Studio Rack Depth

vineband

vineband

nothing but a harp
I am trying to determine what depth is good for a semi-portable studio rack. I would like to house all my rack gear in a 14 space but there are many different depths to consider (12-18"). The 12" depth seems plenty for all my gear but I am trying to think of what piece of gear I buy in the future would not fit in a 12" deep rack. Any thoughts?

I will only transport this unit 2-4 times a year, so I only need something light duty.

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/The-Case-Store__W0QQ_armrsZ1
 
I would go for something at least 16" deep. That would allow you to have cables plugged in to most long pieces of gear even when you have the back attached to the rack (if you're using a patchbay or have a combination of preamp/compressor/eq that you dig.)

Personally, when I travel with a rack of gear, I like to have most stuff plugged in to cut down on setup time.
 
FWIW, the deepest box I have runs @ 13.5 inches from back panel to the end of the knobs (Millennia TD1). The portable racks I have (I usually just buy effects racks) are 14" without covers. The typical measurement is from the front rails to the back rails. The covers will, of course, stick out about 3" farther on each side. I would suggest not less than a 14" rack

I would suggest Audiopile for racks. Decently built, reasonable prices and good service. Their cables are good as well. They used to be on e-bay, but I don't know if they still are.

http://www.audiopile.net/

If you want to hang a power strip or power supplies in the rack, then it will need to be deeper. My rolling rack in my studio is 20" deep and I have a couple power strips, power supplies and cabling tucked in the back.
 
M10K said:
I would go for something at least 16" deep. That would allow you to have cables plugged in to most long pieces of gear even when you have the back attached to the rack (if you're using a patchbay or have a combination of preamp/compressor/eq that you dig.)

Personally, when I travel with a rack of gear, I like to have most stuff plugged in to cut down on setup time.
Click to expand...

True, if you want to keep your cables plugged in, then you will need at least another 2" beyond the 14" I've suggested above.
 
Just an FYI...

If you ever decide to build your recording computer into the rack, be aware that these cases are about 21 - 22 inches deep.
 

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Mike! It's great to see you on the forums.

I think most laminate knock-down racks from Middle Atlantic and Raxxess are 16" deep minimum these days, but one of the other posters makes a really good point...I actually have my recording PC rack mounted in a machine room next door, and that rack is 22" deep.

I've got three racks, all of which are on wheels with lids: a preamp rack, a dynamics rack, and the rack for my converters, pachbays and headphone amp(s). I don't travel *too* much with all of my gear...maybe every couple of months, and when I do it's very common for me to take only the PC and conversion racks. I got my stuff from ebay...it's not the greatest quality in the world, but it was a good value. It's pretty sturdy and wheels are good quality so they won't wear down and fold up on me. Here's a couple of pics to show you what I did.

MB2.jpg


MB7.jpg


Frank (Oesterheld)
 
A depth of 12" is too shallow. There's a lot of gear that wouldn't fit in that. But I think 22" is overkill. You'll most likely be safe with a depth of 18".

If you think about how deep 22" is, that's a pretty deep rack to be lugging around. It means extra weight and awkwardness when moving it.

Most new gear is pretty shallow these days. If you are potentially going to be racking up 3/4 inch VCR's or other bulky audio gear, then you might want to go with a deeper rack. But for the audio gear you'll msot likely be using, 18" should work fine.

What gear do you think you might buy that won't fit in an 18" rack?
 
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