Capital Mamba make bespoke equipment covers and soft cases, which means that no matter how obscure your keyboard instrument, stand‑alone sequencer or whatever, they can make you a case or cover to fit it. But how cost‑effective is it to have a custom case made, and will it be as good as an off‑the shelf equivalent? We put Capital Mamba to the test by phoning in the measurements for a pair of speaker cabs and a keyboard, and for good measure, we ordered a soft cover for a mixer. Within seven days, a package appeared.
The speaker covers are made from thick vinyl with red piping, and include handle cutouts. Thankfully, my measurements were accurate, because the covers fitted perfectly and I was more than impressed with the quality of both materials and workmanship. The mixer loose cover was similar in quality, but made of a lighter cloth‑backed PVC material, as you'd expect for something that is essentially a dustcover.
For the keyboard I chose a padded bag, and this turned up with a useful zip‑up accessory pocket. Again adorned with red piping, the padded case is manufactured using a PVC‑lined, nylon outer with a 12.5mm foam filling. The foam has a soft, laminated surface and this forms the inner surface of the case. Heavy 40mm webbing handles are fitted, and the main body of the case closes with a heavy zip. The price for the padded case was £46.75, and the speaker covers cost £31.62 each. The mixer dust cover cost £23.50. All these prices include VAT, though postage is extra, and ranges from £3.50 to a maximum of £5 per order.
Obviously, soft covers offer protection against rubbing and scuffing, but are not intended to be used instead of a flightcase, where rough handling is envisaged. However, they're just the job if you want to sling a bit of gear in the car and go out to a gig or round to a friend's studio to cook up the odd epic.
I felt both the quality and price of these cases and covers was very reasonable for a custom service (not to mention the fast turnaround), and of course you can also order cases for guitars, computers, monitors, or just about anything else you might want to take out from time to time. Unfortunately, Capital Mamba don't build padded rack cases, but who knows, if enough people ask, they might just change their mind on that score! Paul White