Small Outboard Rack

[fatfrog]

Hey,

 

Been asked to tender for longish job, 2 months, possibly 7 nights,etc

 

However I need to build a basic but Rider Friendly rack.

 

Heres What I'm thinking

 

EQ:

BSS OPAL - FOH - OR KT DN370 - Don't think it's worth the extra money.

BSS OPAL - MONS

 

COMPS:

DBX 266XL Compression - Seems fairly industry standard - Or 166XL - 2x

 

Gates:

Don't have a clue really, Drawmer seem common - any ideas.

 

FX:

TC M-One - Reasonable Price and seems to be fairly common.

TC D-Two - When Necessory

 

CD:

TASCAM CD-160 MK II

 

Any Suggestions.

 

Thanks

Alan

[Doug Siddons]

Sounds good to me, drawmer gates and poss lexi for reverb and delay more rider friendly

[Bobbsy]

All sound good to me. I personally do like the KT EQ better than the BSS (enough to spend the extra) but it's a personal thing and I certainly don't dislike the BSS.

 

On the comps, BSS is pretty standard. I have a personal liking for Drawmer there too--I slightly prefer their controls when I'm in a hurry, but that might be as much down to familiarity as anything else.

 

For gates, I've only ever used Drawmer (and the ones built into digital boards). They do what they say on the box and are pretty much ubiquitous.

 

The TC M one has some lovely sounding effects for the money and I'm a big fan. As has already been mentioned, Lexicon appears on a lot of riders and might be a a substitute for the D-two, just to give you a choice in the rack. Or, perhaps a second hand Yamaha SPX2000 or earlier unit which are also pretty commonly asked for.

 

Bob

[Peter F]

Comps AND Gates Klark Teknik Square One http://www.ktsquareone.com/dynamics.php

8 great Gates/Comps in 3U (under 1 grand, will keep anyone happy)

 

EQ. I've seen BSS Opal in fairly high profile installs, they ain't fantastic but they do the job.

 

FX. TC stuff is good, no-one will have a problem with SPX 990's. Alternatively pickup a Lexicon MPX550 for way less, lovely reverbs, good range of other effects, fraction of the price, decent name on the box.

 

CD. Unless all you do are playback shows don't spend £250 on a CD player.

 

Cheers,

Peter

[fatfrog]

Thanks,

 

Cheers for the input so far.

 

How I came up with this list was basically by looking through all the clubs & venues tech specs throughout ireland and that seems to be quite common gear, The reason I specc'd the DBX166 is as I'm doing this on a budget and as such it seems to do quite well.

 

As regards the 250 Quid cd player, I do a few musical's each year and they all involve cd's etc!!!

 

So I'd be better keeping the M-One and Swapping the D-Two for some of yamaha or lexicons offerings would I?

 

Cheers,

Alan

[Sirch Sound]

So I'd be better keeping the M-One and Swapping the D-Two for some of yamaha or lexicons offerings would I?

 

Cheers,

Alan

 

Persanlly yes, I love the M-ones, some of the sounds are lovely for the price of the unit.

 

However it would be nice to have a bit of variaty, as you say either the yammy or the lexicons. If your really on a budget take a look at the alesis aswell, there very cheap but not too bad for the price.

 

Rich

[gnomatron]

All looks fine to me, most riders would be fine with that and the ones that don't would be unlikely to throw a hissy fit at that kit.

 

£250 on a cd player is money well spent, £50-100 cd players will pack up on you much more quickly, and it's not worth the risk of relying on cheap rubbish for playback.

[Sirch Sound]

£250 on a cd player is money well spent, £50-100 cd players will pack up on you much more quickly, and it's not worth the risk of relying on cheap rubbish for playback.

 

Well said, and CD's are set to be around for quite a while, wereas Md's are already starting to fade out.

 

Personally, a decent CD player is a neccesatiy.

 

Rich

[fatfrog]

Thats my theory about the cd player anyways,

 

I am going to order the M-One XL from the states, Alot cheaper even after paying taxes!!!

 

I was looking on bonza's website and I have the option of

 

Lexicon MPX550 for 150ounds +vat - Has Tap Tempo for delay!

Or

Yamaha SPX90 for 150pounds + vat

Or

Yamaha SPX900 for 150pounds + vat

 

I wonder what to go for...Lexicon got a very good review from sound on sound in it's day if I remember correctly.

 

The SPX2000 - is way out of my budget,

 

Alan

[mervaka]

I have an SPX90, and it's great. just a shame there's no tap input ;)

[fatfrog]

Well, For FX - It looks like

TC M-ONE-XL

LEXICON MPX550

 

EQ's

2x BSS Units

 

Gates/Comps - Still undecided, After reading there seems to be lots of mixed feelings about the dbx 166/266 out there!

[Rob_Beech]

Both those fx units are very good and aren't an arm and a leg.

 

The opals really aren't the best eq's out there. They are better than the behringer alternatives but I'm not sure they're 5 x as good like they are 5 x the price. Have a look for second hand 960's or second hand KT DN360's. I've just picked up another 2 DN360's for £400+vat a piece which is about the going rate. These were from APR audio, IIRC they have 2 more left to sell.

 

As for gates /comps 266's are horrible, horrible things. Look on ebay for Drawmer DL221's and DS201's

[fatfrog]

I had a feeling the DBX gates were horrible alright - hence being very cheap!!!

 

I'll have a look at the drawmer gates and comps,

 

I'd happily go for the KT eq if money allows, If this tender works out!!!

 

Thanks again for clarifying the dbx eq's that could have been a bad move - have no idea why every 2nd venue over here as a rack load of them!!!

[Rob_Beech]

Tends to be because they are cheap, and don't have a behringer logo on them.