It doesn’t matter how big or how sensitive your rack might be, SKB has a case that’s ready to handle whatever you need.
SKB’s range of racks and rack cases are designed to fit any rig. Whether you just need a simple bag to pack and go or a complete eight-way shock-mounted rack case for the ultimate protection, there’s something for literally every setup.
Music gear isn’t always the lightest thing in the world. With the SKB 1SKB-R4UW, you can get a military-grade case with wheels and an extendable pull handle. Carry around your gear just like you’re walking through the airport without any strain on your back!
If you prefer something a bit simpler, the 1SKB-R2S Shallow Roto Rack 2U can provide secure and waterproof protection for a more stripped down rig. And if you need something a bit larger, check out the SKB Roto Molded Shallow Rack Case 3 Space. It offers the same amazing protection for even more gear.
Want somewhere to put your laptop? The 1SKB-iSF2U is a rack case with an integrated laptop holder on top, so you can keep all your gear together with easy setup no matter where your next gig might be.
The year was 1971. Steve Kottman and Dave Sanderson first met on the California State University, Long Beach rowing team. They were both into manufacturing and started making guitar cases using some homemade vacuum molding equipment.
The duo must have enjoyed their time making cases for friends, because in 1976 they moved their case-making operation from their residential Anaheim, California garage to a little shed behind a music store owned by a man named Doug Browne. The shed was small and windowless, so they began calling it the “pig hole.”
With Browne’s investment, they began calling the company SKB, a combination of the three investors’ initials. In 1977, while still working in the “pig hole,” they accidentally left the vacuum-former running and walked away from the shed for a little while. When they came back, all they saw was smoke and flames. The entire business was lost!
Browne decided to opt out of the business and sell his shares, but Kottman and Sanderson were determined to carry on. They scraped together some money to buy new gear and opened a shop nearby in Orange, California. After a few years, the duo managed to convince Fender that they could manufacture the cases for a special anniversary edition of the Stratocaster. With their new major client, SKB produced 2,500 hardshell cases in 1979, and the business finally began to take off!
By 1983, SKB was making around 600 cases every week for Fender with a team of 50 employees using machinery originally built by Kottman and Sanderson — both of whom were still leading the charge, but this time as delivery drivers.
As the business grew, so did the contracts. In 1987, SKB scored a military contract to make cases for computers, medical equipment, and even lasers! With their new score, SKB was able to open a 40,000 square-foot facility in Orange, CA.
In the following years, SKB expanded into the sports arena, making over 8,000 golf club cases per month in 1990! SKB continued to grow and add new, exciting equipment to their facilities, including plenty of rotational molding ovens and, in 2014, the largest injection molder west of the Mississippi. They broke their own record with their 2022 installation of a new injection molder that’s even bigger yet!
Today, SKB makes cases for nearly every vertical, including military, photography, sports, and aid groups — along with, of course, musical gear cases. They currently make over 50 standard iSeries case sizes, which is more than any other manufacturer in the industry, and their cases were deployed all over the country and the world during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic with aid groups like FEMA, housing sensitive medical equipment for first responders.
SKB isn’t messing around when it comes to protection. Their high-quality protective cases are used by countless industries around the world to protect everything from medical equipment all the way to your pedalboard. When you absolutely, positively need your musical gear to arrive at your gig in one piece, there’s only one brand to trust: SKB cases.