The actual Rack for my gear

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gbondo9

gbondo9

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I've finally got enough Rack gear to justify a "Rack" and patch bay. :D :D
Im not looking for a "best" deal or a "cheapest" deal with this thread, I just need a starting point.

Ive never owned or purchased a "Rack" before, although Im very familiar with them in other studios.

So which companies make your racks and do you like them (pro's/con's). Like I said, I just need a starting place to get some price comparisons and do some research.

Thanks,
Todd
 
Here's what I have in my small studio space:

http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--QLKRS955

These racks are expandable by stacking units. So your rack can grow as your gear expands.

It doesn't sit at an angle which makes it diffucult to access the bottom most unit in the rack. It does come with casters which allow you to rotate the entire rack to check wiring.
 
gbondo9 said:
I've finally got enough Rack gear to justify a "Rack" and patch bay.
Click to expand...

It's also helpful to get a power strip/conditioner like those made by Furman. I have one with small tubular lights which help illuminate the rack.
 
the rack....power conditioner DIY

i bought the furman "ac power conditioner"....

i guess it's a standard,
but i was kinda let down when I opened up the hood to see how it works.

all that was in it was some Disc Capacitors soldered on the frkn ac outlets!!! :eek:

hell, disc caps are about .20cents each!! so basically for $1.00 I could have made a "ac power conditioner". :rolleyes:

there's a DIY. :)
 
I made a few racks for my limited gear (see attached). They were cheap and easy to make.

rpe
 

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COOLCAT said:
i bought the furman "ac power conditioner"....

i guess it's a standard,
but i was kinda let down when I opened up the hood to see how it works.

all that was in it was some Disc Capacitors soldered on the frkn ac outlets!!! :eek:

hell, disc caps are about .20cents each!! so basically for $1.00 I could have made a "ac power conditioner". :rolleyes:

there's a DIY. :)
Click to expand...

You sure those aren't MOVs? :D

I have a Furman PL-8 and it is built VERY solid, and the controls are solid, too. Last weekend, I got an RP-8L, the budget version, and boy what a difference. The case is VERY thin metal and flimsy, the lights slide out all wobbly and not very smooth, and the control is shakey and feels cheap; and the lights aren't nearly as bright as the PL-8. I'll probably keep it anyway since it works ok...power seems to be clean as far as I can tell, but from now on, I'll stick to the better model.

I have one of those raxxess 20 space black racks that's just 4 panels you put together. By itself, it's kind of flimsy, but loaded with gear, it's a little more stable. Also, I put my own casters on it from home depot. I also have a dual (side-by-side) 4-space rack I built on my desk above my monitors. Racks are about the easiest thing to build yourself.

I bet that Quicklock is VERY solid.
 
Excellent

Thanks for the replies. Good starting points.

What exactly do the "power conditioner"s do that they cost $199 - $299?
Are they worth it for just a couple pieces of gear (couple of mic pre's, compesseor and limiter, etc)

Thanks again,
Todd
 
The first question you need to ask yourself is "will I be taking this out of my studio"? If it is for your studio only and won't be travelling, then I highly suggest getting or making something out of wood. The difference it makes to the vibe of the room is dramatic.

If however you need a rack to travel with, then something by Anvil or Jan Al, or any one of the other major case makers would be fine.

If you follow this link you'll a bunch of studio racks I made. The only one I didn't make is the one standing in the corner with the boom box on top of it.

http://www.albypotts.com/images/mpm_studio.jpg

Racks are basically boxes of a certain width, with rack rails in them. Really quite easy to make once you sort out the dimensions.
 
MrBoogie said:
You sure those aren't MOVs? :D

I have a Furman PL-8 and it is built VERY solid, and the controls are solid, too. Last weekend, I got an RP-8L, the budget version, and boy what a difference. The case is VERY thin metal and flimsy, the lights slide out all wobbly and not very smooth, and the control is shakey and feels cheap; and the lights aren't nearly as bright as the PL-8.
Click to expand...

I bought the cheap one.
and yes your probably correct MOV, metal oxide varistor?..been awhile... same difference...

a guy could slap those on his wall units for $1.00 instead of $60-100.
i still think its a good DIY, if you can do the wiring/solder safely.
 
If you plan on keeping it at home or in the studio, the rack I would suggest would be wood also by this company. His prices are reasonable considering this is solid wood, dovetail joint construction, and finished like a nice piece of furnature:

Daedalus Audio

I am having a 12-space rack made out of solid walnut to match my 823 and 803 speakers that he makes.
 
Racks

Middle Atlantic and Atlas sound both make racks that are stationary and portable. They are more of a professional line but well worth the money. I recommend the Middle Atlantic racks myself because they are put together a little better. www.missionelectronics.com
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I would just recommend making one if you have the tools. It's pretty simple and very inexpinsive depending on the choice of wood. I just used some scrap wood i had laying around. It's not the prettiest thing because of that but we are currently putting in new floors so i needed something self contained so i didn't always have to hook everything back up after moving. Before i just had things stacked. I only have two rack mount things but also a reciever i use for an amp and a turntable preamp. The receiver fits 3 spaces perfectly and I plan to buy a rack mount kit for it eventually. It's just sitting in there for now. For the $10 I spent on rack rails, it really cleaned everything up. I do plan on building another one when everything is done with my house with some nice wood.
Rack.jpg
 
For those of you that make your own racks, what are the exact demensions? Also, where can I buy the rails?

Thank you, in advance.

Jacob
 
For your rack the inside demintions should be a tad over 19, like 19 1/8 (for a bit of play, a rack mounted item is 19 in wide. Then for hieght take the number of spaces and mulitply it by 1 3/4. Again probably a good idea to ad 1/8 in here too. So mine is an 8 space- 19 1/8 X 14 1/8. Those are the inside demensitions.
 
dwillis45 said:
Here's what I have in my small studio space:

http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--QLKRS955

These racks are expandable by stacking units. So your rack can grow as your gear expands.

It doesn't sit at an angle which makes it diffucult to access the bottom most unit in the rack. It does come with casters which allow you to rotate the entire rack to check wiring.
Click to expand...

That looks nice! I should have done a little more shopping when I got mine, although I don't have a whole lot of ger that rack looks perfect for my needs.

This is the one I currently use: This One
 
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