Rack setup?Warning: lots of questions about Rocktron Prophesy 2 and rack/preamp gear!

[Cam-Vai]

ok so
i was gonna get a carvin legacy 2
but im looking at a rack setup
so it would be basically be this minus the hush and other one http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/1195/65007ox4.jpg

i want a rocktron prophesy II and a preamp of sorts (preferably the preamp under 1 US grand)

it would be cool
then id get legacy stero speakers or something 2X12
but would this be good for cleans (vai, tender surrender, km-pee-du-wee) and metals (bad horsie, the butcher, EBE, power metally things (outworld) and lots of 80's metal and stuff like children of bodom? i also play alot of eric johnson and some country and am in a blues band)

Can i record straight to protools with a prohesy II? am i better of buying amplitude or guitar rig 3?
it just has to be versatile, but this seems liek the way to go
id also maybe get a rack tuner.

would a midi controller work with the prophesy? any or just rocktron?



thanks heaps!

please help!

cam-vai

[toneboy]

Originally Posted by Cam-Vai

but im looking at a rack setup

Why are you looking to go the rack route?

[bammbamm]

Why rack?!?!
How about flexibility?
How about being able to dial in the same tones a head has, but then have 128 "channels" versus 2 or 3? The Triaxis for instance has the exact same circuits as the heads they made, I believe they say there are 5 or 6 amp circuits that drive the whole unit, then the midi controls bias and pathways, loops, etc. Show me a head that sounds as good and does all that for under a grand.

My opinion, for a $g-note, I'd g with the Mesa Triaxis, you can find 'em all day on eBay for 800-ish. I haven't heard the prophesy that I know of, but I seriously doubt its on par with the Mesa. Don't get me wrong, Rocktron is fine otherwise, but for sick tone from Recto chunk to the creamiest lead tone, Mesa knocks it out of the park.

Effects, sure, go Rocktron all the way, great stuff, I like TC Electronic too, G-force, G-Major, both impressive. I used to have the Chameleon and Replifex, both very capable.

A good tube power amp ties it all together.
I have the mesa 2/90, but honestly, any well made amp, like the Marshall, VHT, Mesa, will drive the tone home.

[toneboy]

dupe post

[toneboy]

Originally Posted by bammbamm

Why rack?!?! How about flexibility?

It seems that you mistook my question (which wasn't directed at you obviously) as somehow questioned the validity of going the rack route at all which is not the case. Considering that all I have is rack gear (2 Axe FX Ultras and that's it), I don't think anyone would need to sell me on the pros of going this route. That said, what is best for one player is not the best for all players. For example, now that I have the Axe FXs, I will never use a tube preamp, tube power amp or guitar cabinet again but that wouldn't work for a lot of folks.

That said, I posed my question to the OP because:
- They are young and perhaps less experienced than those of us who have tried all the different types of set-ups (amp only, amp with pedals, amp with rack gear, rack gear only, etc).
- They have decided to go in a different direction with their "rig" but we really don't now what the motivating factor behind this decision is.

Far too often, people are eager to give advice to those who have questions without always knowing why people are asking the questions in the first place.

[Sickbean]

WHY have you got 2 Axe FX Ultras?

Surely you should give one of them to me?

[toneboy]

Originally Posted by Sickbean

WHY have you got 2 Axe FX Ultras?

One is used in the den/guitar room and the other is used for the "watching TV and practicing" rig. I also like having a backup for everyone I have because any piece of gear can fail.

I sold all the other rack gear I had which included:
(3) ADA MP-1s
(1) Mesa Quad Preamp
(3) ADA Microcab 1s
(1) ADA Microcab 2
(2) ADA Ampulators
(1) Eventide Eclipse
(1) TC Elec M2000 Reverb
(1) TC Elec G Major
(1) PV MIDI Switcher/Looper

...and the money from those sales gave me enough to afford (2) Ultras.

Surely you should give one of them to me?

I don't love anyone that much, not even my wife.

[Sickbean]

You don't have to give it to me out of love, pity will do just fine.

[Cam-Vai]

Originally Posted by toneboy

- They are young and perhaps less experienced than those of us who have tried all the different types of set-ups (amp only, amp with pedals, amp with rack gear, rack gear only, etc).
- They have decided to go in a different direction with their "rig" but we really don't now what the motivating factor behind this decision is.

This is true, no motivation, i just see people like Vai with the h3000 and Fireworx and alexi laiho with the VHT and intellifex

Originally Posted by toneboy

Why are you looking to go the rack route?

