Re: Gator Case
There was some earlier discussion about cases for the X32, and I wanted to share my experiences so far with the Gator case.
I have one case and two more backordered (waiting over a month and a half so far), and have used the case/console on two shows.
It is remarkably sturdy and IMO reasonably priced for what it is. I'm partial to 3 piece cases, where the console armrest is immediately accessible and it appears the console is sitting on a table rather than in a case, and this Gator case makes me happy in that way.
It comes with some odd hard plastic/rubber feet on what is the outside bottom of the case when the console is in use, but which when not in use are invitations to other cases to shear them off. These feet are easily unscrewed without tools from the outside of the case, so they are there if you want them or easily thrown away without damage if you are like me.
When the doghouse lid is open, there are no obstructions inside, and you have full access to the back of the console. The lid is solid, enough so that you can place heavy things on it when it's closed if you desire.
The lousy iPhone pic shows the tray of the case sitting on an EZ Tilt, with the doghouse open. I have since removed the latches for the doghouse lid, as I can't see a reason to put an impediment in the way of getting into the doghouse when the case lid and nose are open, and the case holds the lid shut when it is closed. YMMV.
The interior foam is the very solid foam that I've seen on other Chinese cases, which I like better than the soft foam or the firmer foam that I think is expanded poly-whatever that are on my custom American-made cases.
An especially nice feature is that both sides of the case tray have this hard foam curved to conform to the sides of the console, so that if you are carrying the console in the tray without the case lid and nose, you can tip the whole thing towards the armrest a bit and the console won't slide out as easily as it would if that side foam was not curved. (I wouldn't recommend randomly tipping it like that; there's just a little more safety margin if you do.)
There was also earlier discussion about keeping the underside of the console open to ventilation, and this hard foam will allow the console feet to keep an airspace underneath, at least initially. The second picture shows the inside of the console tray, with depressions from the feet clearly visible. The feet do seem to be burrowing their way into the foam, so some thin plate underneath each foot will likely be necessary at some point to maintain maximum airspace.
Also, FWIW, I can hear the console fan going during quiet events, like those I do so frequently.
In addition to the IMO relatively minor problem of the case weighing almost three times as much as the console itself, the one huge negative of the case is that the stock casters in stock mounting position make the case with console almost automatically fall over when pushed sideways rather than lengthwise.
Picture three shows the stock caster on top of the case (sitting on an irrelevant rackmount ear for better visual positioning), with the stock mounting holes below, and a replacement caster installed as far outboard on the casterboard as physically possible. The stock caster has a much wider mounting flange than the replacement caster, which puts the caster pivoting center more inboard than that of the replacement caster.
You can see the the center of the new caster has moved outboard by over an inch, giving the maximum stability possible, and it's better but not at all great. The console will still tip over when pushed sideways, but the necessary force is greater than with the stock casters. If there was a second case here, the difference could be measured, but regardless, it's not good enough.
Given the relatively narrow thickness of the case/console vs. the height/weight positioning (Center Of Gravity due to the console above the doghouse during transport), I think the only "easy" solution is either a wider casterboard or some bolt-on plates that allow the casters to go further outboard and then be impediments when interacting with other cases during transport.
If the casters and casterboard could be mounted on the nose instead, that would not only lower the COG so that it MIGHT be more stable, but also make the largest lid part lighter and easier to remove and install. However, there is not as much support at the armrest/nose combination as there is at the console-rear/doghouse combination, so I don't trust the integrity of the nose caster configuration. Plus, the nose is held on with only two smallish latches, and I'd want four bigger ones to feel confident that the nose/casters would stay with the rest of the case during rugged transportation situations.
With that one caveat, I think the Gator case is very decent for the money, and I hope that the shipping delay is due to trying to resolve this problem. If not, and the backordered ones arrive identical to the first one, I think it's still a relatively minor problem that I'm willing to solve based on the modest case price.
Hope this is interesting. When I get a chance I'll post my experiences with getting familiar with my first digital console, and my UPS solution.
And sorry for being long-winded, that seems to be my standard state of being. :blush:
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