Cases & Racks

Everything for protecting, racking and moving production equipment: flight cases and road trunks, 19-inch rack cases and sleeves, rack panels and wall plates, gear bags, castors, fixings and case care. Penn Elcom and Elumen8 supply the bulk of the hardware, with manufacturer-built cases from Avolites, Martin Audio and NEXO covering specific consoles and cabinets.

The sub-categories split by job. Flight Cases holds trunks, production drawer cases, rack flightcases and fixture-specific builds, along with the components that keep them rolling: castors, T-nuts, catches and tour labels. Racks & Wall Plates is the panel library, with punched, vented and blank panels, mesh doors, drawers, shelves and D-series wall plates for stage boxes and comms panels. Rack Sleeves offers wooden shells as a lighter-duty alternative where kit does not travel hard. Gear Bags covers padded transport for stands, speakers and accessories, and Cleaning Products deals with the tour labels the last hire left behind.

Measuring is where this category is won or lost. Take the depth of the equipment with connectors fitted and cables dressed, not the figure on the spec sheet, because a right-angled powerCON and a stiff loom can add several inches to a device that fits on paper. Count rack units against the true U height of everything going in, then add spare U: the rack always grows. Leave ventilation space around amplifiers and anything with a fan, and put the heavy items low so the case does not become a hazard on a ramp.

Choosing between a bag and a case is not a budget decision. A padded bag is lighter and faster to load for kit that travels in a car and lives in a cupboard; a braced flightcase earns its weight when equipment is stacked, forklifted or handed to a venue crew. Shock-mounted cases go a step further and suit fragile touring stock, at a real cost in weight and volume.

The flight cases and racks guide covers the choice in detail, including rack unit maths and where shock mounting is worth it, and building a rack covers layout, powering from one inlet, ventilation and cable management once the case is chosen.

Cases & Racks FAQs

How much protection do I actually need? Match the case to the life: padded bags for careful single-user transport, flight cases for anything loaded by other people or trucked. The full logic is in the flight cases and racks guide.

How do I plan a rack build? Count units, leave ventilation and cable space, put weight low and connections where hands need them. Building a rack covers the order of operations and the fittings.

Do you stock spares? Castors, catches, T-nuts, panels and case hardware are all here separately, most broken cases need a part, not a replacement.