Going Rack Mounted

[psy]

I'm thinking about switching from a head/cab set up to rack/cab set up.  (I guess you can call it rack gas  :lol: )I don't know anything about racks really, so I thought I'd ask you fine folk.

What are the basics for a rack?  Is it a power amp & pre amp?  Or do you not need a pre amp when using a multi FX pedal (Boss GT-6)?

[Lew]

mmmmm I'd love a full rack... anyway back to guitars.

Ye your going to want a case, preamp, poweramp and a power conditioner at the very least.

Check out Hunters thread he has some nice rack gear.

Not cheap though!

[Spitfire]

i use rack gear... although its just a head that fits into a rack case... i use the seperates as backup.

A simple rack would consist of a preamp, poweramp and cab.

Then you can start adding to it... with rack effects... rack tuner..and accesories like rack wireless, power conditionaer.. and then looper units such as the voodoo labs one to incoporate pedals into your rack if you so wish.

all in a nice rack case.

one of the good points of a rack setup is that more commonly than not you will get a stereo power amp and therefore beable to run a stereo effects processor into a stereo cab (or two mono cabs).... which is lush.

AND you can control the whole lot with a single midi pedal... (you can control anything with a midi pedal... but racks make it easier.. with a unit like the G-major allowing the effects unit to control your amps channel switching and then the midi pedal controling your effects unit.. you control the entire thing with one floor board... so one button push to switch your amp channel AND your effects patch.. no tap danceing!!!

[AdamB]

You don't need a power conditioner in the UK do you?

[Spitfire]

You don't need a power conditioner in the UK do you?

you dont NEED one anywhere... but i think that the power is more stable here with it being 240V... or something to do with it being a higher voltage rating than in the americas

[AdamB]

Oh right, i thought than in America the power surges quite a lot, and a power conditioner helps to tame it. But in the UK, power supply is much more stable

[psy]

Thanks for the pointers guys :) Now I just need to decide if I want to go 50w a side & run my 2x12" in stereo or go 100w a side, run it in mono, but leaving room to add an additional cab in the future.  Just need to get shot of my 2203 head first.

[MDV]

I hook ALL my stuff to surge protectors anyway.

Power conditioners are overkill. SPs from maplins/willkinsons/any electronics or tat shop do the job.

Old wiring you see.

[Spitfire]

Thanks for the pointers guys :) Now I just need to decide if I want to go 50w a side & run my 2x12" in stereo or go 100w a side, run it in mono, but leaving room to add an additional cab in the future.  Just need to get shot of my 2203 head first.

50W a side stereo all the way!

[Oli]

As people have suggested, a power conditioner is a good idea... i use a ETA PD8L, and it works great- also means that you can switch everything on in one go, which is nice :) Before you commit to buying a rack case, have a think about what kind of things you're likely to buy so you can buy a case large enough- i'd estimate between 6 and 10u, depending on how many things you're going to put in there.

You can use your GT6 straight into a poweramp, so you could have a setup that is just: power conditioner, GT6, poweramp, which (considering the GT6 is on the floor) means the rack could be as small as 3u, which is nice and portable for gigs and rehearsals :)

[FELINEGUITARS]

I've been a rack user for over 20 years

I tend to use a Furman/Samson conditioner mainly for the distribution reasons

The Samson powerstrip is best value on that front
http://www.dv247.com/invt/47520/

[psy]

Cool, cheers oli.  It's good to know I can start small & build it up as & when I want too :)

[ToneMonkey]

Oh right, i thought than in America the power surges quite a lot, and a power conditioner helps to tame it. But in the UK, power supply is much more stable

If I remember right, power over here used to be 230V +/- 5%.  But they wanted to bring it in line with Europe (240V), so they made it 240V +5% -10%.  Essentially they just changed the lower operational limit so that they could still generate/transform exactly the same, but could write 240V on everything.

I'll ask one of my bods what the exact voltage is next time I'm having someone apply the protection settings to a bit of kit.

[Stimpy]

I run a rack.
The only reason I have a power conditioner is that it is also the main power supply for all the rack units, no 4 ways screwed to the inside. And it comes with a nice rack light. £30 for a Behringer unit.

When putting the rack together don't forget to leave a spare slot above the power amp to get rid of heat.

They can get bloody heavy though so you may be better off going with two smaller racks but more trips, especially if you have to lug them up and down stairs all the time.

My Rack consists of
Behringer power strip
PSA-1 (fantastic pre-amp)
TCelectronic G-System
A tray for the following Pedals (linked into the loops of the G-System)
      TS9 Tube screamer (modded to TS808 specs)
      Voodoo Labs Proctavia
      Voodoo Labs Microvibe

A two unit Draw (for leads, picks, strings)

And Finally a Mesa/Boogie 50/50 Valve power amp

Speakers are 2 Marshall 1936 2x12 cabs

Controled by the G-System floor board. Only an ethernet cable required to link to the rack.

   

[FELINEGUITARS]

I keep my power amp in a separate rack case
Several reasons
1 It's the heaviest bit and by handling it separately - I save my back from strain

2 Having the power amp separate means I can select a different power amp to use at home from one I would use at a gig- 20w or less for home ....50w or more for a gig

3 It does give it more cooling and keeps it away from heat sensitive gear

Shameless HUGE rack piccy:


My Workshop rack - with added Egnater fun!


My newest bench rack - really just for the sake of my rack strobe tuner, but featuring a cut down Marshall 12w amp: