Travel with 12" mixer as a carry-on item
I do 5 or 6 gigs a year that require air travel. This has been consistent over the last 5 years and I expect that pace to continue. These are not “club gigs” so I need to provide everything I need in the booth, and I have ZERO control over a rider. Until this point, I have mixed internally and had a single stereo pair coming from the sound interface to the house system. I will typically plug into a large format mixer that is NOT workable for DJing.
I just added a Denon X1600 to my setup, this acts as both the mixer and sound interface. I have a rack setup where it will be mounted 90% of the time for local & driving events. For air travel events, I would prefer to carry this mixer with me, onto the aircraft.
Based on past experiences with checking gear on these gigs I STRONGLY prefer to carry-on all the critical parts. I have never lost anything, but even a few hour delay in getting my bags adds a LOT of unnecessary stress to my day.
The typical flight cases feel like overkill for hand carried luggage…and I am nervous about getting them into overhead bins, or under the seat. Are there any soft cases that provide reasonable protection for careful handling? Bonus points if it will fit into a 19" or 21" hard sided carry-on spinner bag.
How do you travel with a 12" format mixer?