Building the Ultimate All-in-One Live Performance Rig - Frame & cases help needed

[joshhp]

Hey all,

Hopefully I'm posting in the right place- I'm currently in the process of building my dream live performance / looping rig, which I plan on using to jam and bring along on trips and for performance purposes. The main thing I'm trying to figure out right now is the structural 'framework'.

The concept is simple; an all-in-one mobile live looping rig for an all-in-one kinda guy. I primarily play guitar, and have been looping as well as recording for some time now, with other instruments as well. Recently, I've been using the Akai Force to record guitar loops, adding synth and drum parts, and recording bass as well- but I'm pretty unsatisfied with the sonic and workflow limitations of the device, not to mention Akai's disastrous lack of support for crucial feature updates.

As such, I came up with what my dream rig would look like in order to do multi-instrument jams with full flexibility, as well as transporting the rig easily and using for live performance. Here are the key components:

• A small computer as the brain of the system (I've just Hackintoshed an Intel NUC8i5BEK, which is smaller, faster, & cheaper than any Mac Mini. Let's call it the Mac Nano)
• Performance/DAW software of choice (I'm using Logic Pro X with its new live looping features)
• An audio interface for I/O (Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 3rd Gen.)
• A MIDI controller with keys, pads, & knobs (M-Audio Axiom AIR Mini 32)
• A portable touchscreen monitor for no-mouse control of DAW
• A MIDI foot controller for switching presets and triggering loops/recording

These are the core pieces of music gear that constitute the rig workflow and functionality. Most of these I've already managed to put together, and feel good about the gear purchase decisions I've made and these should work well together.

However, the big struggle I'm facing now is how I can deal with the physical form factor or 'structure' of this rig, which will hold the gear and allow it to be both transported and used as a workstation. Here are the key components of the structure I'm trying to figure out:

• A frame, with wheels, that can be collapsed down for transport but also used directly as a live performance station, and
• Case(s) to house the gear, which can mount to the frame at the correct height for performance:
• Upper case which can be opened up to work with during performance, but also be transported independently of the frame. Doesn't need a ton of protection- will not be a flight case, just in my car. If possible, I'd like it to have a separate compartment for the power supplies and any miscellaneous cables.
• Lower case for the foot controller. Again, can mount to the frame or be transported separately.

Here's a CAD drawing that includes the basic components and the frame/case concept I've outlined for visual reference: 



(The items in white are the gear I listed above, to correct scale, but the frame/cases are not necessarily exact in any way- because they don't exist yet! Just a visual aid.)

So, what I'm really looking for help with is if anyone knows how I can actually build or get a frame / cases that can serve as the infrastructure to put together the gear as outlined, and be used for portable and performance purposes? (A lot of p's, that's for sure)

A couple other considerations for this part would be that I'd also like to be able to have the frame extend taller or shorter depending on if I'm sitting or standing when using it, and it can collapse for portability in the trunk of my hatchback. Furthermore, I'd plan on having a 'shelf' (not pictured) just above the foot control section that my Alto Music PA could sit on if the location doesn't have a house PA.

Again, if anyone has any ideas on how to build or piece together a frame that can satisfy these general constraints, as well as how to find or make a working gear case that satisfies for the gear housing purposes outlined above, please drop it down below!

Thank you in advance, and looking forward to this journey with you all!

-Josh
 

[BONES]

Can you use macOS with a touchscreen? I'd have thought not. Why wouldn't you just use a laptop if you are only going to be recording/looping? It wouldn't even have to be an expensive one to handle it.

Anyway, I used to build my own racks and stands using Qubelok. I'm not sure if it's available outside Australia but it comes in silver or black. Here's a link to a PDF that shows you what it is and how it works -
https://www.capral.com.au/wordpress/wp- ... re_web.pdf

I built some really cool, really complicated stuff using this, it's amazingly versatile and very strong when you get it all together.

[imrae]

Nice project! Always interesting to see the decisions people make for stage rigs.

As drawn, it looks liable to tip over. I expect there are solutions to that, but I do wonder if it would be better to have most of the electronics at ground level. Have you worked out how cabling would run?

As BONES points out, the desktop DAW experience is not really optimised for touchscreen, especially on Mac. But there are ways of adding a touch interface, with tablet MIDI/OSC apps like TouchOSC, REAPER's web interface or Logic Remote.

I wonder if a cleaner setup would be to have most things in a rack case on the floor, pull out the (prewired) floor controller from that and add an iPad on a microphone stand. But setup, debugging etc could be awkward without _some_ way of accessing a screen/keyboard, which is why most people use laptops for this kind of thing.

