Flight case dividers for ‘stacking’ keyboards

[Paul Woodward]

Yes, it’s a weird question….

 

My ‘lightweight’ (under 20kg) rig is a Yamaha CK61 and Roland A800 pro. The latter came with a new case (see pic) which is too deep for either keyboard so I tried putting them both in and they actually fit.

I obviously don’t want to just stack them and risk damage to knobs and sliders, but does anyone know of places that sell a case divider to put between them, like a sandwich? Would essentially be 20mm padded foam to match the case exterior.

Would mean I can take them both in just one case and taking two cases for these two is a bit overkill. For now, it’s just me in the car so minimal chance of damage.

Mother in law is a handy seamstress, but would rather get something from a professional shop if I can. I expect I will end up buying a sheet of 25mm foam, soft velour and asking her to stitch it into a panel.

[Paul Woodward]

Guessing this would also do the trick…

[CEB]

When you say ‘flight’ case are you actually going to fly?

 

An extra layer of foam on top of a board is a good idea with a single board in a soft case. I’ve damage one of the buttons on my organ while in it’s soft case.  I put extra egg crate foam in all my soft cases. 

[Paul Woodward]

18 hours ago, CEB said:

When you say ‘flight’ case are you actually going to fly?

 

An extra layer of foam on top of a board is a good idea with a single board in a soft case. I’ve damage one of the buttons on my organ while in it’s soft case.  I put extra egg crate foam in all my soft cases. 

Good point, should be gig bag really, although I would try the same in a proper 'flight case' should it work, save lugging two cases around. 

[Mighty Motif Max]

I'm not sure I'd want to have the extra pressure on the control surface of the keyboard on the bottom, even if it's not a lot of weight. Also gives less compression room if something's dropped or something gets set on top of your case.

[Paul Woodward]

27 minutes ago, Mighty Motif Max said:

I'm not sure I'd want to have the extra pressure on the control surface of the keyboard on the bottom, even if it's not a lot of weight. Also gives less compression room if something's dropped or something gets set on top of your case.

For now, just in my car. I can't see how a 25mm sheet of foam between them would be any different from the exterior of the case protecting the board, essentially like stacking two cases.... These two boards combined are just 10kg and, unlike the YC, no delicate switches. 

[Baldwin Funster]

If it's just going in your car,  a couple of gigbags would be better imo. They weigh less without a case and with shoulder straps it's still one carry.

 

[Mighty Motif Max]

33 minutes ago, Paul Woodward said:

For now, just in my car. I can't see how a 25mm sheet of foam between them would be any different from the exterior of the case protecting the board, essentially like stacking two cases.... These two boards combined are just 10kg and, unlike the YC, no delicate switches. 

I'd worry about the drawbars on the CK. However, I'm also someone who refuses to stack soft cases unless the weight of the upper "item" is negligible (under 2kg or so), like a small mixer. I'll use hard cases if I need to stack things, or at bare minimum, those so-called "semi-rigid" cases that either have super dense layers of foam or a wood shell under the fabric.

[Artomas]

An idea: The CK88 comes in a box with rigid styrofoam cross-pieces above and below the keyboard, to keep it centered and steady in the box. If the CK61 also came with those, I'd see whether the correct side (upper or lower) will fit in that giant soft case between the 2 keyboards. If the Roland sits on top of the CK in the bag, then try the upper foam from the CK box, and vice versa. Or else, you could copy that idea with homemade stackers that hopefully won't cross over sensitive controls. If it's not a tight fit, you might still need to add a foam cushion layer somewhere, to keep everything tight enough so that the stackers stay put. A potential downside is a couple more annoying pieces to deal with (the styrofoam pieces are so lightweight, I've knocked one out of reach when trying to grab it, and yet they're bulky, and can shed like a cat sometimes... but the might work).

 

Another idea: make a cardboard spacer - fold, along its length, a long piece of cardboard so that it forms a platform just above the panel controls of the bottom keyboard in the gig bag, on supports (the folded flaps) that sit in front and behind the lower keyboard. IOW, with a long piece of stiff cardboard, fold it into a long "n" shaped channel, and put that over the bottom keyboard in the bag.

 

No guarantee that either of these ideas will pan out, in practice.

[JamieT]

I've done something like this in the past, but only in a rigid case, not a soft or fabric case. In a rigid case, I have glued foam inside the case to allow the smaller/narrower keyboard to go on the bottom and the bigger/wider keyboard to go on top (resting on the rigid foam, not touching the lower keyboard). 

[Paul Woodward]

5 hours ago, Artomas said:

An idea: The CK88 comes in a box with rigid styrofoam cross-pieces above and below the keyboard, to keep it centered and steady in the box. If the CK61 also came with those, I'd see whether the correct side (upper or lower) will fit in that giant soft case between the 2 keyboards. If the Roland sits on top of the CK in the bag, then try the upper foam from the CK box, and vice versa. Or else, you could copy that idea with homemade stackers that hopefully won't cross over sensitive controls. If it's not a tight fit, you might still need to add a foam cushion layer somewhere, to keep everything tight enough so that the stackers stay put. A potential downside is a couple more annoying pieces to deal with (the styrofoam pieces are so lightweight, I've knocked one out of reach when trying to grab it, and yet they're bulky, and can shed like a cat sometimes... but the might work).

 

Another idea: make a cardboard spacer - fold, along its length, a long piece of cardboard so that it forms a platform just above the panel controls of the bottom keyboard in the gig bag, on supports (the folded flaps) that sit in front and behind the lower keyboard. IOW, with a long piece of stiff cardboard, fold it into a long "n" shaped channel, and put that over the bottom keyboard in the bag.

 

No guarantee that either of these ideas will pan out, in practice.

Smart thinking…

[Old No7]

On 10/28/2023 at 9:33 AM, CEB said:

An extra layer of foam on top of a board is a good idea with a single board in a soft case. I’ve damage one of the buttons on my organ while in it’s soft case.  I put extra egg crate foam in all my soft cases. 

 

Good idea -- I do the same; and if there's extra room (1/2" or less needed), I also add a piece of stiff cardboard (inside, but on the "outside" sides of top and bottom) which could help absorb any hits, bumps or punctures.

 

Old No7

[Docbop]

In roadie days I had a guitar trunk case for all the guitars and bassesin their case, but none were on top of each other they were all side by side.   I wouldn't stack keyboards on top of each other, but if I had to I would get some thick foam and once in the case and close keep the case up on it side so keyboards are on their sides next to each other.   Knobs on keyboard don't take much to break one off from my experience need to be real careful stacking them. 

[AUSSIEKEYS]

13 hours ago, Paul Woodward said:

I can't see how a 25mm sheet of foam between them would be any different from the exterior of the case protecting the board, essentially like stacking two cases.... These two boards combined are just 10kg and, unlike the YC, no delicate switches. 

 

I agree due to their low weight. 

 

What I'd do with that 25mm sheet is cut out the shape of any protuberances the bottom keyboard has such as toggle switches and sliders etc so they are not having pressure on them. The pressure is on flat areas and the 25mm sheet will then sit flat on keyboard if the keys are level. If keys lower add an extra piece to fit on keys

 

It's simple to do if someone reading this isnt good eyeing it. Simply put a clear plastic sheet over it and draw around protuberances then invert it on the foam sheet and cut out

 

But I'd keep this to lightweight keyboards. Ones that youd happily put a padded gig bagged one upon another padded gig bagged one. Note padded.

 

If carrying in a car you may have them sitting side by side instead of downward pressure so 2 in a bag would be even less of a worry

 

So its knowing your own padding that will make the difference.