a.bandini Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 Gents, (and the few ladies),I've been wondering, how is it that guitars like our beloved Hamers get sold without OHSCs? Two explanations seem plausible to me: 1. The original case broke. This seems kind of unlikely to me, but my experiences are pretty limited, so I keep an open mind. 2. The guitar was stolen from a stage somewhere, sometime, by someone, and is now for sale by someone else who bought it in good faith and is selling it with the same honest intent. For example, there was a nice looking duotone for sale a couple weeks ago on EBay that came with a non-original case, and was being sold by a pawnshop. There are lots of other examples we've all seen. I can understand an older guitar outliving their cases, but I struggle to think of how newer guitars (arbitrarily, less then 15 years old) would not come with a case. Back in the early 90's I owned a Honda Prelude, and was told repeatedly that people would steal it, and take the seats out of it to sell on the black market. I wondered why others would want my uncomfortable seats, and wonder today why so many guitars don't seem to have their original cases. By the way, for whatever it is worth, that Prelude was stolen. I got it back, with the seats intact, but with other damage. Your thoughts? Bill
cynic Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 I've heard of a few of the larger chains having reputations for splitting up guitars and cases to sell them separately, but don't have first hand experience. Having never bought new from Hamer, are cases included or are they an extra cost? Could they have been purchased new without a case?I've had 2 cases fall apart on me. It takes some effort, but it happens.I've also owned an old Gibson Spirit XPL that came to me without a case, that did indeed turn out to be stolen.
serial Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 GC never sells guitars with the original cases it seems-even the ones that are supposed to come with them.I've sold guitars with and without OHSC-I've BOUGHT guitars just for the cases, taken the case for the guitar I needed a case for, then sold the guitar I didn't need.
elduave Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 Having never bought new from Hamer, are cases included or are they an extra cost? Could they have been purchased new without a case?Although the case is typically a seperate line item on the dealer packing list/invoice, it's always factored in to my quotes as included. In my time ordering Hamers, they've never sold without a case, nor do I think they ever would.
Kurt L Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 Cat pee.Mine never peed in a guitar case. Loved to sleep in them, though... 'til I closed the lid!
Brentrocks Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 Cat pee.Mine never peed in a guitar case. Loved to sleep in them, though... 'til I closed the lid!was it a coffin case???????
kizanski Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 For example, there was a nice looking duotone for sale a couple weeks ago on EBay that came with a non-original case, and was being sold by a pawnshop. There are lots of other examples we've all seen.In the "case" of the DuoTone, the case is a standard size which fits every Studio, Mirage, Special, Sunburst... and that's just the Hamers.it also fits every Les Paul variant out there, so as was often the case on 48th Street, the first case they brought out to you was garbage and then you'd have to bargain your way to a nicer one.Often it was another brand from the guitar you were buying.I guess it would be easier to just keep them together, but what fun would that be?
Thundernotes Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 Cat pee, basement mildew funk, cigarette smoke stank, unwiped sweaty guitar storage.... and some of them just get beat up. I'm in the process of gently relic'ing the exterior of my Artist case these past couple of years.FWIW, you can buy just a case from a Hamer dealer. I did it to replace one that came with my Eclipse 12 a few years back.
cmatthes Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 If any damned cat ever peed in one of my guitar cases, it would definitely become a coffin case.
tomteriffic Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 +1 on the GC thing. I got a Duotone custom from them with what was supposed to be an OHSC. It came in the correct model TKL, but without the Hamer logo. Since it's a working gig guitar for me, I don't mind beating up the case a little now.
elduave Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 BTW, I believe it was a TKL case that came with coolfeels Chap. I'm guessing they weren't making a run of Hamer logo Chap cases.
cmatthes Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 If it's any consolation, the Hamer cases are made by TKL.Same case as stock, just without the gold logo.
tomteriffic Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 If it's any consolation, the Hamer cases are made by TKL.Same case as stock, just without the gold logo.That's why I didn't sweat it when the Duo showed up with the TKL.
DarrenD Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 I bought maybe 20+ used guitars over the years, and only one actually had the OHSC. I always wondered what happened to them, but I suppose some stores sell the OHSC separately, and many times people swap this for that.
Brentrocks Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 i have only shipped 1 guitar in the last 6 yrs without a case....and thats becaused it was a cheap guitar that i bought without a case....it was in a gig bag
Andrew Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 In the UK: no doubt that dealers split the guitars and cases in the past. I have bought no end of empty Hamer cases over the years, many unused. PRS, Musicman and Carvin cases suffered the same fate.Discounting is to blame so they can advertise the best price, making up the shortfall by selling the case separately.
Turdus Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 Buddy of mine has an 80's LP Custom. He bought it new. The case is not a Gibson, but it is what the dealer sold him with the guitar. Does that make it a OHSC ? One could argue that it is.
HSB0531 Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 I ordered my Standard Bass with a Calzone flight case back in 1981.Then bought a new Hamer case for it from Greg at BCR music in Lemoyne PA.Still have that monster flight case, but got tired of the weight of it.When I bought the Standard 12 bass from BCR, the case was included in the sale.As Elduave said earlier, the case is included.It's a seperate listing on the invoice with seperate pricing.Probably because it's coming from an outside supplier, and not part of the guitars assembly.
kizanski Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 Buddy of mine has an 80's LP Custom. He bought it new. The case is not a Gibson, but it is what the dealer sold him with the guitar. Does that make it a OHSC ? One could argue that it is.Which lends validity to that old joke, "I have the hatchet which George Washington used to chop down the chary tree. Over the years, I've had to replace the handle and the head, but it occupies the same space, thereby making it the same object."
MCChris Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 I worked at GC. Chicanery with cases was commonplace.
blackfbiv Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 Wear and tear...I can tell you the FBIV case is worn... held together by a few staples and the Holy Spirit these days...Years of being tossed in the back of school buses, trucks, etc...One day I'll have to replace the case, I guess...
Steve Haynie Posted January 18, 2012 Posted January 18, 2012 My 1976 hardshell banjo case has hinges coming off because the screws have pulled away from the "wood." The wood has disintegrated, so if it is filled with plastic wood or some kind of binding agent there is still a possibility that the area around the screws will further fall apart. The case has some sentimental value, but it needs to be replaced. There are some used Hamer cases in my collection that have missing, broken, or replacement latches. The cases have taken a beating over the years which means they have served their purpose of protecting the instruments inside. When my Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray was ordered Ernie Ball would not ship without a case, but they eventually did as my dealer told them we were ordering a flight case. As HSB0531 said, those flight cases get heavy. At some point my bass needs to go in a regular case. The point is that my Stingray never had an original Music Man case.
a.bandini Posted January 18, 2012 Author Posted January 18, 2012 OK! Wear and tear and being sold originally without a case seem to be the most common, with cat pee being (fortunately) a distant third, and no one having any theft stories to collaborate my initial theory. I'm glad.I had mentioned the Honda Prelude and its seats because I had developed the idea that there was really only one set of missing seats and the guy who owned that car paid a disreputable associate to steal another set of seats which led to that second car needing replacement seats, and so it went down the line in a long daisy chain. There was some chance that something similar was going on with guitar cases. I've tossed two worn out cases, and replaced them with improved OEM variants. If you have a Daytona case (with no cat pee in it) laying around empty, I'd be interested in buying it.Thanks.
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.