sounds amazing, even though the top has cracked, and the headstock snapped off twice, and other bumbs and bruises. At least she gets to be a world traveler and see lots of action.
It´s not that they are bad, only that luggage transport at times can be extreme challenge. Many seem to have overcome air travelling alright with hiscox cases.
But, as Ricardo said, better don´t take your best guitar with you if it mustn´t.
Good thread here, I have been having thoughts of a new case myself.
I have a few Calton's that I have used for as much as 10 years, but neither are cut for a flamenco. When Calton changed hands a lot of people popped up on the net saying they had ordered cases and never received their case or a refund. That left a bad taste with me and I have pretty much written Calton off... Plus I don't care what they say, I have traveled all over the world with Calton guitar cases, and they are far from comfortable to carry. They have always protected well though.
My Caltons are before the great carbon fiber boom, and are made of fiberglass. I like the thought of a carbon fiber case, but Anders remarks have me thinking twice about them.
I remember when a friend sold me on Calton Cases, at that time I was using anvil cases... We had played a show in Cincinnati OH. and he was bragging on Calton and how nothing could destroy the case and it was water proof. He took his case and threw it in a fountain and let it float around for a while, then he reached in and sank the case. After a minute he drug the case out and wiped it down. When he opened the case there was no water. What can I say, the guy was a little drunk and more than a little nuts. Still, the case didn't leek. I don't know how much that means to those of us who don't want to float around a hotel swimming pool on our cases, but there you have it.
My Caltons are before the great carbon fiber boom, and are made of fiberglass. I like the thought of a carbon fiber case, but Anders remarks have me thinking twice about them.
The foam padding in my carbon fiber Karuras is quite a bit denser than that in my Mark Leaf. I think it would do a good job absorbing the energy from a drop. I wasn't too worried about checking my '82 Arcangel Fernandez blanca and '73 Romanillos spruce/Indian as baggage on a single flight, each in a Karura with a Colorado Case Company cover.
i don't travel nearly as much as I did for a while. If I take a guitar with me, I think it would be my '67 Ramirez blanca in a Karura. The Mark Leaf and Reuer in which it has more than a million airline miles are just too bulky and heavy.
The Ramirez has a lot of sentimental value, but there are quite a few '60s Ramirez blancas on the market at fairly reasonable prices, so it could be replaced if it came right down to it. It's insured.
USA Made Hoffee...I think they beat all other CF cases by far for superior quality and a sleek design. I have 2 and am in awe every time I pick them up. This is my platinum silver/red case. Service is exceptional and wait time is about 4-5 weeks compared to considerably longer times with other cases.
hoffeecases.com is their website.
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I also owned a hiscox. Felt very safe..but it was too heavy to carry my guitar around in the city on feet.. I like these styrofoam cases (which don´t offer good protection) the most.
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