Rackmount tubescreamer idea...

[John A]

i had an idea after purchasing a TS9 pedal recently. I hate stompboxes. im much more of a rackmount guy. i have an old Hush unit that is completely out of comission - it was when i bought it off ebay and got scammed. i recently considered pulling out it's guts and replacing them with the guts from the tube screamer.  i already took into account that i would need an ac adapter to connect to the unit, and that i might need to drill new hols on the faceplate to match the tube screamer's knob allignment. i also had the idea of connecting the hush's switch where the pedal's footswitch would connect. im just wondering if there's anything im forgetting and whether or not anyone thinks that this is just a bad idea.

any advice would be much appreciated.

[Hailstorm350]

A perfectly wonderful Idea!!!
Actually, I like Rackmount unts also much more than Stompboxes, the only thing you lose in Racks is the mobility and size.

It sounds awesome.  You probably can use some of the same holes if there are any, and new holes shouldn't be too hard to make.  I would reccomend re-doing the face as you don't want it to end up where you have to remember that the Flush button is actually the on button or the Drive knob is labeled spin or something.

Anyways, my two cents, take em or leave em
Ken

[Outlaws]

i might need to drill new hols on the faceplate to match the tube screamer's knob allignment

I haven't been inside a tubescreamer before, but I have a feeling that the pots will be soldered to the PCB.  Yuu will more than likely have to desolder them and then solder wire to and from.  The plus side is that you can probably use the holes that are already there though.

[primalphunk]

I also love to get as much stuff as possible up off of the floor.  I just have too much ground clutter with guitar synths and my vg88.  :oops:  It's not that hard to shove old ts stuff into a rack.  I've got a seriously modded TS5 in a half rack space enclosure with an orange squeezer, scrambler clone and a neutron filter(mutron III workalike by RG Keen).  I'm controlling my switching and such via a ground control and gcx audio switcher.  Once you get things into a rack you may find that you need to rethink how best to do switching....    

Buying the ground control + gcx is fairly expensive.  I'm not sure you would really need to go that crazy but I do think there are some projects that may help you out if you need a slightly more sophisticated way to do switching.  :?:  Someone help me out here...isn't there something about this at RG Keen's site somewhere?

peace,
James

[JimRayden]

I hate stompboxes.

LOL, now that sure isn't best forum to say that. If it was a physical hangout place, you'd get your a$$ kicked.

sorry to use your thread but I have a question: I've read from a recording manual that pro rack stuff has different sound levels... could this become an obstacle? I'm planning on building a rack mount guitar pre myself.

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Jimbo

[Johan]

I hate stompboxes.

LOL, now that sure isn't best forum to say that. If it was a physical hangout place, you'd get your a$$ kicked.

sorry to use your thread but I have a question: I've read from a recording manual that pro rack stuff has different sound levels... could this become an obstacle? I'm planning on building a rack mount guitar pre myself.

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Jimbo

most pro rack gear works at 0dB levels, depending on how the mesure it ( dbm, dbv, dbA etc.) its roughly 0,775volt into 10k. guitar signal level is usualy considered to be around -20db, meaning a tenth of that level, but this is only important to know when you start to mix units and placement of units. if you take a stompbox and rackmount it, as long as it stays in the same place in the signal chain, it doesnt matter...

Johan

[John A]

wrong. most pro rack stuff operates at either +4 or -10 Db. you need to take into account how whatever your building will be used and what youll use it with. i would look at schematics for other preamps and such and see how theirs are arranged for the best results. youre most likely going to use +4Db.

[primalphunk]

heheheh...
RG just posted this in another thread... Just in case someone does need to do the switching rethink and happens to look at this thread first... a wee bit o' cut and paste...  :wink:
=============
Articles at GEO:

ASMOP
A Remote Programmable Footswitch
The Jugglers
Relays for Audio Swttching
Remote Relay Effects Switching
A Remote Indicating Effects Bypassing System
A Programmable FX Switcher with Amp Controls
Pancake Switches
Computer Switches
Bypassing with the CD4053
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peace,
James

[JimRayden]

but well, if you're going to use it guitar-effect-amp and just use a rack to mount it, it should be ok.

Well, if the input of it will always be from the guitar or a guitar effect, it can't be damaged by excessive sound levels. And the output of it couldn't be too low either because you plug it to where you would normally plug your guitar if you didn't have the effect... Anyone correct me if something in my logic was wrong...

So I think... go ahead. If you like it in the rack better than on the floor, I think the sound levels wouldn't be an issue...

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Jimbo