Retro looking AX FX III - Gator seafoam green picts

[Chris Hurley]

There are a couple of places on reverb that sell Tolex or carpeted rack enclosures in various sizes at very reasonable prices. I asked them to skip the covering and send me a naked one so that I could Duratex-it and they did, no problem. The one I bought is just a shade too shallow to house the Axe-FX III ideally so it has my Synergy Syn-2 and Fryette Powerstation 2 instead.

 

[knwlnd]

I opted for something similar, 5U rack case with reinforced corners and flip up handles on the sides.

Gives a look similar to a traditional amp head. No front or rear covers though as it doesn’t travel at all.

 

[cableguy]

There are a couple of places on reverb that sell Tolex or carpeted rack enclosures in various sizes at very reasonable prices. I asked them to skip the covering and send me a naked one so that I could Duratex-it and they did, no problem. The one I bought is just a shade too shallow to house the Axe-FX III ideally so it has my Synergy Syn-2 and Fryette Powerstation 2 instead.

That's a great idea. I used Duratex on my cabinet and it's a great product.

 

[leemhouk]

I opted for something similar, 5U rack case with reinforced corners and flip up handles on the sides.

Gives a look similar to a traditional amp head. No front or rear covers though as it doesn’t travel at all.

View attachment 68637

looks sharp!

 

[leemhouk]

Case at home on top of my cab. In-ears & GK in place. When my FM3 arrives, the GK will be replaced by a Peavey IPR2-2K. An AF3 would fit this case perfectly.View attachment 68610View attachment 68611View attachment 68612

like that salt and pepper grill color

 

[Chris Hurley]

That's a great idea. I used Duratex on my cabinet and it's a great product.

Duratex is awesome... so easy and it turns out great. I will never use black tolex again.

 

[Monstercastle]

I just grabbed one of the 4U Retro Racks in black and a couple newer Furman power conditioners from my good friends at Sweetwater. One new Furman is to stay in the rack with the AXE. I had the Axe in the desk rack before this stuff came in, and I had a line mixer and a much older Monster Power 2RU power conditioner on the right side that powered everything. Now everything is powered through the P-1800AR regulated Furman on the right. Axe is grab and go and easy to move to the other side of the room if I need or want to. Tube amps are behind me and also tapping off the regulated Furman.

For my use case I love this rack. Looks cool, has good handles, and the tip up will be useful in some cases.

 

[bikertrash]

Thanks @Monstercastle for resurrecting this thread. I have no idea why I didn't think about this. I make my own cabs for my home brew tube amps. Why not the FX?

 

[chrisjnyc]

FYI I can DIY a rack case pretty easily for about $10 to in wood, $10 in hardware and like $10-15 in Tolex

I built this as a 5u without any fancy tools other than an electric drill for starting wood screw holes. Had Home Depot cut the boards. Used wood glue for the Tolex.

View attachment 68543


Not to say the turn key is a bad product but the cost seems rather high to me for basically a Tolex covered wood box

Looks good! Curious about the tolex install... Do you need any special tools to have it lie flat? I have always wanted to re-tolex my amp, but figured it would be a big job.

 

[lqdsnddist]

Looks good! Curious about the tolex install... Do you need any special tools to have it lie flat? I have always wanted to re-tolex my amp, but figured it would be a big job.

Was really easy surprisingly. I just used white/wood glue. Spread it on a section, lay the Tolex over it and spread flat. It doesn’t really stretch and it’s pretty thick so not much technique, just do it by hand to smooth out any bubbles etc, and then tape the edges down with masking tape to keep it down while it dries. Then move onto the next section....

I’ve done a few cabs and racks like this and it works great. Cutting corner flaps is the trickiest part but lots of tutorials online for that, just like wrapping a gift really lol

I’m sure the fancy glue and stuff is great but it’s expensive and hard to ship so I found basic wood/white glue worked fine, no fumes, and is super cheap.

 

[bikertrash]

Looks good! Curious about the tolex install... Do you need any special tools to have it lie flat? I have always wanted to re-tolex my amp, but figured it would be a big job.

Look for videos on Youtube for installs. It's not bad at all especially if your amp has protective corners or some kind that you will be reinstalling. Corners are the hardest part, but even those you can get the hang of. I just use a 4" hardwood roller to smooth it out. I've always used contact cement but I think most people are just using wood glue or even white glue nowadays.

 

[GreatGreen]

I just grabbed one of the 4U Retro Racks in black and a couple newer Furman power conditioners from my good friends at Sweetwater. One new Furman is to stay in the rack with the AXE. I had the Axe in the desk rack before this stuff came in, and I had a line mixer and a much older Monster Power 2RU power conditioner on the right side that powered everything. Now everything is powered through the P-1800AR regulated Furman on the right. Axe is grab and go and easy to move to the other side of the room if I need or want to. Tube amps are behind me and also tapping off the regulated Furman.

For my use case I love this rack. Looks cool, has good handles, and the tip up will be useful in some cases.
View attachment 72430

I love these rack-in-a-head style cases.
They look so much better than the typical road rack.

 

[andrewweb]

putting a fender or mesa logo on it would truly freak perople out, i think i would do that on mine

 

[luckymethod]

FYI I can DIY a rack case pretty easily for about $10 to in wood, $10 in hardware and like $10-15 in Tolex

I built this as a 5u without any fancy tools other than an electric drill for starting wood screw holes. Had Home Depot cut the boards. Used wood glue for the Tolex.

Did you install the rack rails or did something different for mounting the units in it?

 

[Deasnutz]

Ex

FYI I can DIY a rack case pretty easily for about $10 to in wood, $10 in hardware and like $10-15 in Tolex

I built this as a 5u without any fancy tools other than an electric drill for starting wood screw holes. Had Home Depot cut the boards. Used wood glue for the Tolex.

View attachment 68543


Not to say the turn key is a bad product but the cost seems rather high to me for basically a Tolex covered wood box

Wow, it looks professionally done, nice job. Parts for the corners and handle at Home Depot too?

 

[Tommy Tempest]

Definitely cool looking. I'd much prefer the look over what I have. But I wouldn't want to use it to transport my AXE 3, unless I used a padded cover or had a padded hard case to put it in. I chose this route mainly because I transport. Back cover has wheels built in and notice the handle on the front.

 

[lqdsnddist]

Did you install the rack rails or did something different for mounting the units in it?

I was going to order some rails since they are cheap but they were out of stock everywhere so I just used some wood for the rail and some wood screws to mount it. If I was going to swap stuff out often I’d go back to the rails and rack screws but for essentially a home unit figured no point to make it fancier than it needs to be

 

[lqdsnddist]

Ex


Wow, it looks professionally done, nice job. Parts for the corners and handle at Home Depot too?

I think the corners and handle were from antique electronic supply or monotone. They cost about a buck each for the metal fender style corners and a handle and hardware is a few bucks

 

[Niko]

I have exact same seafoam case. I did modify it so Axe FX face almost flush.

 

[crisgmusic]

Love the retro rack case!