To Rack or Not to Rack

Date:2020/1/4 16:27:01 Hits:

The ’80s may have been the heyday of the “rack of doom”-style guitar rig, with huge, refrigerator-sized equipment racks filled with all sorts of processors. This resulted in something of a backlash against monster rack rigs in the following years. But the rackmount guitar rig isn’t dead. There are still good reasons to put your guitar rig in a rack. For one thing, racks are easily portable, and they facilitate leaving things permanently plugged in, reducing setup time. You can also get shock-absorbing racks, which can withstand a lot of abuse for extra security during travel. You can buy racks wide enough fit a full-size guitar head above, beside, or under the rackmount gear.

And you don’t need to have tons of rackmountable gear to benefit from a racked rig — you can use a single rackable head and then install shelves or drawers to hold pedals and connect them to a MIDI-controllable switcher. Then run a MIDI controller to the front of the stage for live control over which pedals are active.

Having said all that, racks aren’t for every guitarist. For one thing, if your rig is very simple there’s no reason for a rack (unless the simple rig you use includes a rackmount piece or two). If you just use a combo amp, for example, or a combo amp and a couple of pedals, there may be no reason for a rack. Same goes if your entire rig is on the floor — if your entire rig is something like a Line 6 Helix floorboard, or maybe a pedalboard, no reason for a rack. But depending on your rig, it might be worth considering a rack — in many cases the benefits are well worth it!

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