SKB 66 Pro

Having bought a brand new American Strat for my son's 18th birthday, it seemed the logical thing for him to ask for the Fender case to keep it in. However, the Fender branded SKB case is not readily available as a stand-alone item any more. But - this SKB case appears to be the direct replacement, the only apparent difference being that it has the SKB logo embossed on the case instead of the Fender logo.
The quality is excellent, the catches open and close firmly but easily and it is lockable, always a good idea at college! The fit for a Strat is just right and the padding inside is snug and soft. It might have been slightly improved by the accessory compartment having a lid but we have to trust that items will not move about inside once the case is shut (not put to the test yet).
Another bonus which we hope never to need is that having done some research, it would appear that Fender's own warranty on their branded cases was somewhat limited and I have read reports of cracked cases not being covered, but with a "direct from SKB" case the lifetime warranty applies and all spares are readily available.
We hope this case has a long and happy life along with the guitar safely inside it.

I've bought this case one year ago and waited to see how it behaves before writing a review. The Strat-style guitar I'm storing in the case does seem to fit well.

So far I've only used it for storage, so I don't know how it would behave when stressed more, but what I do know is that the case smells noticeably of off-gassing chemicals (a somewhat acrid smell). This is probably from the glue, maybe from the foam, I can't be sure.

I expected this to go away with time, and to some extent it has, but especially in hot weather, after storing a guitar for about a week, the smell is pretty strong when I open it, and it also lingers on the guitar for about a day or so after I take it out.

All in all the case feels solid, but the TSA-approved latches feel like a plasticy gimmick and the smell creates an impression of cheapness. It also makes me uncomfortable to store more expensive guitars in the case, since I'm not sure what chemicals are off-gassing to produce that smell, and how they might affect the finish, strings, etc.

Reading a bunch of websites to try to find a cure for the smell (I've tried to gently use a hair drier, left a small bowl of ground coffee in the case, left some newspapers inside for a while, nothing really worked), I found reviews of Les Paul SKB cases where the handle just disintegrated. I will never buy another SKB. I hear good things about Hiscox, I'll probably try that if I ever need another hardcase.

This case was exactly what I was looking for it isn't big it doesn't take up a lot of room and it barely ways anything which makes it easier to carry it without tiring your arm.

I bought this case with the sole purpose to bring with me on a flight but I have found myself using it for all my day to day use which hopefully gives you some insight how nice I find this case.

The interior (as you can see from the photo that Thomann have provided) is minimalistic which is great as you don't need lids for the compartments as the lid of the case acts as your lid for the compartments so nothing will be thrown around the case keeping your instrument safe and scratch free.

The lining is your standard soft fluffy felt the only problem I have with the interior like this is that it absorbs a lot of sweat and then start to make the case smell.
(hasn't happened yet)

The area where you store your strat is reversible no matter if it is left handed or right handed you can store your instrument with is a nice touch to have in this case.

The case seems to be very strong even though it is very light,

The latches are made out of plastic but when I lock the middle hatch and try to open it up with some reasonable force it barely budges but I don't know how strong they really are.

This is a great case and I recommend buying it.

I recently bought an American Standard Tele, but the case that came with it, the Fender Pro Series, didn't fit properly. It wobbled about in the case and I didn't like the sound of hearing it smacking around in there.

Then I stumbled across this case and couldn't find a bad review on it, so I bought it and I'm very glad I did. It holds the Tele in place perfectly, doesn't wobble about and it has a larger strap/strings compartment than my other cases, so it's fit for my Richter padded leather strap as well, which doesn't fit in most cases I have. The locks are strong and I think they would easily stand the test of time.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this case to anyone looking for a good solid case to keep their prized Fender Tele or Strat in!