hey, I bought a rack drawer :-)

[Jim D]

It's nice. Found it at one of those scratch and dent stores on sale
for $35. Amazon wants $135 for identical thing ( free shipping with
Prime ). It's two spaces tall, steel, has a key lock on the front.

For a while I've looked at those as a way to eliminate one of the carry
bags I use for transporting mics and such. But the price always put me
off. So when I saw this one cheap, snagged it. We have a lot of these
stores around here. They sell returned things and oddball expired food.

Ok, so what was " dented " on my new drawer ? Best I can tell is that
when it was made, one of the siderail rivets sticks out a bit too far
on the inside and makes the drawer wanna kinda stick just before it is
fully open. Spent some time with a diamond file and a Dremel polishing
tool, now it seems perfect.

I'll carry my mic in it this weeked, but long term this is where the
computer and my tablets will end up. Less chance of leaving those
sitting somewhere in a carry bag. There's no way I'll forget one of my
two main rack cases :-)

JimD

[Ouisie]

I saw those rack mounted cases. I also thought the objective is to travel as
*light* as possible.

So why these Huge, Heavy Monsters???

It just makes no sense that with all the computer *worship* - Digital
Idolatry going on, anyone would want something designed in the earlier part
of the 20th Century for the purpose of Industrial mounting of enormously
heavy and bulky electronic equipment, practically all of which used vacuum
tube circuits, along with their monster transformer power supplies almost
exclusively!

Sure, it's easy to understand putting storage drawers in those mounting
systems - with all those enormous B+ vacuum tube transformers already
mounted in them, patch bays and such, there'd naturally be room simply for
storage, or anything else for that matter...maybe even a walk-in closet ;)

When I worked with loudspeakers, we used plenty of EIA rack mounts, banks of
them in fact...kind of made NASA's Mission Control setups look 'compact' by
comparison - the ones that comprised our main test console in the lab must
have been at least 7' tall - practically walk-in huge, and even had a couple
of tables sticking out of them near the bottom, so they could be sat at
comfortably while using them.

And whenever a switch setup was needed, such as the one that adjusted the
microphone distance and angular off center position for polar measurements
of the speaker under test in our anechoic chamber, using a total of TWO
switches, they were mounted in a full height mounting plate - space to Waste
with plenty more where that came from! ;)

The concept was, and still is a very valid one...except for SIZE now that
Practically everything electronic is VLSI miniaturized.
For example, even though they're still around, 1/4" (6.35mm) phone plugs
have been miniaturized down to 3.5mm 'miniature' and even 2.5mm
'subminiature' - so why not rack mountings and the racks to mount them
into???

Ouisie

[Jim D]

There is a newer small form factor, sorta, called " Eurorack ". That
seems cool, and I've seen it used for audio modules.

Yes, there's no reason for the big 19" cases, other than because stuff
is still made to fit them. I don't really mind the case size as much
as the weight. After yesterday, there's no way I'm using that exact
setup again. That's the thing with rack cases. If you put stuff in
them, they quickly become too heavy for lil' ol' me to lug around.

For us it's a balance between light weight / less gear for solo/duo
gigs, and needing much more stuff on the band jobs. Short of having
two completely separate setups, what I end up with is a compromise. If
I take this or that out because I don't need it for one gig, I'll be
putting it back because I do for the next :-( After a while it's
easier to leave it all together and just deal with the transportation
issue.

