What is the Point of a Guitar Case?

Why Should I Use a Guitar Case?

When you purchase your guitar, did it come with a case? If not, why should you seriously consider spending the extra dough to get a case for it? Read on.

Dents and Dings

If you paid more than a few hundred bucks for your guitar, of course you want to protect your investment. But, can a case really mean that much of a difference? That depends. If you want to protect your guitar from dents, dings, scratches, and other surface damage, then you absolutely want to keep it in a case. While this type of damage is unpleasant and can reduce the beauty of your guitar, there are more things to consider that may actually destroy the playability of your instrument altogether.

Heat and Humidity

Your guitar is made of wood, and wood can be damaged by the elements. Heat and cold cause the wood fibers to expand and contract. Sudden changes in temperature can detune your strings, and sometimes even crack the body or cause other damage that is very expensive to correct. If your guitar is inside a case, it will take a while for the temperature to even out, which is what you want. Allow the surface of the case to feel the same as the air around it before you open it, and you can save yourself and your guitar a lot of grief.

Humidity is another factor that can be better controlled within a case. If you are going to a high-humidity or even a wet weather area, you can keep your guitar safe and dry within its case. If you are in a dry area, you can install an inexpensive guitar humidifier in the case that will ensure your wood grain doesn’t get too dry or your finish cracked. Again, your case will save you from expensive repairs.

Cost-effectiveness

If your guitar did not come with the price of the case already figured in, how much will one set you back? When looked at from a return on investment perspective, the cost is negligible. Say you paid $1,000 for your new guitar. You can get a really nice hard shell case for under $100. That’s similar to paying less than 10 percent of cost for an insurance policy. Plus, you can use the case on your next guitar, should you upgrade.

If you are buying a used guitar for a few hundred bucks, and it isn’t exactly in pristine condition to start with, you may opt for a soft cover or gig bag. These cost less than $50 and will protect your guitar from most damage. Again, still worth it.

Now that you know how much you may save in repairs, sound quality, and general aesthetics of your guitar the long run, the few bucks extra for a guitar case just doesn’t sound like a waste at all.

Glenn Sutton
Ozzie’s Music
12222 Poway Road,
Suite #27
Poway,
California 92064

Phone 619-306-3664
858-679-6997

E-Mail