guitar rack
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Mike
So basically I've seen some musicians have these large system racks which do all kinds of fx on the music. I'm not really interested in making something that is huge, expensive and complicated for a big time band or anything, I'm just interested in making a small one to experiment with different sounds that could possibly lead me to using more complex equipment. I basically wanting to know some tips for beginners on starting a simple rack so that I can use with my guitar and how to wire it properly and maybe add more equipment for it in the future.
Answer
First thing you need is a rack to hold all the gear.
The main reason a lot of guys do a rack system is so that they can get there own preamp and power amp separate, instead of having an combo or head that already has it's own preamp and power amp sections.
So, you will need a preamp and a power amp. For example, a Mesa 2:50 power amp and Mesa Triaxis preamp. What's nice about this, is that you can get a couple different power amps and use the same preamp, so you can have 1 power amp that is lower wattage for recording and another like the 2:50 for playing live.
This is also optional, as you can still use a regular amp and have rack effects, but I see most guys who do the rack thing, doing so because they want the pre and power amps.
After your amp is situated, you can think about effects.
One thing most guys get is a Power Conditioner from Furman, which is simply a glorified power strip, but is designed for gear like guitar equipment and has special features like front lighting and things of that nature.
Next is the effects. Most common rack gear is a Noise Suppressor (ISP Decimator Pro Rack G), an EQ (I don't have one to recommend), and a TC Electronics G Major unit. A unit like this is a really nice multi-effects rack unit. There are also separate effects that you can buy and several different brands to choose from. I also see a lot of guys with rack mount compressors.
Personally, I like having the ease of a combo amp and pedals so I can turn them on/off during a song. There is no difference in foot pedals and rack effects, except for quality, but that being said, there are really high quality combo/head amps as well as pre-amp and power amps... likewise, there are really nice foot pedal effects and rack effects, but at the same time, both have some brands that are just terrible and don't get be fooled by prices either.
Each has their own advantages and disadvantages. For instance, the ISP Decimator rack usually doesn't come with a foot switch, however, I think you can plug in 2 guitars to the unit, or have them make one that allows 1 input for your guitar and the other designed for the effects loop, which is quite nice. You would have to run 3 long cables from the effects loop to your ISP pedal... cables can cost upwards of $60 for longer good quality cables, so it's nice if you have a rack system, all the cables will be smaller and stay behind the unit, which means you get less signal loss as well as less wires coming out into your space that you can trip over.
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