Vintage G&G case

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Greenstone
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Vintage G&G case

Post by Greenstone »

So I finally received the original silver/blue lined G&G case for my '67 365 from the previous owner. Case is in great shape for it's age, inside and out. Looks great! However, what is the deal with the fit lol! It's like they forgot to include enough padding in the critical areas so the guitar doesn't swim like a fish. I'm going to have to add some temp foam or towel etc to get it to fit snugly. I've searched the forum and found some info that this may be common with these vintage cases. Anyone want to chime in? From perusing pics of other old 300 series Ricks the case looks the same way (lots of real estate in there), seems that the vintage rick cases are pretty rare to find for sale.
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woodyng
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Re: Vintage G&G case

Post by woodyng »

I recently sold the vintage bass case that came with my '72 4000 for the same reason. It wasn't safe to even use the case for the 1 mile commute i do regularly for practices....i wasn't about to bubble wrap the bass 6 times a week....
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collin
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Re: Vintage G&G case

Post by collin »

People simply didn't treat their guitars like a prized artifacts back in the day. They were tools, people used them as such and also underestimated the fragility of old Rickenbackers.

The old G&G (technically Victoria Luggage) cases only had a minimum amount of padding and wasn't form-fitted to the guitar. I never ship a Rickenbacker inside these cases without filling the inside with bubble wrap and packing material around the guitar.

Park the vintage case in your closet and use a reissue case if you ever travel with the guitar.
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girllennon76
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Re: Vintage G&G case

Post by girllennon76 »

collin wrote:People simply didn't treat their guitars like a prized artifacts back in the day. They were tools, people used them as such and also underestimated the fragility of old Rickenbackers.

The old G&G (technically Victoria Luggage) cases only had a minimum amount of padding and wasn't form-fitted to the guitar. I never ship a Rickenbacker inside these cases without filling the inside with bubble wrap and packing material around the guitar.

Park the vintage case in your closet and use a reissue case if you ever travel with the guitar.
Even with the padding in the modern cases, I padded my 325 all around when I had to ship it. I wrapped the strings and vibrato arm, too, to prevent any damage in transit.
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Greenstone
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Re: Vintage G&G case

Post by Greenstone »

Thanks for the replies. You'd think with the amount of work that goes into a Rick they would have used a tighter fitting case (or internal padding). Interestingly enough, the previous owner had been hauling it around in a generic 335 style case, which fit almost perfectly except for the angle that it sat in the case front to back. Since I have a newer 330 I use that case to move either guitar to gigs.
"Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives." W. A. Foster
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jps
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Re: Vintage G&G case

Post by jps »

Both cases that my '67 4005WB, and '67 330 had were like that, too.
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aceonbass
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Re: Vintage G&G case

Post by aceonbass »

I got rid of the SKB cases that came with my Ricks and bought vintage black Tolex/plywood cases from the 70's. I've got an orange plush lined one for my 4003, and a blue lined case for my 4008. These are the cases RIC should be selling with their guitars.
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Captain Bob
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Re: Vintage G&G case

Post by Captain Bob »

aceonbass wrote:I got rid of the SKB cases that came with my Ricks and bought vintage black Tolex/plywood cases from the 70's. I've got an orange plush lined one for my 4003, and a blue lined case for my 4008. These are the cases RIC should be selling with their guitars.
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woodyng
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Re: Vintage G&G case

Post by woodyng »

Dane-i must have one of those. The case that came with my '74 4000 bass has a conformed interior that the bass' body fits right into,and dual supports for the neck. There is no slop whatsoever. I would love to find another case like this for my '72.
Even though i'm not crazy about the SKB cases,they actually do a good job of supporting/protecting the bass for ordinary commutes.
I've found Carvin's G&G case for their AC basses to be a great fit for 4000 series Ricks,and they're about $100 less than the SKB's new.
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