Monolab Design Trunk spares no expense to accomodate expensive gear

While most of us can get by with a laptop bag on our travels, if you really need to have your primo gear with you at all times, you may want to take some cues from this one-of-a-kind trunk from the folks at Monolab Design. Apparently, this project began years ago when its creator was living from hotel to hotel, and it has now wound up as a fixture in the first Monolab|Workspace in Palo Alto, California. Not exactly fulfilling its purpose, to be sure, but it is undeniably a pretty impressive piece of work, with the entire 300-pound rid constructed out of anodized aluminum, and it boasting custom-built accommodations for a Mac Pro, a 23-inch Apple Cinema Display 23″, a Music Hall Mambo amplifier, and a pair of aluminum-enclosed Webern loudspeakers. No plans for building your own, unfortunately, but you can get a better look at it by hitting up the read link below.

[retro77 @ Jul 28th 2008 3:40PM]

Rally up the fanboys.....

[phanbouy @ Jul 28th 2008 3:42PM]

pocket full of shells

[rock99rock @ Jul 28th 2008 3:40PM]

That, is sexy.

[From My Cube @ Jul 28th 2008 3:54PM]

not to the lady behind the counter when you try to check this thing onto an air plane...

"yes mam, i have one extra item to check...no, its not a cauffin"

[phanbouy @ Jul 28th 2008 4:00PM]

cauffin? is that german for cow fin?

[Krush @ Jul 28th 2008 4:13PM]

"cow fin" - a fanboi's attempt at sarcasm .... FAIL

[phanbouy @ Jul 28th 2008 4:17PM]

that's ok, krush. i don't blame you for being jealous of having an inferior misspelled-word-as-name

[king @ Jul 28th 2008 5:11PM]

good one rock99rock. And it can be yours for the low one-time price of 15,000$ (please note that the fugly case is sold separately for 29.95$)!

[Haikibutsu @ Jul 28th 2008 3:40PM]

Give it some powered legs and arms, program the Mac Pro, and attach some guns. Now we will have an awesome mech that dances as it kills and destroyed everyone to bits!

[Decoy @ Jul 28th 2008 3:53PM]

Macwarrior / Battlemac.

[r-o-b @ Jul 28th 2008 4:00PM]

it would fight against giant flying windows

[BluesK1d @ Jul 28th 2008 4:01PM]

If a Mac was an animate object, it would be a cappuccino sipping, snobby Frenchman.

[phanbouy @ Jul 28th 2008 4:04PM]

that's right "blues kid". we all know real men only drink turpentine flavored Folgers out of the workplace coffeemaker.

[John @ Jul 28th 2008 3:41PM]

do they make Apple Cinema 23" displays in sizes other than 23 inches or something?

[Haikibutsu @ Jul 28th 2008 3:43PM]

I think they have a 30 inch.

[phanbouy @ Jul 28th 2008 3:45PM]

cool! how'd they fit a 30" LCD into a 23" bezel? talk about iNnovation!

[ddaw735 @ Jul 28th 2008 4:35PM]

**WHOOSH**

[Matthew C @ Jul 29th 2008 11:55PM]

you made me laugh ... a lot.

Thanks.

[phanbouy @ Jul 28th 2008 3:42PM]

so where do you deep-freeze the leg of lamb?

[Haikibutsu @ Jul 28th 2008 3:44PM]

Don't know, but the Cinema Display can double as a grill.

[sepirioth @ Jul 28th 2008 3:54PM]

Why should we care and how is this news exactly?

[phanbouy @ Jul 28th 2008 4:02PM]

[insert sardonic retort here]

[Rob @ Jul 28th 2008 4:05PM]

This goes to show that some manufacturers think that no matter how ugly the thing is, put the Apple logo on it and it'd sell. There's so much ugly stuff out there with the "made for iPod" printed on it. Thankfully, most of it makes it to the "Clearance" section in a couple of months.

[phanbouy @ Jul 28th 2008 4:11PM]

i'm pretty sure only apple can use the apple logo. just sayin'

[blevay @ Jul 28th 2008 4:18PM]

Dear Engadget:

IT'S CALLED PROOF READING

[WilloughbySpit @ Jul 28th 2008 4:32PM]

Dear Blevay:

IT'S SPELLED PROOFREADING

[Andrew @ Jul 28th 2008 4:26PM]

Aside from the aluminum, this thing actually isn't laid out too well. Screen too high and there's no work surface.

The thing is really deep (to accomidate the amp I guess), but there's a ton of wasted space in the back. Why not turn the Mac on it's side and place the Amp at the bottom with a gap for air? It would lower the thing a foot and get the monitor near the right height to actually sit and work at.
You'd also want a flip up table so that there's an actual work surface.

[barry99705 @ Jul 28th 2008 4:46PM]

After reading the article, it looks like they are just using it as a 4Tb iPod.

[jabbasbick @ Jul 28th 2008 4:37PM]

At least the creator didn't opt for bose.

This takes the cake for wonderful craftsmanship, yet absurd engineering/design.

Another thing.. What possibly could the creator possibly need that couldn't be offered on a powerbook? I can't think of anything but something like pro tools. WTF, useless... buried... oh yeah, I'm not on dig. Monolab FTL!

[Matthew C @ Jul 29th 2008 11:58PM]

Powerbooks seem to be lacking a lot these days... intel processors included.

However, a MacBook Pro might do a little better, even though it has tinny little speakers, half the processing power, and half the screen size.

[Josh @ Jul 29th 2008 12:19AM]

I have 5 words for whoever built this monstrosity:

MacBook Pro + Sennheiser headphones

[Garybaldy @ Jul 28th 2008 5:12PM]

WOW its a road case. You would think by this article that concerts were transported in cardboard boxes until this case came along.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23540508@N04/

[fashionista @ Jul 28th 2008 9:54PM]

Nice! I was briefly a stagehand. Watching the flames of Woodstock '99 from the main stage... oh the memories...

[Garybaldy @ Jul 28th 2008 5:19PM]

You can rent setups like thats from A/V rental companies for the last decade or more. Touring bands have had them backstage for years

[霽月瀛台 @ Jul 28th 2008 9:51PM]

It looks so stupid.
A laptop , a projector, and speakers in a suitcase please.

[Griffo @ Jul 29th 2008 6:00AM]

Would look ok....in a prison.

[jsilas @ Jul 29th 2008 12:17PM]

To those interested (probably no one), those speakers are by Vienna Acoustics - Webern is just a model name.

[Jamie @ Jul 29th 2008 3:07PM]

Meh - kinda neat, but it's just a box made from Bosch Rail.
I woulda used 80/20 myself.