Do you use rack gear?

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I feel like I've asked this before at some point, but I can't remember if I actually did.
So here I go potentially again, besides all the times this has been asked before by someone else.
Do you use rack gear for your tone shaping, when playing gigs? I don't mean just simply a rack mounted amplifier, or a racktuner. I'm wondering how many people actually bring a rack to a gig, with dedicated preamps, poweramps, effects units, maybe even a channelstrip?

I've always loved the idea of rackgear, because for one it kinda looks more serious, but really, the rack stuff usually is way more complex. I'm secretly hoping that there's still plenty of people out there that can afford to bring all that glorious stuff out on gigs.

Further, has anybody ever used one of these Palmer speaker simulators? I almost bought one a while back, but I just couldn't justify the purchase.

With my PA, not my bass

 

[J R Knots]

Almost always….

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[40Hz]

Depends upon the venue. Outdoor festivals and indoor theaters, yes.
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Oooo! An SF-2!!!

I hear angels singing.

Someday. Someday…

 

[BobKos]

I don't gig at all as a hobby player. But I have started experimenting with pre-amps and power amps as separate components. So far it has been a mixed bag but the Tech 21 DI-2112 in front of an old Crown CE-1000 all feeding an old set of Eden cabs seems to be a very cool setup.

 

[onda'bass]

why yes I do use racks

 

[arbiterusa]

I'm wondering how many people actually bring a rack to a gig, with dedicated preamps, poweramps, effects units, maybe even a channelstrip?

Used to run a rack. QSC USA 900, Presonus channelstrip, BMAX, the whole deal. It was 66 pounds and sounded great.

Now I don't. My amp (GK MB500) weighs 4.5 pounds and the whole rig sounds pretty much the same, with perhaps a nicer midrange.

It was a cool look in the nineties, but that was 30 years ago.

 

[Jjacks651]

When I go Big I use this Rack Rig
John

 

[Rip Van Dan]

I feel like I've asked this before at some point, but I can't remember if I actually did.
So here I go potentially again, besides all the times this has been asked before by someone else.
Do you use rack gear for your tone shaping, when playing gigs? I don't mean just simply a rack mounted amplifier, or a racktuner. I'm wondering how many people actually bring a rack to a gig, with dedicated preamps, poweramps, effects units, maybe even a channelstrip?

I've always loved the idea of rackgear, because for one it kinda looks more serious, but really, the rack stuff usually is way more complex. I'm secretly hoping that there's still plenty of people out there that can afford to bring all that glorious stuff out on gigs.

Further, has anybody ever used one of these Palmer speaker simulators? I almost bought one a while back, but I just couldn't justify the purchase.

I keep my WT500/800 in a rack and that was what I used almost exclusively from 2010 to 2021. I do have a low-power (225-watts rms into 4Ω) Eden TN226 class D amp that I specifically used for a small brewpub where we played over 40-times a year.

Other than that it was my WT500/800 amp. It's a dual powerblock amp that delivers 400-watts rms into 4Ω per channel and bridges at 800-watts into 8Ω. I run it bridged at 800-watts rms into either my DNS-410 (handles 1400-watts rms) or my DNS-210 (handles 700-watts rms), by DNA. I don't use any pedals, so the only thing you'll see in the rack other than my amp is the wireless I use with it. That amp weighs about 36-lbs. in its rack.

In 2021 I got a DNA-800 amp that is a class D amp with adjustable compressor (adjustable for threshold and ratio) putting out 800-watts into either 4" or 2Ω and started using that as my default amp. It will only put 400-watts into either of my 8Ω cabs but will put 400-watts into both if I run them together. Since both my Eden WT500/800 and my DNA-800 were designed by the David Nordschow, founder of both Eden and DNA, they sound very similar. Both are very clear and clean sounding, and I've found so far that just 400-watts run into either cab is usually more than loud enough for any indoor gig. I really like the light weight without the the loss of sound that can get now in class D amps, which is why the DNA-800 has become my standard amp now.

Here's my WT500/800 on top of my DNA stack of speakers. I only used the DNS-210 in this large venue and had a heck of a time on that small stage getting the speakers away from my ears because the sound level was killing my ears. Was a corner stage and just too shallow where I was set up.

