Ordered a Road Case *****(w/pics)*****

Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 6629 Location: Minnesota

Took a big step today, and ordered a road case for my Carvin Bel Air.

In the process of gigging and rehearsals etc, my gear has been taking a beating. As I'm getting older, I'm starting to care more about things lasting longer and being nicer.

So.. I ordered one from www.roadcasesusa.com

I got the Levl 1 Lite Flite, in Camo.

I figure I can add my own Casters when it gets here. Now I just need to get a stencil made with the band logo.

I'll post pics when it arrives. The order process was real easy. I called out there and spoke with Rosa, she answered all my questions and helped me decide what I needed.

If the quality is good, I'll order a few more of these to protect my other cab and my Jet City head.

Joined: 21 Sep 2010 Posts: 447

I'm with you man, I want to keep my stuff nice. I just got a roadcase to hold my head/rack units. Plus, I just have to hook up the pedalboard/cab and I'm ready to go when I play out now. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine. Also, lowes has 3 in casters for way cheaper than the online case parts stores.

Heres a pic of mine

Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 6629 Location: Minnesota

I think this thing shipped already today. Got a notification of a 25 lb package headed my way.

If this is it, I am ecstatic at the speed of this order.

Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 6629 Location: Minnesota

Roadcase showed up today. Pics to follow soon.

Initial thoughts are:

Looks nice. Well made. Great fit. The extra foam that it comes with is all it needs to be a tight fit.

Wish it had casters, but I can't stomach paying $40 for 2" casters. Headed to the Menards right now to see how much they go for, if I were to install them myself.

Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 6629 Location: Minnesota

Next time. I'm just ordering the casters. I spent $26 on hardware, and about an hour of my time installing them. Not to mention the bolts that I had were to long, and the next size down was too short. So I had to cut down the bolts on the 2 spinning casters with my cut off wheel, so that the wheel could spin and turn.

overall, I'm happy though. The latches are kind of a pain, because when you undo them, gravity puts them right back underneath, so you can't lift the cover smoothly. One of the latches at least... Always gets stuck.

I'll be ordering a second one for the rest of my rig, real soon, but with Casters this time.

Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 13396 Location: Earth

Next time go with 4" locking casters. It's worth the cash and you're gear will thank you for it. 3" isn't bad but 4" is like giving your gear Cadillac suspension. The cost increase is minimal.

Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 6629 Location: Minnesota

I'll consider it on the next one.

Joined: 09 Mar 2004 Posts: 3073 Location: Frozen North

nice I could probably make a stencil for you , daughter has been
having me make ones for her photo business lately

Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 6629 Location: Minnesota

Jeepster wrote:

nice I could probably make a stencil for you , daughter has been
having me make ones for her photo business lately

That'd be cool. Do you want me to e mail you a jpeg ?

Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 3841 Location: BOSTON

koury73 wrote:

I'm with you man, I want to keep my stuff nice. I just got a roadcase to hold my head/rack units. Plus, I just have to hook up the pedalboard/cab and I'm ready to go when I play out now. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine. Also, lowes has 3 in casters for way cheaper than the online case parts stores.

Heres a pic of mine

i've been dying to get one of these for my Diezel, with 8 rack spaces above for power condit, tuner, some delay/reverb box, and an RG100HT in case the Diezel goes down.

but they're all over $600!!!

Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 6629 Location: Minnesota

al wrote:

koury73 wrote:

I'm with you man, I want to keep my stuff nice. I just got a roadcase to hold my head/rack units. Plus, I just have to hook up the pedalboard/cab and I'm ready to go when I play out now. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine. Also, lowes has 3 in casters for way cheaper than the online case parts stores.

Heres a pic of mine

i've been dying to get one of these for my Diezel, with 8 rack spaces above for power condit, tuner, some delay/reverb box, and an RG100HT in case the Diezel goes down.

but they're all over $600!!!

you do get what you pay for when it comes to roadcases. Mine was just under $200, with no casters. Is it decent? yes. But that is only because it will see the back of my SUV, and maybe a band trailer eventually, gigging 3-4 times a month.

If this thing was getting moved 3-4 times a week, it would not stand a chance. I would give it 2 years of use tops.

Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 13396 Location: Earth

That is one thing many people don't understand. There are a lot of companies that sell the lower priced options and for a first time case for someone looking for a little extra protection they are great but they are not as tough as they could be. Like Matt's situation is perfect for him. You don't necessarily need something you can trust in the hands of a stage hand night after night. A really strong case costs a lot more than people think. A proper tour case for a head with some racks will be upwards of $700 or more. But what you get for that money is something ready for war with proper shock resistance and thicker construction. I started with the economy stuff in 2006 and it didn't let me down. It did take a beating but it showed early signs of extra wear within a few months. I don't have a live in case for my head yet. This is what I use for my JCM right now.

