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[Tommy Peel]

I've been planning on building a rack case for my band's Mackie Onyx 1640 mixer for a while now and have several questions about it. There aren't very many options that I've seen for buying a case that's the size I want/need and the ones I've found are more money than we have/want to spend. The mixer is rack mountable and I have the rack ears for it; the main issue is that in it's normal configuration it is 14u long and with the "rotopod" facing down it's 12u long. I would rather have the mixer in it's normal configuration so that the connections are easier to reach in case something needs to be repatched. I've also got a full 3u FOH effects rack who's contents will be in the new mixer rack. I would like to make the top rack 16u deep so that I can mount my effects unit and main compressor facing up for easy adjustment.

Goals:

• Tall enough to stand and mix at easily(What's a good height? 16u? 20u? more?)
• Room to coil our 16x4 100ft snake up in the bottom of the case and leave it connected to the mixer(how much space will this take?)
• Extra vertical rack space for future upgrades(EQs, gates, more compressors, etc..)
• Patch panel to convert TRS aux(monitor) sends to xlr
• Power distribution(rack mount power conditioner)
• Everything in the case wired so I can connect power, pull the snake to the stage and be ready to go.
• Possible drawer/slide out tray for a laptop that will live in the case specifically for live recording via the mixer's firewire card.
• Possible table that folds up from the side of the case.

Are there any websites that you recommend for getting the necessary parts for the build? Are there any useful potential features that I'm not thinking of? I'm fairly skilled at building things as is my dad who will probably assist; we have a decent set of tools and friends with more and better ones. Is it reasonable that I can build a good quality case for less than buying one will cost(excluding time it takes to construct)? This may get built in stages as we have the funds; say make the initial rack case and add the extras later as needed when we can afford them.

Any input/ideas are welcome
Thanks,
Tommy Peel

[John Fruits]

Several ideas, a google search brings up this:
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_rn=14&gs_ri=psy-ab&cp=7&gs_id=p&xhr=t&q=diy+road+case&es_nrs=true&pf=p&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&rlz=1R2MXGB_enUS524&oq=diy+roa&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.46751780,d.cGE&fp=1f15ef0789552800&biw=1176&bih=711
One supplier to check is Penn Elcom for parts:
http://www.penn-elcom.com/
Also for a reality check, take a look at Audiopile.net for prices on prebuilt cases, they have lots of dimensions.
http://audiopile.net/

[Corey Scogin]

Also for a reality check, take a look at Audiopile.net for prices on prebuilt cases, they have lots of dimensions.
http://audiopile.net/

As John mentioned, you'd be hard pressed to build something better and cheaper than Audiopile's offerings: http://audiopile.net/products/Cases/CU_Series_Roadracks/CUDJ-P-22/CRUDJ-P-22_series_cutsheet.shtml

That one meets your requirements except for the extra 3U on the top rack. 

Audiopile has rack accessories as well (drawers, shelves, etc)

[Steve Garris]

Another vote for Audiopile!

[Tommy Peel]

Several ideas, a google search brings up this:
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_rn=14&gs_ri=psy-ab&cp=7&gs_id=p&xhr=t&q=diy+road+case&es_nrs=true&pf=p&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&rlz=1R2MXGB_enUS524&oq=diy+roa&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.46751780,d.cGE&fp=1f15ef0789552800&biw=1176&bih=711
One supplier to check is Penn Elcom for parts:
http://www.penn-elcom.com/
Also for a reality check, take a look at Audiopile.net for prices on prebuilt cases, they have lots of dimensions.
http://audiopile.net/

I've spent some time on Google already and found this website: http://www.diyroadcasesstore.com/. They seem to have a decent selection of parts and some building instructions. I've also looked on Audiopile and Fullcompass at their mixer cases; I couldn't find any on Audiopile that had a 14u top rack, but Fullcompass had a few.

As John mentioned, you'd be hard pressed to build something better and cheaper than Audiopile's offerings: http://audiopile.net/products/Cases/CU_Series_Roadracks/CUDJ-P-22/CRUDJ-P-22_series_cutsheet.shtml

That one meets your requirements except for the extra 3U on the top rack. 

Audiopile has rack accessories as well (drawers, shelves, etc)

The extra 2-4u on top is a big problem as my mixer is 14u(plus some extra for cables at the rear) unless I turn the rotopod down, which I'd rather not do. Although I haven't added up the cost of parts to build a case, I suspect I could build one for less than the $500+ shipped price of the Audiopile case. Granted it might not be the same quality, but I can live with that to some extent. I've been watching CL for a local case, but 14u cases are hard to find. 

