Rack setup questions

[charvelguy]

You'd have to drive pretty far Tim, probably can find one in your area if you hunt around.
Local City Pages (the 'entertainment' mag/newspaper) classifieds.. it was used and listed for 45.
I talked him down due to a slightly bent latch missing a rivet.

I think it was the first thing I bought before any preamp-type rack gear actually and that was about 5-6 years ago.

Guitar Center has had really good deals on racks in the past.. new for like 10 bucks per space. I bought an 8 space carpeted rack new from GC during a blowout sale.. Grundorf; Made in US- 75-80 bucks.
The rails were installed off by an 1/8 or so ... I had to remount one side.

I bought a 6 space SKB off MF.. one of the X racks for about 50 bucks ..B stock or returned I believe.

Ebay had some great deals on Gator pull/rollo racks..I think I paid 80 shipped on another 8 space.

[PeteL]

Damn guys, I'm still having trouble deciding if it's for me or not, but thanks very much for the continued advice/suggestions!

I kind of like the idea of that pod that is in the form of a pedalboard. That's essentialy the rack-mounted preamp, only on the floor and with an expression pedal, right?

The choices are so overwhelming I just don't want to muck it up!

[PeteL]

Could anybody suggest a good preamp and power amp, right now I don't care if it is tube or SS, I just want to "get into" a rack system to see if I like it. Something that won't break the bank, just a nice basic combination. Only requirements are I'd like to have a very heavy tone, a good clean tone, and some basic effects wouldn't hurt either.

It would seem that the tube-driven ones are much more expensive, so i guess for now I'm looking at Solidstate gear.

Does anybody like the Tech 21 PSA-1? That looks like a good one. I'm also looking for relatively simple to learn/use preamps. Are any easier than others to use?

I've checked out the suggestions already made, but do you guys think any one is better than the other for the price?

Thanks very much, I appreciate it greatly.

[hippietim]

I would look at a Hafler Triple Giant or a Soldano SP-77 for a preamp. That will run you $350-400.

For a power amp I'd look at a used Marshall power amp or a Carvin T100. This will run you $350-500.

For F/X, there are a lot of choices for not a lot of money. A Rocktron Expression or Intellifex will be under $200.

[PeteL]

Damn, i wasn't able to find any of that stuff, least on ebay, except for Marshall power amps hehe. Carvin is still making a TS100 and TN100, but couldn't find just a T100 power-amp.

Do you suggest Solid-state or tube-driven marshall power-amps?

[hippietim]

I'd get a tube power amp if you can. The Carvin TS100 should be cool - it's the replacement for the T100.

Check with Sambencuda - he has an SP-77 for sale.

[PeteL]

Thanks!

[charvelguy]

Call me Ann Landers. Hmm.. Slamm Landers.. a rather befitting nick for the JCF I would say.

Some people likely may recommend no Marshall as they've had reliability issues.
SS or tube, sometimes you have potential reliability issues buying used gear that is 10-15 years old.
In my opinion..one should take into consideration that while you may get a great deal on a piece of used gear..you may also be putting a little or lot into it depending on it's previous use, the type or make of gear etc.
Consumer report type of thing.
IF you buy used.. beware the 'as-is' disclaimer, as you may get into buying a piece that has little or no pre-check or "well, it worked fine the last time I plugged it in 5 years ago before it went into storage-I fired it up and the lights came on but other than that.. I have no means of checking it out" ..type of deal.

Don't get me wrong.. there's plenty of good used gear out there..Mosvalves Peavey, and Carvins are usually very affordable. I own a T-100 and it goes around the 250.00 range.. good basic tube power amp. Peavey are also good basic tube poweramps.

There was an SP-77 in the board classifieds not to long ago.. if you get a 100 posts, meaning you give and share your experiences in the JCF guitar realm, you too can become one of the elected to sell, buy and trade on the JCF.

Anyways..Harmony Central has abundant reviews. I still often check up on researching gear choices while persuing them.. altho.. I generally take the reviews with a grain of salt at least some of the time.

