Gibson Discontinued Brown Lifton Cases, + or -?

bluesjuke · Sep 7, 2009

Patrick Ginnaty said:
I have two of the old style logo black cases, they're real sturdy. I never wanted a Lifton case, dunno why.

I also do.
Bought one from a formum member after doing a trade with another formun member.

Was glad tp get it too.

Went for my '98 R8 that I didn't get the original cae for it at purchase.

If it was an R9 I would want the same case.

I saw a modern Lifton case at the last Dalls Show for $600.

aidB · Sep 7, 2009

Black58 said:
Pretty wild to see that yers lasted!

Nearly didn't make it. :rofl

Black58 · Sep 7, 2009

aidB said:
Nearly didn't make it. :rofl

Hell, I didn't think mine was gonna make it from the store to my car! :wah

M. Bartee · Sep 8, 2009

I like the look and vibe of the brown case but one of the latches gave it up after a month or so. The one good latch and my finger over the top while carring it makes me feel secure that it won't pop open. Mine does support the neck so that the headstock dosen't touch the case so that parts ok.

Headcase · Sep 8, 2009

The best case I've ever had was the
brown one with the thick blanket.
('89 ... I think).

Olli · Sep 8, 2009

I´m sorry Gibson seems to have discontinued the Lifton cases.

Granted, the black ones are better for protection and support, but there is no denying that the Lifton cases just look cooler! Especially with a 59 reissue.

If you don´t go all "United -Airlines" on your cases when you load them up for a gig, it´s highly unlikely that you´ll ever have problems with a Lifton case. If you´re super-concerned you could always use the grey foam inserts when travelling longer distances with a guitar in a lifton, but for driving to a gig they are ok.

BTW, did I mention that they look cooler?

.....and yeah, almost forgot the most important argument pro-lifton:

They look cooler!

rockpit · Sep 10, 2009

TheMiz said:
I love these cases

I've got two of these tweeds. One with burgundy interior and one with light blue. Someone told me the light blue ones were used for the Stinger run of LP's. Any Stinger owners care to chime in?

Yupsicle · Sep 12, 2009

Funny how brown cases will now come with these Epiphone "1959 Les Paul Standard"s that are coming out soon: "To top it all off, the guitar includes a replica Lifton-style case with brown exterior and pink interior." http://www.epiphone.com/news.asp?NewsID=1622

Patch · Sep 12, 2009

TheMiz said:
I love these cases

I like the looks of this case. I got one of the cheapo Lifton cases with my '07 R0, but I had the guitar shipped in a regular Custom Shop case for protection. (Good idea, Saul). The Lifton is fine for the house, and I like the interior color. I wouldn't trust it for traveling, but it's a cool accessory.

Gold Tone · Sep 13, 2009

Those prices are crazy! I bought 3 from Wildwood early this year for a little over $200 each. Now $500 - $700?!?!?!?

I think they are cool too but not THAT cool!

Todd Louis · Sep 13, 2009

MikeSlub said:
However, now that they've been discontinued, I consider them to be a "highly desirable, very collectible, hot vintage item"! :jim

:rofl :rofl :applaude :salude

Klunkerbill · Jan 12, 2010

Yupsicle said:
Funny how brown cases will now come with these Epiphone "1959 Les Paul Standard"s that are coming out soon: "To top it all off, the guitar includes a replica Lifton-style case with brown exterior and pink interior." http://www.epiphone.com/news.asp?NewsID=1622

They don't look that good, but neither does my guitar. The Epi cases are always pretty cheap, so I put in an order for one through Sweetwater. It took about six weeks for them to reply. It seems Epi will not be shipping the brown cases w/o the '59 guitar. I wonder how many of the Epi cases will show up at inflated prices on Ebay now?

raph · Jan 13, 2010

bluesjuke said:
I also do.
I saw a modern Lifton case at the last Dalls Show for $600.

Sounds like the lifton case I negotiated as a freebie for my last historic purchase has actually appreciated more than the guitar itself!

Victory Pete · Oct 12, 2018

My 2018 Historic '60 came with a Lifton case. The handle has a questionably loose attachment point. I am trying to get it replaced. The case has minimum neck support and no padding in the lid, not very good for such an expensive guitar. I see a few years ago the same case with an additional neck support ad a padded lid, what goes on here? I have contacted Banana Guitars to see if they can explain this.

duaneflowers · Oct 13, 2018

Victory Pete said:
My 2018 Historic '60 came with a Lifton case. The handle has a questionably loose attachment point. I am trying to get it replaced. The case has minimum neck support and no padding in the lid, not very good for such an expensive guitar. I see a few years ago the same case with an additional neck support ad a padded lid, what goes on here? I have contacted Banana Guitars to see if they can explain this.

The original Lifton reissue was ultra rare... it was a super lightweight reproduction made in Costa Rica that only appeared for the ’99 Aged 40th Historics and the 2000 Murphy aged models that went to Japan. A few years later they made another rather limited comeback for certain models and were immediately compared to current/modern cases (as well as to boutique high-end cases) and was generally poopooed (can I say poopooed here?) for being rather flimsy (like the originals) and lacking support (like the originals). An effort was made to make them less flimsy (padded top) and offer more support (added brace) but then critics on the other side of the aisle started poopooing it for its divergence from original specs. I believe that only the first run was made in Costa Rica, and those are the truest to original spec (although the interior could be a bit pinker). I think they look way cool for storage and taking pix, but transporting a higher end Lester in one of them is asking for problems.

Victory Pete · Oct 13, 2018

duaneflowers said:
The original Lifton reissue was ultra rare... it was a super lightweight reproduction made in Costa Rica that only appeared for the ’99 Aged 40th Historics and the 2000 Murphy aged models that went to Japan. A few years later they made another rather limited comeback for certain models and were immediately compared to current/modern cases (as well as to boutique high-end cases) and was generally poopooed (can I say poopooed here?) for being rather flimsy (like the originals) and lacking support (like the originals). An effort was made to make them less flimsy (padded top) and offer more support (added brace) but then critics on the other side of the aisle started poopooing it for its divergence from original specs. I believe that only the first run was made in Costa Rica, and those are the truest to original spec (although the interior could be a bit pinker). I think they look way cool for storage and taking pix, but transporting a higher end Lester in one of them is asking for problems.

Mine is made in Costa Rica

Tom Wittrock · Oct 13, 2018

Victory Pete said:
Mine is made in Costa Rica

Maybe they ordered from that [Costa Rican] case company again? :hmm

Steve Craw · Oct 14, 2018

I had a very early Lifton reissue case made in 2000, that was made in Canada. It was very light weight and made of plywood. The current Liftons are particle board., which is why they are so damn heavy.

El Gringo · Oct 17, 2018

what case do I have on my 2014 R9 (brown outer , pink interior ) ?

C-4 · Oct 17, 2018

The best pink and tan LP cases I have seen are made in Japan for Tokai guitars, and are a big improvement over the Lifton cases Gibson uses.

One would think that while keeping the correct colored interior and exterior, that improvements could be made for the protection and padding of the guitar.

I would rather have an improved beefier version of a 50's Cali-girl case then a case that looks like a case, but is not much more then a chipboard case for protection. ymmv

Gibson Discontinued Brown Lifton Cases, + or -?

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