PSA: Don't get a Gator GR-3S rack case for your Axe-Fx III

L

l4mpi

Inspired
I just finished installing my Axe FX III into a Gator GR-3S rack and it was an excercise in frustration. Whoever designed this 3HE case did not seem to consider the use case of people actually wanting to put a single 3HE unit in there, because that's way harder than it should be.

From the racks I owned so far I know of two designs for the screw holes on the rails: either there are removable nuts or you have premade holes with threading for the screws. Not so in case of the GR-3S: the rails themselves just have unthreaded holes, the threading is on a second metal bar behind the actual rail - and this metal bar is only attached to the rails with a piece of double sided tape! Guess what happens when you remove all the screws on a rail and then try to screw one in again... right, the damn piece of metal falls off as the tape isn't even close to being enough to hold it in place.

This probably isn't problematic when using the case for 1HE or 2HE equipment as you can always have at least one screw per side screwed in. But for the Axe FX III this means I had to keep one screw in the top hole of each side to keep the metal bar in place, then insert the Axe FX, screw in the Axe FX with the bottom screws on both sides just a tiny bit, then unscrew the top screws and get them out (which is hard because the Axe FX is now already affixed on the bottom so you have just barely enough space to remove the screws if you wiggle the Axe in the perfect position), then screw in the bottom screws some more to try to get the metal bar aligned with the rail so that you can finally screw in the top screws.

What should take at most two minutes on a well designed rack took me roughly 30 here. The only good thing about this is that I will now never need to touch these screws again until I don't need the rack (or the Axe FX III) anymore.
I got the Gator case as I had a 2HE case for my Axe FX II XL and never had any issues with it (no idea what model but it's the same stlye as the GR-3S). That case also has the threading on a separate metal bar behind the rail, but here it is affixed to the rail with two rivets per side. Using tape instead of rivets probably saves a few cents in material and manufacturing cost but makes the product almost unusable.

If any of you happen to know the people who designed this piece of crap, please kindly punch them into the face for me. If not for the fact that I need a case today I would return it. I'm off to the rehearsal room trying to convert my built up rage into some riffs...
 
Maybe a small zip tie in the middle of the rail would be enough to hold it on and still tuck out of the way? I have the skb 4u shallow and that and my wireless, and all the cabling it's a tight fit.
 
dpeterson said:
Maybe a small zip tie in the middle of the rail would be enough to hold it on and still tuck out of the way? I have the skb 4u shallow and that and my wireless, and all the cabling it's a tight fit.
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That would have been a good alternative to using a screw to hold it in place as it would be easier to remove after affixing the bottom screws. Still, having to go MacGyver on a rack to use it just means it's badly designed.
 
I have the GR-3S, and yes the thing with the screws was a PITA, but not enough for me to not recommend it.
 
Sorry I4mpi but I totally disagree with you, and find your post rather inappropriate. Just because YOU haven't figured out how to use the rack/cab properly doesn't mean EVERYBODY should avoid it.
To clarify I have no connection with Gator what-so-ever, but the fact that you had a difficult time with a very simple to use system says nothing IMO about the unit but more about you.

To use the rack without all the hoops you chose to jump through simply pick the holes you need to use for your piece of gear and pre-screw those screws before mounting the gear and all your problems are solved. You simply then back out the four screws and mount your gear, NO SWEAT, NO PROBLEMS, and NO reason to come on here and badmouth a piece of gear that works PERFECTLY well.
 
t0aj15 said:
Sorry I4mpi but I totally disagree with you, and find your post rather inappropriate. Just because YOU haven't figured out how to use the rack/cab properly doesn't mean EVERYBODY should avoid it.
To clarify I have no connection with Gator what-so-ever, but the fact that you had a difficult time with a very simple to use system says nothing IMO about the unit but more about you.

