Rigs

[metalchurch]

Just curious who is running rack gear, and what your setup is.
Those who are, if you wouldn't mind, could you list your setup?
Pictures would be great also.
Thanks

[Colton]

If i woulda seen this post about 30 min ago, coulda made a list and snapped pix, but the racks are on the way to the generation gap show tonite ><

[metalchurch]

That's cool, I'll be looking forward to seeing it. Thanks Colton, have a good one.

[Colton]

I'll drag the camera to the show tonite and snap pix while were settin up

[lonewolf]

Here is a two-space high, 1/2 space wide snakeskin rack that I made to match my Mojotone 2-12 snakeskin cab. The rack contains a Boss VF1 modeling FX processor and a Stewart 200W amp. It also has midi phantom power to power my DMC Ground Control footswitch and a toroid transformer to replace the VF1's wall wart.

200 programs and 200 watts and it only weighs 10lbs.

[metalchurch]

Jeff, that's really nice! Did you cover both the cab and head or just the head?
And where did you find that material to do that? Wow, that's nice, I can't say that enough.
Now you need one of these to complete the look LOL!!
2007 Jackson KV2 USA

2001 Jackson Soloist USA

2007 Jackson RR1 USA

[lonewolf]

Jeff, that's really nice! Did you cover both the cab and head or just the head?
And where did you find that material to do that?

Thanks. I just made the head. The cab is a Mojotone 2-12 Bassman cab with the snakeskin tolex option. They also sell snakeskin tolex by the yard. REMEMBER...the prices are cut by 33% when you register with them and log in:

http://www.mojomusicalsupply.com/item.a ... id=7310210

There is a also store on eBay that sells it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0151245556

[bassist_25]

Joe, I grabbed a shot of Kenny's rack after the gig the other night. I know that you were asking about posting it. Anyways...

Sitting on top of two Mesa/Boogie Vertical Split Cabinets...

-Furman conditioner
-SansAmp PSA-1 preamp
-TC Electronics G-Force FX processor
-Rocktron HUSH noisegate
-Rocktron EQ (both half-rack spaces because old sKool is a child of the 80s)
-Mesa/Boogie Simul-Class 2:90 power amp
-Ducktaped strobe light of unknown origin (adds presence on overdriven sounds and increases EN_ER_GY by 5.8 units )

http://www.geocities.com/relativeminor2000/brack.JPG

(link because the pic's pretty big. I tried hosting it at Imageshack but it kept crapping out on me)

Even though it's a bass rig, I threw mine up too.

Sitting on top of two Aguilar S4x10 cabinets

-Shure Wireless (actually up for sale)
-Furman Conditioner
-Korg DTR-1000 tuner
-BBE Bmax preamp (solid-state version)
-QSC PLX1602 power amp
-Walmart strobe light (really tightens up the low-mids and adds 5.2 units of EN_ER_GY. )

http://www.geocities.com/relativeminor2000/grack.JPG

[metalchurch]

That's some nice gear there, both yours and Kens. How come you have such a big rack case? Did you down size it at some point and kept the case? Looks like it might be top heavy, I would have mounted everything down low, and had the 5.2 units of EN_ER_GY on the top.

I mounted my Power amp on the bottom, mainly because it weighs 60 pounds, and felt more at ease with it there.

I have a 10 space rack and I'm quickly running out of room. I had 2 spaces between my head and my ADA, and 2 spaces between my ADA and the EQ above it mainly for air flow, to help it cool better. Since I added the BBE, I had to move the ADA up against the EQ, which I do not like at all. I'm gonna have to change some things around tomorrow. Or perhaps get a rack mount fan, and mount it in the rear, blowing in to help out.

Here's an updated picture:

[metalchurch]

Paul, I did want to see some guitar racks, but I'm all about the gear so Bass Players are welcome too. I am just curious to see just how few of 'US' there are on here.
Racks will make a comeback, just a matter of time.

I originally wanted either a Marshall JCM800 2203 or a Peavey 6505+
But the thing about racks that I like is that you can add whatever you want to it, and basically have your own custom setup that no one else has.
Although pricey, and somewhat more trouble prone. (so far so good!....)

Even though I don't play out or really crank on it much, I try to keep my Pre and Power amp as cool as I can. Heat is the enemy, among others.
I'm running everything into my Furman, and then into a power strip for extra insurance, and I never play while it's storming outside, maybe I'm just a little anal about that, (I said anal) but I have alot of money into this, and I want it to last for a while.

[bassist_25]

How come you have such a big rack case? Did you down size it at some point and kept the case? Looks like it might be top heavy, I would have mounted everything down low, and had the 5.2 units of EN_ER_GY on the top.

I mounted my Power amp on the bottom, mainly because it weighs 60 pounds, and felt more at ease with it there.

I originally had a CNB (SKB clone) that was five usable rack spaces. When I got the Shure, I had to get something bigger. I knew that I would eventually put some more components in it, whether it was an additional preamp like I was talking about in my other thread, an FX processor, or an EQ. I ordered an 8-space Gator rack from Musician's Friend. When I ordered that particular model, they were actually discontinued. They sold out of the 8-spaces, so they sent me a 10-space.

