Hard case for vintage Martin concert?

gustophersmob

gustophersmob

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Hi!

I'm on the hunt for a hard case for the vintage Martin concert I just acquired. I've found lots of threads on finding a case for a soprano, but no luck on the concert.

So far, I've tried the guardian vintage style case, which is ok. Not worth the $, IMO. The one I have has a defect in the tolex where the two pieces are coming unglued, which I could exchange, but it has other problems. The fit along the sides is nice and I like the arched top, but it is a little to deep for the Martin by about 1/2". It also has almost no padding in the top or bottom. The advertised 20mm of padding is only along the sides. I estimate the top and bottom padding to be only about 4-5mm.

I've tried the crossrock ABS case, but it is too large in all dimensions.

I just received the musicians gear case and a gator journeyman case from guitar center, but the uke is currently with my luthier to put some glue in the cracks, so I can't do a fit check for a couple of days. The musicians gear case looks nice and seems to have decent padding. They stitch the join of the two tolex pieces which is nice. The hardware is the same as all the cases tried, which is to say, cheap. This is the cheapest of the cases tried, though so it's at least expected.

The gator journeyman looks super nice, and some of the hardware is screwed in instead of rivited, which is nice. The hardware is the same cheap hardware they all seem to use, though. The biggest issue, though is that there is very little back padding. Again, around 4-5mm like the guardian. The top has some more in the foam strip that runs down the center.

Are there any other options I should consider? I like the look of the Fremont rectangular cases, but they appear to use the same cheap hardware as these others and are almost double the price. The online measurements make it seem like it will fit.

Thanks for any help you have!
 
UkerDanno said:
Those Musicians Gear cases are the best bang for your buck, and your Martin should fit fine, my C1K did.

These are nice too, add about $20 for shipping...
http://www.theukulelesite.com/accessories/cases/hardshell-wooden-cases/new-oahu-hardshell-ukulele-case.html
Click to expand...

Can you tell me the dimensions of your C1K? Somewhere along the way I thought I read the new ones were a little bigger than the vintage ones.

Yes! I really like the look of these, and they appear to use better hardware than the others. Problem is that the listed dimensions are about 1/2" larger than what my Martin measures. I may call them next week to confirm the measurements, though. From the pictures and reviews, these do seem to be a cut above the rest.
 
Got the ukulele back from the luthier. It seems to fit the musicians gear case the best. The foam strip down the center of the lid does press on the bridge a bit. Not much, but enough to leave a slight impression on the foam.

Would that be a problem long term? Seems like it is designed to do it and the foam is not very rigid.
 
I used a Fremont case with mine and was happy with it.
 
UkerDanno said:
These are nice too, add about $20 for shipping...
http://www.theukulelesite.com/acces...en-cases/new-oahu-hardshell-ukulele-case.html
Click to expand...

gustophersmob said:
Yes! I really like the look of these, and they appear to use better hardware than the others. Problem is that the listed dimensions are about 1/2" larger than what my Martin measures. I may call them next week to confirm the measurements, though. From the pictures and reviews, these do seem to be a cut above the rest.
Click to expand...

I don't have a vintage Martin, but I do have a Kiwaya concert scale Martin look-alike, and the O'ahu case fits it well. It's a loose fit so HMS included a strip of green-velvet padding to make for a perfect fit; if you call them I'm sure you can have them include some padding when you order. The padding goes around the lower bout and keeps the uke from slipping around.

I've gone through a lot of uke cases over the years, and I'm really impressed with the O'ahu cases - I think they're going to stand up well to the abuse that I tend to give them.
 
janeray1940 said:
I don't have a vintage Martin, but I do have a Kiwaya concert scale Martin look-alike, and the O'ahu case fits it well. It's a loose fit so HMS included a strip of green-velvet padding to make for a perfect fit; if you call them I'm sure you can have them include some padding when you order. The padding goes around the lower bout and keeps the uke from slipping around.

I've gone through a lot of uke cases over the years, and I'm really impressed with the O'ahu cases - I think they're going to stand up well to the abuse that I tend to give them.
Click to expand...

Would you be able to post a pic of what that strip of padding get looks like and how your use looks in the case?
 
I don't have any Martin ukuleles, but I have a Cort concert ukulele that I believe are made to Martin dimensions. The gigbag it came with is the same make as those you get with new Martin concerts.

I have a "Kinsman" hardcase for it, which is a nice snug fit.
It was a gift, but I believe it is from Southern Ukulele store.
 
That looks quite nice. I will give them a call today and see if they can do something similar for me. It looks like yours is a 14 fret neck, mine is 12, so I need to confirm some other measurements with them.

It looks like there is adequate padding in the lid and on the bottom based on the pics. Does it seem like there is enough to you?

Thanks again for the pics!
 
UkingViking said:
I don't have any Martin ukuleles, but I have a Cort concert ukulele that I believe are made to Martin dimensions. The gigbag it came with is the same make as those you get with new Martin concerts.

I have a "Kinsman" hardcase for it, which is a nice snug fit.
It was a gift, but I believe it is from Southern Ukulele store.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. I'm in the US, so the southern ukulele store may not be the best option. I'll see if anyone in NA has the Kinsman case.
 
gustophersmob said:
That looks quite nice. I will give them a call today and see if they can do something similar for me. It looks like yours is a 14 fret neck, mine is 12, so I need to confirm some other measurements with them.

It looks like there is adequate padding in the lid and on the bottom based on the pics. Does it seem like there is enough to you?

Thanks again for the pics!
Click to expand...

You're welcome! And you are correct, mine has a 14-fret join, but as you can see there is a lot of room in the case above the headstock so I think the proportions may be similar to a 12-fret join. HMS told me that the cases are built to accommodate both standard and longneck sizes, but even with all that space up there the uke doesn't slip around at all. The padding seems quite adequate. The lid is archtop style so there's an indentation for that, but otherwise seems to be about 1" worth of padding up there.
 
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