New Music Man plastic case

[Trent]

Has anyone here noticed the new plastic skb style Axis case fitting loose on the guitar?
I just worked on an Axis in a brand new case and you can feel the guitar moving around inside when the case is closed.
Just want to get some info.
Cheers

 

[ily]

i've notice the same
for my luke piezo
i think that skb case were designed for all ebmm
and they haven't the same shape

but i love the Weight of this case and it's more stable than GG

si i've loved also the old gig bag

 

[Stratty316]

I'm partial to the old cases, the only thing is my AL doesn't seem to fit in one. Are the 2HB Al's slightly bigger?

 

[brownpants69]

I've got a great low tech, low cost solution for my MM cases- I have an old t-shirt in each one- it fulfils the duties of a) stopping the guitars rattling around and b) I can wipe over the strings and body when they go back in the case.

Problem solved!

 

[Having_A_Ball]

I have the same scenario with my 09' Axis. No big deal for me. It's a great case & is probably designed to be universal for all or most EBMM's.

 

[Trent]

Thanks for the feedback.
The movement is worst from front to back.
When the case is closed the guitar will move forward up(hit the lid of the case)
and backward down(hits the bottom part or tray of the case).
The fit is not nearly as good as the other SKB cases that I own.
I just take a hand towel and fold it so the it rest along the length of the guitars fingerboard and when the case is closed it holds the guitar in place.
Thanks again

 

[beej]

Just fyi ... you do want a bit of movement in the cases. If they're 100% snug, the guitar is absorbing the energy when being banged around. Having a bit of play is better all around.

 

[John C]

I hadn't noticed the looseness in my Silo Special case, but the darn thing appears to be warping on me. It snaps and pops where the metal edge doesn't quite line up - closing the latches seems to pull it into place. It also appears to be bowed out on the back when there isn't the weight of the guitar inside it. It's hard to explain, but it "rocks" when it is sitting on the floor, on top of another case, etc. until I put the guitar away; then it sits level - at least after I manage to get it closed.

This is the 4th EBMM I've had with the molded case and the only one that has done this; all the other cases have been fine (as was the G&G case that came with the 2007 LE I used to own).

 

[lenny]

Just fyi ... you do want a bit of movement in the cases. If they're 100% snug, the guitar is absorbing the energy when being banged around. Having a bit of play is better all around.

I was just gonna say that bro!

 

[heka313]

Just fyi ... you do want a bit of movement in the cases. If they're 100% snug, the guitar is absorbing the energy when being banged around. Having a bit of play is better all around.

That's why there should be enough soft padding around the guitar, but this doesn't mean that guitar should move freely inside of the case. That's just bad design....

 

[beej]

The free space is by design.

 

[straycat113]

Well I will knock on wood as I have not had this problem. The only drawback I have is they are so big they take up a lot of space.

 

[shredhed]

Just fyi ... you do want a bit of movement in the cases. If they're 100% snug, the guitar is absorbing the energy when being banged around. Having a bit of play is better all around.

No offense - really.

But that sounds like something a used car salesman told me once

Just sayin'

IMO, the foam/case absorbs the energy, not the guitar banging against something inside.

That said, I have a JP6 and it fits quite nicely, fills the cutout perfectly.

 

[A.J.]

We ship instruments all over the world in these cases with minimal instances of damage.

Beej's analysis is spot on, once again.

 

[Axis Sport]

A couple of months ago I purchased a new Axis and was disappointed with the new case that it came in. I noticed before leaving the store the case did not close properly and the hardware, trim etc seemed not to be as solid as my other older EB cases. They had some other EB guitars and a few that had been in the store for a while. I asked if I could look at the other cases from those models.They brought out one of the older cases which I swapped for immediately. Not trying to start anything, but the new cases don’t seem to be as solid as the old ones. Sounds like others are seeing this too.

 

[azazael]

You guys got photos of old one and new ones?

 

[DaPatrooch]

My JP's case is molded to fit the guitar perfectly. It was made in 2008 so maybe it was changed after that. Or maybe the JP is the only guitar that has a case made exactly for it.

 

[Slav123]

You guys got photos of old one and new ones?

Older

Newer

 

[heka313]

Beej's analysis is spot on, once again.

Well, I have to agree with shredhed that the explanation sounds like what used car salesman would tell.

"These safety belts are a bit loose, I can't get these tight enough?"

"Yeah, it's just good to have air around you, so that it will absorb the energy of the impact if you crash."

If the case is rigid enough, the best protection is to have proper padding to absorb the kinetic energy (of the guitar) during the impacts. Air is not an absorber in this case...

 

[Dizzy]

Don't get me started on the case theories again, I thought we sorted this out in 2006 !

(It my first noob thread when I joined, thread gone now)

The "free space" argument is plain wrong, sorry.

Again, the simple test :

Get an egg, put it in a firm box and shake it : egg breaks.

Put an egg in the same box, but with enough padding to stop it moving :
You can shake all you like, the egg ain't going to break.

When a guitar in a well fitted case gets dropped / receives impact, the force is distributed along the full case/guitar surface area, therefore reducing the pressure.

When a loose fitting case is dropped, the case stops and the guitar keeps moving until impacts the inside of the case.
(Kinetic Energy) - backing up heka's point.

Now this impact point could be a larger area, like the butt of the guitar (depending on how it's dropped), so the force may be distributed a little, and no damage results.

But there's every chance the first part of the guitar to hit the inside of the case is much smaller (i.e. headstock), so that small contact point absorbs the entire energy of the drop / impact.

The pressure is the thing that does the damage.

Pressure = Force / Area

Plain and simple :

In any comparison, force is constant (i.e. same impact / same drop height), so

Increase the Area, and the pressure is reduced.

Decrease the area, and the pressure is increased.

And on top of all this, there's the possibility for the guitar to pivot / twist in the free space, which introduces torsional forces - which is just great for necks, NOT.

Yes, guitars may be shipped all over the world successfully in the loose cases, but come "crunch" time, they're going to be prone to more damage than if they were in a nicer fitting case.

Full Stop.