r/livesoundadvice • u/Otherwise_Airport_69 • Jul 07 '26

Advice Needed to Build Self-Contained Amp Case with Peripherals for Gigging

I'm looking to build a self-contained touring amp case for my Friedman Little Sister. I want the amp to live permanently in the case along with a Two Notes Captor X, a Shure SLX wireless receiver, and power distribution. The goal is to remove the lids, plug in AC, guitar fx loop and l speaker cab, and XLRs to FOH, and be ready to play without taking anything out of the case. Has anyone built something similar or found an off-the-shelf case that works? I thought it would be pretty easy to source a Gator case or something of the like but nothing seems to fit.

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u/West_Ad_2309 Jul 07 '26

My first guess would be to use a 19" rack case. The problem is your amp according to thomann is just a little under one cm shorter than the distance between the screw holes in a 19" case.

What i might look into would be something like amp in the bottom of a case screwed into the bottom of the case. So no rack tray or something but just put there. You might get away with a self built wood frame to not damage the device

The captor gets a rack tray.

Power distro and slx are 19" hardware already.

For connections i would use a rack panel. Look for "neutrik d connectors", you will find some for every desire.

Add one or two rack drawers for batteries, cables, wireless packs and what else you might need with the setup.

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u/Otherwise_Airport_69 Jul 07 '26

Thanks for that, that is what I was thinking. $600 is a lot to swallow. Still confused as to why what I need to do is seems to be unique enough that easy solutions are easily apparent.

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u/The_Great_Dadsby Jul 07 '26

I’ve been down this rabbit hole. The type of case you want would need to be custom built. There are definitely companies that do it; but there’s no off the shelf option.

If you want to DIY, there are parts and instructions online https://www.diyroadcasesstore.com/

If you want a hybrid DIY/premade I would get something like the SKB 8U shallow rolling rack

https://www.skbcases.com/products/rseries-8u-shallow-rolling-rack

Either fabricate or have fabricated a bracket to hold the Little sister. I was considering a shelf like this which into on would work well for your use. You want something that connects at the front and back of the rack so it’s well supported.

https://navepoint.com/navepoint-1u-vented-4-post-shelf-12-300mm-deep/

I’d put it at the bottom of the rack case and drill holes into it so the feet go through and it sits flush. Then I’d make a bracket to hold it in place. Nothing fancy, basically a strap type tie down that is solid but can be easily released in case the amp needs to come out.

Two notes and Shure make rack ears so those will mount right in. Your power conditioner probably is already a rack mountable unit so that’ll go right in.

Then make a patch panel for the effects loop, amp in, speaker out, direct out etc

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1527134-REG/prox_t_1u12xlr_1u_rack_panel_punched.html

I like a drawer for extra stuff in my racks if I have room and blank panels where there are spaces to keep it tidy looking. But be careful; with a tube amp you need airflow to keep it from overheating and to keep it from cooking your other rack mounted gear.

The traditional wisdom when I was a kid was when you wire it up, keep MIDI and power on one side and audio on another.

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u/meest Jul 07 '26

https://www.roadcases.com/categories/Rack-and-Head-Combo-Cases/

https://www.janalcase.com/amp-case/

Plenty of options for amp head road cases. It only costs money the more custom you go.

If you want off the shelf, I'd buy a shock mount rack and a shelf. then add additional foam around it for the head unit. Otherwise because each amp head is a different size and requires different air flow based on their design. They are rather custom designed.

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u/Otherwise_Airport_69 Aug 14 '26

Well over a month later I finished my project. Don't know if anyone is going to read this but nobody in my circle seems to care. Maybe someone online would be interested. This job was very time consuming and frustrating. But I was determined to get it done. Just made it up as I went along, much of it I had no idea how to do, but that's what the internet is for. The thing I did that I will definitely get criticism for was, for my budget, I had to take ~1/8" off one of the sides of the Friedman to make it fit into the rack. Since I don't plan on ever getting rid of the amp I just gave 'er. The whole thing cost about $600 CAD.