Gator Deluxe Case SC-Style

Firstly, the guitar this was intended for is an Epiphone Ltd edition, Lee Malia signature Les Paul Custom. I assume that this guitar is the same dimensions as the Epi LP Customs/Standards but I have no base for comparison. Also I don't intend to gig with it. It's primary use will be at home as storage and for travelling in my car to friends houses.

The exterior is nice, the top bulge is not too pronounced, the stitching is great quality and the leatherette looks good.

My LP Fits snugly inside this case, it's not loose and doesn't rattle around, which is excellent. The interior is deep and plush and feels very soft to the touch, I am confident that it will not mar the finish on my guitar - although my guitar is Lacquered, so I'm not sure how well it would perform with a nitro finished LP.

The neck brace is good and looks like it will support the neck adequately and the headstock has plenty of room and fits well (std Epi shaped headstock).

However, this case does have a triangular foam block on the bottom where the body sits, this is a little odd and I'm guessing it is there to support thinner bodied LP's like juniors and studio, but it means that it acts as a pivot point for my thicker bodied custom, which is a little odd - in order to get the neck of the guitar to lay flat against the neck rest I have to wedge my cleaning cloth underneath the very bottom of the base. I am assuming that this foam block will become compressed over time and use and will mould to the shape of my particular LP.

The compartment inside the case is a good size, enough space easily for a strap and a spare set of strings and a few picks with space spare.

The latches feel nice and strong, they lock well. However on mine the hinges are a little offset - the lid closes properly but not until I've seated it properly.

Overall verdict, this is a nice case, and my guitar fits snugly which is exactly what I wanted. It's not a Gibson case, but for the price, I was not expecting it to be.

I have no worries about the suitability of this case, for purposes like mine it will provide excellent safety for my precious LP. However I'd think twice if you gig heavily. If this base ever broke, I probably wouldn't buy another.

While I did buy this as a way of getting a cheap case for my Les Paul, I was actually surprised by the quality at first. It was well built and the inside of it always protected my guitar. The groove on the top has never been a trouble either. While there isn't much space inside for extra things, there is an oversized compartment for the headstock which makes a great place to hold those damned things you need (i.e. strap). It's not particularly tight on space and I did get one scratch on my guitar from the case itself. There is also a compartment with an inside for holding your picks and cables etc. It comes with a lock with 3 keys, which I've tried and I don't think it belongs to the case at all. The keys don't fit in the keyhole.

After 1 year of use, the latches needed constant maintenance after 6 months, but now one has altogether fallen off.

It's not a great case, and it's just average. Not good, not bad, just average.

I bought this to store/transport my 7-string Eclipse.

The exterior shell appears to be made of hard ply, which seems sturdy enough, certainly to the extent that I'd be quite comfortable taking it on a car journey without too much fear. I wouldn't trust it for air travel, but it's a little unfair to hold it to that standard when a hard shell flight case would be more reasonable for that.

The interior is lined with strategically placed foam pads, with a further layer of soft faux fur coating the extent of the inside. The neck is well supported, and there's no problem accomodating the wider 7-string neck, which fits snugly and is well supported in the neck cradle. There's also a small separate compartment for storing picks, straps, maintenance tools and the like, which is extra useful in my case, since I have evertune keys which need to be kept handy.

The only real issue I've had is some minor cosmetic damage/tearing, along with some poor seam alignment in the faux leather coating of the exterior. Considering I bought this to take a potential beating, rather than having one inflicted upon the guitar inside, I'm willing to overlook such cosmetic issues, considering the price is very reasonable; as long as it's sturdy, supportive and reasonably secure, it doesn't need to be flawless visually.