Grateful Dead Music Forum

Hi. I'm a newbie to this forum so apologies if this question is in the wrong place or is just too basic. Mods, feel free to move or remove as necessary.

I'm a guitarist, and in an effort to get a better/sweeter, more Jerry-esque tone I'm going to be ditching my current amp head and switching to a separate rackmount preamp and amp. This will be my first rackmount setup, and after looking at CL, eBay, and online retailers I'm a bit overwhelmed by the various choices out there for rackmount cases. Could some kind person spare a few minutes and give me brief education on what to look for in a decent, affordable, portable rackmount case -- say one that's 6 spaces or so? I'm not gigging at the moment, just jamming with friends, but there's still a lot of hauling of gear around, so I'm looking for something that isn't too heavy and offers good protection. "Good" is more important to me than "cheap," and I figure my budget for this is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, with a preference for quality used gear. I'd really welcome recommendations on particular brands I should either seek out or avoid.

TIA for your time.

Gator and SKB are perfect for molded poly cases, I went with a rack like Jerry's. a 6 or so space rack then two shelves for effects, which is only useful if you have an effects switcher like a GCX. I only have to haul it, my cab and my mac in a separate wood box made to fit. they are pretty easy to build yourself and reasonable for custom built stuff, but it depends how handy and visionary you are with your hands...

I like Road Ready cases. They go by a dual name that I can't recall at the moment. I do not understand the SKB love, they are so freaking slippery.

I picked up an EWI 6 space shock mounted case on craigslist for like 80 bucks. There are lots of racks in good shape that show up on craigslist. Two things to look for - you need a deeper 19" case to fit your amp. A lot of racks are for effects and not as deep. Other is the shockmount. I like the foam padding, the spring type looks like it would take more abuse.

And if you go bigger than 6 spaces you will want casters - I'm thinking of putting on my 6 space because even that is pretty big and heavy. If you can sacrifice a space to keep open above your amp that is also good to help air circulation over your amp. You can see pics of my setup at my link. Racks are awesome - lots of flexibility.

Good luck -

Cmnaround wrote:you need a deeper 19" case to fit your amp.

False. Amp depth is 19", effects 14". All mine are effects depth and have fit: QSC poweramps, Peavey powearmps, Mesa poweramps, Tubeworks powerams, GCX, SMS, tuners, compressors, PODs, 11R.

IMO, 19" racks are large, add more weight for those stupid 5 inches of air, make traveling in a car impossible and clumsy to try and lift.


OP, check this out: http://store.roadreadycases.com/dyn_pro ... D&k=113882, you'll find better prices but this is the mfg's site

Thanks, all -- I really appreciate the advice. As an update to my other post in the Jerry Tone forum, the McIntosh amp deal didn't pan out, but I found a good deal on a Mesa 50/50 and will be using that instead. No complaints -- it's a great amp, and even at 25 pounds it's 1/3 of the weight of the McIntosh. It's slightly less than 14" deep so I think I will be able to get by with a 14" rackmount case. I will be pairing it with a SMS CTP/JG as soon as funds allow.

Thanks again for the help with the rackmount cases, I'm getting a good sense of what I want.

i'm a still a newb as well ....just picked up one of these off ebay...cant beat it for a little less than $70...and it has the shorter depth!!

[/url]http://cgi.ebay.com/6U-6-SPACE-CUSTOM-A ... 233724[url]

I started out with a 6U. Learned my lesson. Friggin' heavy when full. Now I have a pair of 3U w/2 units in it and on top of it a 2U with 1 unit. Easily ported and stacked.

strumminsix wrote:

Cmnaround wrote:you need a deeper 19" case to fit your amp.

False. Amp depth is 19", effects 14". All mine are effects depth and have fit: QSC poweramps, Peavey powearmps, Mesa poweramps, Tubeworks powerams, GCX, SMS, tuners, compressors, PODs, 11R.

My Mesa amps just fit into the 19" deep rack. Measure before you buy it so your stuff will fit.

Jon S. wrote:I started out with a 6U. Learned my lesson. Friggin' heavy when full. Now I have a pair of 3U w/2 units in it and on top of it a 2U with 1 unit. Easily ported and stacked.

Thanks! THAT'S a tip I'm adopting! It seems so obvious now that I think about it, but I was already beginning to dread lifting a 6U rack.

i think it is good if your rack case is a few inches deeper then your gear so you have room to keep your cords plugged in and room to store them during transport. I only have experience with skb and gator and I think the gators are a much better choice.

strummingturtle wrote:i think it is good if your rack case is a few inches deeper then your gear so you have room to keep your cords plugged in and room to store them during transport. I only have experience with skb and gator and I think the gators are a much better choice.

Don't forget that there is still another 2" for the case lid on most cases like Gator and SKB and leaves plenty of room to have everything plugged in for most situations. Maybe those few inches only make things more awkward with more rack spaces.

Here's my setup: