Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

johnhall wrote:

collin wrote:

ilan wrote:Read this post from John Hall... bottom line: the SKB type case is more sturdy than the vintage type.

Well, i've seen SKB cases crack apart....can't say i've seen even a 50 year old Victoria/G&G "Vintage" type do that.

Next time you visit, we'll show you the damaged cases rack and make a believer out of you.

Deal!

Yeah, I was indeed thinking of the feet, glad to know they have sorted that out.

I recall seeing an SKB that the top corner completely cracked off during shipping, but this may be the exception to the rule....and you certainly see more of them than I do!

In G&G's defense, their newer "vintage" cases are miles better than actual 1950s-1960s cases. Those barely hold the guitar in place, they flop around inside, which can get pretty ugly if they're shipped withthout extra padding inside.

when I shipped GG his "Chet Cox Signature Model" 375 OS, I Was scared to ship the guitar in it's original case; I packed the inside of the case around the guitar as solidly as I could, and I think I used two layers of cardboard around the outside, because even though the original `62 case was in fine condition, it seemed quite flimsy to me compared to the RI silver tolex, black tolex, or SKB cases. Obviously from GG's website, the guitar arrived safe and sound.

collin wrote:Well, i've seen SKB cases crack apart....can't say i've seen even a 50 year old Victoria/G&G "Vintage" type do that.

That is because an SKB type case takes the blow instead of conveying the impact to the bass inside it.

It's the same with cars in frontal impacts. What matters is by how much the distance between the wheel and the driver's rib cage has shortened, not how much damage did the car sustain.

ilan wrote:

collin wrote:Well, i've seen SKB cases crack apart....can't say i've seen even a 50 year old Victoria/G&G "Vintage" type do that.

That is because an SKB type case takes the blow instead of conveying the impact to the bass inside it.

This is absolutely correct.

Trying dropping two guitars from the top of our building . . . 26 feet to be precise . . . one in an SKB case and the other in a Tolex. No matter how they land, the SKB case will be dented and cracked but the guitar will be just fine. The Tolex case and the guitar inside will be splinters. That all scales down nicely to more modest "crashes" as well.

Look, I have no axe to grind here. I have both cases and am happy to sell you either- but I personally recommend the cheaper one, without regard to the aesthetics anyway.

If you want something better than these or even the so-called ATA cases, get one of these:

SKB Waterproof Injection Molded Case

Absolutely indestructible for anything you'll run into and you can surf with it as well. The design of these came from their experience building cases for military equipment.

Ooh! Those look to be pretty tough! And I think we can all safely say, if something withstand the punishment that can be dealt out by military service, it'll handle anything us "normal" people will likely encounter...

cjj wrote:Ooh! Those look to be pretty tough! And I think we can all safely say, if something withstand the punishment that can be dealt out by military service, it'll handle anything us "normal" people will likely encounter...

OK, now you are talking my language....I was in the US Army Band as a bass player for 10 years. I was a supply SGT and was deployed overseas on a few occasions with the band.....we used ATA Flight Cases only. But I new there were some other very durable cases that were being used for a little more "sensative" materials other than instruments. Figured it would be only a matter of time till that stuff made it's way down to us.

I was just looking at an ad for those new SKB cases in May's Preimeir Guitar. The were listed as a new item. Great looking case.

Something I have noticed, many Ric's seem to be offered second hand minus their cases (of topic, where have they all gone??), but the ones with SKB cases seem to be still paired. Perhaps when people get the idea that they are a better case things may change.

My 2011 JG 4003 came in a very nice and new SKB case and my 2010 MG came in a very nice and new Silver Tolex. That is what got me asking the original question. Both cases are nice...but Tolex cases bring me back to my youth.....I love Tolex cases.

johnhall wrote:I will concede that the feet of the SKB's are more delicate, however, SKB has done some work to beef that area up.

Thanks for providing this information. Can you elaborate any (what did they do)? This is really the only area I have had any trouble with these cases but it has been pretty severe. 3/4 of mine won't stand on the feet anymore, the other one tilts. In the most severe case I looked and thought the problem seemed to be that the feet were mounted in the tolex, not the styrofoam core which is the sturdier of the two elements.

I am schlepping gear all the time but this is really the only product in my ownership that has shown any wear as a result. Not the basses thankfully, as you pointed out elsewhere in the thread.

Oh boy, you're in for it now!! You got my crash re constructionist juices flowing with all this talk of momentum, velocity, and mass and dropping stuff off of roofs!!

I'll take Mr Hall's experiment of dropping two instruments off RIC HQ, one in a tolex case and the other in an SKB case. I think we all can agree that the SKB is a bit more flexible than the tolex. The flexibility is a huge benefit in crashes. Both instruments are falling at approximately the same rate, 32 ft per sec. per sec so they strike the ground with the same velocity. The more rigid case offers no give and transfers more the shock to the padding and the instrument. Here is where case padding comes into play.If the padding can slow the velocity of the instrument then the instrument has a greater chance of remaining relatively unscathed. I think we can also agree that the padding in the tolex is spartan.

As with vehicles, rigidity is a great durability feature but being too rigid sucks for its occupants. A vehicle is designed to crumple and slow the velocity of it's occupants to avoid excessive delta V's.

For pure aesthetics and local gigging, I'd pick the silver tolex. It just rocks harder, IMHO. If I were going to fly with any of my basses or it was to be separated from me and put into the hands of baggage mauler at minimum I'd opt for the SKB or better with form fitting closed cell foam and plenty of it.

Sepp

Kopfjaeger wrote:Oh boy, you're in for it now!! You got my crash re constructionist juices flowing with all this talk of momentum, velocity, and mass and dropping stuff off of roofs!!

... Both instruments are falling at approximately the same rate, 32 ft per sec. per sec so they strike the ground with the same velocity...

OK, minor nerd nit pick here. They are accelerating at 32 ft/sec/sec, so the actual velocity depends on the distance they fall. And then, there's air resistance to consider, which would vary greatly with the orientation of the case as it falls...


Yeah, I'm a Techno-Nerd with an engineering degree and a minor in physics...

CJ, agreed on your clarification but at 26 feet, unless one of the cases contained a bass made of lead it's a moot point. Admittedly, free falling through space is not my strong point. Most of my best work comes from stuff that has either skidded, tumbled, cartwheeled, dragged, or ground against the roadway.

I don't have my SKB case handy and it's been a while since I've actually used it so I'm really note sure of the difference in weight between a modern "vintage" tolex and the SKB. I would not be surprised to hear the tolex case weighs more.

Sepp

Of course, a bass made of lead wouldn't change the velocity or acceleration, but it certainly would change its kinetic energy when it hits the ground. It would also be difficult to play and would likely sound lousy.

bassduke49 wrote:Of course, a bass made of lead wouldn't change the velocity or acceleration, but it certainly would change its kinetic energy when it hits the ground. It would also be difficult to play and would likely sound lousy.

Yup! And would be "Known to the State of California" to have all sorts of issues related to health too...