Bass cases

[Opsimath]

Please forgive me for asking a rather uninformed question, but is there a reason why bass cases are rectangular and not instrument shaped like other cases?

 

[fronobulax]

Please forgive me for asking a rather uninformed question, but is there a reason why bass cases are rectangular and not instrument shaped like other cases?

You need to expand your sample size.

In general solid body electric instruments - bass or guitar - come in rectangular cases. Acoustic basses or guitars fit in "guitar shaped" cases.

Here are two semi-hollow electric basses in shaped cases.



Here's a B50 in case.



And here's a Pilot case before it became home to my stickers.

 

[fronobulax]

If I had to speculate and predict the case shape I'd suggest that the thinner the instrument the more likely the original case is rectangular.

 

[SFIV1967]

Also other companies basses often come in normal guitar shaped cases:



Fenders like their Stratocaster guitars usually come in rectangular cases, so I guess the Pilot bass followed that example.

Ralf

 

[fronobulax]

Also other companies basses often come in normal guitar shaped cases:



Fenders like their Stratocaster guitars usually come in rectangular cases, so I guess the Pilot bass followed that example.

Ralf

JS II OHSC is rectangular as well.

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

And a lot (if not most) of electric guitars come in rectangular cases!

 

[AcornHouse]

...
Fenders like their Stratocaster guitars usually come in rectangular cases, so I guess the Pilot bass followed that example.

Ralf

Fender always took their design model from Leo who wanted instruments that were modular, easily built, and highly functional. He came from the world of radio and electronics repair. Unlike Gibson at al. who had a long tradition of guitars shaped and built on the classical and archtop models.
So, when the electric bass was invented by Leo, he used his more easily built rectangular case design that he'd been using for his solidbody electric guitars. And for much of the 50s, his basses were the only major game in town, if you wanted an electric bass.
So that sort of became the tradition, but not the only game in town once other manufacturers got on the electric bass bandwagon.
It's still the simplest way to build a case.

 

[lungimsam]

I have a fender bass case that is flat on upper bout side, form fitted on the lower bout side. My Strat case is the same. They are both from 2004, iirc.

 

[fronobulax]

I have a fender bass case that is flat on upper bout side, form fitted on the lower bout side. My Strat case is the same. They are both from 2004, iirc.

Sounds like the worst of both worlds.

 

[SFIV1967]

Sounds like the worst of both worlds.

Not really, I actually like those Fender Poodle cases as they are called. It's the case shape that came with the original 1954 Stratocaster.
You can store them very well vertically or horizontally as they have two flat sides.



Ralf

 

[lungimsam]

Yes, believe it or not, having the half cutaway/molded feature makes the cases very light and more easily maneuverable, compared to the rectangular cases I had. Well balanced. Mine are black ABS molded models. That one in SFIV's post looks more luxurious.

 

[SFIV1967]

Mine are black ABS molded models.

Ralf

 

[Guildedagain]

There are no uninformed questions ;[]

 

[fronobulax]

Bass cases are intrinsically awkward because a typical bass is larger than a typical guitar and thus the case is larger. I do find that I have to make a different adjustment walking up stairs with a Pilot in a case compared to the B50. The upstairs end of the rectangular case hits the stair under circumstances where the narrow headstock end of the B50 doesn't. I often have one of Mrs. Fro's cased guitars in one hand and a cased bass in the other and that is easier if the cases are similarly shaped.

My worst of both worlds comment was somewhat tongue in cheek but I would definitely need to get some other things out of the trunk if I were playing Case Tetris with a Poodle Case.



There is definitely some "stuff that lives in the trunk" sort of on top of the Pilot and behind the Starfire and that would need to be elsewhere with a Poodle case.

 

[walrus]

You need to expand your sample size.

In general solid body electric instruments - bass or guitar - come in rectangular cases. Acoustic basses or guitars fit in "guitar shaped" cases.

Here are two semi-hollow electric basses in shaped cases.



Here's a B50 in case.



And here's a Pilot case before it became home to my stickers.

"Go Nude Texas"??!

walrus

 

[AcornHouse]

Bass cases are intrinsically awkward because a typical bass is larger than a typical guitar and thus the case is larger. I do find that I have to make a different adjustment walking up stairs with a Pilot in a case compared to the B50. The upstairs end of the rectangular case hits the stair under circumstances where the narrow headstock end of the B50 doesn't. I often have one of Mrs. Fro's cased guitars in one hand and a cased bass in the other and that is easier if the cases are similarly shaped.

My worst of both worlds comment was somewhat tongue in cheek but I would definitely need to get some other things out of the trunk if I were playing Case Tetris with a Poodle Case.



There is definitely some "stuff that lives in the trunk" sort of on top of the Pilot and behind the Starfire and that would need to be elsewhere with a Poodle case.

I think the largest case I've had to deal with, so far, has been when I briefly owned a Gibson Firebird. Long, wide, but also thicker to accommodate the breadstick angle (not flat like a Fender).

 

[fronobulax]

"Go Nude Texas"??!

walrus

I bought the Pilot from someone in Austin. Many of the "original" stickers have been covered up. The visible sticker says "m a i d e n Texas" but there was also a sticker that had "nude" or "naked" and "Texas" that was advertising a Texas winery. I should probably go look at the case when I am not serving as cat furniture.

 

[fronobulax]

I think the largest case I've had to deal with, so far, has been when I briefly owned a Gibson Firebird. Long, wide, but also thicker to accommodate the breadstick angle (not flat like a Fender).

The biggest case I have dealt with was a tuba in an OHSC. Second biggest is the B50. The B50 is in some sense more difficult to deal with. If you are transporting by a car the tuba either needs a four door vehicle with an otherwise unoccupied back seat or a station wagon, pick up truck or hatchback style with the rear seat folded down. If none of those are available the tuba stayed home or goes in a gig bag. The B50 case is devious because it appears to fit in many car trunks but there are some that are too small and many that require the case be carefully fitted at an awkward angle. The B50 would fit in the trunk pictured above but the "other stuff" had to be moved and there are some guitars that would not fit in the trunk on top of it.

The obsession with fitting guitars in the trunk comes from the belief that if no one can see the guitar then they are less likely to break into the car and steal it. Nowadays we are much less likely to leave a guitar in a parked car so we just pile everything in the back seat. We drive straight to the "gig" and do not run errands on the way to or from. That also reduces the opportunities for thermal shock

 

[fronobulax]

"Go Nude Texas"??!

walrus

Whoops. Just saw the other pic I had posted.

Live Oak Ranch was at one time a clothing optional resort that seems to be closed now. I did not ask the previous owner about that sticker and it was probably the first to be covered up.

ABOUT | live-oak-resort

www.liveoakresort.com

I am, of course assuming some linkage between Live Oak Ranch and Live Oak Resort but I can live with that assumption until someone else digs deeper.

 

[Opsimath]

Cat furniture, Case Tetris. Those are funny!

Thank you all for the replies. It seems there is a whole lot I don't know about bass cases, but with all the info and visuals I know more now than I did!