New Rack Setup, need some help
 

So ive been playing out of a Hartke LH1000 for about 2 years now, and i finally got the bucks saved up to buy a few extras. I went with a Tech 21 Sansamp preamp and a behringer racktuner. Altho i have been playin for a while now I am beginning to realize that im very nooby when it comes to this stuff... idk what i should plug into what, if i should be using speaker cables, if i made a mistake in what i got.. please somebody HELP!

Hartke LH1000
Tech 21 Sansamp RBI Rackmount Bass Tube Amp Emulator
Behringer BTR2000 Racktuner

Speaker cable goes from the power amp out to the speaker. That's the only place you use it in a rack setup.

I understand the tuner, but why did you buy the RBI? It's a preamp, and can be used several ways, but your LH1000 already has it's own preamp.

I like the power i get from the hartke but im a huge fan of the lack of depth with the tone i can get. It sounds rly good but id like to be able to shape it a little better, and ive heard a lot of good things about the rbi

Because the sansamp has a specific character that the Hartke does not.

Here's what I do with my markbass/sansamp setup:

from amp > effects loop send into sansamp rear input > sansamp output into effects loop return

Doing that, I just plug straight into the markbass, and when both are on, both color the tone and I shape my sound using each one. Hope this helps!

That helps a bunch! Thanks! Now can i get the tuner in there somewhere? Or do i have to plug into it each time

A lot of folks who purchase racks seem to buy things just because they see it in someone else's rack, not actually knowing if they need it or not. Compressors and Sonic Maximizers seem to be #1 on that list. Because racks are what the "pros" use.

You can plug straight into the tuner, then have the tuner out go into the RBI.

So tuner out > rbi in, rbi out > lh1000 effects return?

Another option is > RBI in / RBI out > lh1000 effects return. Then also send the RBI uneffected out to tuner in. That takes the tuner out of the signal path.

That turns your lh1000 into a power amp. You might like to put the rbi on a footswitch to use it like an effect pedal. Or simply

bass /rbi / input of lh1000/ speakers
Tuner out / tuner input.

Thanks for the help guys, it works great

pic for your enjoyment

I would go bass> tuner> sansamp> to hartke input but thats just me...

How did you hook it up then?

I ended up goin with >rbi / rbi sansamp > lh1000 effects return > cab and rbi unaffected > tuner. She sounds awesome and totally worth every penny. Cant wait to use it on stage this weekend.

IMO a rack tuner is a waste of time. If you have a decent, stable bass you use a tuner once a night. A good hand held will do that quite ably at a fraction of the cost. I have two Korg units neither of which are in my racks.

Racks are for people who don't like duffel bags or milk crates. Either it's your thing or its not.

A nice stable bass still has tuning pegs at the end of a headstock. In a perfect world they don't get bumped during the course of the evening.

Behringer notwithstanding, a rack tuner can potentially be more accurate than a handheld (e.g Peterson) and when it's in the rack it's always on and available.

With racks, it's about what's not in the rack that counts. Bass, strap, cable, go.

Rack tuners are a waste until you have to retune your bass for another song :rolleyes:

Hartke LH1000 and RBI set up
 

I use my RBI and Hartke like this: Bass to RBI, then to front of Hartke,hartke effects loop to (whatever, tuner in your case, graph for me) ..Hartke to speakers. I have tried going from RBI to effects return,and it is more quiet, but I get better highs and more power through the front of Hartke head. (just make sure your RBI is down low enough so you don't overdrive front of Hartke head) . All in all its a great combination because you can boost or cut bass-mid-treb
and you have "drive" knob on RBI which can be a nice feature.

There are floor based pedals that work the same way. I know the Peterson SS2 can do it.

/ot