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Rack/pedal setup help

DJ.D.

DJ.D.

Feb 16, 2010
27
0
Sweden
#1
Hi guys (and girls?)!

I'm kinda new to this effects using and couldn't find matching threads that could help me all the way. The band I'm hooked up with nowadays goes all in-ear (I got the new UE4 - they're great!) on stage so I won't be using a cab but go direct into the PA. I really appreciate this approach since it reduces the sound on stage. The only problem is that I can't rely on my Eden rig anymore to give me the sound I want. I want to invest in a good sounding setup that will give me warm great tone, ease in setup yet flexibility to make changes in nuances in the tone (tube distortion, chorus, more or less compressor, etc.).


This is the gear I am thinking of buying and combining:

Countryman DI type 85 (anyone that knows anything about the new type 10 DI they have?)

DBX 160A compressor

EBS Valvedrive (for that vintage tube distortion)

Some kind of good chorus (suggestions? EBS UniChorus?)

DBX 120 (but only if it gives me the cool "produced-kind-of" deep lows I would want in some songs - a must test! Right?)


All right. Questions then...

1. What do you think about the combination of gear? I now play mainly on a Yamaha TRB5II (great low B but a tad too slick) but I'm looking into investing on a Sandberg PM5 to get a bit tougher tone.

2. How do I best make a signal chain out of this? How do you combine rack mounted gear with pedals without having to go into midi control boards? I would like to have all the gear in front of me on the stage floor but I'm also worried that people will mess things up coming too close with their drinks when on small stages on pubs. Are there any rack cases that have a few rack heights and a pedalboard on top? Would a mixer case work for that?

Grateful for all input you may have :-)


EDIT:
The pedal I forgot to mention:
TC Electronics Polytune tuner

And a third question:
3. In what order do you think I should put the gear in my signal chain?
 
#2
I know for a fact that there is a pedalboard that has a rack case built into it. I saw it here on the Post your Pedalboard thread. I do recall the owner saying it gets to be a bit heavy and cumbersome to move due to its size and shape. Hopefully he'll drop by and give you some insight.

I've contemplated using a mixer case like that too. I'm thinking of making a pedal board that has about 2 rack spaces, most for my rackmount tuner and reverb unit so I could go straight into a PA if need be.
 
#3
Holy carp--I didn't know about that Type 10... They claim it's better than the Type 85, and that is a tall claim, to be taken seriously! Invalid Link Removed

There are pedalboards with 1 or 2 RU. A bigger issue is whether you'll get adequate signal level matching between the pedals and the rack gear. I vaguely recall the 160A can work with an instrument-level signal, but I'm not positive; and I don't think the 120 will. When I was using a 120, it was always post a preamp that brought the signal up to line level.
 
#4
bongomania said:
There are pedalboards with 1 or 2 RU. A bigger issue is whether you'll get adequate signal level matching between the pedals and the rack gear. I vaguely recall the 160A can work with an instrument-level signal, but I'm not positive; and I don't think the 120 will. When I was using a 120, it was always post a preamp that brought the signal up to line level.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks for pointing that out! I have rethink about my choice of compressor. I read your page with reviews on compressors. Great info by the way! Thanks! What compressor would recommend to me if not dbx 160A? I've been using a EBS MultiComp lately (borrowing my friends) and like quite a lot what it does except that it flattens my tone in an EBS way. I want my sound open, full and rich wich I would say is more into a Eden sound.

Can you point out where to find the pedalboards with rack unit spaces?

Should I try to get myself a type 10 Countryman DI instead of 85? Don't know if they have properly released it yet...
 
#5
DJ.D. said:
Can you point out where to find the pedalboards with rack unit spaces?
Click to expand...

There are actually almost none currently in production that I've found other than the Pedalgear:http://www.pedalgear.net/

There is the old SKB PS-100, which is what I currently use:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
You can fit longer rack items in this one that any other rack/pedalboard hybrid, particularly when you start gutting it as I've done.

You can find an old PedalPad MPS XL that has the rack ears, but they don't hold anything deeper than 7" and they weigh a ton:
Link Removed

PedalPad also had a unit called the RM-10 or something like that, which was shaped differently and could hold short rack units, but was equally as awkward and heavy. And you can get away with having the second tier installed backwards on a pedalboard like the Lyt, and then velcro down your rack unit:
Link Removed
 
#6
http://www.pedalboards.com/New_Folder/folding.rack.htm

swr.jpg
 
#7
Another option is to talk to a custom rack company (there are many) and have them make you a 1 or 2-RU case with an additional lid over the top. That way you mount your pedals on the top of the rack box, and the top lid goes over the pedals. There's nothing like that ready off the shelf right now that I can find, but I have seen them before, so it has been done.

Here's a regular 2-space rack, but any custom rack shop can make a 1-space, and then it's just a matter of adding a big square lid, maybe 3" deep, on top:
FRAR2E.jpg
 
#8
As a dude who combines rack stuff and pedals, let me say that it's a pain. I briefly owned a PS-100, and sold it because it's extremely cumbersome and heavy. I ended up buliding a simple thing out of plywood for my rack units, which are less than 4" deep, luckily, and it just sits behind the pedalboard with a bypass/routing pedal on the board to control them.

The units you're talking about are deeper, so it would be a tougher to make that work. Also, there are really great compressor and sub-octave pedals available, so I really would think long and hard about whether you want to suffer with a hybrid rack/pedal setup. You might be surprised what you can do with a Compulator and a MicroPog (just a couple of examples, I haven't owned those pedals, nor do I know what tone you're looking for, but seriously dont' use rack stuff if you can avoid it).
 
#10
#11
speak_onion said:
I briefly owned a PS-100, and sold it because it's extremely cumbersome and heavy.
Click to expand...

I've actually found the opposite- the PS-100 with it's top on is lighter than a Pedaltrain 2 in its hardshell case. Cumbersome is true though- looks like a spaceship or something with the lid on :D
 
#13
JehuJava said:
Bryan:

How do you like that Gordius Little Giant? I use a Liquid Foot and find it doesn't play all that great with my EDP.

Alan
Click to expand...

It is the best.thing.ever. While it can take a lot of initial programming (as none of the buttons are assigned any specific default function or CC/PC/etc. number), the amount of stuff it can do is astounding. You can program a single button to send out completely different sets of CCs, PCs, expression pedal commands, all on different channels on each sequential press of that same button you want.
 

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