Is this REALLY asked too much? RANT

[Zork]

All I want is a decent bass case that is NEITHER black tolex and black plush interior NOR tweed with red plush interior.
Seriously, can it be so hard to offer something cool or at least some variety? I can't see it anywhere.

[dubkitty]

depends on what you mean by "decent." Guitar Fetish has bass cases in a variety of non-black/tweed options. not exactly flight cases, but they'll do. Gator also has a light grey case similar to the Les Paul-sized case i bought for my Eastwood Wandré that's better quality but commensurately more expensive. have you looked on eBay? cheap cases abound there.

[Zork]

It's not so easy. Guitar Fetish is not really an option as shipping, import taxes and so on to get it to Germany would be bonkers and the paisley decor is a bit too much for my taste. The light gray Gator case is probably the only widely available case in not black and not tweed and looks very nice, but reviews, especially on Sweetwater, turned me off pretty quickly. Ebay has a lot of SKB style plastic cases and black/tweed cases around here and that's it. I found cases on amazon with purple and blue and golden interior ("crossrock" brand) that look nice but they don't ship to Germany. I have nothing against black or tweed exterior, I have a nice tweed case for my Tele with green interior and I would buy a case with black exterior/any colour except for red interior in a heart beat but I can't find one. Nowhere. And it's totally stupid, it makes no sense at all that every brand offers the same two variants only.

[dubkitty]

that's problematic...i essentially can't order anything from Germany now because shipping is so prohibitively expensive.

[Blackened Soul]

I’m usually more can I find one that will fit something.. could care less about color.. did you know no one has made a case that fits a long scale flying bass in over a decade.. and custom cases are expensive….

[Zork]

did you know no one has made a case that fits a long scale flying bass in over a decade.. and custom cases are expensive….

Well, in this very special case (pun totally intended) I wouldn't care for colour either. But I only look for a case for my Bass VI which shouldn't be so hard. These days I keep the guitars I have at home mostly in their cases and have only 3 selected ones in the living room in stands. I change over from time to time, though. But since I do it this way, I noticed again how I reeeally enjoy opening a case with a guitar I haven't seen for some days or weeks. It's really kind of a small sensation and I enjoy that "wow" moment even more, when the colour of the plush or velvet or whatever matches the guitar finish and I open the lid and it looks just super nice. It's a bit like finding the perfect strap for a particular guitar. Cases are expensive and if I shell out the money, they should definitely be some kind of icing on the cake and not the same boring thing over and over again.

[Zork]

When I was a kid I started out with a Squier Strat (in a shitty gig bag). At about 15 I had saved up some money and I wanted to buy an Epiphone Les Paul. So I went to a guitar shop and asked for one and the guy said, well, I have one but I also have a Heritage Les Paul on sale and you should have a look at it. And he goes to the storage and comes back with a brown Gibson case, opens the lid and there was a Les Paul Gold Top in this super thick pinkish purple plush bed. It was absolutely amazing, especially since I didn't know golden guitars existed and had never thought about cases could be something cool. It was literally some sort of epiphany and I remember this feeling firmly to this day. For 15 year old me it was at the same time a bit too "sexy", but then again, the Heritage was a much better guitar than the Epis and it really was sexy! So I bought that guitar and everywhere I went with it, everytime I opened the case, everyone around was like "wow, how cool is that!?", me included...

[dubkitty]

i was really happy, perhaps unreasonably so, to discover that the case for my Guild Aristocrat has blue velvet lining. probably the best case i have…i’m reasonably sure i could throw it down a flight of stairs without consequence. honestly makes the White Falcon case seem a bit cheap in comparison.

nowadays i try to buy cases in colors close to the guitars. obviously this goes out the window with white guitars. i got tired of having to label identical black rectangular cases so i know which one’s the Jazzmaster, which the Lead II, and which the Hopf. when i get cases i try to buy different colors, e.g. of the 3 Les Paul-sized cases one is brown faux alligator, one tweed, and one grey. life is easier when i can go “brown guitar, brown case.” i foresee a problem with my Gretsch Jet-sized guitars because i’ve gone through Gretsch’s offerings and still need one case, and aftermarket Duo Jet cases are rare. the one for my original Pro Jet came from eBay and remains the only non-official Jet case i’ve seen. no, Les Paul cases do not fit.