It’s like a scene out of a movie. An hour before the show, I stroll in easily, wearing a backpack and carrying two black cases…and dark sunglasses. A backpack is just a backpack, and everyone can see that the big one holds my guitar, but I can see them staring and wondering what is inside the smaller case. It looks sort of, but not quite like a briefcase. With those thick hinges and chrome latches, they probably think it must be some sort of equipment case. Could it be a scene out of “Desperado”? Not hardly; it more serious than that – the case holds 1/3 of my tone so I treat it gently even though I know it was built to take abuse.

Stepping up onto the stage, I set down the backpack and the two cases. I start with the mysterious looking case and pop the latches. There’s a few people milling around and talking amongst themselves, but they stop to watch me pull off the lid to reveal my pedal board, one even nodding in appreciation. A few actually gasp when I flip the lid over, place it behind me, and pull out the hidden, 3-space guitar stand (it’s almost too bad that I only need one space for “Ruby”, my curvy Gibson DC Standard). Opening the backpack, I pull out my Weeping Demon wah and two instrument cables. I set the wah next to the pedal board at a slight angle. I look out over the room; it’s going to be a good night!

Then in four quick movements, I plug in all the cables – an easy feat since everything is pre-configured. In a final flourish, I take Ruby out of the case, plug in the guitar cable and set her on the stand. The crowd watching me applauds, and I take a bow without even playing a note. I plug my board into the power strip with satisfaction and head out to help the rest of the band.

The powered Junior is one of six products in the Gig-Box series from Gator Cases. Gator has actually patented this idea of incorporating a stand inside the pedal board case, and was designed as an all-in-one solution with versatility and portability as the prime design elements. In addition to the Gig-Box Junior with Power, the other five Gig-Box cases include:

• Wooden Gig-Box Junior (Non-Powered)
• Gig-Box Junior (Polyethylene Construction)
• Gig-Box Original (3 Electric, 1 Acoustic)
• Gig-Box Tech Box (3 Electric, 1 Acoustic – With compartments for tools and accessories)
• Gig-Box 8X (6 Electrics, 2 Acoutics – Basically two stand sides from the Gig-Box Original)

Other Models in the Gig-Box Series




The Gator Cases Gig-Box Junior with Power is the newest case in this line. It is constructed from plywood rather than molded from Polyethylene, so it is a bit heavier. There are no real drawbacks to going with wood or polyethylene construction in my opinion – I have both kinds and have never had a problem with either. However, while polyethylene benefits somewhat from weight and impact resistance (like the case falling from your van), wood provides more resistance against direct pressure such as when other things are stacked on top it (like when your drummer locked himself out of the house and has to stand on the case to crawl through the window!)

When you go to open the Gig-Box Junior, you notice that heavy duty chrome latches keep things together. Once opened it has two sides. The base is a pedal board that uses industrial Velcro® for mounting pedals to the carped surface. The platform on which the pedals rest rises off of the base, allowing a recessed space for hiding those pesky wires for a more professional look.

When you pull off the “lid” and place it on the floor, a 3-space folding guitar stand is revealed that is quickly opened and provides a sturdy resting place for your guitars. This stand is actually more stable that most guitar stands, and because it uses a wide base, will resist inevitable knocks and bumps without tipping over.

The newest feature in this series is the addition of G-BUS-8 at the top of the pedal board. The G-Bus-8 Pedal Board Power Supply is a single-unit solution for powering and protecting all your pedals previously available as a separate unit. The G-BUS-8 gives you 8 - 9V outputs, and 3 - 18V outputs with 1000 milliamps of power available. It also provides short circuit protection, and the casing is constructed from heavy-duty aluminum casing. Nine 24" power patch cables are included.



Features at a Glance – Powered Gig-Box Jr.

• Black Tolex exterior
• Deluxe end caps with white stitching
• Black plush-lined stand section
• 8-outlet power supply
• Recessed section on pedal board for mounting power supply
• Lid converts to stand holding 3 electric guitars
• Base holds pedals with supplied Velcro
• Carpet lined interior
• Lid holds 3 electric guitars
• Pedal board dimension 21.25"" x 15"

Test Rig

The arrival of this pedal board was pretty good timing. I had just taken apart my other board to reconfigure my signal chain to include my Digitech JamMan which I have had just sitting off to the side. For this test, I mounted several pedals including my Digitech JamMan, a Fender Tuner Pedal, a Pro Co “You Dirty RAT” Distortion, a Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, a BBE Sonic Stomp & Opto Stomp, and an Ibanez Weeping Demon wah pedal.

I found that the board fits all standard size pedals quite well. However, larger pedals can be problematic since there is only about 2 3/8” vertical distance available because of the fold-away guitar stands. The Weeping Demon did not fit; however, I decided that the wah was better off of the board anyway (see Gear Guy Tip below). You can grab a bit more space if you are strategic in your pedal placement since there is an addition inch or so of vertical space available in between the guitar stand cutouts.

I had no trouble hooking up most the pedals using the included power supply cables with two exceptions. The Digitech JamMan required it’s own power supply, so I made a Velcro® strip to hold the power supply on the board during transport. That way I can easy just detach it and plug it in along with the G-BUS-8 power supply to the power strip. The Pro Co RAT uses a mini-plug end instead of the more common barrel power supply. The G-BUS-8 did not come with either a mini-plug or 9V battery end option, so I elected to power the RAT with a 9V battery, which is what I usually do anyway.

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Gear Guy Tip: I was worried that my Ibanez Weeping Demon wah pedal wasn’t going to fit on this board, but then I realized it didn’t matter. I actually prefer my wah to be at a slight angle to my other pedals. It just feels better to me when I’m standing up and playing. So I elected to separate the wah and place it on the floor in the position I want. I still juice it up using a power cord from the Gig-Box. Perfect!

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Grade – Case=A, G-BUS-8=B
Pro's – Durable Clever design, Ability to run wires under the board, Powered model eliminates nasty wall-warts, Guitar stand doubles the utility
Con's – Vertical height may not be enough for some pedals, Power cable barrel-end design not universal to all pedals
Street Price – $199.99


Conclusion

I really like the Gig-Box Jr. with Power from Gator Cases, and would definitely recommend it, especially as a small “quick-set-up” rig solution. I definitely like having my pedals and guitar stand in one box. I’ve been to sessions where there really was no place to put your guitar or enough power receptacles. This also keeps all my pedals and their wiring neat and clean, with minimal set-up and take-down effort.

I would recommend to Gator Cases that they add at least another 5/8” to the height of the case for 3 full inches of clearance to accommodate more pedal styles, including multi-effects. Also, I would suggest at least adding at least one 9V battery end cable to the G-BUS-8 for the odd pedal that doesn’t use the standard barrel design.

Thanks to Gator Cases for another awesome product. For their innovation in design, I am happy to give them the 2008 “Rig Ready” award from GuitarGearHeads!



Daniel L. Halberg

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