Want to rack my gear

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Kirby

It sounds to me like you want to keep the weight down and make it easier to setup quickly. If I were you, I would keep my current cases and maybe build some custom patch panels which will make it easier for you to hook everything quickly. I built one for my amp rack which included xlr in/out, 4 speakons for highs and lows, along with a neutrik powercon connector for power...
 
Custom patcher panels are the way to go with multiple rack cases. Many aftermarket suppliers will make 'em to order... but if you're handy with a soldering iron and basic metalworking (drilling, tapping) you can make 'em yourself. In my line of work as an industrial electrician I have accumulated several chassis punches over the years. They help.

Blank rack space cover panels are readily available from gear supply houses and are the ticket for your patchers. Patch panels may be mounted front or back but I prefer rear-mounted. When mounted on the rear rails, the rack front (your work station) remains clean and neat. Leave the patch cabling in the back where it's hidden. :)

Call me the odd man out... but I've read too many horror stories from DJs who have tried all-in-one cases to ever go that road. The Gig Rigs are nice... as long as you don't have to lift 'em.

Gosh, we've got two amps in a 6-U SKB case. It doesn't look heavy but it is. Them amps gain a lot of weight during a show, too, lol. I don't wanna think about how much the whole damn system would weigh in one big case. :eek:
 
Thanks guys, you are all are giving me food for thought.

Whatever I do, I need to remember to allow for "growth" for my system which I did not do when I first started "slapping" things together.
 
Well, there ain't nothing wrong with allowing for growth, Brother Kirby.

When I made my first SKB rack case purchase in 2000, I ordered two 10-U cases. In the old days I used one for gear and the other as a riser for the first one, lol. I never installed a single thing in that second case and ended up giving it to a local compadre in exchange for some shows he passed my way.

Guess I planned for more rack space than I'd ever need. :D

Anyhoo, I got the 6-U SKB case to house the mid and sub amps. The highs amp is still housed in the original 10-U case with the processing. When it's all stacked and draped it looks nice. :)

There's a method to my madness. These amps ain't "DJ amps". They're real prosound units with Toroid power supplies. Big, beefy amps are heavy.

Guess what I'm tryin' to say is... please keep overall weight in consideration before you purchase. As it is, the load ain't light. That's why we broke it up into smaller loads and stack the cases. I'd hate to see you invest a lot of money in an all-in-one case only to find that you won't be able to lift it. :eek:

Hope this helps. :)
 
I have an aluminum diamond plate style, Odyssey rack.

(It is a 12 space i believe) It is used to house my normal dj gear.

Which is a QSC rmx 850 (highs)
QSC Plx2 1804 (Mids)
QSC Plx2 3602 (Subs)

And my Speaker processer, A P.A.S S2.
Contains system processing, x-over, time offset correction,compression/ limiting, has mutes for h/m/s,

Also a Furman Power conditioner, and sometimes a Dbx 231 eq.

With a space or 2 to spare.
With everything in here, i have all i can do to pick it up by myself.
(this coming from a youngin' who drags double 18's around)

The 850 will be put in my other rack soon, may lighten it up a bit.

The last pic is my security cat, Titus. Chillin' on my 8 space rack
 

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Them metal cases are great for touring. :)

Heed the words ~ it can get heavy in a hurry.

For my part, I've had to do many a show on my own. This is why our system is laid out the way it is. I never know when I may have to load it on my own.

I've climbed stairs, loaded on icy sidewalks, stumbled over snowplow piles, lugged the stuff a hundred yards from the road to a back yard location etc.

I've had to cross grey water ditches, sloped lawns (where the cases nearly fell off the platform truck) and braved rain, wind and snow to get loaded.

In the old days I had everything mounted in one big, heavy case. I got a hernia because of it. The surgery had me laid up for two weeks. I will never do that again. It's a lot easier to move one or two cases at a time.

I'll stick with my SKB rack stack and patch 'em together, thanks very much. :)
 
Wolfie is correct once again.

I seen these at the local music shop. thought "wow those look so cool"

seems the other locals said "wow cool looking, back said NO WAY"

Got a heck of a deal on them, (have 2)

But didn't think it out very well. the other case is loaded with amps for my live sound rig, which gets combined with this one at a show.

Live sound shows, i normally have help, but not all of the time.

But with the Cube Van, i really don't have to lift them. Just wheel them up and down the ramp.

The mini van......thats another story
 
Ramps and all notwithstanding, you've still gotta struggle with big cases to get 'em situated where you want 'em.

Handtrucks and platform trucks help, true. But the weight is still there. If you've got to lug that big case uphill by yourself, even on a handtruck it's a day's work just to get it where you want it, lol.

By the time you're loaded in and the show starts, you're already beat half to hell. By the time the show is done, you won't feel like bull-working that big, heavy case, trust me on this. :eek:

Casters work great on paved surfaces. They don't work so well when you're loading out through someone's soggy lawn in the middle of the damn night. And there's no lights on so you can't see where the heck you're goin'.

Wolfie's been there and done that... many a night. My platform truck's got big, fat pneumatic tires. :)
 
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