The paisley and other cloth covered cases are actually more resistant to scuffs and tears than tolex cases that scuff and rip easily. All of mine have nary a rip, tear or scuff.
Think about it: You might often brush up against something rough wearing a pair of jeans, and the fabric stays together, where tolex can get clobbered.
It's a good thing there aren't tolex pants (OK, I know someone's gonna post a pic of vinyl assless chaps, but you get my drift...). Woven fabrics can actually be pretty tough. Ballistic nylon like what they use on luggage these days is even tougher, and that's the kind of thing most gig bags are made with. They should do the same with hard guitar cases.
Oh wait, they do; the Ameritage case that came with my PS PRS acoustic is covered in ballistic nylon, and so was the one that came with my US Core acoustic. Mine's 11 years old and has not a single tear or visible scuff. It's pretty incredible stuff.
I should add that I've been using higher end gig bags for many years (leather or highly padded ballistic nylon, like the Incase, the RB, and now my GigBlade), and I think they're equal to a hard case in protection for all but shipping or sticking into the baggage hold of an airplane.
Think about it: You might often brush up against something rough wearing a pair of jeans, and the fabric stays together, where tolex can get clobbered.
It's a good thing there aren't tolex pants (OK, I know someone's gonna post a pic of vinyl assless chaps, but you get my drift...). Woven fabrics can actually be pretty tough. Ballistic nylon like what they use on luggage these days is even tougher, and that's the kind of thing most gig bags are made with. They should do the same with hard guitar cases.
Oh wait, they do; the Ameritage case that came with my PS PRS acoustic is covered in ballistic nylon, and so was the one that came with my US Core acoustic. Mine's 11 years old and has not a single tear or visible scuff. It's pretty incredible stuff.
I should add that I've been using higher end gig bags for many years (leather or highly padded ballistic nylon, like the Incase, the RB, and now my GigBlade), and I think they're equal to a hard case in protection for all but shipping or sticking into the baggage hold of an airplane.
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