Your typical DJ will have many cases and crates for carrying their stuff. Whether it’s road cases for electronics or crates for CDs and records, we rely heavily on these products, and value the protection that they give us. Our equipment is our livelihood, and we want to make everything last as long as possible, with minimal need for repairs or replacements.
That’s why I was very excited to receive a SLAPPA HardBody 420 CD Case to review. Upon immediate inspection I could tell that it was a very robust product, and started brainstorming ideas of ways I could use it to my benefit. Obviously, its primary function is to hold CDs, but I don’t typically use CDs when I DJ, and most of my catalog is either on vinyl or my laptop.
Vinyl, however, has become a huge chore to maintain and transport. They are heavy, and warp easily if they sit too long in the hot sun or a warm car. As much as I valued the experience of learning how to DJ using vinyl records, and believe that the skill is essential to preserving the art form, it can be burdensome when applying the skill to a live performance. Record needles will skip, sometimes just from the vibration of the speakers. Most clubs are not equipped to handle analog sound and the four decibels of extra bass that records are capable of producing. There is also the issue of potentially ruining great records that you would rather preserve in your collection.
This is why I decided to switch to using a DVS (Digital Vinyl System). It allows me to save all my music on my laptop, but control the software through vinyl and turntables. Even this has become a burden, as I recently found out when I was playing one of the biggest gigs of my career. The sound guy jumped on my platform to find out what was wrong with my monitor, and the needle skipped. It took the wind out of my sails. This was the deciding point for me. From now on, vinyl will strictly be for preserving music and building my collection, but I will be getting rid of my DJ turntables and switching to CD-Js.
That is why I have already begun to start cataloging my music collection on CDs. The SLAPPA HardBody 420 CD Case has helped immensely in this regard, with removable storage boxes and sleeves that can hold up to 420 CDs. It is going to take me a long time to catalog my collection, but this product gave me the push I needed to take the first steps towards getting that done.
I still wanted to make good use of the case now, while I continue the ongoing project of transitioning to CDs. After the first time I opened it up, I removed the CD storage boxes and noticed that the space where they go seemed to be the perfect size to hold an industry-standard DJ mixer, like the Pioneer DJM-800 or the Allen & Heath Xone:92. I was borrowing a Behringer DDM4000 mixer from a friend that is industry-standard size, so I placed it inside the case—and it fit perfectly, with a little room on the side for the power cable. I am planning to purchase this mixer, so this will be an excellent and safe way to transport it for the time being.
I am able to carry a lot of equipment in this case, aside from my mixer. At this particular gig, I was able to fit my headphones, laptop, external hard drive and a few extra cables in the detachable portion of the case. Once my catalog is archived on CDs, I foresee having the ability to use this case to carry everything I need when I travel to remote gigs, where I won’t need to carry any equipment with me and I’ll just need to bring the essential elements for performing. This case will be a useful and convenient addition to my DJ gear for a long time to come.
I do have a couple of complaints that I think other DJs should consider when looking at this product. The first is that there is, as far as I can tell, no way to securely lock the case. A lot of DJ gear bags will at least have two zippers that can be locked together with a small padlock, if not an integrated security locking system. For this reason alone, I will probably never be able to bring this with me on a plane, or frankly let it leave my sight, unless I am able to bring it as my carry-on.
The other complaint I have is the rigidity of the strap that came with it. The first time I picked up the case with the strap connected to it, the strap hardware broke. This has nothing to do with the case itself, which is very rigid, sturdy and appears ready to receive some abuse. But if you are looking for something you can carry on your shoulder, this could be a frustrating setback.
This is all constructive criticism, however, as I know SLAPPA is dedicated to making superior products that are continually improving, such as the previously reviewed MASK backpack. Based on my experience, I would recommend this product to anyone who might have a use for it. I will also consider purchasing more of their products for myself in the future. I am currently looking at their line of backpacks for carrying my laptop, and I’ll be looking into their road cases for the CD-Js I plan to purchase as well. If you are a DJ and you have any questions about this product, feel free to post your questions in our home studio discussion thread.
Based on my experience with successfully using the SLAPPA HardBody 420 to carry my DJ gear to working gigs, I am happy to award this product with the Icrontic Stamp of Approval.
Disclosure: SLAPPA provided a complimentary SLAPPA HardBody 420 case for us to review, which I get to keep. In addition, a purchase through the link provided in this review is an affiliate purchase for which we receive a percentage of the sale. Read our full disclosure statement for more details.
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