portable mic locker?

I was asked by a fellow engineer of there was any ideas on what would work as a portable mic locker? He wants to take lots of his own mics with him to the studio....

The Mics vary  from ribbons to tubes and all points inbetween. The traditional skb mic case or pelican will not do as he is looking to get as much as he can in a confined space.

I was thinking of rack drawers with full padding.... any other ideas one can think of?

I would think wood for this, but that's one of my old trades ;-)
Business is very slow for most custom cabinet-makers/woodworkers, and many of them love a design-challenge.
You could call a couple and see.

I've seen guys just use these hard rolling suitcases:  http://hi.atgimg.com/img/p/2975/d1002-29-red.jpg

Just put a block of foam in it and cut out the shapes you need with a box cutter.

There are all sizes of SKB cases available.  I use this one for a portable chemistry lab:

Roto Mil-Std Waterproof Case 10"
http://www.skbcases.com/industrial/products/prod-detail.php?d=f23&id=498&s=p#

It has foam with tear out cubes to custom fit to the contents.  It's also waterproof.  I put my equipment inside, slap on some fiberglass tape and a UPS label and ship it as-is to my customer before I get on a plane.  No problems.  The suitcase style pull out handle and wheels is extra nice.

mushy said:

I've seen guys just use these hard rolling suitcases:  http://hi.atgimg.com/img/p/2975/d1002-29-red.jpg

Just put a block of foam in it and cut out the shapes you need with a box cutter.

Click to expand...

No, no no no NO!!!

The foam will DESTROY your condenser mic capsules over time.

ONLY EVER consider doing this if you can fit a stitched silk boundary between the microphones and the foam. The silk sheet would then need to have a set of holes cot to match the holes in the foam, and then a series of circular silk 'sleeves' sewn in, and the ends of the 'sleeves' sewn shut ("blind-sleeves").

Otherwise, the mic grille material is the PERFECT friction material to wear away at the foam, and when tiny pieces of 'foam-dust' begin to wear away from the edges, they are electrostatically attracted to the capsule, by the polarization voltage.

Want to see pictures?

This is a 2-year old Neumann U87 capsule which was stored in the way which you described:



Keith

So is that a bad thing...   

Excellent point Keith.  When I've packed mics in foam in the past, I've put them in some heavy duty ziplock bags, like the ziplock freezer bags.  Put the mic in, roll it up, then seal the zip.

I am going to use ethafoam in a pistol case for some mics. It does not shed, take on moisture, etc.

The 150 SM-57 vinyl cases we all have lying around also do a nice job as a mic cozy.

I use crown royal bags as mic bags... they look good, work well and the best part is how you get to drink the crown in order have the bag. or you could just hound your local liquor store. they usually have tons of them lying around and usually will give them out.

Now that you mention it, the dude I know who uses that case has two plies of some silky material over his foam. Excellent point, Keith.

Emperor Tomato Ketchup said:

Put the mic in, roll it up, then seal the zip.

Click to expand...

VITAL that you close the zip LAST, and open it FIRST...

The pressure change inside if you squeeze the ziploc can damage delicate membranes/capsules... just think how though this is for the Omni's...

If you're going with the plastic bags however, DO take the opportunity to put a dessicant bag in there with it.

Silk is lovely stuff.

Keith

$20 bought me a BIG ammo case from my local Army/Navy store.  This isn't the little ammo box that people use for a power supply case.  It's big.  I bought it intending to use it as a mic case for 4 tube mics (did I mention it's big....?), but since I never leave my studio, or rent mics, I really don't use it, so it sits in my garage.

They usually have different sizes of ammo boxes in various conditions.  Some are pretty ratty, but they usually have a few that are clean, no rust, good paint, etc.  Add foam (and silk!), and you have an incredibly sturdy, waterproof microphone case (the top seals when you close the latch).

And they look cool with your name stenciled on the side too!!

JC