Case v Bag

[Melanie]

I have another question if that’s okay. My lap steel is a Recording King Recording King RG-32-SN and it’s currently living in its box. My first question is what do you prefer: hard cases or bags. Second, does anyone know where I might find something to fit nicely? The place it was purchased from said the best fit was no longer available via them but didn’t actually say what that was so I assume it was made by them. They did suggest the next best thing which is a mini electric guitar case. Does anyone know of a better fit please?

[nevada150]

Hi Melanie,
I bought an HSF Rifle case from eBay.
It’s a hard shell case with soft padding inside. I cut the padding to the shape of my guitar and it’s fine.
Check the total length of your guitar against the internal dimension of the case.
Failing that you could get a soft padded rifle bag, again from eBay, but the guitar will not fit snuggly.
Hope this helps.
Keith.

[Melanie]

Hi Keith,
That’s a great idea! Thank you for the tip, I’ll definitely look in to that, thank you so much!

[mick hearn]

I would always favour a case for any instrument. Like Nevada I use the rifle cases for single neck lap steels.

A little story or in fact two. In the early years I was with bands who carried their gear around in trailers. On one occasion I had a six string acoustic epiphone in a soft case and when taken out of the trailer at the gig the headstock had broken off the neck. On the second occasion I had a Peavey T60 in its original hard shell case. On the way out one night the towbar snapped whilst the driver was negotiating a 90 degree bend albeit at low speed. Whilst the car went right, the trailer carried on and overturned in someones garden. On carrying out a hasty check of my gear I found the guitar was OK although a mike stand had gone through the case in one corner and missing the guitar. That was in the 80's and I still have the guitar and still have the hole in the case.

Proves I think that soft cases are only good for keeping the dust off at home.

[Melanie]

This was why I really wanted a hard case. Already I live in fear of damage within the home so rather than carry it about it sits in its box hogging its own armchair with a virtual no go area surrounding it! I also have house rabbits who would make short work of a soft case ...

I have birthday money to use so I’ll definitely look into the rifle case

[hickenjr]

It all comes down to logistics.

If you're just playing small things then a nice bag would be fine.

However if you're on the road or adore your instrument, a hard case is preferable.

In terms of pedal steel, the only problem with a hard case is that your arm can fall off after a couple of miles (I found that out at Country 2 Country last year).

In terms of lap steel, you shouldn't have any weight problems with a hard case.

[Melanie]

I have a lap steel so just want a case to keep it pristine and as space is at a premium I want to keep it safe. I want to play for me alone though, I don’t have the confidence to go public! I don’t know if I’ll ever get to a point where I think I’m good enough for people to listen.

[Danny Mitchell]

Hi Melanie,
If you're definitely not thinking about taking your guitar out of the house, how about getting some sort of stand/or legs and a dust cover. That way you can have it permanently setup and ready to go. Digging out a hard case from under the bed and setting the lapsteel up fairly eats into practice time.

[Melanie]

I would like it at easy reach but lack of room makes that near impossible. I have to find space in amongst my husbands multiple guitars and ukulele at least in a hard case if it gets knocked about it’s safe.

For now it has its own comfy seat!

[Danny Mitchell]

Tight for space, Melanie? This is John Davidson's living room, on a quiet day!
Where there's a will there's a way.

Meanwhile, back on topic, I believe you can get 26inch uke bags for a good price on eBay, if that would be long enough.