Do guitars come with cases? If you’re asking this question, chances are good that you may be new to buying a guitar and are wondering if a case will come with your guitar or you need to buy one for it.
Most guitars do come with some type of case, but it’s usually a soft case, which is also known as a gig bag. These cases are usually not the best quality and do little to protect your new instrument.
In this article, we discuss what type of guitar case is best, how to store the guitar while it’s in its case, and how to choose the right guitar case for you.
Table of Contents
Do You Need a Case For a Guitar?
Technically, you don’t actually need a case for a guitar, especially if you have no plans on taking your guitar outside of your house. However, you’ll find that with a guitar case, your guitar will stay shinier and cleaner longer.
If you put your guitar inside a hard case, you’ll also prevent your guitar from being damaged should your kids mess with it. I once had an acoustic guitar that I put on a regular guitar stand and my cats would keep knocking it over.
The neck on the guitar got pretty damaged after a while, not to mention it was severely out of tune every time this happened. Had I kept my acoustic in a hard case instead, this whole scenario could have been avoided.
How to Choose a Guitar Case
As mentioned above, the best type of case to store your guitar in is a hard case. I know this isn’t always going to be ideal depending on your individual needs and budget.
Even a soft guitar case is better than no case at all. When it comes to soft cases, I would recommend one that has extra padding such as this one found on Amazon.
When it comes to choosing a guitar case, it’s best to make sure that your guitar will fit in it properly. Too small of a case and your guitar won’t fit. Too big of a case and your guitar will flop around in there.
Before you buy a case, it’s a good idea to measure your guitar to get a good idea of the size of case you will need. Make sure you measure from top to bottom, side to side, and the width of your guitar.
Another factor when choosing the right guitar case is what you plan to use your guitar for. If you plan on traveling with your guitar, then you’ll want a case that’s durable and can take a beating without harming the guitar inside.
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How Do You Store a Guitar in a Case?
A guitar can be a pretty expensive purchase, so it’s crucial that you store it in a way that will keep your guitar in prime condition by avoiding any damage.
The best way to do this is to use a hard case to store your guitar. You should also store your guitar in an upright position if possible and not on top of one another.
Another tip is to make sure you don’t store your guitar near a heat source or in a really cold room. An area that is either too hot or too cold could cause damage to your guitar such as a warped fretboard.
In the dry winter months, it would be optimal to put a humidifier inside your case so you can avoid warp or other damage that can be caused by too dry of an environment.
What Comes With a Guitar?
What comes with your guitar when you purchase it will definitely depend on the company you buy it from and where.
I would argue that most new guitars come with a simple tuner. Most of these types of tuners, however, are mediocre at best. The tuner might be just fine to begin with, but you’ll likely consider purchasing a better tuner eventually.
And the cheaper guitar that you buy, the less quality of accessories will come with it. For example, I once bought an extremely cheap acoustic guitar off the internet just to see what quality it actually was.
Not only was the guitar itself really bad, but it came with a flimsy soft case that was practically see-thru and a guitar tuner that you blow through. But that’s what you get when you buy an extremely cheap guitar.
At the minimum, almost all guitars come with strings already on the guitar. These strings may not be in the best condition by the time the guitar gets to you, so you may need to change them if they sound bad or you can’t keep them in tune.
