Buc McMaster Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Shortly after landing the J-185, I determined I needed a new case. The original TKL was battered and has obviously been tossed around over the years. The seam at the bottom was split open and had been taped shut......the tolex was cut, peeled up in places and ragged along several edges. So, being the fool I am, I ordered one of Gibson's current Lifton cases for the J-185 and while it's pretty, that's about all it is. The fit is okay but not as good as the TKL. The hardware on the Lifton is but a shadow of what's on the original, particularly the hinges..........absolute junk. The guitar has been in and out of the Lifton for three weeks now and apparently there is no contact between the case interior and the top of the guitar.............no bridge or pin imprinting, no apparent contact between fretboard and case padding. Surrendering to the obvious, I set about repairing the damaged TKL...........removed the duct tape and glued and clamped the seam separations, glued down some of the more troublesome tolex tears and cleaned the funky interior. As beat as it is, it's still a better case than the Lifton, which will go back into the box from which it came and be listed as trade-bait in some future dealing. New is not always better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 I had similar issues when looking for a Super 400 case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Guess that's better than a "Case of two tails"! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 I believe the "Lifton" cases are supplied by General Wood Works which Gibson Brands now owns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 18 hours ago, DanvillRob said: Guess that's better than a "Case of two tails"! Far cheaper... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 22 hours ago, Buc McMaster said: New is not always better. Words of wisdom. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 (edited) 51 minutes ago, Murph said: Words of wisdom. I have a number of cases dating from the 1920s to the early-1960s and the one thing I can say is that the latches, locks and hinges are a far better quality than what you get today. In fact, the only case I have "retired" is the Lifton which came with my wife's 1960 J200 and that was because the covering was giving up the ghost. I figured I would save what was left of it so if she should ever decide to part with it (which is extremely doubtful) I can say the guitar comes with its original case. Edited March 1 by zombywoof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 2 hours ago, zombywoof said: I have a number of cases dating from the 1920s to the early-1960s and the one thing I can say is that the latches, locks and hinges are a far better quality than what you get today. In fact, the only case I have "retired" is the Lifton which came with my wife's 1960 J200 and that was because the covering was giving up the ghost. I figured I would save what was left of it so if she should ever decide to part with it (which is extremely doubtful) I can say the guitar comes with its original case. I have my Father-In-Law's fiddle from when he was a kid. He was born around 1925.....so this fiddle has been in the family since 1930 or 31. Don't know how old it was when he got it, but I took it to a prominent luthier who rebuilt it completely. When I did that, I bought a new modern case for it, but I kept the original case... it wouldn't be much protection if given, for example, to Amtrac to handle, but I wanted it to stay with the fiddle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 I have a collection of Calton and Hoffee cases that fit each size guitar for when I’m worried about transporting them. I store all the original cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 6 hours ago, DanvillRob said: I have my Father-In-Law's fiddle from when he was a kid. He was born around 1925.....so this fiddle has been in the family since 1930 or 31. Don't know how old it was when he got it, but I took it to a prominent luthier who rebuilt it completely. When I did that, I bought a new modern case for it, but I kept the original case... it wouldn't be much protection if given, for example, to Amtrac to handle, but I wanted it to stay with the fiddle. My uncle played a similar violin. Just a cheap German factory fiddle which he played in the school orchestra from the early-1930s on. I have several of those old wood fiddle coffin cases which came with various instruments. You are right in that while they are very cool looking they do not provide the best protection. I did have one fully restored with a new plush interior, hardware and such. I have a fiddle built by a ship's carpenter during the Civil War which if I ever get fixed up will call that case home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Case stories! If I get a guitar and it looks like staying, it will get a Hiscox case....but the old cases are stored for a later guitar sale The Hiscox can be hard to get recently. And...not many places here sell cases and as one salesman told me - the cases usually come with a guitar in them. So I would usually recommend getting a nice Hiscox, but I don't know what size that Gibson 185 would be? But , err, sorry, ha, just in case...... Here is the Hiscox test video...fantastic! BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 14 hours ago, zombywoof said: My uncle played a similar violin. Just a cheap German factory fiddle which he played in the school orchestra from the early-1930s on. I have several of those old wood fiddle coffin cases which came with various instruments. You are right in that while they are very cool looking they do not provide the best protection. I did have one fully restored with a new plush interior, hardware and such. I have a fiddle built by a ship's carpenter during the Civil War which if I ever get fixed up will call that case home. That's exactly what this case is....a coffin.... Good description! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 14 hours ago, BluesKing777 said: Case stories! If I get a guitar and it looks like staying, it will get a Hiscox case....but the old cases are stored for a later guitar sale The Hiscox can be hard to get recently. And...not many places here sell cases and as one salesman told me - the cases usually come with a guitar in them. So I would usually recommend getting a nice Hiscox, but I don't know what size that Gibson 185 would be? But , err, sorry, ha, just in case...... Here is the Hiscox test video...fantastic! BluesKing777. I want that job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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