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Just so our American brothers and sisters know, if they order the Heinl cases from Canada, they are going to save between 20 and 25% with the exchange rate. Thats a nice chunk of change on a 6 case order, Mike.

Well, I don't know where the error is. Regardless, if Ameritage is going to stick a OLF SJ case, it should be based on the templates that exist today. Maybe lance or someone sends the the details.

Too many name variations on guitars.

GA (Taylor) - OLF SJ (which is very very close to a Gibson J-185) - Dreadnaught all pretty much the same dimensional sizes (but for the waist)
GC (Taylor) - OM - Olson SJ - all pretty much the same dimensional sizes.

I honestly don't think Ameritage is concerned or worried about custom builders.....they are probably pumping out base size cases by the 100's per day and can't be bothered with custom orders, especially for builders as they just don't make the money off them that they need too.

Best thing to do it to make your guitars the same dimensionally as the standards, then you'll never have a problem with cases...

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Maybe not the same exactly, but inside the footprint. I like guitars with a wide lower bout like a dread, but with a tighter waist. I have built several that fit well in a dread case, but are clearly not dreads. I think I will stick with that for a while. I get the same sticker shock over these custom cases that I do over Waverly tuners or Brazilian Rosewood backs and sides. They just aren't where I want to spend the money.

James, u heard back from them yet? I haven't.

This is my take on the matter too. We are "mouse nuts" to case manufactures and in the days of JIT, Lean, etc the few bucks that they get from one of us combined with an inordinate amount of hand holding, phone time, documents exchanging hands we basically suck as a market for case manufacturers. If I were them I would not service small builders at all......

Consider this too in business there is the concept of the "fully loaded worker...."

I'm not referring to Jack Daniels although that can be fun too but the concept that what ever we pay someone to do what ever we have them doing a good number for expected productivity from that person is five time salary and benefits.... Of course YYMV but the five times number is a very common number in the states and has been used by corporate America for decades.

How does a case manufacturer make any money off a small Luthier who may only order several cases at a time, need time spent with them to get the specs right, also has to be convinced to do business with you, etc. All this for at the most a few hundred bucks.... mouse nuts.... when millions of instruments are being excreted by f*ctories....

There is always a real crunch for the case producers before small builder shows such as the Woodstock thing currently running or it was yesterday. So all of us are on them at the very same time as well.

If I made cases I would not deal with the likes of us at all..... We also tend to be cheap.... or at least I am....

The best advice in this thread so far is above - build standard sizes!!!

"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."

"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."

"How does a case manufacturer make any money off a small Luthier who may only order several cases at a time, need time spent with them to get the specs right, also has to be convinced to do business with you, etc. All this for at the most a few hundred bucks.... mouse nuts.... when millions of instruments are being excreted by f*ctories...."

All those arguments militate against buying a custom case. If something "bullet proof" is not needed, then building a traditional "coffin" case may be the way to go. They give more protection than the typical gig bag, are relatively light weight, and can be custom built to fit the instrument. And considering the wages of the average amateur luthier, are cheap to build.

I think my point was this: Ameritage sells a Small Jumbo case, AM-32. In the price list they send out, they also name it AM-32OLF. Either the templates we have (from Lance) are different or something else happened, there is a discrepancy. It's not a huge thing. I'm trying one out.

Mike

EDIT: I just realized what the problem is. I was using one of those measuring tapes made of cloth. It's actually 1/8" short! When I measure everything with a quality rule, everything looks good.

Heard back from Cedar Creek today. Today is Thurs, and I initiated contact last Thurs afternoon, so their response time was also a week.

Haven't heard back from Ameritage since supplying more information (what kind of interior fabric I want, etc), also last Thurs.

My apologies for not updating this sooner.

My experience with Ameritage was interesting, but I'm really happy with the first case and don't have any hesitation ordering from them again in the future.

After I sent the initial measurements to Ameritage, I needed to send a tracing to Florida. When Nancy received it, she forwarded it to engineering and asked me to spec out my choices for interior and exterior materials, handle color, binding color, etc. Before I knew it, engineering had started making a sample. At that point I hadn't received a quote or initiated the process to produce one, so I was caught off-guard by the email. Mind you, if I'd received the quote beforehand, I would've had them start one without any hesitation, but the process really caught me by surprise.

In the end, the price was phenomenal and the case I received is fantastic, but the process has a way of keeping you on your toes. I sent the initial email on Sept 28th, mailed my tracing, finalized design choices on Oct 23rd, got an email that production had started on Nov. 6th, and the case was in the warehouse and ready on Dec. 16th. Ameritage has been a long-time forum sponsor, and, at least until I jump into the world of carbon fiber ( ), they've earned my business.

Thanks for the update - good you hear you like the case, it looks nice.

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