Where to house laptop and audio interface for easy transport?
Hey everyone!
I've been thinking about having a portable audio workstation so that I could more easily use my laptop and interface both at home and on the go (as a playback and recording rig). So what I'd like to do is house Macbook Air, Motu Ultralite mk5, thunderbolt hub and external ssd (and power for all) in a compact rack where everything can stay connected and fixed in place. I'm often going between home, rehearsal place and other commitments by public transport so small size and low weight would be beneficial.
Right now I'm considering custom solution. On the bottom right in the pic is a 19" wide and 3U high case to house all mentioned gear (not pictured: external ssd, power bricks and cables, hence the empty room on the left under the shelf). What's in the picture would be covered by a lid and with a carrying handle on one or both sides. On the bottom left is a smaller custom case that wouldn't fit the power but could be easily thrown in a small bag or peli case for easy transport.
It would be easy to fit all of that for example in any standard 3U rack but having the laptop inside the rack case of course prevents me from opening it. SKB 2U Studio Flyer Rack Case would be quite perfect but it costs 460€ and unfortunately out of budget for now. Flyht Pro L-Rack 3U/10U from Thomann would also work but the case alone weights 11kg and would be quite overkill for the amount of equipment I'd house in it.
So I'm wondering what solutions have you people found for this problem? I would imagine this is somewhat common need but easy ready made solutions seem to be hard to find.
Edit. To add to the use cases, I would propably also take this to accompany me on FOH duties every now and then.