Hoping to find an affordable hard case for my Deering Goodtime 2 ...Any one have any experience with non Deering brand cases. TY
In recent years sI’ve been getting Superior and Guardian cases, which are just fine. Shop around for the best price. TKL should be ok too, but I have no recent experience with them.
Here's the current selection of cases and gig bags at Musicians Friend.
Their Musician's Gear house brand used to be an economical, functional, choice for basic protection. But now it's over $100. Oh, well.
I believe the $100 Road Runner molded case is an acceptable level of quality for a Goodtime 2.
I guess the point of Bill's message is that all cases designed for bluegrass-scale resonator banjos should work for Goodtime 2.
Sweetwater also does not have any budget-priced cases. But for $110 they do have a Gator foam case. These are a cross between gig bag and hard case. They have fabric covering and shoulder straps for wearing the case on your back, like a bag. But they're made of rigid foam, offering protection almost like a hard case. Only lighter. I bought the Guardian version ten years ago when I used to take my banjo on the NY subway to get to jams. I will still often put whatever banjo is going to a jam in it.
Final comment: It might be good to wait for a sale at MusiciansFriend or Sweetwater -- maybe Black Friday this month. Or even Amazon. MusiciansFriend, in particular, used to put its house brand case on sale two or three times a year at significant savings.
Good luck.
The Musician's Friend case is decent enough for most banjos if you just want one to take to jam sessions or local gigs. If you are patient, they will go on sale again, likely during the holidays. I recently bought one on sale for $39. The usual sale price is $49 to $79, still a lot better than the current price.
As for the Road Runner case, it is very sturdy for the price. I keep my Vega Wonder in one of them.
You might also check with Elderly and some of the other usual vendors to see if they have a Gator banjo case. I don't know what they usually sell for, but I bought one several years ago for under a hundred bucks. Unfortunately, I let it go with a banjo I sold.
I have bought on-sale cases from Musician’s Friend that I didn’t need right then—because the price was so low. They were definitely serviceable.
quote:
Originally posted by CullodenI recently bought one on sale for $39. The usual sale price is $49 to $79, still a lot better than the current price.
I was shocked to see the current full price of the Musicians Gear case at $120. I suppose if the sale price is as much as 35% off, then we could see it offered for $79 again, which apparently would be a bargain today.
I remember when they used to go on sale for $34.99. The regular price must have been $59 or $69. Folks would post here that the sale was happening. If you got one for $39 maybe that was the last of that inventory and they've changed suppliers.
I suppose with $120 not being what it used to be, that much for a case isn't bad.
Amazon has a couple in tweed and black for $90. Free shipping if you have Prime. The tweed one says for 4-string, but the length may be adequate for 5-string.
Final note: When I bought my "Durafoam" case in 2013, I ordered the MusiciansFriend Musicians Gear house brand. $69.99, I think. The case I received had "Guardian" tags and paperwork. I wonder if other customers occasionally get similar silent upgrades. The case I received had the exact same specs as what I ordered. So maybe they were the same thing anyway.
Musicians Friend had the case on sale for about a week several months ago. I didn't need a new case and fought the urge to buy one for as long as I could. I finally figured that I would eventually need one and likely would never see the case for the same price again.
The idea that they might have changed suppliers is a reasonable supposition.
Well thanks to all...Wish I had time to thank everyone personally. So what happened is I have one of the Musicians "Gear" Cases from MF. My RK Songster fits well in it. I bought another way back when, knowing I was buying the Goodtime 2, I grayabbed another Musicians Friend Gear Case for $40.00 on sale. The Bout on the Goodtime 2 is 14 inches and the Rk is only barely 13 and 3/4. When I tried to slip the Deering in it was not fitting. So revisited it today and gave it a bit more of a gentle finger push down and ...well if the foam compresses I think it will work just fine. I did see the Road Runner Hard Shell on sale at MF as well right now for $100. Although the "Bout" size said 13 3/4 wondering if it should fit.So may grab one anyways as the fiber board hard shells are not sealing up well and I am in Florida so kind of wet at times. Thanks again to all for all the great advice. Did not realize Bluegrass Banjos and cases are all pretty much a fit.
