Official Luthiers Forum!

I am looking for cases for the OLF SJ model. Normally I would go to Ameritage, but they insist I need custom cases, 8 week lead time. What doesn't even make sense to me is the measurements that they sent me for the OLF SJ do not match the template or plans. Upper bout is too small. Seems more like the OLF OM.

Now, you say, call them. I tried. Nobody answers. I just don't have this kind of time to fumble around. Anybody got a solution?

Mike

Standard TKL OM case.

http://www.georgeheinl.com/products/vie ... o-in-tweed

Fits a 16" lower bout snug. And the bonus of buying in CDN$. Probably cover your shipping and they have builder pricing. Good looking case.

That Heinl case looks nice. I finally got through to Ameritage. What is weird is they definitely have the upper bout smaller than the plastic template, but its what Mike Payne told them. I'm going to test a sample. If it works, I am good.

I've used Heinl for my cases for the last 7 guitars. Great cases for the money and with the dollar right now you'll make out like a bandit. Buy two cases as the shipping for 2 is only marginally higher than the shipping of 1.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Yeah, and I need 6. I like working with Nancy at Ameritage. Guess today was a fluke. Could not get anyone on phone for 6 hours. I still don't understand the size issue. Maybe Lance will chime in. They claim template is 11 9/16, but template is clearly 11 13/16.

Rod, how does weight compare?

Mike the Heinl cases are not a flight style case like the Ameritage cases. They are pretty much the same as a cedar creek American vintage series or TKL Prestige cases, both of which are arch top and back. As for weight the Heinl, cedar creek and TKL are much much lighter, I've only felt the heft of an Ameritage case once before, but I sure remember that they are heavy.

I've heard of many builders who like the cedar creek cases. I'd probably go with those if I were south of the border, but since I can get a comparable case up here that's what I do.

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

That's only 1/4" difference. Will that not easily be absorbed by squish?

The two pack boxes are great in Canada, but boy do they escalate at the border...

If you are on a deadline it's good to stay on Ameritage as frustrating as it can be..... I had promises in terms of delivery broken to me a number of times by Ameritage and dealing with Nancy was NOT a pleasant experience.

I wrote a review about it that's on the ANZLF in the forum about cases.... I'll add that although I expect my suppliers to be on the level with me in over ten years now dealing with most vendors who service Luthiers the one and only bad experience that I had was with Ameritage....

I'll also add that these cases are b*ll-busters and I weighed one and it came in at 18 pounds.... 18 pounds to put a 4 pound guitar in it.... did not sit well with me.

On a positive note one of my clients who has been all over the country and more with his Heshtone and Ameritage case the case is holding up very well some 8 years out now so I have no issues with the build quality or design beyond the weight.... just the service...

After this I bought my cases from Cedar Creek and had great experiences every time. These were also custom sized, etc.

Remembering back Nancy takes the lead from someone else that we never get to speak with and at times dealing with them also reminded me of that Chevy Chase Movie where he is at a border check point attempting entry into east Germany...

He's met at a window by a heavy set woman who asks what he wants. He tells her and she tells him to go to the next window.

So he does, three feet away and rings the bell, again and is met at this second window by the very same heavy set woman who asks him what he wants (again). He just told her at the first woman but she treats him as if she has never spoken with him before.....

Frustrating was an understatement for me and had I not been on a deadline I would have cancelled my order. I did however decide to not use Ameritage ever again as a result of very poor customer service, missed deadlines and some weird arse post office box in Florida that they wanted me to send my specs to and then claimed they didn't get it. I had a return receipt requested and received the receipt that the specs were delivered. Someone was not truthful with me and that's when I go elsewhere....

Sheesh I'm getting pissed off now 8 years later just remembering it.....

YMMV and I certainly hope that it does!

I like cedar creek, but their prices are (were last time I checked) high.

I did a couple sizes of Cedar Creek for my odd size guitars and they are darn sturdy, but heavy. As long as you go with anything but bottom line, they are pretty much the same. I like Guardians because they fitted my GC.

My one experience with Cedar Creek was SO bad that I never bought another case from them. My experiences with Ameritage have been stellar. Are they heavy? Darn right, but that's because they are built like tanks.
Perhaps the issue with the upper bout on the SJ case was because I was feeding them info based on an Olson SJ, and then Mike Payne started feeding them dimensions from his SJ, and then they were trying to find a way to have it work for both versions. I had thought that in the end they went with the larger upper bout dimension, but I could be wrong.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

??? Olson SJ is 15-1/8" lower bout and OLF SJ is 16"... Upper bout on Olson SJ is 11-1/8"

_________________
My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I haven't been having the easiest time with Ameritage, either. I just sent Cedar Creek an email. I guess they require some branding materials to show that we're not trying to scam them for less expensive pricing.

