Road case - are all brands decent?

[Murton]

Highly recommend roadcases cases rackmount case flightcases buy online Australia's case manufacturer shipping freight containers rack cases for those based in Australia, better quality than Road Ready at a much better price here in Aus. Bought a 10U on castors and a 6U three lidded mixer rack. The sales person was back to me the next day with research done and questions answered after I emailed at 8 at night, he replied at 8:20 in the morning. Fast turn around, more questions answered that day and order confirmed by noon. This was on friday, order arrived on Tuesday, no shipping charge, in perfect condition.

[fabricaudio]

I dont own any of the cases that people mentioned but i just want to share my experience

I work three years in a live venue in UK and i have helped loads of times in load in and load out for bands.

1. If it is for personal use any case will do because since YOU paid for that you will take care of it!

2. If it is for commercial use and you buy cheap ones make sure you trust the people you hire to do the job

I have seen loads of bands (cover bands mainly) bringing their own cases and packing everything very nice and carefully and the cases are still like new

I have seen hire companies bringing cases and again taking care of their cases because they are their tools


I have seen hire staff loading band's cases and playing 'basketball' while loading with the cases


I think that what you pay is what you get but if you are careful enough you can start with something cheap and then upgrade when money is not a problem


I am planning to buy cases in the future but a quick calculation for expensive ones makes the backline hire service i want to offer too expensive for the bands so i need to start from the cheap ones


Nikolas

[loji]

I shipped a standard SKB Roto case on a pallet 5'x5'x4' (500lbs) from San Diego to NYC ... it arrive perfectly. Strapped to hell with Rachet straps too. hanging out in the back of fedex UPS trucks, and who knows how many transfers.

I picked up an Avil custom ATA case for *free* from PRG one day. It got a forklift fork through it's top .... sad day for that case, after hauling it back from Jersey, and rolling it across midtown and the subway (gawd, that was no fun!) I have an amazing mic case .... I repaired the forklift hole in the top, and it's good as new.


What does this mean for buying cases? Sh!t is *always* going to happen. I suggest the most important aspects are ::

weight - are you lifting it, or is your 350lb brother lifting it. Yes, you will have to carry it down and up stairs eventually. and yes, it'll suck.

water - yes, it will rain, yes, your gear will be outside when it does, does your case leak? the latches, seams, absorbtant foam? check

shock - straight rack, or shock rack? shock mount the gear instead of the rack, use foam rubber between the rack ears, and rack itself to isolate the gear and let the case shake it's rivets out without transfering to the internal connections of your gear.

other considerations count, but not as much I think. brand, size, style, corners ... if your case isn't liftable, waterproof, or absorb shocks .. it's a paperweight.

I agree with castors. Build a dolly, and bolt on your own casters. It'll cost $5-12 apiece for Excellent industrial rated castors. Don't buy cheap ones. use a rachet strap to secure the case to the dolly instead of bolting through the case. (water) .. it also lets you dolly around mic stands, drunk groupies, and amps with ease.


Still waiting for my perfect personal workbox someday ... drawers, shelves, racks, table, bench .. ahhh the good life

[Dave Ferris]

Another shout out for A&S Cases here in LA.

I've had at least a half dozen different keyboard cases since the 80's in addition to a few racks. Always the highest quality and service. Although last year when I priced a new case for my Yamaha CP300 digital piano it was around a grand. The keyboard new cost me only $1700. She said get 'em before the price increase....jeez!

[edwinhurwitz]

I'll also mention that for guitars, basses, mandolins, etc, Calton cases are really hard to beat. I got one for my '67 Starfire bass and it was custom made for the bass, which fits absolutely perfectly. It's got enough protection that it could be dropped a pretty good distance without worry. It's also nicely waterproof (we went through this: YouTube - Great American Taxi's Delfest 2009 set.....talk about blowing the roof off the place! with the bass in its case under these conditions for about 75 minutes). I can't recommend them highly enough!

Not the cheapest case around, it was about $750 (3 times what I paid for the bass!) but worth every penny. Plus, it's PURPLE!!!!! No one would be able to grab it and try to discreetly get away.

Edwin

[Thomas W. Bethe]

Originally Posted by talbe1019

I live very close to Caravan Cases. I had them make a 10 space and 16 space shock mount with casters and loved the quality.
They are just outside Cleveland.

