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Who does not use a rack

bassmodder

bassmodder

Dec 9, 2006
1,084
10
Sioux Falls, SD
#1
I am wondering how many of you guys have rack mountable equipment that you do not use in a rack.

I am trying to lighten the rig on a strict budget, and am looking for some cosmetically appealing ways to run a "rack rig" without the rack. I used to have the rack, but sold it due to back problems.

Pix and explanations would RULE!
 
#3
You can pick up a rack bag. They have the rails and some basic framing, but they're basically soft cases for your rack gear and a LOT lighter than a traditional rack case.

Racks usually don't add that much weight, though. It's gear IN the rack that is causing a weight problem. There's 1kW+ poweramps that clock in under 20lbs now. Take a look around and you'll be surprised at what you might find. I know that Peavey makes an ultralight model, DPC something or other. Stewart has the World series, QSC has the PowerLight series, and Crown has the CDis.
 
#5
bassmodder said:
I am wondering how many of you guys have rack mountable equipment that you do not use in a rack.

I am trying to lighten the rig on a strict budget, and am looking for some cosmetically appealing ways to run a "rack rig" without the rack. I used to have the rack, but sold it due to back problems.

Pix and explanations would RULE!
Click to expand...

I used to have a big rack with goodies and got rid of the whole thing for the same reason--my back wouldn't take it. Now I use a light amp head and cabinet or a combo. The key is to do without the goodies like compressor, power conditioner, etc. I can play perfectly fine without them and don't miss them a bit now.
 
#6
Yes, I ditched the whole thing and now have a QSC (21 lbs @ 1200 watts) and a BBE Bmax solid state which has the compressor built in. The QSC is only 14" deep, but I would like to attach the bbe to the QSC and still have the rig look somewhat pro. So... no duct tape.

My last amp was an old Crown Com-tech that I removed the lid, drilled 4 holes, and bolted the gear down, then reinstalled the lid. However, this QSC is much nicer and I really don't want to do that to it.
 
#7
I don't own any rackmount gear, but I have a guitarist friend who owns a rack tuner and a rack multi-fx processor. He built himself an aluminum box that holds both, and weighs less than 40 pounds, and just sets it on top of his amp. compared to the rack he used to use, which weighed about 150 pounds, this set up works much better for him.
 
#9
I'm in the same boat...I ended up ditching the rack and the whole pre/power setup just recently and bought a 2x10 combo. The heavy rig sounds the best and sits nicely in my home practice space. The portable rig now goes with me whenever moving is involved, the time savings justified the investment of a second rig for me and this time i didn't go crazy overboard.
 
#10
I home brewed a little 12 to take anywhere. It likes to boom though.

I am paranoid to add any extra weight to this rig because so far I am up to 28 lbs for a 1200 watt rig. I just need some ingenious way of hooking the pre and power together... I am thinking rack rails.. but they aint worth no 20 bucks for a 4 space.
 
#11
I use a 4 space Gator rack bag and it works quite well. They also make a 2 and a 3 space version.

gearpics08-02-15014.gif
 
#12
I have a friend who bought a large back pack from REI (Not a Full HUGE one, but its fairly large), and its got a hard back, then he sticks a piece of thick plywood in a pocket and keeps his gear between those two things. It's a pretty good idea, as long as you can take the backpack being larger than a normal one.
 
#15
i have an SWR workingman's 300 that is rack mountable, but i just stuck some 'male' velcro to the bottom of it, it sticks to my cabinet's carpet quite well. on top of the amp, i stick a presonus blue max compressor (which is like a 1/2 rack unit) also with velcro, keeps it in place perfectly.
 
#17
The solution is buy an integrated head that has all the features you want designed into it.

For me that would be the carvin bx1200 and the LMII.

I velcro a Korg GA20 to the top of the amp(s) and have a mute switch on my patch cable. I use a briefcase to store my LMII.

This is with my older tuner.
lmbriefcase1.gif
 
#18
Beavinator said:
Hey crabby...how long have you been folding the front flap under the rack?? I just bougth a three-spacer, and was wondering if you can do any damage by constantly folding the flap underneath the heavy equipment...any thoughtS??
Click to expand...

I've had this setup for a few months and the rack shows no sign of being damaged by folding the flap back. Its quite well made and seems like it will hold up. I loke the fact that its easy on the interior of my car when being loaded in and out.

It only cost $89 Canadian so its a pretty good deal. The Gator soft racks are completely lined inside so I was able to put some velcro on the bottom of a power strip and just stick it inside the back. No modifications or even velcro needed to be stuck to the inside of the rack as the velcro on the power strip sticks really well to the cloth liner.
 

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