Boss CB-EG10

This soft case is the big brother of the Boss CB EG01, and is really well designed. It has all the right elements in terms of protection, comfort, convenience and practicality. The padding is firm and thick. The balance is great. The overall weight is excellent. The straps and handles are comfortable. There is padding between the instrument and the outer pocket, so your guitar doesn't damage your laptop and vice versa.

What's more? Your Telecaster or Strat will fit snugly without too much extra room around. As an internationally active musician of many decades, I have come to the conclusion that it is not good for a soft case to have too much wiggle room inside it. It's always better to have a good fit combined with good padding. A loose fit allows for your instrument to move around, which actually makes it easier to damage it in the course of daily usage and movements and typical traveling activities. And, it wears down the case faster.

I would go as far as to say that this case can give the M*** brand cases which cost 3 to 6 times as much, a good run for their money.

The only drawback is that the top pocket is quite tight. You won't be able to put much in there. Anything with thickness such as a small tuner or micro pedal will not get in.

Some missing details I would ask for:
1) an extra piece of hard foam to be provided. I always place a 4 cm thick piece of foam on the inside bottom, which I let my guitar's strap holder punch a hole into. This provides an all-important buffer at the bottom of the instrument.
2) waterproof shell material, so I don't have to keep spraying the case every few weeks/months
3) large rubber padding on the outside at the bottom, like the M*** brand soft cases have.

I bought a Fender Stratocaster II Modified a week ago and, of course, I wasn't convinced about the safety of the guitar with the gig bag that comes with it. After spending three days reading reviews and figuring out which would be the best gig bag for the guitar, I came up with three options: 1) Gator G-PG, 2) Thomann SafeCase, and 3) This Boss CB-EG10.

At this point in my life, I think long and hard before buying equipment or anything related to guitar gear, as I don't have much space at home. That said, considering that I'm not currently in a band and I am just a rockstar dad at home on the weekends, I decided to go with the Boss gig bag because the other two options would cost double the price of this one, even though I was willing to spend the money to protect the guitar (take good care of your things).

Having explained the reasoning of the purchase, here is my evaluation:

Pros:

1. The bag is solid and almost rigid in the outside, thick enough (25 mm) and soft in the inside that you’d like have it as sleeping bag in a cold mountain. The Strat fits perfectly.
2. It’s not so bulky as the other options I was considering.
3. Has a plain, simple and elegant design. You’ll feel like you have a high quality product in your hands.
4. I’ve seen people complain about the lack of space in the front compartments. Forme that’s not an issue, on the contrary, it’s something I like. I just need space for the tremolo arm and the guitar strap, that’s it. You could even put a couple of cables in the bottom compartment.

Cons:

None but…

1. It could have a padded piece to protect the inside bottom the bag from the guitar strap pin. That’s the only “week” spot I could think of, but it’s not an immediate issue, it’s something than would happen through the years. To solve it, I when to the kitchen and stole my wife the most soft kitchen towel I could fine and place it between the guitar and the bottom of the bag. Problem solved and I use it to clean the guitar too.
2. My Epiphone ES 339 fits perfectly but I would not use this bag for angled headstock guitars. It just doesn’t feel right.
3. It’s not an extreme protective bag like the other two, but works for my actual needs. I’m not touring and not planning to throw the guitar out of the window of my second floor flat.

In summary, this is undoubtedly a five stars product. I will buy another one for my 20 y/o Squier Strat, she deserves it too.