[Jason Lucas]

I know you're wanting to go the DIY route but have you looked at these?

http://www.skbcases.com/music/products/proddetail.php?f=&id=217&o=&offset=1&c=118&s=80

http://www.gatorcases.com/p/29147-2069/g-tour-grc-1406

[Tommy Peel]

I know you're wanting to go the DIY route but have you looked at these?

http://www.skbcases.com/music/products/proddetail.php?f=&id=217&o=&offset=1&c=118&s=80

http://www.gatorcases.com/p/29147-2069/g-tour-grc-1406

I've seen the SKB one, but not the gator case. They are nice but are more money that we can spend right now. Also will a snake fit under the mixer in those cases? They only have 6u under the mixer so I doubt that with the snake in there I'd be able to put my other FOH gear under the mixer. I did see a Mighty GigRig on CL the other day for $200 but I never got a response to my email.

[Tom Burgess]

A few thoughts...

1.  You may be overthinking the rotated pod thing.  I understand the concern of emergency patch changes but with a well thought out and deployed rig it seems like that would be unlikely except for perhaps a rare occasion.

2.  If your FOH / Monitor processing is going to be in the same rack, why mess with a panel to convert the aux outputs to XLR as opposed to using TRS to XLR cables?  Maybe your Monitor processing is on stage?   

3.  Depending on how tall you are I think somewhere in the neighborhood of 14 - 17 spaces plus casters is about the right height for mixing, but I doubt you can make everything fit as mentioned in your first post.

4.  Do you have roadies?     That's gonna be one heavy son of a gun when it's loaded.  I think I'd look at building a utility box (since you're building things anyway) and a quick disconnect for the snake.

[Tommy Peel]

A few thoughts...

1.  You may be overthinking the rotated pod thing.  I understand the concern of emergency patch changes but with a well thought out and deployed rig it seems like that would be unlikely except for perhaps a rare occasion.

You're probably right about that; the main thing that gets repatched often enough to cause concern is the compressor inserts(I've got 6chs and I have to move them occasionally depending on our setup). It's more of a convenience than anything else; also the rotopod and connections would probably take up quite a bit of space below the mixer.

2.  If your FOH / Monitor processing is going to be in the same rack, why mess with a panel to convert the aux outputs to XLR as opposed to using TRS to XLR cables?  Maybe your Monitor processing is on stage?

I've been using cables, that was just an idea I had and probably more trouble than it's worth.

3.  Depending on how tall you are I think somewhere in the neighborhood of 14 - 17 spaces plus casters is about the right height for mixing, but I doubt you can make everything fit as mentioned in your first post.

Well I guess I can't have it all. What would you guess is the smallest case that the snake would fit in? I've seen some that have a 6u vertical rack; would the snake coil up in that much space? I would rather have the snake in the case than anything else because it has the most connections that have to be made.

4.  Do you have roadies?     That's gonna be one heavy son of a gun when it's loaded.  I think I'd look at building a utility box (since you're building things anyway) and a quick disconnect for the snake.

I do usually have help; most of the time it would be moved from one room in the church, setup, and moved back to the other room(using the casters to roll it). We're in a situation where we can't leave our system setup all the time and have to setup and teardown everything but the speakers and amp every week. I'm hoping, with this rig, to cut down on our setup time and effort; also our mixer is currently being carried around in it's shipping box so it needs better protection.

I will look into the disconnect idea for the snake; can one be added to our snake or would we need a new one?

[Evan Hunter]

This is a curve from building I know, but this is what I am in the process of doing. Im looking at getting the SKB19-R1400-14U slanted case for my 1640 and having 1 8U with DSP, EQ, a rackmount computer and another with outboard. I can then setup on a table or stack them if possible. I bought my 8U used on craigslist for $75.00 and here is a link for the SKB 14U slanted mixer case on ebay. I like this case because It leaves the Mackie in its standard configuration and has some room behind the input panel as well. Being that I have a multi pin 16ch snake I believe I can leave it patched. Anyways good luck! Ive been thinking about bulding a lot of my own cases lately as well.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SKB-1SKB19-R1400-Gig-Safe-Roto-Molded-14U-Slanted-Mixer-Case-/300896033688?pt=US_Rack_Cases_Hard_Cases_Bags&hash=item460ecd1b98

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