I am always on the lookout for a new case to convert into a portable rig. One of the reasons I started Mobile Musician magazine was to share my creations with people who are interested in this sort of thing. I was pleased to find this beauty at my local Kroger grocery store the other day. It is a lockable pill box manufactured by the company Vaultz and it is just the right size for a tiny portable rig. Not only is it the perfect size for small gadgets like the Pocket Operator, NTS-1, and Monotron, but it could also be used for Eurorack modules. If you were to add a couple of rails and a small power supply, you could create a nice modular rig. I will try to do just that and let you know how things go in a future post.
The pill box is lined with black felt and included a number of dividers with velcro attachments. I was particularly pleased with this surprise as all of my gadgets have velcro attached to the bottom of them so that I can use them in my guitar pedalboard case. I turned the dividers flat and connected them to the walls of the case to build a platform to sit my gadgets on. This left a space underneath to run cables and connectors, etc. The lid is also covered in felt and can be used for more gear, live the Volcas, or similar tabletop devices. Unfortunately, the case is too small for an iPad. There is very little space left in the case once all of the gear and cables are placed and you may have to shift some things around to get it closed, but it didn't take me too long to get all the kinks worked out. I also intend to put a handle on the top to make carrying it a bit easier.
If you are interested in creating a simple case that is small enough to take anywhere, is lockable, and only costs a few bucks, be on the lookout for one of these.