#Building a rack app Patch#
These should all be kept separate from signal processing cables, which would include MIDI cabling, instrument cables and patch cables between pedals or rack units. Make sure you separate all your wires into two categories:Įlectrical wiring would include pedal power (9V cables) and any kind of adapter or power plug that needs to be accounted for. If you look at it this way, wiring and cables are fairly straightforward. Just like a conventional pedalboard, everything will still have one input and one output. This means the signal is relatively easy to track. Linear signal processing in a guitar rack system Remember, your signal is linear, which means it runs in a straight line from beginning to end. So, don't assume that just because the wiring looks a bit chaotic that you can't do it yourself. If you watch the Premier Guitar Rig Rundown videos, you'll notice that the "neatness" of a rig will often depend on the personality of the guitar tech. The first thing to keep in mind is that this sort of thing always looks messier and more complex than it actually is.
#Building a rack app pro#
When you look at the pro rigs, you'll often see a lot of wires and what looks like a complicated mess. How tricky is the wiring for all this stuff? Line 6 and Shure both make some solid wireless units that are decently priced. If you do decide to add a wireless receiver to your rig, they'll usually take up one or two rack spots, similar to the effects processors and noise gates. To give you a few more ideas about how these systems are put together, I'll walk you through some real life examples. It's easy to see that once you get this many pieces into a guitar rack system there's a lot of experimenting and mixing and matching that can occur. Tool's Adam Jones has been known to use a bass cab with his rig. There are plenty of instances where "rules" can be broken. In other words, there's no right or wrong way to do it. Part of the beauty involved with putting this kind of system together is that it's uniquely your own and completely fluid. The Rocktron Hush provides some noise control, as per usual.Īll of these are just examples that I came up with to give you an idea of how you might piece together a guitar rack system that fits your specific needs. I've added a cheaper effects processor with a smaller MIDI controller to make room for a few more stompboxes. In many cases, guitar players will at least separate the power amp/preamp from their speaker cab via what's called an "amp head," pictured below:įor the classic rocker, the amp head is a Marshall DSL100 paired with the Marshall slanted cab. Moreover, many of the most popular guitar amps of our day are combo amplifiers.Ĭombo amps do have limitations and are not the method that most professionals choose to use. It's cheaper, easily transported and a lot quicker to setup and take down. Because, clearly, it has some major advantages in certain situations. There is nothing wrong with going the combo amp route.