Rack pics...

[Bluesbob]

No, not that kind of rack. I just took this pic of my bass rack, so I thought I'd post it for y'all to feast your eyes on. Anybody else here use a rack? Got pics? (Sorry if this reminds some of you of TB.)



I like the rack concept, especially now with the wireless in it. True plug and play! I used this last Saturday night and someone actually told me how great all the lights looked! I was very happy with my MM Sterlings' tone and power/punch through the Schroeder 410L. This is probably my last equipment up-grade for a while. (Famous last words?) I think the only way to go after this is to a pre-power set-up, but that's not anything I need right now. (And I also would need roadies to move multiple cabs.)

[Vince a]

I'll be changing this setup soon, as I'll also be adding a rack-mounted (Line 6) wireless . . .

[geoff_in_nc]

Wow... cool stuff.

[martini]

Used to have a power conditioner and and a tuner in there, total pain in the arse. (Note: English saying!). Went back to basics a while back, lifes a whole lot easier that way.

[Gunny]

I'm with Martini. I had an 800 Watt Yorkville rack amp plus tuner and X2 rack wireless. Now I'm using a Samson airline wireless into a Behringer 300 Watt head and Peavey 15" cab. Just simpler and a lot less expensive.
I'm not knocking rack rigs; just a change of taste for me.

[ccrnnr9]

Damn...I was disappointed when I opened this thread...talk about not living up to expectations...
~Nick

[Bluesbob]

is another man's pain in the butt... my saying. I don't know how much simpler I can get it. I put the rack on top of the cab, take off the covers, plug in the power cord and the speaker, turn everything on and I'm done.
If I'm playing someplace tiny or at a jam in somebody's basement/garage, then I go with bass > wireless > WT400 > 2X10, with a pedal tuner out the back of the amp, which is about as minimalist as you can get (using a wireless). I take the amp out of its' carry bag, put it on top of the cab, hook up the tuner, plug in the power strip, plug in the wireless, plug in the power cord and the speaker, turn everything on and I'm done. Which, if you're counting, is about 2 more steps.
Plus the lights look so cool!
The rack is a heavy sucker, though. Not nearly as heavy as my SVT II, but heavy.
Anybody else rackin' it?

[geoff_in_nc]

Originally Posted by Bluesbob

Anybody else rackin' it?

Is it just me? Or do bass players tend toward racks, and guitarists toward pedalboards?

Or am I just making a stupid sweeping generalization?

[HOBBSTER01]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3424/...f9c2e2223d.jpg

[Bluesbob]

Originally Posted by geoff_in_nc

Is it just me? Or do bass players tend toward racks, and guitarists toward pedalboards?

It may be that things are evolving differently. When I'm playing a guitar gig (few and far between now) I use my pedalboard that I can just plop down and run a couple of wires to and from my Fender combo amp. It used to be that rack rigs were all the rage, but things are returning to simpler and smaller (and more vintage) as far as amps go, for me anyway. And then there's modeling, which, if I had it to do over, would probably be the way I'd go. I play covers and all I want to do is offer a reasonable facsimile of a guitar part from the particular tune I'm covering. I've certainly spent way more on individual effects than the cost of even the best and most expensive modeling solutions now available (other than some of the proprietary software based stuff). But I play in bars and catering halls, not arenas. I don't record. All my audience wants to do is dance and have a good time. If a rack system was available at the time, who knows?
When I started playing bass I wanted to do the same thing which was offer up a copy, more or less, of the bass lines from the popular music that I play in my bands. The easiest way to do this was to plug my '71 Jazz bass into my '89 SVT II head and 2X15 plus 4X10 cabs and have at it. But as I got older, bringing the 2X15 seemed less and less necessary. So it stayed home. I started playing blues gigs with just my 2X10 and small, lightweight solid-state amps, while still dragging out the big guns for the big gigs. Then came NEO. I bought a 4X10 that weighs less than my 2X10, although it takes up a little bigger footprint, so I decided to go for lighter weight solid-state on the amp side, too. I always kept the SVT II in a rack, so it seemed natural to have the new amps in one, too. Then I got a rack tuner so I didn't have anything underfoot, along with a rack compressor and wireless, as well as a power "conditioner"-surge suppressor to plug everything into.
Like I said - it just evolved.
I know a lot of bass players who use racks - just as I know a lot of guitar players who swear by their vintage or boutique amps. But since TDPRI is primarily a guitar board, I thought it would be interesting to see if any of the bass players here are/were going in the same direction.

Here's a link to the Talkbass website and a discussion of racks by other bass players.

[Tim Armstrong]

My AMP BH-420 lives in a rack case, but it's the only thing in there (I do keep the power cord and speaker cable in there, too). I'm not a bass effects kinda guy, and my tuner is a small guitar tuner that I put on top of the case...

The case does protect the amp and make it easy to carry!

Tim

[Paul in Colorado]

I have a rack mostly because I had a preamp and power amp and it needs to live somewhere. I've added an Ibanez rack delay for chorus. I have a little KORG tuner that velcro's to the case. It's a quick set up. Plug in the power, plug in the speakers plug in the bass and play.

[Gunny]

HOBBSTER01: I see your rack and raise you a Brook Burke

[Anchoret]

Originally Posted by geoff_in_nc

Is it just me? Or do bass players tend toward racks, and guitarists toward pedalboards?

Or am I just making a stupid sweeping generalization?

No, but it's more complex than that.

My comments on this subject nearly got me banned on TalkBass a couple of years ago, though about 40% of the respondents who actually got my point (as opposed to those merely getting spitting mad) totally supported my position. There's nothing worse than telling the truth.

Anyhow, I'll refrain from repeating them here. You've basically got your guy with a plain SVT vs. the guy with a B-52 avionics panel. They see life and beauty differently.

I'm more in the former camp, but with the purchase of a 750X in a rack case, I've started to slip a bit...though I've kept it to just the amp and a rack tuner up near eye level.

[Bluesbob]

I've started to slip a bit.

Beware the dark (rack) side
I've only been rackin' it for a year or so - basically since I started playing bass with my latest project, Plan B. I added the Korg tuner just because I liked the features, of course it sucks outdoors in the sun, but on a darkened stage it looks so cool - and - it actually is a good, accurate tuner. From there it was easy to add the Furman out of my PA rack (replaced with another one) in a 4-space case. I used to velcro my wireless to the top of the case, but with the X2 in the rack it's super-simple. So now the thought was, if a 4-space is good, a 6-space will be better!
I never thought about using effects, but if I did they'd probably be pedals like a BassBalls and a BassSynth. I don't consider the dbx 160XT an effect as much as a practical necessity for the type of gigs I play (no PA support) and my tone goals. I'm trying to get the tone, volume and punch of an 8X10 out of a lightweight 4X10 (Schroeder 410L), without blowing anything up. This rack rig (along with the 1100 watts of the 800B, squeezed by the dbx) lets me get very, very close. I can carry it all up a flight of stairs in 2 trips, with my bass in a gig-bag. And be set up in under a minute.
Hopefully this is it, but it's a slippery slope!