building up a rack for gigging - help appreciated

[hoehlentroll]

so I decided to switch to a rack system but I'm unsure about a few thinks.
what I already have:
engl preamp 530 (1 rack space)
samson airline wireless (1 rack space)

what I want to buy:
g-major 2

1.how much watt do poweramps really need?
2.I just wanna have mono, which poweramps can be "linked"?
3.what else do I need in the rack? is a power strip useful?
4.how much rack spaces should I buy? how much space units is too much /heavy? on the other hand I know I will get mad if I just need one unit if something cool comes out!

 

[006]

Seriously for a poweramp you'll want at least 50w tube. If not, then 100w solid state (or higher) to start with. Go up from there based on your budget/needs. A tube 50w power amp will do the job nicely. Power strips are very useful man, you get ONE power cable coming out of the back instead of 4 or so. Plug everything up into that one unit, and have one cable - so much easier.

For the rack, a power amp is typically going to be 2 rack spaces. My old Peavey 60/60 was, the Mesa Simul 2:90 I had was, the 2:100 is, the Marshall tube power amps are. I think it's safe to say they're generally 2 spaces haha. 530, Samson, G-Major, power conditioner and a power amp should pull 6 spaces, which is a very typical rack size for a live rig. You may or may not want to throw a tuner in there too, which would add a space. For a power conditioner ("power strip" as you call it) check out Samson and Furman, whichever your budget allows, they both make inexpensive ones that do the job well.

~006

 

[hoehlentroll]

thanks for the reply. i fear that the g-major´s noisegate wont do the job. i have a isp decimator pedAl. should i get a 2 spaces rack drawer for that too?

 

[xFkx]

I'd go for a mesa 2:90, ditch the power conditioner and get a bad ass tuner

 

[dan weapon]

Good timing I'm doing exactly the same!

So far I'm going to be using:

1u - Korg dtr1000 tuner
1u - sennheiser wireless
1u - samson powerbrite (power conditioner)
1u - G-major
2u rack drawer (for leads and shit)
2u rack tray (for noisegate and tubescreamer and delay pedal)

That adds up to 8units of rack space, and I'm not really after anything else. I'm not using pre and power amps as I'll be using my head.

Will an 8u case will be enough? Or should I go to 10u just in case? Like I say I'm not really planning on anything else at the moment....

 

[Metaltastic]

I'd ditch the rack drawer and just bring a duffel bag personally!

 

[hoehlentroll]

I think a rack drawer comes in handy cause you can put the cables in place and keep the fuck tidy. best for me would be just three plugs: the guitar cable into the input, the power cable into the power strip/whatever and the cab.

 

[dan weapon]

I'd ditch the rack drawer and just bring a duffel bag personally!

I've already got a small flight case for all leads/string cutters/pliers/screwdrivers etc etc. I figured a rack drawer would mean I could ditch the small flightcase and also pack away my leads the second that I finish a set.


Also it could take up 2 spaces that I might replace with a rack amp at some point in the (not so near) future.

 

[hoehlentroll]

So this what I bought/already had:
- Rack with 8 units
- Marshall el 34 50/50 (monbloc --> can run 100watt mono)
- samson wireless airline 77
- engl preamp 530

still got the g-major 2 to buy, but they won't give me that little fucker yet --> still not available!

 

[Metaltastic]

How come you went for the Marshall power amp dude?

 

[Lasse Lammert]

I've got a VHT 2150 for sale

 

[hoehlentroll]

@metaltastic: because I got it for 500€. new price is 1249€
@lasse: damn to late! how much would it've cost me?

 

[Lasse Lammert]

@metaltastic: because I got it for 500€. new price is 1249€
@lasse: damn to late! how much would it've cost me?

like 1150 or so

 

[hoehlentroll]

ok. cool that's way beyond my budget anyway

 

[hoehlentroll]

my rack (g-major 2, rocktron hush, rack light still to buy):

 

[Executioner213]

Hopefully the G-Major2 works out well for you. I have a plain 'ol G-Major and it sucks. Piece of shit crumbs!

 

[hoehlentroll]

why does it suck exactly?

 

[xFkx]

Sorry to hijack the thread, any opinions on the g-sharp ? I think i'll be picking it up tomoorororow

 

[Executioner213]

First off, it is cheaply constructed. Fukkin knobs wanna fall off all the time and once your shuffle knob goes awry, you are kinda screwed if you want to make exact changes.
It really colors tone, and when any modulation effect is used you can actually hear it sucking some nuances out of your tone. The gate on it, since you were wondering, is pretty choppy. I had it set up for a while to be pretty slam-shut to get that Fear Factory mechanical stop sound, but decided it wasn't all that cool. Pitch shifting is not intelligent, just incremental. Once I took mine out of my rig, I noticed my amp was a lot louder...and I'm using a Mesa Triaxis/2:90 rig.

My plan to replace it, since I already have the pedals I want, is to go all stomp box but to get a Ground Control/GCX combo to control all of it and have em housed in the rack. I'd like to think it's better to have individual boxes focusing on one perameter rather than one trying to do several things at once.

 

[hoehlentroll]

that sounds horrid. would you recommend the gsp 1101?