back in rack heaven

[bettsaj]

Thanks John.....

When I had my last rack a few years back i was plagued with crackling noises, and signal drops. The root cause of these issues was crappy quality plugs (Ebay), and the wrong type of cable (it was too stiff, so consequently caused unnecessary strain on sockets, etc), also back then I believe my soldering skills weren't as good as they are now.

for this rack I've used Van Damme Pro audio cable, and Neutrik connectors throughout. The difference is night and day, and having thought about cable distribution and ensuring audio and power are separated I'm not experiencing any hum..... Only from the amplifier. The system is super quiet with no crackles, pops or farts.

I didn't use any humfrees either. I simply placed plastic washers on the front and back of the rack ear of each unit. I also in some cases put insulating tape around the rack ear itself, and then punched the holes through and then used the plastic washers. either way.... It seemed to work as a "belt and braces" task.

[bettsaj]

My rack shelves arrived today for my rig and they didn't fit. Arg

When you say they didn't fit..... What was the issue?

The shelf I used in my rack was fully adjustable for deep or shallow racks, and has rack ears front and back so it's supported front and back. it has locking screws on the side, so you loosen the screws.... Fit the shelf to the rack securing it at the front and the back of the rack and then tighten the locking screws to secure.

[PJD]

My rack shelves arrived today for my rig and they didn't fit. Arg

When you say they didn't fit..... What was the issue?

The shelf I used in my rack was fully adjustable for deep or shallow racks, and has rack ears front and back so it's supported front and back. it has locking screws on the side, so you loosen the screws.... Fit the shelf to the rack securing it at the front and the back of the rack and then tighten the locking screws to secure.

Mine is similar in front to back adjustment but the actual shelf was too wide. It was made for server racks (I think) and the shelf went behind the rack ears too. I'm not describing it well (just got out of surgery for a deviated septum) but in short, they didn't fit in the Gator rack i ordered some correct ones from sweetwater.

Also got a Furman power supply, True tone power supply, blank panel and some neutrik jacks, shallow depth shelf to mount a few wall warts on. Should be a tidy little unit (but nowhere near as awe inspiring as yours!).

I'm going to start a thread with pics once everything shows up to get some feedback on the cable routing plan.

[bettsaj]

All sounds good..... mine isn't that "awe inspiring"... Although thanks for the comment... Mine is just big due to what's in it, it didn't need to be that big. If I took out the tuner, and the wireless it would be considerably smaller.... Size isn't everything

[bettsaj]

Next on the agenda is the pedalboard..... done a layout in AutoCAD to make sure it all fits on the board..... A 1 meter long piece of 15mm Plywood, some black paint and a couple of handles and i'm away.





Ordered one of these from RS for the breakout box..... I'll drill and wire that when it arrives then it can be screwed to the board. This will carry the send and return for the wah, the midi connection and the power for the ISO5. i don't want to use batteries in the wah, so i'll run it off the power supply. That'll also give me redundancy if i ever introduce more pedals.

If you're wondering how i'm running 240v mains power together in the snake with the audio signal cables, it's because i'm using high end audio cables that are well shielded, and also the mains cable is well insulated and shielded.




I've already made the tap tempo pedal

[bettsaj]

I've just realised, I've got to change the patch panel on my rack from an 8 hole to a 10 hole. I need another power outlet from the rack to the pedalboard to power the ISO5.... Dammit!!

[PJD]

I've just realised, I've got to change the patch panel on my rack from an 8 hole to a 10 hole. I need another power outlet from the rack to the pedalboard to power the ISO5.... Dammit!!

I was actually wondering that when I scrolled down to this post!!


Still looks awesome. Due to ordering parts while heavily medicated I accidentally ordered one rack shelf instead of two. Going to "dry fit" some of it anyway to see how it's looking. I followed your lead and ordered a panel with punch outs and some nuetrik jacks too.

[bettsaj]

With how much you'll probably end up spending it's always worth asking a supplier to give you trade rates on cabling, jacks, etc. I did, and now get all my stuff trade from www.designacable.com in return for a link on my web site

I'm sure there's a web based supplier in the US that would do the same. designacable do ship to the US, but the costs of shipping would probably not be worth asking for a discount.

[bettsaj]

Chantelle is spam... Ignore her.

Anyhoo.... UPDATE:

I now have the "Pedal Python" snake made and ready to go...... Photographs to follow.

The snake is made up of the following cables:

• 1 240v Mains Power
  2 Tap tempo cable for the G-Force
  3 Send for Wah Pedal
  4 Return for Wah Pedal
  5 Midi Cable for GCP

The pedal board is going to be a 1m x 0.5m by 18mm thick piece of plywood that will be sanded and painted black. I'll then fit some aluminium edging to it to protect it.

On the pedal board will be

• 1 Ground Control Pro
  2 Ernie Ball volume Pedal (plugged into the GCP as an expression to control the global volume via the G-Force)
  3 Mission Engineering Expression Pedal
  4 Voodoo Lab Iso5 Power supply
  5 Wah Pedal
  6 Tap tempo pedal

[PJD]

Looking forward to seeing the board. I just picked up some wood for mine.

Killer work on that tap tempo box too. Looks nice!