Fine-Tuning the Perfect Guitar Case
FREDERICTON – Whether you’re a touring musician, hobbyist or just really love your trusty old Martin D-28, Timbre Cases has you covered.
Peter McMath, president and founder of Timbre Cases, is striving to design and create the highest quality musical instrument cases in the world. Because many of their customers are located across Europe and the U.S., Timbre Cases is competing on an international level in the instrument case industry.
Over the last year, McMath and Timbre Cases have been fine-tuning the materials used in case production and improving the case’s weight and overall design. McMath is aiming to have the very first full run of products manufactured and shipped out to buyers by the end of January. He explains that most of what they’re producing are units that have already been sold, but the first run will also include units they’ll be selling after production.
Having worked at a local music store, McMath has experience selling and repairing guitars. While working there he discovered that no one had perfected guitar protection or taken the time to design a case that solved all of the issues of preserving an instrument’s quality.
“You never get it right the first time. You probably won’t get it right the second time. If you’re really lucky, you might get it right the third time. We’re on so many iterations of just trying to get it perfect,” McMath says. “We’re competing to be the best in the world. To get that right, it’s not just good, it’s not just cool, it’s not just okay. It needs to be the best.”
McMath explains that Timbre Cases will fill a gap in the market of guitar cases for serious musicians.
“There’s a few cases that have tried to properly protect the instrument but the way they do that really isn’t solving the problem,” he says. “What musicians are paying for with our cases is a really great product and the quality material itself, not the company that makes it.”
Timbre Cases are designed to protect guitars not only from hits and outside damage, but also from what McMath considers the biggest damaging factor: improper humidity. He explains that Timbre cases solve this problem with a humidification pocket system that keeps the guitar at 45-55% relative humidity.
“A guitar just sitting in a room – it’s not properly humidified. The wood will either absorb too much moisture and swell out and change or it will dry out, release all the moisture and it will crack and dry out,” McMath explains. “That’s like 90% of instrument damage. Our cases address that as well as provide a much more structurally sound environment for the guitar.”
With a background in the music industry, McMath aims to appeal to customers who simply love their guitars and want to preserve them the best way they can. He explains that the people most interested in the product aren’t necessarily classic rock stars throwing their guitars into the back of a tour van, they’re a group of people with the common desire to protect instruments they care about.
“The (longer) they have a guitar, the more they care about it,” he says. “Maybe they’ve written a song on it or it’s really special. Maybe it was a gift. A lot of value is in the individual instrument, not necessarily the price of the instrument.”
While many of their customers are not local, Timbre Cases has had plenty of support in the Fredericton community, from musicians to local stakeholders and organizations such as Opportunities NB and Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
Timbre Cases is now looking to further their growth by developing products for other instruments and working with guitar manufacturers to have guitars shipped directly with Timbre cases.
McMath plans to keep Timbre Cases’ headquarters and assembly facility in Fredericton. He explains that they are still able to import the highest quality materials to the area and export globally from here. He also prefers the option to hire New Brunswickers once assembly is underway.