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Rack noob is seriously confused...!


colin617

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First of all, I would like to say hello since this is one of my first real posts on Harmony Central. Usually, I get mired down in the debates down in the Political forum. I am quite stuck with my rig at the moment. I have quite a bit of gear and setting it up at gigs is quite a pain, so I was thinking that going to a rackmount system would make my life easier.

 

I know I'm not selling out Wembley Arena nor would my audition get a second look from Mr. Dumble, so if you're going to be condescending and state the obvious, please don't post.

 

Ok, down to business.

 

My rig consists of a Splawn Superstock and a Reeves CP504 (with their respective 412 cabs).

 

Into the Reeves goes an Xotic AC Booster, Skreddy Lunar Module, Keeley Katana, Keeley Compressor, and a Maxon AD999 Pro. Basically I use the Reeves for my country, clean, jangle, and Gilmour-esque tones.

 

Into the Splawn goes the Rat, Sunface, Retrosonic Phaser, and Keeley Modded DD-3. The Splawn gets used for Van Halen/ 80s stuff and general Marshall-y goodness (Zep, AC/DC, etc).

 

I plan on buying a chorus pedal soon too. Also, I have a Dunlop rackmount wah and a Soldano Space Box that I would like to incorporate. There is also an Avalon pre-amp that I have been using for my acoustic that I think should be stored in a rack.

 

I play in a cover band that does 60s pop-rock (Beatles, Stones, Byrds), 70s Arena Rock, 80s hair metal, and classic/ modern country, so I need versatility. Gigging has become a chore rather than fun. I need to decide what effects I'm using and where to put them. Then of course is the task of wiring the pedals, buffers, and powering. It isn't really as bad as it sounds, but I feel like I spend too much time worrying about my rig to the point where my playing suffers. I need to streamline my rig. What I really want is to be able to have certain preset patches, but also the ability to assign an effect to an amp on a whim (say put the phaser on the Reeves, katana on the Splawn, etc).

 

 

I'm not a fan of any multi-effects processors that I have ever heard. I have all the effects that I use, I just want to be able to switch them and power them in a less time consuming manner.

 

I have been looking at CAE stuff because I know it is top-notch, but I have no idea what I'm looking for. I think I will need a switcher, system interface, power supply, and amp switcher. Again, I'm not too sure.

 

tl;dr

 

-want to cut out tap dancing

-want to incorporate Soldano Space Box and rackmount wah

-want to create patches of my most common tones, but also want to assign effects to either amp

-want to switch between amps or run them in stereo

-I need a power conditioner (so I've been told). Any suggestions?

 

What do I need to accomplish this? Money isn't really an issue, but let's set a budget of around $10k. I'm not trying to seem snotty; I really don't know what I need to do, but I know that there are people here who can point me in the right direction!

 

Thank you guys so much!

Colin

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A rack for all the effects. The Soldano needs three spaces, wah needs one ,powerconditioner needs 1, switchers needs one each and you'll need approx two units for every tray of effects. So that would be... 10-12 spaces?

 

Two of theese should do the trick as far as switching goes.

 

http://www.voodoolab.com/gcx.htm

 

And you'll need a MIDI-pedal, off course. But what pedal depends a bit on how many different presets you want. And an expressionpedal. Or a MIDI-board with expressionpedals. But I'm not to familiar with that stuff.

 

And when it comes to PowerConditioners the Furman is the standard.

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The GCX is an incredibly versatile piece, and the Voodoo Lab Ground Control Pro is an excellent midi foot controller that can control up to four (4) GCX units.

 

There are a number of other looper/routers available with prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. With a budget of $10k, though, you might want to check out the SoundSculpture Switchblade GL

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So you'll have about 10 pedals and stuff. You probably don't need more than one switcher in this case.

Because:

- You could go for a RJM Effect Gizmo, which has 12 loops.

- Or a Sound Sculpture Switchblade 16, which gives all the switching and mixing capabilities you need.

 

Then add two drawers for the pedals.

 

You'll need to add some utility boxes too to be able to control your amps via MIDI. Maybe a RJM Amp Gizmo?

 

And control it all with one of the following MIDI controllers: Liquid Foot, Gordius Little Giant (my favorite), Access FX1, Rocktron All Access.

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