Custom Shop Les Paul Special Case

[09_339]

I just purchased a Les Paul Custom Shop 1960 TV Yellow Special.  The guitar is amazing.  The case?????  I don't get it, a $3,799 guitar comes with a case that doesn't fit??  I have to put a towel under it the dealer says.  C'mon, yes the case is historic but can I get one that fits?

[merciful-evans]

That's worse than poor. You're right, you deserve a case that is fit for purpose. One that doesn't fit puts your guitar at risk of damage.

Well that's what I'd say to the dealer anyway. 

I have cases with bits of extra foam cutouts in them, but they are aftermarket. A custom shop guitar case? Not right.

[Sgt. Pepper]

Un-f-ing-aceptable.

[Dub-T-123]

The case is my only complaint on my new custom shop Les Paul as well. 
 

The guitars are worth reissuing in exacting detail. The case isn’t, at least to me. 
 

Is the problem with yours that the case is for a Les Paul Standard or Custom which are thicker than the Special?

 

With mine the back of the guitar is mostly floating over the padding and the tuning keys are able to touch the sides of the case

Edited September 12, 2020 by Dub-T-123

[Sgt. Pepper]

5 hours ago, Dub-T-123 said:

The case is my only complaint on my new custom shop Les Paul as well. 
 

The guitars are worth reissuing in exacting detail. The case isn’t, at least to me. 
 

Is the problem with yours that the case is for a Les Paul Standard or Custom which are thicker than the Special?

 

With mine the back of the guitar is mostly floating over the padding and the tuning keys are able to touch the sides of the case

I think his issue is he doesn't want to put a towel under his $3700 custom shop guitar to make it lay right. You pay that much money for an axe and the case better well fit it like a glove.

Edited September 12, 2020 by Sgt. Pepper

[09_339]

1 hour ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

I think his issue is he doesn't want to put a towel under his $3700 custom shop guitar to make it lay right. You pay that much money for an axe and the case better well fit it like a glove.

yep, that's right.  Seems like a no brainer Gibson.... Custom Shop's should have a case that is made for the guitar (or any manufacturer) ... ya I'm anal,,, but it's a pet peeve,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[NighthawkChris]

Even like Dub said, the LP cases need extra inserts in them to prevent the headstock/upper neck from floating around.  Lots of bling, but not much attention to function.  Those cases are not cheap either.  A few hundo more than the USA cases that actually fit their guitars.  IDK, that's my complaint with my newer reissues.  Only one neck rest instead of the 2 as well.  You get what you pay for... or not.  Nice guitars though, haha! 

[09_339]

I guess I'll look at TKL since they make a case for a Jr/Special... Model 8824  at a fraction of a historic case.

[Fran_in_London]

On 9/12/2020 at 5:13 PM, 09_339 said:

I just purchased a Les Paul Custom Shop 1960 TV Yellow Special.  The guitar is amazing.  The case?????  I don't get it, a $3,799 guitar comes with a case that doesn't fit??  I have to put a towel under it the dealer says.  C'mon, yes the case is historic but can I get one that fits?

Strange I bought the same guitar as your but my case fits fine

[merciful-evans]

14 hours ago, Fran_in_London said:

Strange I bought the same guitar as your but my case fits fine

 

So... its looks like the case tolerances need tightening up!

[Grog]

The cardboard (or Archcraft) cases that these guitars came with in the 50’s and the 60’s were the worst. The guitars flopped around & the case offered less protection than a gig bag. The new cases may not fit like they should at that price point, but they are light years better than the cases the originals came in. On another note, I think I read that Gibson is having another manufacturer thanTLK making their cases. Anyone else hear that also?

[Twang Gang]

I would guess that 09s case is not the case the guitar came from the factory in.  Dealers will put a guitar out on display and the case stays in the back room and when someone purchases the guitar they go in the back and grab the first case they see.  Fran's case seems to fit pretty well for the same model guitar so I don't think it is Gibson that is messing it up.   Sounds like he got a case for a LP Standard, and his Special is not as thick so doesn't fit snugly into that case.  You could go back to the dealer, but he probably gave your case to someone else by mistake and that's why you ended up with one that doesn't fit.

I would go back to the dealer and see if they have your case, and if not see if they will order you the correct one as it was probably their error.

[Keefoman]

I have both a 2006 CS Special R0 and a 2006 CS Les Paul R8. The cases are identical Gibson Custom made by TKL, but I've never experienced any problems with tightness.

[merciful-evans]

I was told at Andertons that the Gibson cases were identified & matched to the guitar it arrived in. Maybe that's just their system and not Gibson's then?

On the same subject, my Less Plus has a case unique to that model (they only made them one year). The ID label is still attached to the handle with all sorts of info on it.

[Dub-T-123]

I doubt that Gibson makes two versions of this case for Standards/Customs or Specials/Jrs. 
 

I’m probably going to add more confusion because it seems that we may be talking about two or maybe three different cases here...

 

From what I can tell, the OP and I are talking about the cases included with our brand new 2020 Historic Les Pauls.

 

I don’t know the manufacturer of my case but the tag says made in Costa Rica. The lining is a light pink color

 

Then we see Fran’s case which has a vivid fuchsia colored lining. I believe this case is also made in Costa Rica but is slightly different. I have seen listings for older Historic Gibsons where they claim that this is the better version of the Costa Rican case.

 

Then we have the old TKL cases which were made in Canada. I don’t know about TKL having ever made the “lifton” style case but their Gibson USA cases were nice. 
 

At any rate I think it’s safe for you guys to assume that the lifton style cases are not designed to be highly protective and safe for your guitar

[09_339]

On 9/16/2020 at 1:59 PM, Fran_in_London said:

Strange I bought the same guitar as your but my case fits fine

I have the "new" lifton historic case with only the one neck rest.  Not the case shown here,