Rack Gear


OldSkoolPunk02
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Joined: 08/28/00
Posts: 48
OldSkoolPunk02
Member
Joined: 08/28/00
Posts: 48
10/22/2000 12:37 am
What are the basics to a rack system? I think I got an idea.. Basicly Power amp, preamp, power conditioner, effects. Am I correct? I was thinking of doing that insted of a new amp.. Any sites that talk about them that you can recamend? Laterz

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Is it just me or does life suck? Maybe I suck and it just life? We shall never know...
Up with dope! Down with hope!
A guitar is like a woman, touch her right, and she shall sing.
Is it just me or does life suck? Maybe I suck and it just life? We shall never know...
Up with dope! Down with hope!
A guitar is like a woman, touch her right, and she shall sing.
# 1
bofatron sofasaurus
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Joined: 08/15/00
Posts: 61
bofatron sofasaurus
Member
Joined: 08/15/00
Posts: 61
10/23/2000 5:54 am
that's about the long and the short of it I guess. I have a power conditioner, power amp, preamp, and an effects processor. I used to use it a lot in the 80s. I don't dust it off very often anymore. It is a good idea though. You might check out the LIne 6 Pod Pro + a good power amp (thatd' be 4 rack spaces + a power strip is 5) and the floorboard controller.

Other good things are Boogie pres and power amps and something like a Lexicon processor. Boogie makes some killer rack units as well. I have an SKB and I can't recommend it all that much....cheap but it didn't hold up well over time...it sorta crunched in on the top ;(

Keep an eye out for a Boogie Studio Pre from the 80s. They are dirt cheap (like $300) and the legend surrounding them is that they were the best lead circut ever designed by Boogie but that few people know of it.

peace,
http://shredlikehell.com
Shred Like Hell
# 2
OldSkoolPunk02
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Joined: 08/28/00
Posts: 48
OldSkoolPunk02
Member
Joined: 08/28/00
Posts: 48
10/23/2000 6:14 am
I was looking on e-bay they had a Mesa/boogie 2:90 Power amp I think its called, and a Triaxis Preamp but they were going for $700 apice.... They had a Marshall 8008 Poweramp for $300 I think. Mesa's sound great but I don't want the best just yet.. I hate when there are people with $1000's of dollers of equipment but can't play for crap.. So I kinda wanna build up slowly...

------------------
Is it just me or does life suck? Maybe I suck and it just life? We shall never know...
Up with dope! Down with hope!
A guitar is like a woman, touch her right, and she shall sing.
Is it just me or does life suck? Maybe I suck and it just life? We shall never know...
Up with dope! Down with hope!
A guitar is like a woman, touch her right, and she shall sing.
# 3
bofatron sofasaurus
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Joined: 08/15/00
Posts: 61
bofatron sofasaurus
Member
Joined: 08/15/00
Posts: 61
10/23/2000 7:21 am
I know what you mean about the folks with all the gear and none of the ability. There's people all over the place with tons of gear (like $20,000 or more worth of junk) that can't even play. However, if you're going to get good it doesn't hurt to go ahead and get some top line stuff and just keep it. the Mesa power amp is killer and the triaxis is obviously a winner. If you could afford it you'd be 'in bidness' so to speak and you could avoid repeated buying year after year. Looking back over 20+ years I can say that I wish I had just bought the best gear I could and then just stuck with it instead of buying and buying to catch up with my abilities.

But, I guess, you never really know what you're going to need. Hummm, I don't know what to say. maybe something like a Boss GT-3 processor/preamp combined and a combo amp with an effects loop? You might already have a good amp with effects loop and you could just bypass the current preamp in your amp with the GT-3 or similar thingy and you'd have a great portable rig. You might not need a rack system yet unless you plan on playing out a lot in the near future.

I guess one of the virtues of buying a good quantity of stuff over the years is that I have multiple rigs for diff. purposes: protable practice units, med size tube amp, DMA for recording, etc.....

I guess the question is this: what do you have right now and what do you want to be doing, in, say one year from now. Is your current equipment not enough for your activity one year from now? If not, what do you need?

Generally, rack stuff is kinda pricey plus you'll still need a cab if you don't already have one and the best bet is to have 2 to take advantage of the stereo capabilities of a rack system.

Say, how about one of those old Carvin Quad preamps? cheap but I hear they sound Okay. you can find them used (I saw one on ebay not too long ago) Or an old ADA preamp -- I think Vernon Reid used to use one. Or the worst of worst, I have a Digitech G 5 something or other on my trade page at http://guitarsoc.homestead.com
which combines a preamp and processor (back in the 80s they attempted the "digitube" stuff too with horrid results But if you like rank distortion you might like it, LOL.

have you given any thought to one of the big digital modeling amps like the line 6 ax2 or the new roland monster? it's like having an amp + effects + floor controller all in one. I currently use an ax2 and i love the thing.
Shred Like Hell
# 4
bofatron sofasaurus
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Joined: 08/15/00
Posts: 61
bofatron sofasaurus
Member
Joined: 08/15/00
Posts: 61
10/23/2000 7:25 am
check it out, I found 3 boogie studio preamps on ebay... http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ebaytag1=ebayreg&ht=1&query=boogie+preamp&ebaytag1code=0&SortProperty=MetaEndSort

these things are killer units. I have friends who call them everything from their "secret weapon" to the "godbox" .. look at the reviews on them at Harmony Central database
Shred Like Hell
# 5
OldSkoolPunk02
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Joined: 08/28/00
Posts: 48
OldSkoolPunk02
Member
Joined: 08/28/00
Posts: 48
10/23/2000 8:50 am
In a year I see my self giging with a band. Right now I got a 72' Fender Camp,(6 wats but want something bigger.) an a 60 somthing melodier guitar.(Guitar is ok but could use some neck work. Im ok now, but I feel if im gonna improve I need a step up. My guitar has a thick a** heel joint, and only 19 frets.. So soloing is getting hard to learn on this thing. Im 17 but I graduated high school already. So I can work full time. My only bill is my car insurance, so must my money will go to guitar stuff. I figure I can save about $800 a month. So I can get what I want farely quickly.. My first thing Im getting is a new guitar. Whats cool about rack gear is you can mix and match. I could have a Mesa pre, and a Marshall power amp. So I could customize it. Also if I didn't like the dist. or what have you I don't have to buy another amp head. just the pre, or what ever...

------------------
Is it just me or does life suck? Maybe I suck and it just life? We shall never know...
Up with dope! Down with hope!
A guitar is like a woman, touch her right, and she shall sing.
Is it just me or does life suck? Maybe I suck and it just life? We shall never know...
Up with dope! Down with hope!
A guitar is like a woman, touch her right, and she shall sing.
# 6
Zeppelin
Moderator
Joined: 08/22/00
Posts: 848
Zeppelin
Moderator
Joined: 08/22/00
Posts: 848
10/23/2000 8:31 pm
could someone please tell me what is rack gear anyway??
im not from the usa and i dont know this word and what does it mean
"They think im crazy..
but i know better.
It is not I who am crazy.
It is I who am mad.."

ren hoek
# 7
Raskolnikov
Guitar Tricks Moderator
Joined: 07/05/00
Posts: 2,907
Raskolnikov
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Joined: 07/05/00
Posts: 2,907
12/18/2000 3:36 am
I like rack gear because it keeps things in one spot and allows you to move them as a single unit (rack gear is rack mounted equipment by the way). I'm not big on processors, but it's nice having my head, power conditioner and wireless all in the same place.
Raskolnikov
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# 8

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