JimD

Post by Ouisie
I saw those rack mounted cases. I also thought the objective is to
travel as *light* as possible.
So why these Huge, Heavy Monsters???
It just makes no sense that with all the computer *worship* - Digital
Idolatry going on, anyone would want something designed in the earlier
part of the 20th Century for the purpose of Industrial mounting of
enormously heavy and bulky electronic equipment, practically all of
which used vacuum tube circuits, along with their monster transformer
power supplies almost exclusively!
Sure, it's easy to understand putting storage drawers in those mounting
systems - with all those enormous B+ vacuum tube transformers already
mounted in them, patch bays and such, there'd naturally be room simply
for storage, or anything else for that matter...maybe even a walk-in
closet ;)
When I worked with loudspeakers, we used plenty of EIA rack mounts,
banks of them in fact...kind of made NASA's Mission Control setups look
'compact' by comparison - the ones that comprised our main test
console in the lab must have been at least 7' tall - practically
walk-in huge, and even had a couple of tables sticking out of them near
the bottom, so they could be sat at comfortably while using them.
And whenever a switch setup was needed, such as the one that adjusted
the microphone distance and angular off center position for polar
measurements of the speaker under test in our anechoic chamber, using a
total of TWO switches, they were mounted in a full height mounting
plate - space to Waste with plenty more where that came from! ;)
The concept was, and still is a very valid one...except for SIZE now
that Practically everything electronic is VLSI miniaturized.
For example, even though they're still around, 1/4" (6.35mm) phone
plugs have been miniaturized down to 3.5mm 'miniature' and even 2.5mm
'subminiature' - so why not rack mountings and the racks to mount them
into???
Ouisie

[Ouisie]

Post by Jim D
There is a newer small form factor, sorta, called " Eurorack ". That
seems cool, and I've seen it used for audio modules.

They seem to be too specialized, namely for synthesizer modules, and they
still look far too big.

Post by Jim D
Yes, there's no reason for the big 19" cases, other than because stuff is
still made to fit them.

I've really got nothing against them. They work, and they work very well.
They're still used for some very old vacuum tube equipment, which still
works great and is kept regularly calibrated so there's no reason to throw
it away just for being old.
The only problem is with the size and weight where that would be a problem -
like for bands without roadies ;)

Post by Jim D
I don't really mind the case size as much as the weight. After yesterday,
there's no way I'm using that exact setup again. That's the thing with
rack cases. If you put stuff in them, they quickly become too heavy for
lil' ol' me to lug around.

Yep, collecting junk only requires a container - the bigger it is, the more
junk, and weight ;)

Post by Jim D
For us it's a balance between light weight / less gear for solo/duo gigs,
and needing much more stuff on the band jobs.

That's where the miniaturized stuff really shines.

Post by Jim D
Short of having two completely separate setups, what I end up with is a
compromise. If I take this or that out because I don't need it for one
gig, I'll be putting it back because I do for the next :-( After a while
it's easier to leave it all together and just deal with the transportation
issue.

JimD

If your vehicle is large enough, it can serve for storage ;)

Ouisie

[Jim D]

Post by Ouisie

Post by Jim D
There is a newer small form factor, sorta, called " Eurorack ". That
seems cool, and I've seen it used for audio modules.

They seem to be too specialized, namely for synthesizer modules, and
they still look far too big.

Post by Jim D
Yes, there's no reason for the big 19" cases, other than because stuff
is still made to fit them.

I've really got nothing against them. They work, and they work very
well. They're still used for some very old vacuum tube equipment, which
still works great and is kept regularly calibrated so there's no reason
to throw it away just for being old.
The only problem is with the size and weight where that would be a
problem - like for bands without roadies ;)

Post by Jim D
I don't really mind the case size as much as the weight. After
yesterday, there's no way I'm using that exact setup again. That's the
thing with rack cases. If you put stuff in them, they quickly become
too heavy for lil' ol' me to lug around.

Yep, collecting junk only requires a container - the bigger it is, the
more junk, and weight ;)

Post by Jim D
For us it's a balance between light weight / less gear for solo/duo
gigs, and needing much more stuff on the band jobs.

That's where the miniaturized stuff really shines.

Post by Jim D
Short of having two completely separate setups, what I end up with is a
compromise. If I take this or that out because I don't need it for one
gig, I'll be putting it back because I do for the next :-( After a
while it's easier to leave it all together and just deal with the
transportation issue.

JimD
If your vehicle is large enough, it can serve for storage ;)
Ouisie

Just bought a new guitar case for my cheapo gigging guitar. I'm
thinking, if I went to just the Focusrite on my solo gigs, I could just
maybe fit all the stuff inside that case with the guitar, except for my
powered speaker and stands.

Maybe. case should be her tomorrow, so I'll see. Bought it as a
Stupid Deal of the Day from Musician's Friend for $59 delivered. It'll
replace the canvas guitar gig bag I use now for that guitar.