To answer your question, the PODXT live is meant to be an all in one gig machine.. just add poweramp, cc on occasion for updated packs/sound library and guitar and away ya go.
Boss and Digitech also have some great all in one type units- I would not dimiss them either when doing my research.
I don't have a clue what your budget is other than 'to get by' and sound like this or that, So..the hard choices have to be yours as to what you want to take a leap of faith on.. usually sight unheard.

I wanted a tube rack setup. So I went with tube poweramp, tube preamp and I made my choices without ever hearing any of the gear other than by this person used it on this or that type of deal.
That was before all the market on advanced modelers became more diversified.

It really depends on your budget and your tastes in gear as to what you choose. The Marshall valvestate and SS series are fairly inexpensive, the tube stuff, even the older 9000 series is typically not.

Maintenance for tube amps 'generally' is higher, depending on use but the tone and response is usually preferred.

Headroom is a consideration, how much wattage am I going to need for what I want to achieve. There was a rather in depth discussion about that because older valve based preamps.. like the ADA mp1, you'll find the clean sounds are much more subdued in volume as oppossed to the gain sounds.. so, in order for the cleans to come though really well..you'd have to have a power amp with a little more wattage on tap and work with a compromise on the setup of your presets.

[PeteL]

Charvelguy, thanks very much. You've been a big help so far, and it is appreciated (by me at least )

I've been doing e-research quite a bit, harmony-central of course (taken with a grain of salt, as always with online user reviews) and just pricing equipment out.

Yeah, I'm not too sure what my budget it, between 500-800 or so. I would also like the tube-driven equipment, so I will search around with suggestions from this thread and elsewhere to help me figure out what might be the best for my initial setup.

Like you said, I'm basicaly making decisions without hearing the equipment but I have faith in people on the JCF, though some of those harmony-central reviews are a joke

Thanks again, my research continues...

[charvelguy]

your welcome. 500-800 is a pretty healthy budget..lotta options there.
some guys.. myself, included will consider running two preamps setup differently A/B style or with a midi switcher to switch between the two. Really depends on what the gig situation demands and what I can or feel like using.

[PeteL]

Cool.

I do have a question with the power amps. Some of the Marshalls and Mesa power amps I see are 40/40 or 50/50 or 20/20. Does this mean you can choose to run 50 or 100 watts, for example with the 50/50? What does it mean 50 watts per channel, doesn't a power amp just provide the power, why would you need two channels if the preamp provides the clean or dirty tones(channels?)?

Also, just having a power amp and preamp on your rack plugged into a speaker cabinet will provide you with "regular" amp setup, right?

Oh my god I wish there was a website with FAQ's about rack setups for newbies!

[hippietim]

the channels on a power amp are for running stereo - as in two cabs.

[Chad]

Or you can run into a single stereo cabinet.

Or in the case of a power amp, like the Randall RT2/50, one channel can be used for one type of tubes and the other channel can be used for different tubes.

[soc_monki]

wow, im late in the game! i just started building a small rack because i always wanted one and i came across some deals i couldnt pass up. Sansamp PSA-1 for 125 bucks, and a Mosvalve MV-962 poweramp for 125 bucks as well i just picked up a Peavey Rockmaster and thats my main thing. its decently cheap if you wait and look around (i paid almost 200 for mine, but im kinda impatient...it was worth it though), and has 3 channels and is footswitchable with a plain Peavey 2 button switch. i didnt want to mess with midi much. plus i like the Peavey sound (love my 5150). the Rockmaster/Mosvalve is an awesome setup, and right around 300 bucks if you shop around. the Rockmaster is a sleeper preamp, that has enough gain for anyone IMO.

Racks dont have to be complicated...mines really simple. good luck!

[PeteL]

Oh ok, so they could be 50 watts stereo into two cabinets, or I have the option of running 100 watts into one cabinet?

Also, what's a good tube preamp, costing around 400 dollars, with really good hi-gain settings? Any of the Mesa or Marshall preamps?