For those of you who are reading my original post about my search for a "live-in" style ATA case for a Mark IV short head...I am still looking online and calling around, but so far I have found Janal (http://www.cases.tv/) who said they would make me the "live-in" case for my Mark IV short head. The front and the back lids would be removable and the case would have rubber feet screwed to the bottom. For about $300, Janal said they could produce this case in black with 1/4 ABS laminated 1/4 ply with 1" foam, ATA-recessed hardware and handles. Please read on for the rest of my findings here and please feel free to post comments about good or bad experiences with Janal, Affordable Cases, etc. I might've rambled some here, but these cases ain't cheap!!!
The price at Janal seemed a little high to me, but on the other hand, I haven't found any "live-in" cases for the Mark IV short head online or advertised at all, therefore, I don't have much to compare with in terms of price.
I'm from St. Louis, MO and I used to deal with Affordable (Barry) Cases a lot here in St. Louis. Jay is the owner and they make pretty good cases. I had my last case built about a month ago and they really botched the first run of that case where I had to have them make me a second case. I was surprised because they have always been accurate and thorough with their measurements. Since then, I tried asking Jay at Affordable Cases to build me a "live-in" case for my Mark IV short head and he acted like he didn't want to do it because he doesn't make that design for Mark IV's and he was worried about the amp overheating in a "live-in" case. I specifically called Mesa headquarters and they didn't see a problem with a "live-in" case so long as the front and back covers were fully removed and that the foam at the bottom of the amp wasn't too soft where it would squeeze itself in from the bottom of the amp near the reverb area. Janal so far though seems cool with building one for it. That's what I know for now....more later...