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The only rack stuff I am using right now is a yahmaha G50 and a moog slim phatty.. and my mesa 400+ and 400… although I do have a big soft spot for alessis micro limiters.. I think the most I've had at a time is 4.. Oh and old DBX subharmonic synthesizers are the bomb

these electrix boxes are fun, if you can find them

^ is that a Roland SRV-3030 above the electrix boxes? there's one for sale near me but there's barely any info online about it. any good?

backwardsvoyager wrote:^ is that a Roland SRV-3030 above the electrix boxes? there's one for sale near me but there's barely any info online about it. any good?

yes. i haven't used them for a while, so i can't make any specific comments. but i'm not particular about reverbs--i tend to like them all and can find a use for them. most online comments favor the previous srv-330.

Quality digital conversion and output is another great reason to invest in rack gear. I record direct digital pretty much all the time now, and have a nice array of spdif-equipped gear, for maximum recording signal purity.

It's a much better use of my little old Emu interface as a spdif port, than going through the preamps. Makes it so I don't really need a nice new rack interface, but there is plenty of attractive stuff to be had there, so I could be tempted by one someday anyway. I also use the optical spdif whenever possible, because it's a fuckin laser cable, man...

I don't use the midi on my rack effects at all. Expression pedal is all the external control I need for those.
I do use midi cables to connect multiple rack synths, so they can all be played at once with a single keyboard or sequencer. It is so satisfying to play a bunch of epic synthesizers in unison without it taking up a whole room, and the mixing options are just endless, especially when they're all set to combo patches. Submixes within submixes...
Fantom XR is my jam right now, I'm having way too much fun with it. I've already filled 4 of the 6 expansion slots, and made some new presets for it on the computer, and I love the digital audio. I will also be adding an Alesis QSR to the synth rack at some point, for more optical awesomeness.

Deltaphoenix wrote:I have a TC Electronic FireWorx. I use it in a Aux send in my mixer, mostly I run synths and drum machines through it but it fun as fuck for the bass. I am thinking about an Eventide..

If I wasn't wanting to mess much with midi, I would just have the rack(s) in a true-bypass loop.

Fireworx posse
I made a great reverb/compression/eq pre-mastering boost on it that I use on lots of stuff now. I like it just as much as the Eclipse for last in chain boosty stuff. The Kurzweil Mangler also has a nice selection of compression and recording effects, and +18db clean digital gain available on the output knob, which is just a godsend.

Finally grabbed that SPX90 tonight!
It's a lot of fun.
I'm gonna have to keep my eye out for more nifty, cheap rack gear.

I'm starting to get into rack gear too. I've got an Alesis Akira, Microverb III and Behringer Virtualizer (for teh cheap vocoder). I've got a Zoom 1204 incoming, so I guess the Virtualizer is going. I'm also looking to replace the Microverb with a Quadraverb, but I may also have an opportunity to score a Lexicon Reflex or Alex for pretty cheap. Does anyone have any experience with it? The Reflex also has a resonator (which is what I want most out of the Quadraverb actually).

Then I also scored a Lexicon Vortex that will hopefully arrive soon, can't wait!

Also a question for the people combining their stuff with pedals or who are switching the order of their units frequently. What's an easy way of doing this? The jacks being all in the back and stuff? I was thinking of getting a patch bay, but I'm not sure if that's the way to go?

Patchbay will save you a ton of hell later (and allow for as "on the fly" routing as possible). Just be aware you'll need more cables than you're used to (since there will be a lot of I/O).

I'm not a huge fan of the Lexicon Alex era stuff *except* the Vortex, but if one passed my way for the right price, I'd grab it just because.

The patchbay essentially is what you want though, they don't die, they don't get old, they just keep working. Instant a/b/y without losing continuity, all sorts of routing is possible that wouldn't be without it. For my monster of a rig, I run "master board" for dirt and a few other things that splits to *everything* in the rack - and then the rack has outs straight to two amps (most of the time, with a patch bay, there's no 'all the time' since it's so easy to swap a cable on the front without mangling the fulltime wiring!). I'm a huge, huge fan of parallel processing, and the patch bay makes that relatively painless as well - the a/b tap/split is glorious for somethign like the Vortex, where I can take something off the preamp in stereo, still route it to the Quadraverb and Midiverb II, and have the Vortex making spitting noises in its own little universe. Patchbay means that I can inject *anything* in the middle of that at any time, so if I want an amp in a box/modeller in front of the Vortex, or even after it, boom, done. If I want a DI tap off the Qverb for recording (mix later, since I can't mix and play at the same time!), and then still run it into something else, easy. If I want a DI tap off of each and every piece in the rack into my 16 channel recording interface, yep, boom.

Basically think of it as mission control - it's the heart of your new modular synth from hell.

my Roland SRV-330 arrived today

i don't know why i didn't look into these kinda units before, my 90s yamaha 'piano' patches finally sound like something i would put on a record, so much stereo spread and mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmph.

Yep. They're still stashed for a reason!

rfurtkamp wrote:Basically think of it as mission control - it's the heart of your new modular synth from hell.

Thanks! That's what I was thinking, just wanted to check if I might have missed some problems I would encounter.

As for the Reflex: I think I can snag it for 70 euros incl. shipping (and that's about as high as I would go anyway), think that's a fair price?

Obulus wrote:I'm starting to get into rack gear too. I've got an Alesis Akira, Microverb III and Behringer Virtualizer (for teh cheap vocoder). I've got a Zoom 1204 incoming, so I guess the Virtualizer is going. I'm also looking to replace the Microverb with a Quadraverb, but I may also have an opportunity to score a Lexicon Reflex or Alex for pretty cheap. Does anyone have any experience with it? The Reflex also has a resonator (which is what I want most out of the Quadraverb actually).

Then I also scored a Lexicon Vortex that will hopefully arrive soon, can't wait!

Also a question for the people combining their stuff with pedals or who are switching the order of their units frequently. What's an easy way of doing this? The jacks being all in the back and stuff? I was thinking of getting a patch bay, but I'm not sure if that's the way to go?

Here's an example of full frontal cable access:

I use the headphone output on all my rack synths, so I can easily switch back and forth between which ones are plugged into which fx units. The headphone cables are all accessible from the front, and each one provides a line into the mix (I use a DJ mixer with spdif output, but a simple 1u rack mixer would also do the trick). I use cables with a mini headphone plug and attatch a 1/4" adapter, so I can also pull any cable free from the adapter and pop it into my ipad or phone.

As for combining rack fx with pedals, I only use pedals for dirt now, with occasional standout exceptions like the Pitchfactor and Possessed. Everything that comes after that is now rack. So it's kind of like a split system, dirt on the floor, fx up top. My pedal setups are pretty minimal nowadays, so it works for me at home. I've made some changes to my racks since taking these pics, but here's how I had the fx set up for a while:

Might as well throw in this cheapskate tip: Ikea isn't just for Gorm pedalboards and furnishing divorced mens' apartments. Get a couple 6 u rack rails, a few wood screws, and a Rast nightstand and you've got a rack about as cheap as they come. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/44361109/
I've done three of these. Work great.

I randomly found a rack unit and fell in love:
https://youtu.be/6wn95xneedI?si=PYpXSBQ5V-Dh0GtW

The Vesta Fire RV1, apparently a dub classic and it's going to replace my boring, uninspiring and butt-ugly TC M350 as soon as possible.