SKB

The SKB Stage 5 is a top notch pedal board for guitar players. While it is quite expensive, it does provide all sorts of amenities and options that make this a great pedal board. For starters, it has a built in power strip for all of your pedals and will give you options to ensure that you can power everything that you need to on the same power strip and within the confines of the board. There is a lot of room on the SKB Stage 5 pedal board, enough to fit about ten pedals, of course depending on the size. If you have a lot of Boss size pedals then you can probably fit more than that, but if you have pedals that are larger like the Line 6 DL4, you won't be able to fit as many obviously. This pedal board is definitely designed for professionals because of all of these features, but mostly because of the price for the reason that they know they will be able to get because it is indeed moslty professionals buying this pedal board. Even if you are not a professional and are looking for one of the best pedal boards out there, the SKB Stage 5 is a great investment especially for touring musicians or for those playing a lot of shows as it really makes set up incredibly easy as you can have everything ready to go and powered up before hand. If this was just a bit cheaper I think it would be a lot more popular, but despite the price the SKB Stage 5 is a great option for guitarists looking to make the most of their pedal boards. All in all I would recommend checking out a few different pedal boards as there are a lot out there, but the SKB Stage 5 is definitely one of the best and needs to be considered.

The SKB Studio Flyer 4U is a rack case that has 4 rack spaces. It comes with a handle on the side that makes it easy to carry and a cover that you can take off. There are also clips on it that are used to hold your laptop. Being a DJ I was in dire need of a portable unit that had rack spaces and a space on the top of it for my MacBook. I was looking at many different units that were very similar to the SKB Studio Flyer 4U. I ended up getting another one; returned it a week later and turned around and got this unit by SKB. The unit is very well built and will protect all of your modules from any damage while it is set up or during transporting it from one place to another. It is so easy to rack your modules and then transport them with the SKB Studio Flyer 4U. Once you put the cover over it you just slide out the handle like you would on a carry on suitcase and then you can wheel it out just like you would a suitcase. This unit without anything in it only weighs 20 pounds or so and when you put your gear in it, it won’t weigh much more than that. The case is made out of polyethylene; it is a great material to have for this case because it will keep your gear safe from moisture or spills. The 4U is a great rack and it is one of the best investments that I have made for my rig and set up. I travel to DJ so much and the SKB Studio Flyer 4U has helped me out in a lot of ways. It has made protecting my gear and transporting my gear safe and easy.

SKB finally did something that very few people in the music industry do; they thought ahead. It's common practice among gigging guitar players with medium-to-complex rigs to not only have rack effects but to also use pedals, shelves, drawers, and switching units to allow them to perform much in the way rack effects and rack gear work. Thus, most players, either doing it themselves or having a professional do it for them, put together a rack shelf or rack drawer to which they affix and wire up different pedals to integrate into their live sound setup. Many times, this involves putting one side of some industrial velcro on a stationary or sliding rack drawer on one side and putting the other side of the velcro on the pedal(s). SKB has taken the guesswork out of the task by creating a rack shelf that has one side of the velcro already covering the bottom of the shelf. This leaves only half of the work to be done (adding the velcro to the bottom of the pedal(s) and positioning them on the shelf. This is a brilliant time-saving idea and also allows you to re-position pedals at will without having remains of old adhesive "gunking up" the surface of your rack shelf. Better still, with strategic placement of velcro-backed zip-tie retainers, you can route and re-route cables your cables over and over making the shelf outstanding for anyone with a dynamic environment. The shelf latches into the rack and does not come out the front without the flipping of a releasing latch, so your pedals are secured into the rack by the shelf latch and onto the shelf by the high-quality velcro. For the price paid, the velcro covering on the shelf alone saves sufficient time and effort to justify the cost of the shelf. It comes with all of the mounting hardware needed to fit it snugly into 2U of any standard 19" rack. If you're sick of sticky tape and messy pedal boards, the SKB VS1 is the prescription for what ails you. This product could have been a ten, however the shelf is mid-grade plastic and could be more solidly-built. I have a competitive sliding rack shelf that neither locks nor is velcro-coated. This is a much better option in my opinion. Try it for yourself.

