Best Flightcases in U.K. for a portable studio?

[Paul_G]

I am about to flightcase my whole studio and any suggestions on good cases would be greatly appreciated. There will be lots of outboard and a pro tools rig.
Thanks
Paul G

[acousticmaniac]

I've always used Flightcase Warehouse, based in Tamworth I think. They tend to have a good selection of standard prefabricated cases but they are perfectly happy to build anything to order so you should be able to get exactly what you want built.

Flight Cases : Buy New and Used Flight Cases Online

Regards

[zooloo]

+1 on Flightcase Warehouse... another satisfied customer here.

[matthewd]

+2 Flightcase Warehouse for the main rack side of things
I have also found Peli Products, S.A. | Manufacturer of high-impact, watertight equipment Protector Cases and safety approved, technically advanced flashlights to be great cases for the other things like mics in particular

[John Willett]

Case Design - quality cases and their foaming is second to none.

[Paul_G]

Thanks for the pointers Folks!
I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers

Paul G

[Phaidon]

Hey Paul since I'm on the same boat,preparing my move to N.Y.C. from London,the best stuff outhere,by a mil, is the Road Ready shockmount cases(American Company but can easily be found around London).
As a runner up I would suggest Buster cases(British made) at Studiospares.

Cheers
Phaidon

[LX3]

After seeing some of CaseLine's work while I was on a gig recently, I think I'll be calling them next time. Looked impressive.

Have had a couple of poor experiences recently with flightcase manufacturers in the UK. I wish Bulldog in London were still around - they were excellent.

[Steamy Williams]

Originally Posted by LX3

Have had a couple of poor experiences recently with flightcase manufacturers in the UK.

Would you care to name them?

[LX3]

Originally Posted by Steamy Williams

Would you care to name them?

I don't think that would be terribly fair... it might just have been my particular job, or I might have been speaking to the wrong person at the company, or caught them on a bad day when they were feeling a bit unhelpful.

If you particularly want to know what happened, PM me. It wasn't serious, it just fell short of the service I used to get from Bulldog, and I didn't think the quality of the final product was all that impressive - particularly in view of how much I was charged for the case.

Interestingly, both the companies have already been recommended in this thread! So either I was unlucky, I'm too picky, or other posters haven't actually used these companies for custom work.

[0VU]

The best cases I've bought in the UK have been:

Custom built removable plywood/steel frame racks in foam lined wheeled cases, and big desk cases (48 channel Midas and DDA): CP Cases (expensive but absolutely top quality; I've got some almost 20 year old cases from them that've done thousands of miles and thousands of gigs and they still work perfectly)

Lightweight custom and off the shelf aluminium cases with removable inside trays and fitted foam linings for mics, computers, stage boxes and other small items: Case Design (as mentioned by John Willett; again not cheap but great quality, good after sales service for when you want things changing or re-foaming).

I've also got some old Bulldog cases (shock racks and desk cases) that seem all but indestructible, if extremely heavy!

And I recently picked up a couple of brand new and very nice ply racks in foam lined/lift-off lid wheeled cases from a guy on eBay. He'd had them custom built for a nightclub installation that never happened. The reason I mention them is that they're really excellent quality and were made by Castle Cases in Tamworth. I don't know what they cost new - I doubt they were cheap (and they were custom so I don't know how they compare with their off the shelf stuff - the pics and descriptions of stock product on their website look rather lightweight) - but the cases I bought are well up there with the likes of CP/Bulldog/Cripple Creek. I've had a few cases off eBay recently and they're all tough but I'm not sure of all the manufacturers; next time I'm in the store room I'll have a look for some makers plates.

Peli, Underwater Kinetics and Storm all make good moulded polycarbonate cases which are great for serious protection of individual units or collections of small or fragile items); I think most of mine are Peli but I've got a couple of UK hard drive cases that are just as good. Again, these aren't particularly cheap but good quality cases never seem to be and there's no point in skimping if you want them to last and protect their contents.


I've got a few SKB and Gator type plastic boxes which are ok for scratch protection but not a lot else; they offer no real impact protection, seem to distort quite easily, and the catches give up after a couple of years (They also take smaller rack bolts than all my other cases!) . They used to be the cheap option for basic protection but a good quality used plywood case in decent condition is a better buy imo; unless of course you only need a light duty, light weight box that only really offers scratch and minimal bump protection. I wouldn't want to tour with them or let other people handle them with anything important inside. If they have to go anywhere 'unfriendly' I put them into a foam lined trunk so they get some proper protection.

Flightcase Warehouse stuff has ime been a bit of a mixed bag. When they used to sell secondhand cases from other manufacturers, they had all kinds of great cases at bargain prices but the stuff I've seen from them of their own making has been a bit uninspiring (if flight cases are ever inspiring!) and built to budget. The construction seems ok for the smaller cases but rather lightweight for bigger ones which are likely to be carrying much heavier loads. I'd say that they're ok if you handle the gear yourself and don't load the big cases too heavily or chuck them about; good for light duties but not for a world tour in the hands of a rock 'n' roll shipping company. That said, they do custom work too and the few bits of that which I've seen (which were from detailed specs down to the rivet spacing) have been fine and no more expensive than any of the other companies mentioned.


