I've had good ones and bad ones—the standard kind, not shockmounted. I'm not crazy about them.

The most recent problem I've experienced with a 12-space one, where there was essentially no tolerance (space) just outside of the rack rails for a slightly wide piece of gear to fit. (Specifically, I had a GR ME-NV1, with the rack ears attached, that was perhaps a millimeter wider than my other gear, on either side, and the the thing wouldn't fit. I don't just mean the holes wouldn't line up; I mean the rack unit wouldn't fit between the sides of the rack.

Might have been an defetively-molded unit...

Or an oversize faceplate...




-tINY

But having 4 screws greatly increases the overal strength of the entire case. With only 2 on each unit, racks have more play in them and aren't quiet as strong.

Well, I'm with Paterno on this one. I've used both the rack cases and the keyboard cases since they came out and have flown more times than I care to count from the US to Europe on top of inummerable road hours and have NEVER had any damage to my equipment. Many bruises on the cases but they are still in use. I figured out the flathead screwdriver technique within the first five minutes of installing my equipment, as well. There is an SKB logo on the lid that goes on the front but not on the back. No problem. This is the standard series.

However, my mother bought one of the cheap, non-ATA SKBs with the flimsy plastic back cover to bring a rack of E-mu synths over to me and THAT didn't survive the only trip it was bought to make. However, none of the synths were damaged. So, to paraphrase the old cliché, "Your Air and Road Milage May Vary".

i just could never see myself buying another SKB case and plan to ever take it out of the house...

i forgot that i actually have one in the garage somewhere with a compressor/gate and a power amp for a little PA system...but i never take that anywhere...

if i was to fill a rack with mediocre or entry-level gear...i guess i'd be in the same frame of mind when buying a rack and wanting to save money...

that being said, i fill my rack with quality gear that I want to buy ONCE and only once. That's why I buy professionally and quality built cases for my racks, and cabinets!!!

so many times have i had other bands approach me, see my cabinet in a case and be like "wow that's cool but it takes up so much room and it's heavier and blahhhhhhhhh"...only to see them get a guitar or a mic stand jammed into their speaker cone 2 weeks into their first tour...

"can i borrow your cabinet?"

I have two of the SKB shock mount 12 space racks. They use those little clips too, which are a pain in the ass. Yea, you can use a screwdriver to get them on or off, but they normally go flying across the studio when you do that, and it's a pain in the ass very much so.

I also dislike that my front/backs to the racks only fit (probably due to use) in their "home" slots, which means that I have to have each front/back marked as "front" and "back" for each rack, as they won't fit on quite right and lock well otherwise.

I do love that I drug one of them down the stairs a the Knitting Factory in NYC for a gig, and wasn't worried at all about the equipment inside when it nearly rolled over on me.

i use a 16 space SKB rack with the shockmounting....and i have no fear for all my samplers and synths mounted....

the clips are rather annoying, but how often are you swapping out gear? put it in there and leave it the **** alone! if you need new rack spaces for more gear...then buy another rack...gzus people..not rocket science...

i don't know who's swapping gear so much that they can't take an extra 5 min. to move some clips into place. I know i'm a VERY busy person with a full time job, full time band, and a sideproject and even i can take the extra 5 min. per piece of gear to move the tabs to line them up for all the racks.

I also would trust my rack falling down the stairs...not saying i want to do it to test it, however i have no fears on my SKB failing out on my racks. and my racks aren't amps..but they are very heavy (akai S5000 sampler fully loaded etc.). I would one day like to get a Road Ready if they ever built anything that was shock absorbant...or an anvil or whatever. however in my experience most of those other rack companies make shallow racks that my samplers are too big for, or they're just insanely priced. If the case costs more than all the gear inside, then it's just not worth it to me.

simply because i can replace the gear for less than the case. I'm a bargain hunter, for sure, but isn't everyone? SKB makes decent cases for decent prices. Like stated, i wouldn't use it in my studio, i'd get nice rack funiture or something. however with shows, tours, etc. i'll trust my skb until other companies realize they're asking the same price for their cases as the pro-gear costs...

j.b.

I've been using the standard SKB cases for a while and have always been a little skeptical. Until I got a Gator case, that is. They are a huge step down. Plus, the customer service is terrible. SKB will send you free new latches no questions asked. Even on a used old case. Gator won't even send me latches if I offer to pay for a case I bought new that was a year old. The nuts on the SKB are a drag, but I'll deal with them happily after the crap I've been through with Gator. That said, I have just ordered an Anvil style shock rack for my location gear. It will be bigger and heavier, but I will feel a lot better about it showing up in one piece and staying that way in crazy venues.


Edwin

yea the Gator really sucks!
Anvil

i hate those things : (