 

[Low Down Brown]

Most of the time, I use a Genz Benz Streamliner 600 with my Barefaced Super Twin and it's plenty loud with PA support. On those occassions when I need to get louder, I have a four space rack with a Furman power conditioner, SVP Pro (currently), and Crown XLS1500. Other than the preamps, it's been the same setup for over 10 years. Yeah, the rack is heavier, but I still like having it when I need/want it and the sound is totally worth it.

 

[mark roberts]

Went from rack to lightweight Class D amps. Nope. Back to rack(s). Sure, a bit heavier…but, more reliable and they don’t bounce off the speaker cabs (and I wasn’t about to “fasten” them and have vibration cause future electronic failure issues…note: experience in that issue). Additionally, my rack cases have wheels and extendable tote handles. I use tried and true Stewart World convection cooled power amps. I also use Acme LowB 1’s, LowB 1W’s and LowB 2’s. The entire rig is modular.

 

[pfschim]

I voted never.
Been gigging since 1969. Did some regional touring in the late 70's-early 80's, even some national fly date stuff. Never felt the need to go with a rack for my personal gear. Sound company often provided racked rigs, but I never felt the need.

funny thing is that since I started doing sound for a few bands I'm in currently, I do use a rack for the PA mixer and assorted stuff that goes with that gear.

 

[DonaldR]

I still don't understand why not using a rack, so more practical than a pedalboard + head + setup time...

I'm using a small pedalboard now just because I'm always direct to FOH. 1 power cable + 1 XLR cable and that's it.
Could have been done with a 2u/3u rack but I just swap the Ampeg preamp for an Atomic Ampli-Firebox when I play guitar (but still using a Rocktron Voodu Valve + Peavey tube power amp in a 4u rack + 4x12" cab + Tech21 Midi Mongoose footpedal at home).
BTW, the BDDI model is very good in the HX Effects and that's what sold me for that setup.

 

[JimiLL]

Always have always will.

What everyone else does is completely irrelevant to me

 

[Egg250]

I typically go DI to the PA but sometimes use a rack mounted amp head. I get the tone I want through a few simple pedals. Lightweight, easy to use and scaleable.

 

[s0c9]

I have a pedalboard w/ Khan Tube DI going direct to PA!

Everything else - Bass wireless (Senn), wireless mic (Senn) and IEM xmitter (Mipro) - is all rack mounted!
Use them on every gig.
IEM mix controlled via tablet.

Never leave home for a gig without them!

 

[chriscarcinogen]

I used to use an Aiembic F2B with a Crest CA4 when I was in college.

I remember I took the F2B in for service and when I came to get it Ron Wickersham just handed it to me and walked away.

 

[skygzr]

Almost always….
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What bass is this? I can’t tell from the headstock.

 

[Killing Floor]

I had a great rack system setup back in the 90s. BBE 383 preamp, dbx163 compressor, Nady 3D wireless, and a Carvin DMC1000 power amp. Power amp was really light for that amount of power. All in a wood rack case a friend made for me. I had a power strip installed in the back with an extension cord that fit in the case when I closed it, and I would run the extension cord from my pedalboard to that so I only needed one power outlet at gigs (I know - sounds like a recipe for noise and interference, but I never had any problems). The wireless was a really affordable unit (<$200) that had true diversity, and I swear it made my tone better when I used it. I ran that into an Eden 410XLT cabinet, and I loved the convenience and way it sounded.

I swapped that out for an all-tube head (Mesa Buster Bass) after 2000, then switched to a solid-state Acoustic B600H head sometime around 2014. All my subsequent rigs worked great for what I wanted at the time, but I do miss that BBE-Carvin system.

-Y

There is a 383 preamp in a rack at my house. It’s a great sounding and very useable box.

 

[hennessybass]

Only 3U... pre / power amp, so not much different from an amp. Maybe a little bigger, but my current rack only weights 23lbs.
Used to have a Fender TBP-1 and Carvin DCM1000 (heavy power amp)

New rack is an Arkham pre and a Carvin DCM1000L (light weight, class D).

 

[Yools]

There is a 383 preamp in a rack at my house. It’s a great sounding and very useable box.

No doubt - I really regret selling that. They're really hard to find now.

-Y