It's boring and not as glamorous as a shiny new piece of gear but money spent on good cases is never wasted. It's a bit like physical insurance and, particularly with something like a rack full of kit or a mic box or mixer, the case only has to save you from serious damage once to more than pay for itself. I'd rather pay double or more the bottom line price for a really good case that one day may save me from an expensive repair bill, replacement hire costs and potentially jepoardising a job, than save money now and seriously regret it later.

[LX3]

+1 for CP... I just don't tend to use them any more because they are rather expensive.

(Didn't CP buy up Bulldog back in the day?)

BTW, have you seen the "Amazon" plastic shock-rack cases that CP sell? They look stunning.

And yes, the old Bulldog cases with the famous "diamond" surface... Indestructible but really heavy. I still have five of them that were made for me 20 years ago, and they're in fabulous shape.

On the other hand, that "hexaboard" stuff that some manufacturers use these days is very light, which is good when you have to pick the case up. But it's not very hard wearing - the outer surface seems like some kind of sprayed-on finish which can get scraped off quite easily. Also, light weight means the board itself is pretty thin - large panels flex significantly if you put a bit of weight on them (with potentially bad consequences, depending on what's inside).

It's great for small cases, but think carefully before having big cases made from Hexaboard. Of course, it's the big cases where you'd really like to save the weight... you can't win!

[Paul_G]

Originally Posted by 0VU

The best cases I've bought in the UK have been:

Custom built removable plywood/steel frame racks in foam lined wheeled cases, and big desk cases (48 channel Midas and DDA): CP Cases (expensive but absolutely top quality; I've got some almost 20 year old cases from them that've done thousands of miles and thousands of gigs and they still work perfectly)

Lightweight custom and off the shelf aluminium cases with removable inside trays and fitted foam linings for mics, computers, stage boxes and other small items: Case Design (as mentioned by John Willett; again not cheap but great quality, good after sales service for when you want things changing or re-foaming).

I've also got some old Bulldog cases (shock racks and desk cases) that seem all but indestructible, if extremely heavy!

And I recently picked up a couple of brand new and very nice ply racks in foam lined/lift-off lid wheeled cases from a guy on eBay. He'd had them custom built for a nightclub installation that never happened. The reason I mention them is that they're really excellent quality and were made by Castle Cases in Tamworth. I don't know what they cost new - I doubt they were cheap (and they were custom so I don't know how they compare with their off the shelf stuff - the pics and descriptions of stock product on their website look rather lightweight) - but the cases I bought are well up there with the likes of CP/Bulldog/Cripple Creek. I've had a few cases off eBay recently and they're all tough but I'm not sure of all the manufacturers; next time I'm in the store room I'll have a look for some makers plates.

Peli, Underwater Kinetics and Storm all make good moulded polycarbonate cases which are great for serious protection of individual units or collections of small or fragile items); I think most of mine are Peli but I've got a couple of UK hard drive cases that are just as good. Again, these aren't particularly cheap but good quality cases never seem to be and there's no point in skimping if you want them to last and protect their contents.


I've got a few SKB and Gator type plastic boxes which are ok for scratch protection but not a lot else; they offer no real impact protection, seem to distort quite easily, and the catches give up after a couple of years (They also take smaller rack bolts than all my other cases!) . They used to be the cheap option for basic protection but a good quality used plywood case in decent condition is a better buy imo; unless of course you only need a light duty, light weight box that only really offers scratch and minimal bump protection. I wouldn't want to tour with them or let other people handle them with anything important inside. If they have to go anywhere 'unfriendly' I put them into a foam lined trunk so they get some proper protection.

Flightcase Warehouse stuff has ime been a bit of a mixed bag. When they used to sell secondhand cases from other manufacturers, they had all kinds of great cases at bargain prices but the stuff I've seen from them of their own making has been a bit uninspiring (if flight cases are ever inspiring!) and built to budget. The construction seems ok for the smaller cases but rather lightweight for bigger ones which are likely to be carrying much heavier loads. I'd say that they're ok if you handle the gear yourself and don't load the big cases too heavily or chuck them about; good for light duties but not for a world tour in the hands of a rock 'n' roll shipping company. That said, they do custom work too and the few bits of that which I've seen (which were from detailed specs down to the rivet spacing) have been fine and no more expensive than any of the other companies mentioned.


It's boring and not as glamorous as a shiny new piece of gear but money spent on good cases is never wasted. It's a bit like physical insurance and, particularly with something like a rack full of kit or a mic box or mixer, the case only has to save you from serious damage once to more than pay for itself. I'd rather pay double or more the bottom line price for a really good case that one day may save me from an expensive repair bill, replacement hire costs and potentially jepoardising a job, than save money now and seriously regret it later.

Wow! Thanks for all this valuable stuff. It makes perfect sense.
Cheers
Paul G