Right with ya James. I carry mine in a gig bag,n I've had a few accidents. Accidently bashed my beloved Slash model Les Paul into my mates flat door and shattered the selector switch cap. N my local music shop bein **** couldnt get one small enough. So it has a big one with some tape on the inside to make it fit. I still cry to this day. And only last week did I smash my crappy strat into my flat mates hallway and put a chip in the side of the body. So my advice: Get a hard case.