It's a little top-heavy, but not too bad. Usually when I'm using two cabinets, I'll have someone help me lift it on top. It's kind of awkward to lift that high, because you need to stablize it on the bottom, since all the weight's in the front. I could mount the components lower, but I can't mount the power amp to be touching the floor of the rack. It's a roller-rack, and a handle actually goes through the bottom inch or so of the box. The QSC is a switching amp, so it doesn't weight as much as a lead-transformer or a tube power amp. Though, it still isn't as light as the Stewart that's in Jeff's rack. The rack's fairly decent to carry, but it still sucks balls to dead lift off of the ground. You got me thinking though, Joe; maybe I will try moving everything down towards the bottom when I get some free time.

I don't think that there's an objectively right or wrong answer when it comes to going rack system or not. I know that I prefer it and I like playing with a guitarist who has gone that route. On the other hand, I've seen guys who sounded great with a Fender combo amp and a wah pedal. It's all in what you're trying to accomplish. An underrated local rig, IMO, is Jimi Hatt's Ampeg setup. That thing's really creamy. Another thing I've seen is people using self-contained guitar heads, but still having a rack with all of their outboard processing.

I've thought about eventually going to a self-contained head, but most heads don't have the power I'd be looking for. I use to make fun of the guys who were running these crazy mega-watt bass systems. Then after playing a while with amps that didn't have the headroom that I needed, I became one of those guys. If I do go with a regular head, I'd still rack-mount it, if just for the rack tuner. I never realized how much the climate change in a room can make an instrument go out of tune during the middle of a set!

[bassist_25]

P.s. Actually, the breaker on my power conditioner got tripped during the first set on Saturday. I'm not really sure if it was a power surge or what. It was at a carnival type of gig, so I'm sure that the power isn't really used often to run a band.

[songsmith]

It's a little top-heavy, but not too bad. Usually when I'm using two cabinets, I'll have someone help me lift it on top.

That's because you weigh like 17 pounds, and 7lbs. of that's wang. You're way too skinny, dude, I always expect to see flies crawling on your eyeballs, like in the Feed The Children commercials. Apparently, famine's a real problem on the far-flung savannahs of Houtzdale. Just kidding, you strong like bull. I don't want somebody with the means to psychologically analyze me spinning tales of Oedipal complexes and coprophagia.

Getting to tech, I always try to put some distance in the rack between any digital effects and the power amp. Digitals, especially the 80's vintage stuff, can give off RF hash, and if the amp's not well-shielded, it'll show up in your signal. Same with wireless receivers... we learned not to put the vocal wireless receiver on top of the house effects rack... when you turn of the mic's RF carrier, it'll overpower the squelch all of a sudden, and you get this giant blast of very ugly sound.

Anybody getting back into the Rockman-type sound, you know, heavily compressed, chorusy sustain? Stuff like that seems to go in cycles, and I see a resurgence of 80's influence in sounds. We're getting out of the 70's stuff, kids dress like the 80's now, and I bet the reverb-soaked sterility of the mid 80's comes back around. Not metal, mind you, I'm talking more for the guys wearing their sister's jeans.------->JMS

[metalchurch]

bassist25 wrote: It's a roller-rack, and a handle actually goes through the bottom inch or so of the box.

That's what I need in the worst way. I literally need 2 people to lift mine up. I mean I can do it myself, but the family jewels are screaming for relief!

I could get a Radio Flyer wagon, with some 6 inch S/S Cragers for some stylin' motoring to and fro'

Maybe a hover 'round would do the trick.

[lonewolf]

bassist25 wrote: It's a roller-rack, and a handle actually goes through the bottom inch or so of the box.

Here's a little trick with those racks in case you have a very hot power amp that needs air circulation. Lay your amp in the bottom of the rack so its laying flat on the bottom, down about an inch or so from where it would mount in the bottom rack space. Mark the bottom mounting holes on the amp and drill 2 SKB sized (I think it was 1/4") mounting holes in the rack rails. Insert a pair of SKB rack nuts for threads. You can then mount the power amp that much lower and use that extra inch or so as an air gap between it and the next rack unit. That solves heat problems without using a rack space and without impeding the handle.

[metalchurch]

I might have to do that because as you know, the holes do not line up in 1/2 rack space increments, only 1 space+. I moved my ADA up a 1/2 space, but I can only get the top holes on either side to line up, leaving the bottom holes on the unit with nothing holding it.

One other thing I thought of was to use a bigger washer under the rack screw to tighten against the ear. It won't go through the bottom ears of the ADA, but it will secure it.

The ADA was what I was more concerned about, because it has vent holes on the top and bottom panel and it gets very hot. The 9200 has a fan already, so it can pretty much take care of itself.

That's a great idea, and I'll keep that in mind once I fill the last remaining space in my rack with a tuner.

[metalchurch]

So far from what I gather there are 4 people on here that are running racks. There has to be more than that, right?

[RLeahey14]

Im looking to start building a rack, and for the record, metalchurch you have an awesome sound through your rack, and what is the name of that booster piece you have, i wanna look into getting one of those so i can tighten up my sound

[metalchurch]

It's a Game Genie built by a company called ADA.
shhhhh. Don't give out my secrets.
I'll tell you in a pm.

[RLeahey14]

sweet i ordered my Game Genie right now

[metalchurch]

Haha!! Remember...... secret squirrel.
Hope it works out for you. I'm sure you will love it.