Whats up with rackmounted effects?

[H4T]

I keep hearing about the pros using rackmounted effects, not stompboxes. Why is that? I don't know anything about rackmounted effects, but I've seen pics, and they seem like extremely robust units. I've heard that David Gilmour of Pink Floyd used to use stompboxes, but now he uses a lot of rackmounted effects...are they hands-down always better than stompboxes?

I personally find a certain charm in having a smart array of stompboxes and using them, but I'm no professional musician! So what is so great about rackmount effects, and where the heck do they go? After effects chain / before amp or what?

[bigjonny]

Rackmount effects allow you to keep your sound processing device(s) organized and in close promimity to your amp. They can be before and/or after the FX loop.  They can be analog or digital.  The main advantages are potentially shorter cable lengths, and organization.

The main disadvantage is that to control anything, you have to "remote" the control of all your effects - better for your signal; more hassle for the builder.  Some rackmount effects are made for this; custom builds will have to deal with relays and such to operate your bypass, etc, from afar.

R.G. has an article or two about remoting effects.

[Mark Hammer]

You need to distinguish between what they are, what they do, and what they CAN do.

1) What they are:  Sometimes, no different than what may otherwise be placed in a floorbox.  Sometimes more complicated.  Sometimes, the same thing with more features (because there is more room to stick them).  Sometimes almost completely the same but with a power supply (which, if mounted inside, should be a distance away form the audio portion).

2) What they do: They occupy a standard size/case/format so that everything can be installed into a standard rack frame for shipping.  Nineteen inches provides sufficient room for a bunch of stuff, like power amps, big tube preamps, high-end digital delays, MIDI stuff, power conditioning units (to completely eliminate hum or dropouts), and other things which the big-time touring musician uses.  Things that can be made to fit the same physical format can be easily packed up after the gig because it all fits in a prepatched cabinet.  Take the lid off and you're ready.  

As well, people who play on stages of any appreciable size to audiences of any appreciable size generally always use wireless units, whose receivers are situated off to the side or backstage.  The same roadie that tends to the management of wireless reception tends to the management of rackmoount effects stuff.  Besides, it is rather pointless to spend decent money for a wireless unit, only to have your stomp pedals in front of you and a long treble-bleeding cable going from a pedal board to somewhere else 50 feet off.

In some instances, certain effects can sound and work better in an effects loop than stuck in front of an amp. Placing all of ones effects close together and near the amp, with a suitable patch bay, can make the coordination of all those effects and often multiple amps so much easier to manage.

3) What they can do:  If its rackmount, then it is generally remotely switchable.  If it is remotely switchable, that means that a whole slew of footswitches can be placed conveniently in front of the player in less space than a pedal-board might take up for the same amount of devices.  In many cases, status indicators or numbered patch combos can be employed.

Placed in a larger enclosure almost always creates the potential for a more custom-tuned version of the effect, and if there is guaranteed AC power, then there will most certainly be current for adding those bells and whistles to each effect.  Hell, if you're a pro, chances are you even have an uninterruptible power source in your rack unit too for *those* moments.

Treasured items can even be hooked up to alarm systems to assure that theft doesn't occur.  Compare that to a pedalboard that someone can tuck under their arm and walk off with.

[aron]

I keep hearing about the pros using rackmounted effects, not stompboxes.

This was surely true in the 80's. Not so sure now.

In a nutshell, if you need to switch between radically different timbres quickly (as in a top 40 gig), it's hard to beat a programmable digital effect.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Part of the rackmount thing, is 'bringing the studio with you', when you are trying to play something that was, well, 'made in the studio'.
So far as digital FX are concerned, there are plenty of those that are rack mounted!!!
It's true, though, for a noisy environment where most of the audience is there to get drunk, & try to get laid, you dont need much!!

[KORGULL]

Aron Wrote:

In a nutshell, if you need to switch between radically different timbres quickly (as in a top 40 gig), it's hard to beat a programmable digital effect.

That's been the main reason I've used digital rack gear. At one point we were using sequenced drums and I had a guitar synth and a rack multi-effect hooked up to the sequencer so it could change the patches and all I had to do is play. I could rig it to switch multiple sounds at once and make many consecutive changes quickly.

I remember reading an interview with one of the guitarists from Judas Priest recently and he said that they use pedals in the studio but all rack gear on the road. He can set all the sounds for each song and know it will be consistent night after night with the least hassle.

[LoudGreg]

I went from having a floor board that was three feet long, to a Rolland GP8, then to the digitek Legend, then to the ART Extream with the midi pedal board, then to a digitek GP6. And balancing out the pro's and con's, I'm back to my floor board, with all my hand picked favorite analog effects.

All the rack stuff had good sounds but to me, seemed synthetic. (Like light Beer or low fat this or that) The Reverbs and delays were mostly fine. Where I had the problem with the rack stuff was the Overdrives were good but not killer (it's gotta be killer) and the phase/flang effects couldn't come close to my analog units. And every single Wah in these processors just sucked so bad I couldn't use it.  

If I was doing club dates (covers & weddings) I'd use the ART. The set up is easy. Most sounds are in there and the Midi pedal board works great. (Except the Wah) But for sound quality I stand 100% with my analog floor board.

But the Rolland GP8 is actually fantastic sounding but limited.

[KORGULL]

Where I had the problem with the rack stuff was the Overdrives were good but not killer (it's gotta be killer) and the phase/flang effects couldn't come close to my analog units.

Yeah, I never use the built in distortion or overdrive on the units I have - they're all terrible sounding when cranked up through an amp. Definitely need my stompboxes or tube amp for distortion.
Ran the digital FX rack through the amp's loop and used it for delay, chorus and tremolo mostly.

[toneman]

Does Eventide make a stompbox??

[Paul Marossy]

I went from having a floor board that was three feet long, to a Rolland GP8, then to the digitek Legend, then to the ART Extream with the midi pedal board, then to a digitek GP6. And balancing out the pro's and con's, I'm back to my floor board, with all my hand picked favorite analog effects.

I have a very similar story!  :lol:

[petemoore]

I use a 'rackmount box', but on the floor,    makes for a nice big enclosure. it used to be a crossover.