I'll begin my reply with this: I'm reasonably sure not everyone here knows that as of about two months ago, Recording King has gone out of business. They are under the umbrella of the Bay Area based The Music Link, which also included The Loar mandolins, RK lap steels and Guardian cases. There's a rumor out there that some other entity may buy the company, but it's definitely rumor status only.

The website is still up for the most part, and here is a link to what is apparently the case for the Leadbetter (don't forget the "e") though it's kind of confusing, because the model number is shown for both the reso case and the banjo case which are obviously very different shapes. The other thing that's weird is in the descriptions of the various spider bridge resonators, there is no mention of of the appropriate case for each model. And now you can't call to find out unless someone is still manning the phones at the HQ.

https://www.recordingking.com/cg044k

In googling the product number I came up with one of these cases provided again, if it's the correct one, in my general neck of the woods in the Bay Area at a big music store about 15 miles north of San Francisco, Bananas at Large. I also found a listing in Missouri from Banjo Ben Clark, obviously a lot closer to South Carolina for Charlie Thompson. They show it as a "dreadnought case" so Charlie, you will want to contact them to see if it is in fact the correct size for your Phil Leadbetter dobro. 

https://store.banjobenclark.com/products/guardian-cg-044k-d-dreadnought-guitar-hardshell-case?srsltid=AfmBOoq2xCxr-j2NQ7dEkGUnBoIis3p_bBUpqTVtPMLGfaAp3D1JFkyx

No doubt there are other cases that would do the job, but I would start with this one.

A shame about The Music Link, they were doing a great job in their segment of the acoustic stringed instrument world. I own an "A" Model mandolin from The Loar and it's a very nice instrument for the money. 

Wow, I’m shocked. Seemed like they were very popular.

The Recording King case for their square neck dobros is model CG-022-SQ. The Banjo Ben case is not the correct case.

I just bought a new Leadbetter model to replace my Hounddawg that got knocked over. I know RK are kaput for now but the price I paid reflected that.

Does anybody know if either the TKL 7801 or the Gator GW-JM RESO are good fits for my instrument?

I have my Recording King in the best soft case I’ve ever seen. The guitar came from his son. Unless you can find the one that fits the guitar,I’d stay away from buying online. Just because a case is advertised for a square neck dobro does not mean all square necks will fit. Good hunting for a case.

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Originally posted by little ray

I have my Recording King in the best soft case I’ve ever seen. The guitar came from his son. Unless you can find the one that fits the guitar,I’d stay away from buying online. Just because a case is advertised for a square neck dobro does not mean all square necks will fit. Good hunting for a case.

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Need more details - you're saying you bought the guitar from Phil Leadbetter.  And it's in the best soft case you've ever seen - it it a Recording King brand soft case?

Of course one shouldn't just buy a case that's advertised for a squareneck dobro anymore than one would buy any case for a flattop guitar because it's advertised as an acoustic guitar case.  Squareneck guitars, like flattops,  come in different sizes. Gotta have measurements.

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Originally posted by resoranger

The Recording King case for their square neck dobros is model CG-022-SQ. The Banjo Ben case is not the correct case.

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Yeah - Charlie, who started this thread a week ago hasn't been back to reply, and he also started a similar thread on The Steel Guitar Forum, so I copied-and-pasted my reply here to that site as well. Bill Groner on the SGF also reached out to Banjo Ben and received the same reply that the item I shared is not the correct case.

And this is weird - it's water under the bridge since Recording King has closed its doors - but all of the hardshell cases on the RK site show the same model number, regardless of size. 

Somebody really dropped the ball there.

I googled a variety of outlets for CG-022-SQ and they're becoming as rare as hen's teeth - many "out of stock" listings.

I've played a couple Leadbetters in stores in the past and I really wanted to buy one to be a travel reso to take on vacation, camping, etc. - but I just couldn't get past the 1 3/4" wide nut. I think they sound good and they look good as well. Going back to the 1970s for quite a few years my only dobro was in fact a prewar Dobro, a circa 1933 Los Angeles built Model 37. And I got used to it because I didn't have anything in reso terms for comparison.

But I had wanted for a number of years to get a Regal-built Chicago Model 37 similar to what MIke Auldridge played for a good portion of his career so when Sterve Toth reached out to me going on a couple years ago that he had a nice one for sale I went down to his place in San Diego County, played it, and bought it. It's a great sounding old Dobro with a Quarterman cone and I play it a lot, but like my other prewar Dobro, it has a 1 3/4" nut and after playing modern resos with wider nuts for many years, sometimes I find my picking fingers tripping over each other and occasionally I accidentally make a contact with the tip of my bar on an adjacent string. 

Phil's son Matt Leadbetter, also a great dobro player, told me some time back that his dad's original prototype came with a wider nut - this was the guitar Phil had set up by Bobby Wright. But something apparently got lost in translation with the Chinese RK operation - which was their own factory, not one where the Chinese build for multiple importers - and all the production RK Leadbetters shipped with a 1 3/4" nut. 

Yes, some crucial details are missing from your post, little ray.

Seeking first-hand recommendations so I don't buy blindly.

Correction from earlier post but it was too late to fix it. Little Ray stated he bought his guitar from Phil's son Matt, I mistakenly typed "Phil."

https://theacousticshoppe.com/a/blog/recording-king-and-alvarez-restoring-into-legendary-brands?srsltid=ARcRdnoMVX4eaLPJbcm6AsqfWU0EKSDL46xpHDRI-AX3ukpbu_SoQUZw
 

It's being reported now that Recording King has been acquired by St. Louis Music.

Hey gang

I asked The Acoustic Shoppe to test fit a RK Phil Leadbetter in a TKL 7801 case squareneck case. Attached are pictures.

Their commentary:

"So right off the bat, you'll see that it does leave some gaps in the upper bout. The lower bout fits much better and the neck block is an okay fit, so I would say it does fit snug in the important places. Then I closed it and honestly shook the instrument around a bunch and swung it, I heard and felt zero rattling of any kind. So although it doesn't fit like a glove all around the instrument, it does function well at keeping the instrument snug when closed."

Hope this helps.

I recently purchased the Phil Ledbetter model reso guitar without a case. I found a TKL case that has a nice snug fit. The waist has a gap but the top and bottom bouts are snug. The model number is TKL 08801-LTD

I have one of the Guardian cases made for the Recording King dobros that I don't need and will sell, but you will need to pick it up in Va.