This case set is the real deal. I have had a few various cases in my life as a drummer, different sets over the years. I had old stuff, made of cardboard composite feeling material to house my old ludwig set probably original from 1960’s. This stuff stunk like mold and was falling apart. I needed a new case set to lug around this nice set to gigs and the studio to record stuff. I figured over the years the technology would have improved to offer foam padding to prevent metal on plastic directly. I was correct in every way and more, considering I had a car run over one of the case halfs, dealing with SKB was a breeze. They are molded in a traditional D shape which has molded feet and a rib pattern in the shape of an X which at first seems odd, but the purpose is to allow stacking in the van without tipping or sliding over. This is an awesome feature, something that goes beyond just the face level of appearance design. This pack I use accommodates a 9" x 10", 10 x 12", and 12" x 14" toms, and a 22" x 18" bass drum. This is awesome because they are built like military cases, but still very light and without drums in them my 6 year old cousin lifts even the biggest one without issues. The best part I’ve noticed about this case set, is that SKB has an awesome lifetime warrenty and will repair or replace them free of charge. So yes, they are expensive, but this last bit makes that well worth the extra money in my opinion. All in all, i think these SKB cases are a really amazing product, and while not for everyone, especially those with strict budgets, they are well worth it to someone who loves their drum set, and has the money to drop on something this nice.

The SKB Roto Rack is a neat looking rack designed for a budget minded traveling musician. I say this with a certain degree of hesitation because quite frankly, for many musicians that this review will pertain to, you may be buying your first rack. And the first rack is quite difficult to buy, considering how expensive they seem to be before buying them. Before you go wondering to yourself, “How is it that a rack can possibly be so expensive? It’s a piece of synthetic material molded into a shape that lets you put things in it.” Well, no one is going to joke. There is a pretty weird markup on these things, but honestly, when you find yourself moving your gear around, it becomes more of an issue of convenience than protection. People are pretty meticulous with how they take care of their equipment as it is. Having everything in one place is the first advantage, and the Roto rack, just like every other rack, does the basic part of the job perfectly. For the person who only occasionally goes to move things around and occasionally does portable recordings, this rack is sufficient. It doesn’t come with rear rack rails, although it certainly allows for you to fit them. The roto rack is not exactly something I would entrust with a power amp in its factory form; the shockmounted versions of these are far superior to these (albeit far more expensive). What strikes me as special about the Roto cases is their shape. The handles are extremely comfortable to hold, and with them being built into the case rather than attached, you never feel like the case itself will break on you. Even if it does, SKB provides a lifetime warranty for all of their products. So the truth of this case is: if you are looking for a basic thing for convenience, but don’t want to be terrified of cheap construction, these cases fit perfectly.

I received this unit late in 2010 as the result of a trade. I needed a compact rack for a Furman PL-Plus (which I also got in the trade) and a power amp. I currently also have a Grundorf 4 space wooden rack case that has served me well over the years, but I wanted a plastic rack for awhile now, due to the cleaner appearance and light weight and portability. The front and rear lids attach to the rack via two small butterfly-style twist latches that are recessed to avoid getting hung up on other gear or accidentally opening or loosening. The unit also has molded carrying handles on the sides which make transporting the rack very easy, even when loaded with weighty gear. I put my old Ibanez analog delay unit in it just to test it out, and that thing's a dinosaur! (It weighs a ton). Another great feature on the SKB that my Grundorf rack doesn't have, is the addition of shock absorbing and stabilizing rubber feet, as well as indents on the top of the unit so that the rubber feet from another xrack can be stacked on top neatly and securely. This seems like a simple design feature, but it helps a lot when you don't want your expensive rack gear sliding and falling from vibrations or from your singer hitting it on stage while he's trying to kick his mic-stand like Steven Tyler! The rack shipped with the Furman inside of it, and when I received it (it wasn't packed all that well, but then again it's a rack case so it shouldn't matter, right?) the corners on the top rack ear on either side were bent outward toward the front cover. Now, the only way this could've happened is if the courier dropped the rack case from pretty high up, causing the Furman's weight to lunge forward and bend the ears. I was a little disappointed, but I got over it quick. The rack is still functional and the Furman works just fine. The SKB survived its first road test: UPS!! If it can survive those gear murderers (I've experienced many disheartening breaks and bad encounters with them, as have many people I know), it can surely survive gigging with my band. It's not as tough as a RoadReady or Road Runner case, but it's also much less expensive. For the occasional gigger or the bedroom player who wants to keep their gear looking great and organized, give one a try! If you have expensive gear that needs ultimate protection, get something sturdier with shock absorption.