I recently noticed an 'owie' in the body of my 1955 Martin--a small dent that went nearly all the way through the outer frame not far from the bottom pin.

I'm pretty sure I know when it happened. A friend was helping me pack for a trip and volunteered to put stuff in my car. I asked him to put the guitar, which was at the time in a gig bag, into the trunk. When I later went to get the guitar out of the trunk, I noticed it was not only upside down (i.e., resting on the strings), but it was placed very precariously far back, in line with the supports of the trunk lid when they close. The gig bag, in fact, was slightly indented, apparently having been compressed a little by the lid apparatus. I didn't see any damage on the face of the guitar, so I thought it had just been a close call. I now suspect that the metal bar had missed the face of the guitar but hit the outside at an angle as it closed.

The guitar is repairable without too much expense, but with a vintage guitar this is hardly an OK outcome. All I can say is if/when you put a prized instrument into a gig bag, keep your eye on it and don't trust others to handle it with the same care you would!

Genie