The 13 Best Guitar Cases & Gig Bags That’ll Save Your Gear

Whether you just want to stop your favourite guitar collecting dust, you need something to transport your guitar safely or you want to stop airport baggage handlers damaging your guitar, you should invest in the best guitar cases and gig bags that your budget can afford.

There’s absolutely nothing worse than arriving at your destination and realising your guitar has been damaged because your guitar case wasn’t up to scratch. This is why we’ve put together a few options ranging from light protection, to pro-level international protection levels so you can make the right choice and protect your guitar from damage.

Here are our best guitar cases and gig bags available today split into acoustic and electric sections.

If you just need a dust cover or something that you can throw over your shoulder on the way to practice and rehearsal, then the TOURTECH Economy Gig Bag for Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar is ideal.

At under £10, it’s a great deal. The nylon material is strong and hard-wearing and the two shoulder straps and one handle grip give you carrying options. Although this won’t offer much in the way of impact protection, it’ll help prevent scratches and small dings around the home.

One of the best cheap guitar gig bags that doesn’t suck.

If you’re going to be throwing your guitar in the back of a car or van, or simply travelling with your guitar frequently, then the TOURTECH TTB-10WG Padded Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Gig Bag is perfect.

This offers 10mm of protective foam, so will help reduce damage should you drop the guitar from a low height or if it falls over. The water repellent nylon helps to reduce water damage should you get caught in the rain too.  

When it comes to carrying your guitar with you, whether on your back or holding it, then Mono is up there with some of the best guitar gig bag manufacturers.

These Mono M80-AD guitar gig bags blur the line between a hard case and soft case as they offer really sturdy protection and the intuitive “Headlock” protection which helps prevent damage from any side and rear impacts.

The high-density foam bumpers keep your guitar safe, even when you drop it – although we don’t recommend doing that too often! Every inch has been thought of – from headstock to strap pin. Your guitar is really safe in one of these.

The TOURTECH Western Acoustic Guitar Case proves you don’t have to spend a fortune to protect your acoustic guitar from damage. At under £60, you get an economic and stylish acoustic guitar case for dreadnought and other acoustic guitars.

The foam interior is soft and plush, yet entirely snug to minimise damage and the wood case with vinyl covering is hard-wearing. Strong latch fasteners with key entry make it a great option for travelling musicians and one of the best guitar cases for quality and price. Also available:

• TOURTECH Basic Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Case
• TOURTECH TTC-XWGBK Vintage Tweed Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Case

TOURTECH make some of the best guitar cases on the market today considering their sheer affordability.

The TOURTECH Pro Series ABS Acoustic Guitar Case is incredibly sturdy and much easier than carting a flight case around - yet it offers almost the same protection as it can take a lot of banging about from all angles. This is especially handy when you have to trust venue staff and crew to help with load-ins and load-outs.

This case has everything you need for life on the road, whether that's security with TSA locks (which are usually seen on much more expensive cases), accessory compartments for strings, picks and leads, plus reinforced aluminium edges for extra protection.

A bit of a no-brainer this one!

 This Stagg GCA-W 12 String Guitar Case offers great protection for your 12 string guitar at a very reasonable price.

This is a sure-fire way to reduce the chances of anything bad ever happening to your guitar when it’s tucked away in this thing.

The heavy-duty hardshell construction has been reinforced with firm vinyl covering which makes it perfect for life on the road. It's also universally fitting which means no matter what size 12 string guitar you should be covered - especially for Western and Dreadnought styles.  

If you need something to carry your guitar from one place to another and keep the wind, moisture and dust off your guitar then the TOURTECH TTB-E1UEG Electric Guitar Gig Bag is great.

This is one of the best cheap guitar gig bags that offers decent protection from the elements for under £10. Nylon material is hard-wearing, so it’ll last a long time and the outer pouch is great for keeping sheet music in.

Two shoulder straps make it easy to chuck on your back and walk to the gig!

If you’ve got a Fender electric guitar, sometimes you want the matching on-brand case or gig bag – we totally get it! The Fender FE405 Electric Guitar Gig Bag fits almost all Fender electric guitars (maybe not a Starcaster) so you’re all set for your Strat and Tele.

The durable outer layer is made from 400 Denier polyester which is resistant to ripping and tearing, whilst the 5mm padding with soft-touch velour keeps your guitar safe whilst you travel with it. There are also shoulder straps and handles for convenient carrying.

Although we wouldn’t recommend using this for international travel, it’ll keep your guitar safe whilst you walk or drive to gigs.

The TOURTECH TTB-ND25EG Padded Electric Guitar Gig Bag proves that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a high-quality padded guitar gig bag that’ll keep your axe safe in transit.

We think this is one of the best guitar gig bags as it’s under £40, provides great protection from a combination of layered low and high-density foam, an EVA impact sheet and a 1680 Dernier ballistic nylon exterior.

There are also loads of different pouches and reinforced shoulder straps and handles too.

The Mono M80-VEG-GRY Vertigo Electric Guitar bag pictured here in grey is yet another industry standard guitar bag that has been designed to offer incredible protection.

This, like all Mono guitar gig bags, blur the lines between a gig bag and case thanks to the 360-degree protection and focus on keeping the neck and head protected at all times.

The “headlock” system locks the guitar headstock in place and supports the neck, whilst the outer design utilizes military-grade molded rubber outsole which makes the case bounce, just like a shoe when you drop it.

Your guitar is going to be safe in one of these, whether you’re throwing your guitar in the back of your car or on the tour bus.

If you’re a professional level, traveling musician, you need professional-level protection. The TOURTECH Pro Series ABS Electric Guitar Case is easily one of the best guitar hard cases as it features a rugged 'Double-Grain Diamond ABS' exterior and a molded handle, as well as TSA, approved locks.

The locks in particular are a great feature as they can be opened by customs officials without damaging the latch, which often happens when you’re touring internationally.

A luxury plush interior and reinforced neck support all help to keep the guitar safe. If you want great protection and peace of mind that the locks won’t be destroyed by an overly enthusiastic customs official at the airport, then this is your best option.

Also available:

• TOURTECH TTC-EEG Economy Electric Guitar Hard Case
• TOURTECH Basic Single Cutaway Electric Guitar Case
• TOURTECH Pro Series ABS LP Guitar Case

Hiscox is one of the major players in the guitar hard case industry and they make some of the most reliable guitar cases musicians can get their hands on.

If you’ve got a Strat or Tele style guitar and you want a more contoured hard case, then this is great. The Hiscox STD-EF Standard Tele / Strat Style Hard Case features a nifty “lip” design that locks out moisture and the hard-wearing outer shell can take a real beating.

The Fender Deluxe Moulded Hard Case for Strat and Tele Guitars is, you guessed it, designed for Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster guitars.

This has been custom designed for Fender guitars and features a range of high-quality protective features like an ATA moulded military-grade polyethene outer shell and USA TSA approved locking centre latch.

One of the cool things about this case is the impact diversion latch housing which stops the latch from becoming damaged if it gets hit – which sometimes happens!

This means you can still get into your case should something go wrong.

We also love the rugged injection moulded feet which allows you to stand the case upon its side, rather than laying it down flat all the time.  

Shop a full range of guitar cases, guitar gig bags, and guitar accessories for electric and acoustic guitars over at PMT Online, or call into your local PMT store to pick up protection for your axe!

We can also special order guitar cases and gig bags for you should you want a particular brand or style.

Updated: 2020-06-04