Martin cases?

TimmyO

I can get hold of a secondhand Hiscox 000 case for a good price - will it be particularly better than the Martin case I already have?

Any thoughts?

stickyfiddle

Almost certainly. The OEM case I have with my HD28 is cracked at the base (polycarb type, not the older wood+cardboard type). Never had a Hiscox do that. 

Moe_Zambeek

I have a Geib type with my 00-16. It's a great case - but it weighs more than the guitar. I'd be happy with a Hiscox I think...

ICBM

TimmyO said:

I can get hold of a secondhand Hiscox 000 case for a good price - will it be particularly better than the Martin case I already have?

Yes. The Martin cases are quite poor, even if they're the moulded ones - they're SKBs, and are nowhere near as strong as a Hiscox, more prone to cracking and seal misalignment, and heavier.

Jalapeno

I use Hiscox for my Martin - the Martin case in in the attic. Martin ones didn't seem that sturdy to me.

TimmyO

doh - I dallied too long

BigLicks67

TimmyO which type of Martin case is it, if it's a TKL one then I don't think the hiscox will be an improvement.

TimmyO

Not sure who it is made by - it's a regular vinyl-covered Martin case - not ABS - does that help? 

ICBM

In that 'case' the Hiscox will be even more of an improvement.

Plywood and vinyl cases look nice but they're not that strong in reality.

stickyfiddle

ICBM said:

In that 'case' the Hiscox will be even more of an improvement.

Plywood and vinyl cases look nice but they're not that strong in reality.

Yup. Every time I've seen a story of an airline smashing something to bits on the conveyors it's one of those cases. They're very nice in a tactile kinda way but really rubbish for anything more than a light knock or bit of rain.

BigLicks67

TimmyO said:

Not sure who it is made by - it's a regular vinyl-covered Martin case - not ABS - does that help? 

If it's a TKL one there should be tag on the outside of string holder flap. They tend to come with the higher end models rather than the cheaper vinyl cases  you get with the 16 series.

jellyroll

I have a TKL case that came with my Collings...stinks of vanilla...I believe they spray them at the factory (to mask the glue smell?). The smell is so unbearable, I don't use the case....so I have an empty case taking up valuable guitar space just in *case* I ever sell the guitar. 

Lewy

Aside from protection from impact, the other key property of a case is it's airtightness and its ability to protect from fluctuations in humidity (it hit 81% RH here in Berks over the weekend with this muggy weather).

Out of my various cases, the Hiscox Pro II performs the best...it's basically airtight and the RH inside the case never seems to fluctuate at all, regardless of what's going on outside. It keeps the temperature inside very stable too. Joint second are my Calton and the TKL that came with my Collings. You see a couple of percent fluctuations inside the case if the external temperature and RH move around a lot. Worst by far is the TKL that came with my J45 TV. That thing may as well be a sieve. It's in the loft and the J45 lives in the Calton now.

ICBM

jellyroll said:

I have a TKL case that came with my Collings...stinks of vanilla...I believe they spray them at the factory (to mask the glue smell?). The smell is so unbearable, I don't use the case....so I have an empty case taking up valuable guitar space just in *case* I ever sell the guitar. 

I'm not sure if it's that or is actually the smell of the glue itself - whatever it is, I love it .

Sadly I've never played a Collings I like so I'll have to pass on buying it off you...

BigLicks67

I got my TKL back in 2003, it doesn't stink and my Martin Om has lived inside it happily without any troubles re humidity.

jellyroll

ICBM said:

Sadly I've never played a Collings I like so I'll have to pass on buying it off you...

Neither had I 'til I played this one...it's complete with all the "wrong" features for me - 1 11/16 nut (I prefer wider), glossy neck ( I prefer unvarnished), bling-y gold machine-heads, smelly case, and it's a Collings which I usually find tight and a little lacking in something undefinable....and yet it's probably a lifetime keeper...

ICBM

jellyroll said:

ICBM said:

Sadly I've never played a Collings I like so I'll have to pass on buying it off you...

Neither had I 'til I played this one...it's complete with all the "wrong" features for me - 1 11/16 nut (I prefer wider), glossy neck ( I prefer unvarnished), bling-y gold machine-heads, smelly case, and it's a Collings which I usually find tight and a little lacking in something undefinable....and yet it's probably a lifetime keeper…

I feel the same about my Gibson Dove! I never expected my 'lifetime keeper' would be from one of the most inconsistent makers, tarted up like Dolly Parton in the 1970s, with a huge body, a headstock the size of one of the smaller states, the most ridiculous bridge ever and a pearly pigeon on the pickguard .

But it just sounds better than any other acoustic I've played, maybe even better than my much-missed '61 J45...

TimmyO

fwiw it does say TKL on the flap in mine.

miffed at myself for missing out on the used Pro II