As a touring musician, you know that touring is an integral part of your success. If it weren't for playing to new and established fan bases, your career would be nothing more than a sputtering mess.
Unfortunately, touring is expensive. Between travel costs and purchasing reliable equipment, hitting the road can easily set you thousands of dollars in debt. Sure, it's all part of a much larger investment in your musical career, but funding those early trips can be brutal on your wallet.
I learned long ago that cutting corners only results in problems. That is, unless you know how to save money and still end up with quality gear! While I'd never suggest that you sacrifice your beloved instruments (it's your tone, after all), there are ways to reduce your initial travel expenses by opting out of expensive manufactured road cases and building your own.
All you really need is a basic understanding of simple carpentry skills, a table saw, a drill, a screwdriver or screw gun, some hardware and a place to work. You don't even need a huge shop, I've built several of my rack cases in the corner of a friend's back yard.
How To Build Your Own Rack Cases
Step 1: Measure, measure, measure. I said that three times to emphasize it's importance. You absolutely must know how big the gear your planning on carrying is, and how much space it has to fit in. Let's say you're building a road case for your guitar gear - not amps or the guitars themselves - but just the gear, such as cords, effects pedals, wireless devices and more. Make sure that the box you're about to build is big enough to fit the longest and most odd-sized pieces, and has enough space to fit anything else you want to throw in it. Then measure how much space you have in your car, truck or trailer; remember, it's got to fit in there, too!
Step 2: Order the hardware. There are several places online that sell the stuff you need at a cost much lower than you'd find at your local hardware store, not to mention that most retailers would need to special order this stuff anyway. So just cut out the middle man and buy online from the beginning.
Here's what you'll need: Plywood, Toltex (skin), corners, latches, u-channel, piano hinges and handles. You can also order casters to roll the case, but that's optional.
Step 3: Assemble the road case. I'm not going to go into elaborate detail here, because I'm assuming you've got a decent amount of basic carpentry skills. But overall, you're going to be building a "cube" to specs (you did remember to measure, didn't you!), and then running the cube over the table saw to create a perfect-fitting lid.
Cover the entire box with Toltex, then drill out and install the additional hardware (latches, handles, casters, etc).
Step 4: Go Make Music! Now you've got a professional grade road box and spent a fraction of the price that you'd spend on a quality used one. This should be plenty strong to withstand even the harshest touring conditions.
Unfortunately, touring is expensive. Between travel costs and purchasing reliable equipment, hitting the road can easily set you thousands of dollars in debt. Sure, it's all part of a much larger investment in your musical career, but funding those early trips can be brutal on your wallet.
I learned long ago that cutting corners only results in problems. That is, unless you know how to save money and still end up with quality gear! While I'd never suggest that you sacrifice your beloved instruments (it's your tone, after all), there are ways to reduce your initial travel expenses by opting out of expensive manufactured road cases and building your own.
All you really need is a basic understanding of simple carpentry skills, a table saw, a drill, a screwdriver or screw gun, some hardware and a place to work. You don't even need a huge shop, I've built several of my rack cases in the corner of a friend's back yard.
How To Build Your Own Rack Cases
Step 1: Measure, measure, measure. I said that three times to emphasize it's importance. You absolutely must know how big the gear your planning on carrying is, and how much space it has to fit in. Let's say you're building a road case for your guitar gear - not amps or the guitars themselves - but just the gear, such as cords, effects pedals, wireless devices and more. Make sure that the box you're about to build is big enough to fit the longest and most odd-sized pieces, and has enough space to fit anything else you want to throw in it. Then measure how much space you have in your car, truck or trailer; remember, it's got to fit in there, too!
Step 2: Order the hardware. There are several places online that sell the stuff you need at a cost much lower than you'd find at your local hardware store, not to mention that most retailers would need to special order this stuff anyway. So just cut out the middle man and buy online from the beginning.
Here's what you'll need: Plywood, Toltex (skin), corners, latches, u-channel, piano hinges and handles. You can also order casters to roll the case, but that's optional.
Step 3: Assemble the road case. I'm not going to go into elaborate detail here, because I'm assuming you've got a decent amount of basic carpentry skills. But overall, you're going to be building a "cube" to specs (you did remember to measure, didn't you!), and then running the cube over the table saw to create a perfect-fitting lid.
Cover the entire box with Toltex, then drill out and install the additional hardware (latches, handles, casters, etc).
Step 4: Go Make Music! Now you've got a professional grade road box and spent a fraction of the price that you'd spend on a quality used one. This should be plenty strong to withstand even the harshest touring conditions.
About the Author:
Jarvis Jackson is a touring musician who knows how to stretch his dollars on the road without sacrificing the quality of his music, or his fans' experiences. Go to www.pianohinges.org
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