how good are Gator Cases ?

[JGR]

Gator is pretty cheap stuff - I wouldn't put anything high dollar in it. SKB is better. Road Ready is top notch.

 

[Lindsay]

I have a three unit Gator case that's been fine. I also have a 6U Gator case with wheels and a luggage handle. The handle broke and the wheels don't allow the case to sit perfectly horizontal on top of the speaker cab.

 

[mentalpatient]

I have not bought any racks yet but from what I have found so far I am considering the SKB case and Pro-Tec Rack bag.

 

[Sjon]

I have a pro-tec rackbag for my Aguilar DB 680, I compared the pro-tec to the Gator and the pro-tec seemed sturdier.

 

[Lennard III.]

the problem is that importing a Rack-Bag to germany (which is a bag on the paper) has a very high tax on it... so that would make no sence... the Pro-Tecs look great but not available here in germany...

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

I have a gator 2u rackbag and love it. You can just unzip the lids and never have to worry about where you put them. The large outer pocket is handy for storage. One thing I've hated on every single case I've tried, which is admittedly not that many, is the handles. I got brave one day and took the handle off my ampeg pb 110 cab and put it on the side of my rack bag. Then I put some rubber feet on the other side. I liked the results so much I cut off the factory straps as they just got in the way and seemed redundant.

For an even lighter rack I just bought some 1/4" plywood and built my own. Very easy to do since you are just screwing together a bunch of square pieces of wood. Spray painted it flatblack and its very useable.

The homemade jobbie is about 5LBS and the gator 2u rack back is 9.

 

[Mulebagger]

I have my aggie AG500 in a protec rack bag and it makes seeing the knobs very difficult. I'm going to switch it out with an SKB hard case. I have had Gator cases before and they seemed to crack or sag on the tops. Also the hinges on the front of one marred a head I had once.
Overall I think SKB cases are tops.

If you are talking gig bags and bass cases, hands down the best gig bag I've ever had is my Incase Dub Bag. I have a Slim Bag as well, but use the Dub more. It is in my opinion the best way to move your bass period.

I've also had a ton of SKB, and just about any other hard case you can imagine. Roadrunner makes some light weight cases that really do the job, but I'd rather put a bass in it's hardcase for storage and throw it in my Incase Dub bag when I travel around.

You won't be dissappointed.
If only Incase made an amp bag!!!!

 

[Lennard III.]

As I say... I have a SKB rack but I want an option and go with a Rackbag so here in germany there are only two or three versions available and the Gator looked nice...

 

[Sjon]

the problem is that importing a Rack-Bag to germany (which is a bag on the paper) has a very high tax on it... so that would make no sence... the Pro-Tecs look great but not available here in germany...

The Aguilar rackbags are made by Protec, so if you don't mind using a bag that says Aguilar in large letters that might be an option.

I have my aggie AG500 in a protec rack bag and it makes seeing the knobs very difficult.

Yup, that is a disadvantage of the Protec, but on a full stack that is not really an issue.

 

[jonotronic]

My experience with SKB was not very positive. The catches on my 2u case were very loose and the ends fell off continually - I would never buy another skb after this as it drove me to fits of rage. I now have a couple of gators that have been very good up until recently. In my main gigging case the rack rails have become loose and my eden wt800 flaps about in an alarming fashion. I may turn it round to the back rails.. We also use a 6u gator in the band and the butterfly catches have came apart after pins came loose.
Still prefer gator to skb tho, IMO skb stuff is too expensive for what it is - no better than gator

 

[Jason P Bass]

My gigging amp is in a 4 space Gator case. It's been to about 200 gigs over the last 5 years.

Full damage report: One of the handles has broken from its attachment and can slide around. It's still usable, but if you're not careful, it kinda slips out of place and could cut your hand. It hasn't happened yet. Also, after 5 years, one of the springs in the latches fell apart. The latch is still usable, but it is no longer spring loaded. Consider that I've gotten 5 years of use and 200 gigs out of this, I'm not complaining AT ALL about these issues.

I am NOT GENTLE with my gigging equipment. I slipped and dropped the Gator case (with Ampeg B2RE and some other rack gear) and my Genz Benz 210XB down a full flight of stairs at the Velvet Lounge in DC. In a punk rock way, it was cool as hell. In a "Oh crap that's my stuff" kind of way, it sucked. But nothing - NOTHING - was damaged.

Between the SKB and Gator cases, the most important difference in my opinion is that SKB cases have latches ON THE LID while Gator cases have latches ON THE CASE. This makes for more rattling, noisy, vibrating pieces on the Gator case. (With the SKB case, you take the lid (and the latches) off and put them on the floor/elsewhere.) I use the True Engineer's Solution to overcome that noise - crank the amp louder

Overall I'm very happy with my Gator 4 space case. Despite the damage noted above, it's still going strong and I'll continue to use it. I'll probably replace it with another Gator case when it's dead.

 

[Jason P Bass]

Thought of one more thing to add:

The Gator case has two "tongues" that slip in before you close the latches. These tongues are in a position that interferes with the cover plate of my Ampeg and has scraped the paint off the amp.

In retrospect, this is probably avoidable if you pay attention when putting your rack together. But I didn't pay attention, and I didn't notice until the paint was scraped, so I just left it that way.

In contrast, the SKB cases just fit around the rim, then latch closed. As noted above, these lids tend to slip off, fall off, or otherwise be kinda lame compared to the Gator lids. But they won't scrape your gear, either.

 

[Staccato]

+1 Have two-they are tough cases, the hybrid that substitutes for hard plastic with nylon outer and durable inner materials.
The zippers never quit, and it's built to last...

 

[Lennard III.]

The Aguilar rackbags are made by Protec, so if you don't mind using a bag that says Aguilar in large letters that might be an option.

I have thought about it but.... I guess no.... if they wouldn't have written the letters that big I would have had taken it.

 

[Boot Soul]

SKB is definitely better quality - slightly heavier plastic, and their latches are on the lids where they should be, instead of case mounted like Gator's are.

- georgestrings

ABSOLUTELY !!!! It's is a situation where I cannot help but say, "what were they thinking?"

With the latches on the rack case instead of the case covers, they rattle with resonating bass notes, and they stick out and just look ugly. When it came time for Gator designing these latches, I cannot think of one possible reason to have arranged the design in this way.

I only realized this design flaw after I purchased a used 2-space Gator rack. When it came time to buy an 8-space rack I went with SKB, and am very satisfied with that rack. One time it tumbled off of the back of a 4x4 pickup truck and onto a concrete slab driveway....about a 5 foot drop. it ended up barely scratched, and the gear mounted inside was fine (although none of the gear had tubes within).

SKB all the way.