Well, I'm going to try a "stock" SJ case from Ameritage.

For the record, I don't think Cedar Creek is attempting to be very helpful. Maybe I am unreasonable. But when the person who reviews the request is there, but does not make a timely decision, then I feel a bit put off. Yes or no. All I ask. I definitely got the impression I should not call back from the receptionist. Fine with me. I'll take the tank built case. For another record, this is all coming back to me now. I went through this same process with them once before. I never heard back from them.

PS: Part of this is my own fault... I waited too long. So for sure, I am in a hurry and impatient.

One issue with Ameritage is that I believe the phone rings in Miami and Wisconsin at the same time. If no one in Wisconsin picks up, you end up somewhere in Miami, where, I think, they do importing, construction, or whatever. I thought the case were made in Mexico. Right now, I really don't care as long as they can get them to me and they work out. I do like the cases.

Mike when I was dealing with Ameritage they were made in Costa Rica.

Also I did abort my big, custom order with Ameritage after the lies and very poor customer service but I was in a bind so I purchased an off-the-shelf case as you are considering and they got that to me pretty quick.

I have had nothing but good experiences with Cedar Creek but last time I ordered they had discontinued their "Builder's Model" which I used so I am using a stock TKL Professional except for a custom size 2 case that Cedar has made for my parlors. That is a beautiful case.

Those Heinl cases look like unbranded TKL cases similar to those you get from Tamarkin complete with the ugly figure of eight handle which TKL is no longer using on their stock professional series cases.

I used one Ameritage case years ago and it was a back and shoulder killer for a gigging musician. To tell you the truth when I play out I have gone to a Reunion Blues gig bag, it's great, offers surprising protection, and is easy on my back.

If I ever had the good fortune to build for a famous player that flew all over a true flight case would be in order but in reality most of our clients are living room or local players and I can't see wasting big bucks on a super fancy case unless it is really necessary.

_________________
It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I don't think Heinl is making any effort to disguise their branding, I'm sure they're just a distributor. They are very friendly (ask for Andre) and they give builders discount.

That being said, Mike...

The OLF SJ fits into an OM case. A little snug, but it gets the job done. I'm sure USA is festooned with 80$ OM cases that could be shipped tomorrow AM. As Danny mentioned, from Heinl you'll get a pretty good exchange rate.

Being someone who is still a hobbyist builder, I make sure to build guitars with shapes that will fit inside a stock case. It is an easy decision for now, because I am not trying to sell anything. If/when I get to the point where I am going to try to sell guitars I make, these facts, taken together, will need to be considered when I think about shapes:

1. Custom cases are really expensive, compared to stock cases.
2. Dealing with custom case makers is often a hassle.
3. Even when things go well, custom cases take a long time.

I might have to keep my shapes within the boundaries of what you can get off the shelf. I don't like that idea, but I also don't like the idea of dealing with the frustrations outlined above.

All my Cedar Creek cases were custom and fit perfectly. Yes, custom cases are very expensive, but price is passed to the customer. Cedar Creek has been nothing but the best for me. They are accurate with their timing (usually about 3 months), pleasant to deal with and email and call with any questions. Just ordered another last week. Yes, if you want your cases readily available, it is wise to stick to convention.

Hiscox Pro II dreadnaught case fits the OLF small jumbo perfectly. Lighter, stronger and more expensive than laminated wood cases. My instructor's customers love them. Customer Pearl Inlay and Elderly Instruments carry Hiscox. Elderly in stock and CPI somtimes in stock, depending on case color.

_________________
A constellation only takes shape when one maps the whole.
- Beth Brower

I think I might keep this thread up to date with my experiences with Ameritage and Cedar Creek.

I mentioned yesterday that I initiated contact with Cedar Creek yesterday afternoon. I haven't heard back yet, but that's fine. They haven't had much time to get back to me.

I also emailed Nancy at Ameritage to see if they'd received my paperwork and tracings. This morning I heard back that she'd just received them. I sent them from California to Florida via Priority Mail last Wednesday, and for recording purposes, today is Friday. She did mention that I had't selected all the materials and asked me to use their custom case builder to do that.

Yes, you see the point here!
I was having them make a case for an SJ, based on the Olson SJ (I got the dimensions from James Olson himself over the phone) But Mike P. was making his own version of an SJ, and it caused even more confusion back then than now... as he and I were both working with Ameritage at the same time to standardize an SJ case for their standard line of cases.

Suffice it to say, what they made for me works great, but I don't know if their current SJ case is based on Jim's or Mike's...

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."