To use the rack without all the hoops you chose to jump through simply pick the holes you need to use for your piece of gear and pre-screw those screws before mounting the gear and all your problems are solved. You simply then back out the four screws and mount your gear, NO SWEAT, NO PROBLEMS, and NO reason to come on here and badmouth a piece of gear that works PERFECTLY well.
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If there are no screws holding the second "rail" in place, how would you recommend that be done? Putting a 3u device in the 3u version of this rack would be problematic. There would be nothing to keep it in place...

I have the 6u version and I agree it's not the best design, but it was workable because I could keep the rails screwed on in another slot.
 
t0aj15 said:
simply pick the holes you need to use for your piece of gear and pre-screw those screws before mounting the gear
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3 spaces available, and the axe is 3 spaces.

if you pre-screw before mounting, then you put the gear on top of those screws, how do you get those screws off later?
 
Agreed this was frustrating about this rack, but it wasn't worth the hassle returning so I live with it lol! No plans to ever take it out of the rack, so I'm okay with it.
 
chris said:
3 spaces available, and the axe is 3 spaces.

if you pre-screw before mounting, then you put the gear on top of those screws, how do you get those screws off later?
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You only pre-screw to break the tape, you obviously remove the screws before installing the gear. Then when you RE-install the screws the tape is all ready broken and no longer a problem.
 
t0aj15 said:
You only pre-screw to break the tape, you obviously remove the screws before installing the gear. Then when you RE-install the screws the tape is all ready broken and no longer a problem.
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There was no "tape" on the 6u rack I bought brand new. The rails were held in place my the 3 or 4 screws already in place on each side. I took them all out and the rail fell off.

And in my opinion, tape is a pretty shitty way to hold parts of a rack together.
 
t0aj15 said:
You only pre-screw to break the tape, you obviously remove the screws before installing the gear. Then when you RE-install the screws the tape is all ready broken and no longer a problem.
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I’ve also seen many copies of this case without any tape holding the rails together.

Pretty poor design.
 
t0aj15 said:
Sorry I4mpi but I totally disagree with you, and find your post rather inappropriate. Just because YOU haven't figured out how to use the rack/cab properly doesn't mean EVERYBODY should avoid it.
To clarify I have no connection with Gator what-so-ever, but the fact that you had a difficult time with a very simple to use system says nothing IMO about the unit but more about you.

To use the rack without all the hoops you chose to jump through simply pick the holes you need to use for your piece of gear and pre-screw those screws before mounting the gear and all your problems are solved. You simply then back out the four screws and mount your gear, NO SWEAT, NO PROBLEMS, and NO reason to come on here and badmouth a piece of gear that works PERFECTLY well.
Click to expand...

It's a shit design. "Inappropriate"? LOL. Your solution makes even less sense than the design, and shows a total lack of understanding of the problem when mounting a single unit that occupies all rack spaces. I have this piece of shit, and there is no tape, or any other means of securing the back piece. I second the OP's warning, and wouldn't recommend this rack to anyone either. I would never suggest this design if I worked at Gator, nor would I approve it if a designer suggested it. It absolutely sucks any way you slice it. And your indignation on behalf of this crap rack is amusing.
 
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A case fanoboi... never thought I would see the day.

Someone sharing their experience and informing potential buyers of what is frankly IMO a half-assed design for a rack case is reasonable.

This is why I drop some coin on prefessional grade rack cases.
 
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Capt Nasty said:
This is why I drop some coin on prefessional grade rack cases.
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That's what I usually do myself, the other rack case I currently use is a 4U SKB. But as I already owned the 2U version which had no such problem, this seemed to be the best option of the few shallow 3U racks available from my usual distributor (Thomann). The 2U is a few years old so I don't know if they switched to tape on all their racks now, or if it's only the shallow or 3U ones.

What I really dislike about this is that I'm pretty sure it's a cost savings measure (at least I can't think about any upside of this design), but the savings are probably way less than a dollar per unit. Any manufacturer who compromises their product for such a minor gain should be avoided IMO.
 
not every gator case is like that. not sure why that one is still designed that way. the roto cases are solid rails with the holes directly in them, no plates.

with skb, people always complain about those clips.
 
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