It's built tough enough that I would trust it in the hand of anyone helping to load in our crap. It's not as fancy as the live in stuff with racks but then again I don't use racks so it's not necessary for me. You can get something like this for under $500.

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 7:08 pm

I need to get a roadcase for my gear pretty soon - it's something I've neglected for a long while but now that my stuff is starting to build up a decent amount of wear and tear, I should probably consider buying a set of armour for it.

Something I've always wondered; Lanning, with a roadcase for a guitar would you be happy enough to put your guitar into the luggage hold in a plane without being worried about it getting damaged? I know you said they're ready for war, but exactly how much s#%t can they take?

Joined: 09 Mar 2004 Posts: 3073 Location: Frozen North

ya a jpeg will work I can convert it
I got a small anvil case cleaning out my dads garage
if you need a case for misc stuff you can have it

Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 6629 Location: Minnesota

Jeepster wrote:

ya a jpeg will work I can convert it
I got a small anvil case cleaning out my dads garage
if you need a case for misc stuff you can have it

PM sent

Joined: 07 Oct 2008 Posts: 1846 Location: Norfolk, UK

Good move

It can get expensive, but if you play out lots then getting everything case up is well worth it.

I use a large road trunk for all my stuff too. That way at the end of the night guitars, amps, effects and bits get cased up together, and wheeled out in one. That way nothing gets left behind after a quick exit. There is a check list for the tech on the case of everything that should be in there.

Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Posts: 13396 Location: Earth

what-a-cool-username wrote:

I need to get a roadcase for my gear pretty soon - it's something I've neglected for a long while but now that my stuff is starting to build up a decent amount of wear and tear, I should probably consider buying a set of armour for it.

Something I've always wondered; Lanning, with a roadcase for a guitar would you be happy enough to put your guitar into the luggage hold in a plane without being worried about it getting damaged? I know you said they're ready for war, but exactly how much s#%t can they take?

I have flown with guitars before but I was allowed to bring it on board. This wouldn't work with my ZV, or with you guys that play MLs. If you were to get a proper flight case for your guitar I would say yes, it's fine. I mean anything can break. A case isn't a guarantee that your gear won't break but it won't get damage from outside elements. A tube amp, or guitar can still be vibrated and shaken to sudden doom no matter what you pack it in lol... This is who I go through locally, mainly because the cases are custom built and I can drive there to have them measure my stuff.

http://www.castersolutions.com/custom-flight-cases.html

I would check a case they made onto an airplane no questions asked.

Joined: 21 Sep 2010 Posts: 447

al wrote:

koury73 wrote:

I'm with you man, I want to keep my stuff nice. I just got a roadcase to hold my head/rack units. Plus, I just have to hook up the pedalboard/cab and I'm ready to go when I play out now. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have mine. Also, lowes has 3 in casters for way cheaper than the online case parts stores.

Heres a pic of mine

i've been dying to get one of these for my Diezel, with 8 rack spaces above for power condit, tuner, some delay/reverb box, and an RG100HT in case the Diezel goes down.

but they're all over $600!!!

Heres what I did. I bought a 18u rack mount case and turned it on its side and took the rack rail out. Went to Lowes and got some 3/4 birch plywood, 2 8ft lengths of 3/4 l channel aluminum and 1 8 foot length of aluminum end channel and casters. The 18u cases are much cheaper than the head/rack combo cases. I just built the shelf to seperate the head from the rack and then cut the rack rail to fit the shelf. You only get a 6 space rack from doing it this way but my total cost for the project was 250 bucks.

Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 6629 Location: Minnesota

That's a pretty clever way of doing that!

Nice work!

Joined: 09 Mar 2004 Posts: 3073 Location: Frozen North

I uasly just make the one time use stencils no odd connecting lines that way, kinda like a sticker, peel off what u want to paint since this
is black already pulled off the white part , testing on bottom of anvil case, will use a few coats white base

Joined: 27 Oct 2010 Posts: 721 Location: Greenwood, IN

Jeepster wrote:

I uasly just make the one time use stencils no odd connecting lines that way, kinda like a sticker, peel off what u want to paint since this
is black already pulled off the white part , testing on bottom of anvil case, will use a few coats white base

That's awesome, but how do you make the stencils?

Joined: 09 Mar 2004 Posts: 3073 Location: Frozen North

I have a Roland plotter its like a oversized printer but cuts instead
letting sun heatset the paint, the rough surface makes it hard to lift mask keep clean line

Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 6629 Location: Minnesota

Cool!!!