Playing Out

Loop Music Instrument Station DIY Road Case

Project Phases

Before I get into the tl;dr part of this post, I will put these links here so I can access them quicker.  I mean, and you can too, if you want.

Phase One :: Open Box

The first phase is the start of the road case build, but for the most part is more a bookshelf build to hold the instruments.

Phase Two :: Wiring && Road Case Lid

This phase will include making all the wiring tied up nicely, figuring out how to package all the instruments into the box for transport, and building the lid.

Phase Three :: Finishing The Road Case

Final phase is to hinge the front panel, assure that it all folds together, installing the road case hardware, and figuring out the wheels.

TL;DR [Part Of] The Whole Story

How did I get here?  Many years ago I played out at bars around Tempe and Phoenix AZ.  I purchased a BOSS RC-20 and figured out that I can record loops of myself playing and singing and it really opened up a lot more possibilities of the songs I would play.  I think one of my first songs I played through the loop station was Creep by Stone Temple Pilots so I can get both parts of the chorus sung without having to suck in a huge breath that lasts the whole chorus.  Anyway, if you're reading this, you're already aware of a loop station and what it does.

Years went by and I got an office job.  With the mixture of playing late nights on the weekend and early mornings on Monday, added with for some reason my equipment was getting heavier every year, I decided to stop playing out.  I still loved making loop station music so I would set everything up and home and record for the YouTube.  I found I can pipe multiple instruments through my sound board and run the output to the loop station, then the loop station back to it's own channel.

You can see a handful of those videos on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5AUH2egFIE&list=PL3215E6E70A9D8384

The point of all that was the thing you'd never see in the videos is the 2 to 4 hours setting everything up, 2 to 4 hours of trial and error trying to get everything right in one take (for one song!) and then another 2 hours or so to put everything away.  Fast forward to today (2023), I still have the majority of the instruments I had in most of those videos.  I have had waaaay too many hobbies over the years and decided to abandon most of them and do some more new-and-improved "loopy songs".  But how can I cut that 6 to 10 hour days down?  Also, what if, per se, I do want to do some loop stuff out in the world again for whatever reason, how am I going to set all this stuff up?

If only I had a way to cut down the largest parts of the time spent - setting up and tearing down.  I spent some time thinking about the problem and if only I had some kind of way to keep everything set up where I can just package it all up into some kind of road case.  Enter the SOUND STATION!!  At least that's what I'm calling it now.  I'm not too great with naming projects.

The Project

I have wanted to again expand my dynamic range (whoa) and I think being able to turn loops on and off or being able to overdub only at certain times would also cut back on the time it takes to get through a song successfully.  I decided to break down and buy a BOSS RC-505.  If you're unaware it's basically 5 RC-20's in one.  So mathematically, it should be 5 times more fun!!

To prepare for this, I set up all my junk in the garage where I probably won't have to tear it down anytime soon.

I dusted off the soundboard and started with my guitar combo amp.  I had a keyboard stand for the keyboard but wanted another shelf above the keyboard.  I make-shifted a shelf and a on-the-wall TV stand and screwed that sucker into the top of the guitar amp.  Since it was really wobbly and not secure, I put the laptop on it.  Luckily it never fell.

Forgive me using the 3D printing program as a "regular" cad program, but man it's so much easier.  My thought was to build a road case basically with two shelves in a box large enough that I can rotate the drum set into it and mostly under the keyboard.  I would imagine the cymbals  would go between the keyboard and the upper shelf.  This should leave enough room on the left and the right to put the guitars in the box as well.  If everything fits, I could have the box completely close and be on some kind of wheels.  And voila, I have a box to keep all of my instruments hooked up forever and if I need to move it, I close it all up and Bob would then be my uncle.

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