Because it looks more interesting and it seems more fun, it seems to sound alot better,
i mean the prophesy sounds like a beast, perfect for me because its heavy enough, with no feedback, + the idea of rusty cooley presets sold me in a second
im big on having different rigs to everyone, and ive never actually met anyone with rack gear!





thanks heaps


Cam-vai

[toneboy]

Originally Posted by toneboy

Why are you looking to go the rack route?

Originally Posted by Cam-Vai

Because it looks more interesting and it seems more fun, it seems to sound alot better, i mean the prophesy sounds like a beast, perfect for me because its heavy enough, with no feedback, + the idea of rusty cooley presets sold me in a second im big on having different rigs to everyone, and ive never actually met anyone with rack gear!

A rack based rig can be a lot more fun but it can also be a lot more hassle.

Getting all the rack pieces connected together without ground loops can be a nightmare or it can be a cakewalk. It's a crap shoot to some degree but the more pieces you have, the greater the chance you may run into ground loop problems and the more time it takes to track them down.

Some folks also don't like programming rack gear and/or they can't wrap their head around it in some cases. With great power (tonal flexibility) comes great responsibility (programming presets).

And do get too caught up in "artist presets". If you know the components of a particular player's sound, you can replicate it with the right gear regardless of manufacturer. It's also imperative that one realize that different players will sound different through the same rig with the exact same settings. An amp, cab, rack gear, etc. is only part of the final sound a player gets. Tone is also in your fingers, your pick attack, action height, etc.

If a piece of gear gives you the sound you hear in your head then go for it. If you're looking to go the rack route, I'd definitely check out the Axe-FX. It's by far the most flexible and responsive all-in-one processor out there. In one of my previous posts, I listed all the gear that I replaced with an Axe-FX and I couldn't be happier.

[jl2556]

Originally Posted by toneboy

A rack based rig can be a lot more fun but it can also be a lot more hassle. With great power (tonal flexibility) comes great responsibility (programming presets).

I went from a 14 space rack full of stuff to a ts9,tube head, cab and delay pedal.
I would program all day and when I played live, my tone got lost. It's just
to involved to try and tweak a rack setup on the fly if it isn't working on stage.
To me, unless I programed the rack stuff in a real world setting,
I was wasting my time. It's a lot easier (to me) to get a head that already had
the tone I liked, then tone/gain adjustments are easier to do on the fly live.

[bammbamm]

Originally Posted by toneboy

It seems that you mistook my question (which wasn't directed at you obviously) as somehow questioned the validity of going the rack route at all which is not the case. Considering that all I have is rack gear (2 Axe FX Ultras and that's it), I don't think anyone would need to sell me on the pros of going this route. That said, what is best for one player is not the best for all players. For example, now that I have the Axe FXs, I will never use a tube preamp, tube power amp or guitar cabinet again but that wouldn't work for a lot of folks.

That said, I posed my question to the OP because:
- They are young and perhaps less experienced than those of us who have tried all the different types of set-ups (amp only, amp with pedals, amp with rack gear, rack gear only, etc).
- They have decided to go in a different direction with their "rig" but we really don't now what the motivating factor behind this decision is.

Far too often, people are eager to give advice to those who have questions without always knowing why people are asking the questions in the first place.

Fair enough, I've seen and dealt with people who are very ANTI-Rack, which blows my mind. It's a bit of a sore spot, because it was a reason given to me more than once on why I didn't get a particular gig because the didn't like the "Rack Sound", whatever that is.
That was the reason for my post. Either way, make sure you demo as much gear as you can before buying it, I nabbed a G-system based soley on Vai and the T.C. Electronic demo online and figured it'd be wonderful, I was wrong, it had nothing but problems (unit was flaky with an internal ground loop that I ended up returning it over)

Good luck with whatever you decide to get.

[Sickbean]

The only reason I steer clear of stuff like this is that I'm so into technology in general I know I'd spend far to much time tinkering and not enough time actually practicing/playing.

I've got my eye on a Mesa Mark V - that's about as complex as I'd like to get for now.

Maybe add an Axe-FX to that at some point.

[Cam-Vai]

i've not had the chance to use rack gear
but the marshall el34 50/50 or 20/20 sounds beautiful!

anyone used one?

and can i use the moog footswitch with the rocktron?
axe fx is wayyyyy tooooo expensive
i cant, and my parents wont even consider it haha


marshall el34 sounds good - but can a footswitch work with it and can it make metal or even metalcore tones?

mesa still seems a bit much
preferably the power amp under 1000-1200(at the very most)


thx


cam-vai

[nickcoumbe]

I am a fan of rack stuff.

I bought a JMP1 and a multi effects unit, added a midi foot switch and haven't looked back.

I am between power amps at the moment, but I wouldn't consider trading racks for a head now to be honest.

They can be tricky to set up, but they are brilliant when they are working.