Bass Guitar Case

A nice box to protect my nice bass

I had been lugging my bass guitar around in a cheap, thin gig bag with a broken zipper for years. It was past time to replace it. Guitar cases are expensive, so...

I know it might seem odd to make a guitar case nice when it's guaranteed to get beat up and messed up with use, but I knew I could make a case that would stand the test of time, so even when it gets beat up, it will take on a sort of "patina" of wear and tear. Also, since the case's purpose is to protect the bass, first and foremost, I was OK with knowing it would get beat up with use. There's consolation in the fact that it would be evidence of it serving its purpose.

As is often the case, there were adjustments to the plan along the way. The original idea was for a relatively simple, sturdy case.

I thought I had some in-progress pictures of this, but I couldn't find them (or I never had them). This project turned out to be a bit more involved than what I anticipated, partly because of the tedious finishing process, partly because of the numerous steps and components of the build, and partly because I ended up adding stuff to the original plan.

The PDF plans above look deceptively simple, but they don't include any of the hardware, the padding and fabric inside, or the storage compartment I ended up adding. I also changed some of the joinery and other odd and ends along the way.

The box frame is Black Walnut and Black Cherry, and the front and back faces are Birch plywood, all finished with polyurethane for durability. On the inside, I cut and shaped foam to be a perfect fit for my bass, and I used some furry fabric for fancy looks.

I've been using it for several years now, and it has performed flawlessly. It's heavy (I could have gone a little thinner on the frame), but my bass has never been safer, and it has frequently been a conversation starter at gigs. Gig bag problem: solved.