I suggest playing around a bit more with the software/interface side to nail down those requirements before building a custom stand.

[joshhp]

Nice project! Always interesting to see the decisions people make for stage rigs.

As drawn, it looks liable to tip over. I expect there are solutions to that, but I do wonder if it would be better to have most of the electronics at ground level. Have you worked out how cabling would run?

As BONES points out, the desktop DAW experience is not really optimised for touchscreen, especially on Mac. But there are ways of adding a touch interface, with tablet MIDI/OSC apps like TouchOSC, REAPER's web interface or Logic Remote.

I wonder if a cleaner setup would be to have most things in a rack case on the floor, pull out the (prewired) floor controller from that and add an iPad on a microphone stand. But setup, debugging etc could be awkward without _some_ way of accessing a screen/keyboard, which is why most people use laptops for this kind of thing.

I suggest playing around a bit more with the software/interface side to nail down those requirements before building a custom stand.

Thank you! Again, this is actually not drawn to scale so it may end up looking different. Figuring out how to mount a case on the frame will be a matter to figure out though. It'll definitely be a good idea to work out the balance on top and bottom though. Maybe the storage compartment you see on the upper case could be on the lower level instead? Honestly, each of the upper level components (screen, NUC, keys, and interface) happen to be individually very light, and I'd aim to get as light a case as possible too for this reason. Also, the floorboard units (either Helix LT or Behringer FCB1010 are fairly heavy, which should help with balance.

Like I said, I should be able to use the touchscreen in the same way one uses a mouse, which even without touch gestures is better than fiddling with a mouse, IMO. We'll see if it works as it's supposed to today though! If not, the touch options you mentioned will be for consideration. Also, I may add a small mini keyboard/trackpad to the setup is debugging or keyboard use is ever needed, which will be smaller than a laptop footprint still, and can be moved off of the setup when not needed.

[joshhp]

Bones,

The forum SPAM ALERT filter won't let me post something in my reply. Have tried a million times and no response from Ben/support. Thank you for your reply!

[thecontrolcentre]

You'll need at least 5 posts before you can post any links ...

[joshhp]

You'll need at least 5 posts before you can post any links ...

I tried without links and it still wouldn't let me :/ But only one more post till I'm at 5!

[joshhp]

Still not letting me post, even without any links. The spam filter should tell you specifically what the problem is, or be removed, never had this problem with any other forums.

So, I'm spamming to get to 5 posts to see if it works after that

[joshhp]

Update on this; I got the touchscreen in the mail today, plugged it in, and it worked! It works with no setup on both my 2016 MacBook Pro and the Intel NUC8 Hackintosh, running macOS Catalina 10.15.5 and 10.15.3, respectively. The brand is "Uperfect" and it can be found on eBay for under $200. It's even got internal speakers and a screen cover. It does work as a mouse, and while it's certainly strange getting used to a touchscreen mouse with macOS at first, it does indeed work and it's actually super smooth. Even does right-click control! No multi-touch gestures though. I'm not sure why there's such consensus on the internet, even the product pages, that macOS does not support touchscreens. They can work quite well, as if you're using your finger directly on the screen as a mouse. Beats a trackpad if you ask me, at least for this purpose!

I also have come to believe that something like a foldable hand truck might be a good way of doing what I'm trying to do pretty sturdily. Here's an example, but there are a ton of these & I would want to shop around more to find the right height and form-factor: (see below) There are also luggage carts that are similar and folding, but would need to find one sturdy enough. Here's an example: (see below)

As you can see, I have an idea of what I'm looking for, preferably the design where the bottom support is flat on the ground, for pedal controls, and they fold down to shorter height- they even fold flat! Most of these units stand at around 40" high, which I thought was too short, but after measuring just now to see what a comfortable height would be, if the case can be mounted at 38" or even 36" off the ground, depending on the thickness, it should be comfortable to use standing (I'm 67.5" tall, and if the case with lid open is 14" high, the screen should be just below head level)

With one of these, the real tricky part will be how do I mount a case at the upper level? I'd also like to be able to remove the case when I don't want to take the whole rig assembly with me. Also still need to figure out the best option for a case, or creating a custom case assembly similar to as pictured in the first post. Any ideas?

[joshhp]

And here are the links, thank ya very much:

https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/H- ... d-Capacity
https://www.hand-trolleys.com/products/ ... lley-cart/