JimD

Definately losing the rack gear in the near future. At least for most jobs.

[Ouisie]

Just bought a new guitar case for my cheapo gigging guitar. I'm thinking,
if I went to just the Focusrite on my solo gigs, I could just maybe fit
all the stuff inside that case with the guitar, except for my powered
speaker and stands.

That's certainly making things lighter...except for the speakers.
That's why I'm looking for a Crate GX-30M amp. It's loaded with effects,
sounds great with keyboards, even with manual bass, because I've used one
before. It's built like a tank and although on the small side physically, it
still weighs about 20 lbs, and at 30 watts through a 12" speaker, has power
to burn! That little amp can really fill up a space with sound! And best of
all, I don't have to carry too much gear.

Maybe. case should be her tomorrow, so I'll see. Bought it as a Stupid
Deal of the Day from Musician's Friend for $59 delivered. It'll replace
the canvas guitar gig bag I use now for that guitar.

Is it a hard shell?

JimD

Definately losing the rack gear in the near future. At least for most jobs.

Your back will thank you, I'm sure ;)

Ouisie

[Jim D]

Post by Ouisie

Post by Jim D
Just bought a new guitar case for my cheapo gigging guitar. I'm
thinking, if I went to just the Focusrite on my solo gigs, I could just
maybe fit all the stuff inside that case with the guitar, except for my
powered speaker and stands.

That's certainly making things lighter...except for the speakers.
That's why I'm looking for a Crate GX-30M amp. It's loaded with
effects, sounds great with keyboards, even with manual bass, because
I've used one before. It's built like a tank and although on the small
side physically, it still weighs about 20 lbs, and at 30 watts through
a 12" speaker, has power to burn! That little amp can really fill up a
space with sound! And best of all, I don't have to carry too much gear.

I don't know that exact model off hand, but the some of the Crate amps
are real nice. I've considered those as a one piece solo act solution.

Post by Ouisie

Post by Jim D
Maybe. case should be her tomorrow, so I'll see. Bought it as a
Stupid Deal of the Day from Musician's Friend for $59 delivered. It'll
replace the canvas guitar gig bag I use now for that guitar.

Is it a hard shell?

Yes. It came last week. I like it. I also bought ( used ) a Fender
molded plastic guitar case we'll be modifying to fit my new keyboard
into. Plan is to remove the inside lining and foam, cut the foam so my
Nektar will fit in, put the lying back over that, and use it. I need to
get that done before next weekend. We have a band gig and an out of
town festival job then. Played a solo yesterday, have one more this
week. Don't need the keys for those, so there is a little time to get
the keyboard case done.

Post by Ouisie
JimD

Post by Jim D
Definately losing the rack gear in the near future. At least for most jobs.

Your back will thank you, I'm sure ;)
Ouisie

Yes, that stuff needs gone BEFORE I get hurt carrying it.


Jim

[Ouisie]

I don't know that exact model off hand, but the some of the Crate amps are
real nice. I've considered those as a one piece solo act solution.

They're pretty awesome - small in size, though plenty heavy because they're
built so well, totally solid state of course, and 30 watts through a 12"
speaker makes them very acoustically powerful. I'm referring to the model
GX30M, but I'd like to see some other models...maybe for my birthday if I'm
very fortunate ;)

Yes. It came last week. I like it. I also bought ( used ) a Fender
molded plastic guitar case we'll be modifying to fit my new keyboard into.

That's what I need, something for my compact digital piano so carrying it is
less awkward.

Plan is to remove the inside lining and foam, cut the foam so my Nektar
will fit in, put the lying back over that, and use it. I need to get that
done before next weekend.

Sounds like it'll work quite well.

We have a band gig and an out of town festival job then. Played a solo
yesterday, have one more this week. Don't need the keys for those, so
there is a little time to get the keyboard case done.

The band gig sounds like fun, IF things are improving, but the solo one
sounds lonely ;)

Yes, that stuff needs gone BEFORE I get hurt carrying it.

Jim

Well at least gone except when absolutely necessary.

Ouisie