Topic: Rack/Case questions

Hello,

I am thinking of buying a small rack sooner or later, so at the moment I'm checking what options are available and what might work for me.

I plan to have a small 4U rack for my mixer and mixer-related stuff, like a patchbay, sum effects / compressor and things like that. So it should be possible to open it on the front and on top. I plan to have it standing around in the studio mostly, but it should also be portable for live use, so it should be possible to close the box without having to do too much disconnection.

So here's a few thoughts and questions:

1. My mixer (Soundcraft Spirit SX) seems to have square dimensions, and most of those rack cases I have seen (only on pictures) seem to be square too, so I guess the mixer might fit in. But if I have a patchbay installed below, would it then still be possible to leave the cables connected when the rack gets closed? Or isn't there enough space for the cables going down on the back?

2. I've seen two- and three-door versions, is a two-door rack even usable? I think if I plan to install a patchbay, there will be no way to connect cables without a possibility to open the back... maybe another option would be to get a rack where the mixer top can be tilted, but I'm not sure if this would be enough for convenient cable connecting.

3. Are the "standard" lids usually high enough so that also the cables on top of the mixer could stay connected? I've seen some "higher than usual" lids, but I wonder if this would be necessary. And I don't want to use angled connectors of course wink

Of course I know I can have everything built that I desire, but I was hoping to maybe get a used rack to save some cash, so I wonder if the above issues can be adressed with a typically designed rack...