Live in Rack+Case Vs. Separate Head Case+Rack

[ATRguitar91]

With tour on the horizon, I'm looking to protect and organize my rig. I'm debating on whether or not I want to get a separate case for my 6505 and a small 6U rack to put my effects in, or get a all-in-one live in case and rack. I have a friend selling a good case for 120 and can get a rack for about the same. What are the pros and cons of each?

 

[walleye]

you flying at all on the tour? or not at all

 

[ATRguitar91]

No way at this point. ha

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I'd go with all one rack. It'll be heavy as shit, but as long as you have some buddies helping and the case has good casters you'll be alright.

Look at it this way, if you need to carry all your own gear to setup without help, than the modular route is the way to go.

 

[rug]

I currently have a regular rack, I don't have an amp road case though. However, not a day goes by that I don't wish I had the cash for an amp head/rack combination road case. I really don't see the appeal to buying them separately, unless you can see yourself selling your amp and getting a different one...then it would make sense to buy separate cases.

One of the things that I'm hoping to get within the next year or two is a really nice road case from Emperor. I haven't talked to them to see if it's possible, but I'd like to get a road case that has room for a head on top (maybe two?? ) a decent space rack in the middle, and then room to hold one of their 2x12s at the bottom. It would be a large case, but my set up time would be reduced to taking the front and back covers off of the case, plugging in to a power outlet, and unpacking my pedalboard. 5 minutes, tops, for set up and tear down combined.

They aren't cheap, but take a look at Emperor...the stuff they make is gorgeous.

 

[ATRguitar91]

I like the single option more too, but from what I can find it's alot cheaper just to run them separately. If I could find a rack case for a good price I'd definitely bite.

 

[vanhendrix]

I have an all-in-one case and the thing weighs hundreds of pounds. I totally didn't consider the weight when I designed/bought it but it was a catastrophic waste of money, I can tell you that much. It will certainly not be coming to shows with me. Looks cool though....

 

[Razzy]

I've been running a head/rack case for the last year and a half or so, and I've loved it. All I have to plug in on stage is power and cabinet. Everything else stays hooked up. I went the separate cases route before, and it was just a big pain in the ass trying to setup/tear down. Trying to keep shit from tangling while thinking, "Which goes to FX Send? Which goes to FX Return? Which goes to my pedal inputs, where do my pedal output's go? Which one do I plug into the front of the head?

 

[Decipher]

I did both so I'll chime in on the combo case:
Pros:
-Easy setup. Plug in and play, It's really great to have everything in the same case and organized.
-Appearance. It looks fucking bad-ass-as-all-hell.
-It's it's own theft deterant. It's big & heavy.... No one's gonna run off with it!
Cons:
-Expensive. Seriously.
-Do not retain value and are very hard to sell. Expect 1/3 what you originally paid if you bought new.
-Weight. You will not be able to move it yourself. It will weigh couple-few hundred pounds loaded. Hopefully you have willing help to move it all the time.
-Size. I found that the majority of stages can not accomodate everyone/everything (small"ish"). They take up too much room. Door frames= tight fit. Can be frustrating and awkward. Narrow hallways....
-Stairs are the enemy. These cases are bulky and heavy. It's scary as fuck trying to guide these things down long flights of stairs. And for my hometown, almost every venue is in the basement of a building!
-Vehicle/transportation. You will have to make sure you have a vehicle to accomodate. My Blazer JUST fit it in. But a minivan, cargo van, some SUV's or a truck are going to be your best bet.
-Your bandmates will hate you for it (see above points).

I loved it but decided I'll go back to the seperate cases as I can not physically move it myself and it just doesn't fit on most stages!

 

[ATRguitar91]

I think I'm gonna have to go with the separate setup for now. I'll be loading gear on my own too much to get one of the huge cases. Time to make a wish list!

 

[BryanFTWL]

I'm kind of torn on having one. It's SO convenient and easy to setup, but it's so big and heavy.

I mean, overall, if I went back in time and had the choice, I'd still get one.



Plus they look bad ass :

 

[juice_74]

Im thinking of building one too, but with the head im really worried that it will over heat in there, what do yas think?

You reckon I should chuck a reverse fan in there at the back to suck all the warm air out?

 

[samincolour]

I have a live in on casters with a 6u and it's fucking huge, I don't bother using it for smaller shows. Me and the other guitarist are ordering live-ins with 4u racks and no casters next month, I find they're easier to get around, and we have this little dolly thing (to push our Orange cabs around cos they don't have casters) so we'd stack the two head cases on top of each other and push them around that way, kinda less work and they're a lot lighter than the big ones we have. Separate head/rack cases are too much work haha

 

[atimoc]

I was contemplating the same thing when I was looking for cases for my setup. Originally I planned to go for two separate cases for the head and the 4U rack, but the builder made a good point about having 1U of extra space in the live-in case anyway. That way if you buy a taller head you can still use your old case by getting rid of the rack space.

After that it didn't make much sense to have one case for the head + 1U and another for 3U so I went for a single case and cut down the total rack space to 3U. The build is still underway, I'll post some pics when it is done.

 

[incinerated_guitar]

Im thinking of building one too, but with the head im really worried that it will over heat in there, what do yas think?

You reckon I should chuck a reverse fan in there at the back to suck all the warm air out?

Look at the pic above your post, I believe its from affordable-cases.com They cut the foam in a shock case to fit perfectly to your head, and even leave a spot in the top cut so the vents have enough room to breathe. Thats really ALL you have to do.

 

[BryanFTWL]

Look at the pic above your post, I believe its from affordable-cases.com They cut the foam in a shock case to fit perfectly to your head, and even leave a spot in the top cut so the vents have enough room to breathe. Thats really ALL you have to do.

It's not an affordable case. The guy I got it from said it was a Crown, but it doesn't have a badge to verify that. Anyways, I had a 3/8" ply case for my old Recto cab from affordable, and it wasn't built well. The top would bend in if you put a head on it, and it just felt cheap. The headcase is SUPER sturdy. You can stand on it and kind of bounce up and down, and it won't flex. I actually had someone get it out of my suv without me knowing and dropped flat on its side from being about 3 ft off the ground. The case and everything in it were unscathed.

 

[incinerated_guitar]

It's not an affordable case. The guy I got it from said it was a Crown, but it doesn't have a badge to verify that. Anyways, I had a 3/8" ply case for my old Recto cab from affordable, and it wasn't built well. The top would bend in if you put a head on it, and it just felt cheap. The headcase is SUPER sturdy. You can stand on it and kind of bounce up and down, and it won't flex. I actually had someone get it out of my suv without me knowing and dropped flat on its side from being about 3 ft off the ground. The case and everything in it were unscathed.

So the crown case is a lot better?

 

[BryanFTWL]

So the crown case is a lot better?

Definitely. I feel completely safe with the crown case.

 

[incinerated_guitar]

Definitely. I feel completely safe with the crown case.

Do they custom fit their cases for your head?

 

[Blasphemer]

Something cool to consider - I'm having a guy build me a head case + 4U rack that will be seperate units that can attach together and make a single unit. Then, if I dont want to use my 5150, but need rack effects, just detach and go.