Another vote for Caravan Cases. All my road gear is in one of their cases and they are all VERY WELL MADE. Chuck and the guys at Caravan ALWAYS do a GREAT job. I have asked them to customize some of my cases and they have always come up with some very innovative ideas. I have one case that has a table stored in the lid and it works GREAT! They just made a case for our video camera and it came out better than anything you could buy and the prices were VERY reasonable.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!!

Here is their web address:Caravan Cases :: Custom Cases Made Just For You!

[Enginearing]

Originally Posted by Murton

Highly recommend roadcases cases rackmount case flightcases buy online Australia's case manufacturer shipping freight containers rack cases for those based in Australia, better quality than Road Ready at a much better price here in Aus. Bought a 10U on castors and a 6U three lidded mixer rack. The sales person was back to me the next day with research done and questions answered after I emailed at 8 at night, he replied at 8:20 in the morning. Fast turn around, more questions answered that day and order confirmed by noon. This was on friday, order arrived on Tuesday, no shipping charge, in perfect condition.

Good to see Bluecat looked after you...

[plexisys]

For 30+ years I've used Anvil, A&S and OPI. Little or no problems with any of them. I still have the Anvil briefcase I bought in 1977 and it still works fine. I was on the road 10-11 months a year, doing shows most days, so I can tell you all 3 brands hold up well.

[taturana]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I was recommended the SKB "standard" cases by the good folks on this forum.

Rack Products by SKB Cases

They are lightweight and very good for car/road transport.

I have the 3U.

i have a 3 rackspace also... but that plastic will break easily, also the latches are fragile... i've seen airlines destroy quite a few in tours... i think it's better to have a stronger, heavier case, like caravan...(here in rio we have a very good manufacturer called novacase but i am not sure you can get them in the US)... but if you are going to transport it by van or car which is what i do mostly with mine they are good enough...

[rmedek]

Does anyone have any experience with these cases?

4 SPACE SHOCK MOUNT AMP RACK CASE - NEW ATA PRO LINE - eBay (item 380156030935 end time Sep-15-09 15:28:09 PDT)

Cheap for shockmount, and although there isn't a whole lot of padding in there it seems more secure than a SKB for carting around expensive outboard gear. Mostly wondering if they would hold up over time.

[tysonviolin]

Originally Posted by fifthcircle

I've had great service and quality from Encore cases, Jan-Al (the company that had the complaint in the other thread), and A&S Cases. All are here in LA.

--Ben

those are the three i buy from

[bishopthomas]

Originally Posted by rmedek

Does anyone have any experience with these cases?

4 SPACE SHOCK MOUNT AMP RACK CASE - NEW ATA PRO LINE - eBay (item 380156030935 end time Sep-15-09 15:28:09 PDT)

Cheap for shockmount, and although there isn't a whole lot of padding in there it seems more secure than a SKB for carting around expensive outboard gear. Mostly wondering if they would hold up over time.

No experience, but it looks very cheap. I will be ordering my shockmount cases from here: Audiopile Pro Audio* Welcome to Audiopile I have ordered many cases from them before and they are an excellent value for the money. And the owners are great to work with.

[I LOVE YOU]

Curious to see if you gentlemen have any updates.

Would like to combine these into one rig if it would meet the carry on requirements:
RACK A:
Gordon M5 mic preamp + Gordon Gain Controller OR Gordon M4 mic preamp
Prism Orpheus

RACK B
Macbook Pro 17" + wall wart
Apogee Duet
Two 3.5" Hard drives w/ case and psu
UPS / power strip / surge suppressor
cables
Mics (DPA 4011TL, M930, M295, UM900, etc.)
Headphones
BONUS: Focal Solo 6BE or the like (Also have K&H o110's and are considering genelec 6010's)
BONUS: sturdy, compact, collapsable table
folding hand cart

[Jim Williams]

Touring with Stevie Wonder for several years, we used them all. Yes, we managed to break all of them. Some were huge like one for the Yammy grand piano.

Most were Anvil and A+S. Avoid the A+S aluminum sided cases. We found those are easily torn with a sharp object. The hard plastic is best, only fork lifts poke holes in those.