I’ve been a loyal Thomann customer since the year 2002, my experience with them was always positive. When I landed my dream job at Roland Corporation, I decided it was time to upgrade my workspace. My original setup featured a trusty Millenium 18U rack bought from Thomann in 2005, but as my collection of gear grew, I needed something bigger. Enter the new Millenium 24U rack. The idea of unboxing and assembling it was thrilling—after all, who doesn’t love a good studio upgrade?
The order process was straightforward (click the image above for details), and soon the new rack arrived. That’s when things started to veer off track. As I inspected the unit, I noticed a dent on one side which holds the screw holes (image shown below). It was subtle but unmistakable, and it set off a tiny alarm bell in my mind. Maybe this unit had been used before or improperly handled during shipping? Still, I shrugged it off, deciding I could place the dented side toward the wall where it wouldn’t be visible. That decision, though seemingly minor at the time, would come back to haunt me.
Fast-Forward Four Years
The 24U rack had been holding its own—literally—until the day I decided to rearrange my workspace. Moving the rack to the other side of the room seemed like a straightforward task. But as I was shifting it, the unthinkable happened: BOOM! CLACK! BOOM! The rack collapsed!
Fortunately, I was near when it happened, so I could react quickly and minimize damage. If it had collapsed on one of my vintage synths, the financial blow could have been in the tens of thousands of $$$, not to mention the heartbreak of losing irreplaceable gear, both the keyboard and gear in the rack.
I grabbed two blocks of wood and put underneath in order to be able to unload the rack ASAP
Investigating the Collapse
My first thought was that maybe I had overloaded the rack. The specifications indicated a maximum weight capacity of 80 kg, so I set out to calculate exactly how much gear the rack was supporting. Piece by piece, I weighed everything, cables included, and arrived at a total of 68.7 kg—well below the limit. The conclusion? The failure wasn’t due to overloading but rather a structural weakness.
Seeing the bottom side for the first time after quick disassembly
Serial number of my rack unit
It were metal shafts that collapsed, not the wheels. That’s even scarier. I can’t repair this.
The Red Flag I Ignored
Looking back, I believe that dent was the clue to the rack’s fate. Perhaps it had been a returned item or tested with heavy equipment before reaching me. The type of damage didn’t seem like something that would occur during manufacturing. It seemed more consistent with misuse or stress from a previous setup or something happened during the shipment. At the time, I had dismissed it as cosmetic and decided to keep the unit. Now, with the warranty long expired, I’m left wondering whether the dent was a ticking time bomb from the start.
My lost time
It took me an entire day to disassemble the units in the rack and all the wiring, and then I will once again have to assemble it all back. Rewiring that patchbay will take a lot of time. I remember originally it took me one week of work to wire this thing up. I am still confused about whether I should switch to a completely different brand and seller, or if this was indeed a case of the unit being mistreated somewhere in the storage or during shipment.
Lessons Learned
The recent collapse of the 24U rack is a grave matter that demands attention. This isn’t a toy box, a shelf for knick-knacks, or a storage unit for Legos. This rack is specifically designed to support thousands of dollars’ worth of professional music equipment—rack-mounted effects processors, audio interfaces, power amplifiers, and other precision-engineered gear essential to music production. The equipment stored in a 24U rack isn’t just expensive; it’s irreplaceable in its role. These devices are often the heart of a studio.
For such a critical piece of infrastructure to fail—collapsing under the very load it’s designed to hold—is concerning. If the rack was specified for 80kg then it should hold 80kg. It is as simple as that. 🙂
What’s Next?
I’ve reached out to Thomann, the retailer, to explain the situation and seek advice. I don’t expect miracles given the time that’s passed, but I felt it was important to report the issue and learn from this experience. Will this story have a happy ending? That doesn’t depend on me.
