Gator Lightweight Polyfoam Case For Stratocaster And Telecaster Electric Guitar

This is a great case, and I figured I’d give a detailed review, so buckle up. I highly recommend purchasing this, as it fits my Schecter AM-6 snugly and securely with no movement inside the case. And, mind you, it’s not a forceful fit either… it’s as snug as a case should be. The exterior zipper pockets hold a couple bags of strings, as well as a couple of instrument cables, and the interior pockets harbour enough space for the usual suspects (see the attached photo). Having no lid on these interior compartments is not a problem for me personally, and although the photos don’t do a great job of showing it, there is a little extra padding jutting out into these interior compartments when the case is closed. So, they are sealed shut when everything is zipped up completely (not even a pick could weasel its way out). The case is quite rigid and has the right amount of heft to it (it’s not a hard case for sure, but offers more ease of mind than a gig bag). The zipper quality is rugged, the exterior fabric feels heavy duty, and the interior plush fabric is the same as any other quality case. The only thing this case would not be suited for is flight travel – it would likely be fine in all honesty, but don’t risk it. I’ve travelled with gear overseas before, and it’s better to shell out the cash for a made-to-measure waterproof/dustproof TSA-approved case. Or, follow your heart and trust a baggage handler with your guitar… and buy a lottery ticket while you’re at it, because hey, you’re a gamblin’ fella!

To wit, I tried my other guitars to see how they fit if that helps anyone too:
Ernie Ball Music Man Silhouette Special – FIT
Eastwood Airline Map (no Bigsby) – DOES NOT FIT
Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro – FIT
Ibanez AZ MM1 – FIT
Suhr Modern Satin – FIT
Fender American Standard Strat – FIT
Fender American Deluxe Tele – FIT
EVH Wolfgang w/ Tune-o-matic bridge – FIT
Ibanez RGA321 – FIT
PRS CE24 – FIT
PRS Mark Holcomb SE (6-string) – FIT

Seems pretty good that it can fit a wide range of instruments. Which brings me to the most important point of this review (which, even if it helps one person, will be worth it): make sure you take the body length measurements of your guitar WITH the strap buttons as well, and compare them with the case’s interior dimensions. Like, actually do it and don’t just guess. Get off your butt and measure. I truthfully have NO IDEA what the other donut holes on this website are talking about when they write reviews that sound like “wahhh it doesn’t fit, the case sucks, why do bad things happen to good people, Gator sucks because I have a peanut allergy” or whatever garbage they’re spewing in these reviews – because I double checked the interior measurements once I received it, and they were EXACTLY as advertised (per Gator’s website AND Amazon). But hey, call me crazy! That’s just the kind of research I do when I make a purchase, because apparently there are other people who can’t be bothered to spend an extra 2 minutes out of their day to measure their instrument to see if the case will fit BEFORE they buy it.

Use some common sense here: If the instrument you’re putting into this case costs more than this case, then for all that is good and holy in this world, put down the bag of Cheetos for one moment, wash the cheese dust off your hands, grab a tape measure and measure your instrument. Be an adult. And if you don’t own a tape measure, well buddy, you’re on Amazon already – simple problems have simple solutions.

In summation: this is a great case, it is good quality, and it is well worth the money. Measure your instrument first, then compare it with the interior dimensions. I am satisfied with it, and will purchase a couple more in the future. I’m Batman.

This is the third lightweight Gator guitar case I have purchased, the second from Amazon and I will be buying more in the future. For the guitar hobbyist, student, or someone who may do a gig every now and then ( church, or praise band? ) this guitar case offers the best protection and value for money. It is much better than the Fender and other more expensive hard cases I own. An added plus is it will fit a variety of Strat-Tele styles and others. Neck support is excellent. It is also very discreet and inconspicuous so it doesn’t attract unwanted attention. I think you’ll like it.

Excellent case. It’s a hard case with a soft shell. Plenty durable so far. It has a carrying strap so that I think i can carry three bass guitars into the venue, knocking everything over on the way to the stage.

Fits my 5 String Jazz Bass.

UPDATE: I gave a short review of this 2 years ago, so here’s the update: I still use this case on a regular bassis (pun unfortunately intended), it still looks great, no major issues. This easily fits J-basses and P-Basses with very little wiggle room, but for a 5-string J-bass close, I found that the case is a big snug (read: I wouldn’t use the case on a regular basis with this particular style of bass since the body bulges the case), but it does fit my cheap Fernandez 5-string.

Only two minor issues are that the mesh front pocket is worthless. I caught it on something when sliding it into the van, and it tore. No reason to have the mesh front pocket. Second, the velcro on the handstrap doesn’t work very well. It’s like they needed to make the flap a little longer, but even if it doesn’t hold, it doesn’t affect how I carry the bass.

I’ve never used the shoulder strap, there were a couple of times I wished for backpack straps.

Using a stencil, I painted my logo on the case with acrylic paints, and the material takes to the acrylics very well. Overall, I like this case a lot, and it tends to get used a lot because it’s so light and it protects the bass.

—-BEGIN ORIGINAL REVIEW—-
I love this new wave of soft/hard cases. This is for a bass I built that has a larger than normal head on it, and there’s plenty of room for the oversized head in this case.

Comes with a shoulder strap but not backpack straps. Well put together and should last a good amount of time.

Ottimo compromesso rapporto qualità prezzo. Strumento al sicuro. Leggera, resistente quello che occorre, anzi aggiungo leggermente meno ingombrante delle altre più blasonate.

Smidig case som funkar perfekt till Jazzbas och Precision bas

Update: I was about to return my Gator case, sadly because except for size it was exactly what I wanted. I thought maybe I could crush the foam at each end of the case enough to make it fit my guitar. Put the guitar in the case to see how much to squish and the guitar fell right into place. What happened? I put the headstock in first this time. The foam is hollowed out more at that end near the the bottom of the case (at least I think that’s what’s going on). If I put the bottom neck strap pin in first, in the space hollowed out for it, the headstock does not fit at the other end. Needs another inch or so before it will go in. If I put the headstock end in first, everything lines up better and I have a VERY snug fit. So I’m increasing my stars from 2 to 5 (I’m reviewing the case, NOT the packaging). No longer returning, happy again. Gator also responded to my comment, very important to see that they care. So, your mileage may vary, but this case works for me.

Original review:

Description says it holds a guitar up to 39.5″ long, with body length up to 19″. My guitar is that size (I measured before buying). Body length dimension is about 1/2″ too short and overall length is an inch too short. My guitar doesn’t fit even though it matches the the size listed. Guitar is a Schecter Omen 6 extreme. Very disappointed the description is so misleading (or they can’t control their sizes, or someone decided to cut costs). Now I need to go through the hassle of returning it and picking out a different case. One reason I chose this case was because dimensions were given in the description. I won’t trust Gator again (same dimensions are listed on other sites, so it’s not an Amazon fault).

Case seemed to be made well and was just what I wanted: lightweight and sturdy with some storage space inside for pedals, tuner, slides, picks, recorder, etc., and a pocket outside for music books and note sheets. Looks great also. If you have a smaller guitar this might be a perfect choice.

Packaging was bad. It was shipped in a very large box and the tape was not holding the flaps shut by the time it arrived. Case could have easily fallen out of box and it was so loose that case was scuffed up from rubbing against the cardboard box. Why they bothered to put a single piece of crumpled paper in the box I’ll never know; maybe there was more that fell out.