How to build Rack Panels and put together a rack
Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 6:50 pm
I don't think anyone has ever posted any info on building rack panels, so I thought I'd do it. If this is something that should be saved, then someone can move it to the Build Threads.
Rack panels are invaluable if you want your gear to work the same way all time, every time. I see people sticking their hands in the back of their rack hooking up gear at every gig. Inevitably, cables get damaged, polarity buttons get pushed, ground buttons get pushed, and things just generally get hooked up wrong, then corrected......all in the dark - right before a gig.
Adding a rack panel to your rack will put an end to all of that. I've built several rack panels over the years for my own rig and for many other bands. It takes a little time and it takes a little money, but the time spent every time you set up and tear down is way more than worth it.
Tom Smit brought up rack panels in the thread a week or so ago and I had just ordered all the parts to build one, so I thought I'd document this build. So, here goes.
A local venue that I've done some work for (mostly repairing monitors and mains that live outside - drivers, diaphragms, etc.) has added a new indoor facility and decided to put in a decent PA. They tend to operate in the Ready, Fire, Aim mode on equipment, so the owner calls me from Guitar Center asking which boxes to buy since he's buying - right now.
He ended up with JBL SRX 800 series Tops and a single SRX sub.....all powered....along with some EV monitors. They already had a mostly working Yamaha mixer that I had worked on that would be used for smaller acts on their own, but wanted a better mixer for bigger acts when they'd have me or someone else run sound. He went round and round before finally buying a Presonus Series III 24ch Rack mixer (yeah, gotta use a damned iPad).
Anyway, telling you all of this so you know what I'm working with. So, I decided to build a Panel for the back of the rack that would allow not only for the Presonus mixer to be used, but also the Yamaha or any external mixer that a band might bring. Both options had to be able to access the driverack, so a jumper design was used. There were also the L,R,Sub outs to go to the input on the wall (that we just wired up yesterday).
A second panel would be for the 6 monitor outputs. Those I located on the front of the rack for ease of running cables. The front of the rack consists of a power strip, dbx Driverack, two 4U drawers, the Rack Mixer and the Monitor panel. I purposely located the Rack mixer and the Monitor panel at the bottom of the rack in order to make the drawers accessible without having cables draped over them.
Currently the Rack is pretty much finished, but I can't load the Mixer and drawers until I update the mixer online. So, I'll post the build up through that point and finish up this build in a couple of days.
Rack panels are invaluable if you want your gear to work the same way all time, every time. I see people sticking their hands in the back of their rack hooking up gear at every gig. Inevitably, cables get damaged, polarity buttons get pushed, ground buttons get pushed, and things just generally get hooked up wrong, then corrected......all in the dark - right before a gig.
Adding a rack panel to your rack will put an end to all of that. I've built several rack panels over the years for my own rig and for many other bands. It takes a little time and it takes a little money, but the time spent every time you set up and tear down is way more than worth it.
Tom Smit brought up rack panels in the thread a week or so ago and I had just ordered all the parts to build one, so I thought I'd document this build. So, here goes.
A local venue that I've done some work for (mostly repairing monitors and mains that live outside - drivers, diaphragms, etc.) has added a new indoor facility and decided to put in a decent PA. They tend to operate in the Ready, Fire, Aim mode on equipment, so the owner calls me from Guitar Center asking which boxes to buy since he's buying - right now.
He ended up with JBL SRX 800 series Tops and a single SRX sub.....all powered....along with some EV monitors. They already had a mostly working Yamaha mixer that I had worked on that would be used for smaller acts on their own, but wanted a better mixer for bigger acts when they'd have me or someone else run sound. He went round and round before finally buying a Presonus Series III 24ch Rack mixer (yeah, gotta use a damned iPad).
Anyway, telling you all of this so you know what I'm working with. So, I decided to build a Panel for the back of the rack that would allow not only for the Presonus mixer to be used, but also the Yamaha or any external mixer that a band might bring. Both options had to be able to access the driverack, so a jumper design was used. There were also the L,R,Sub outs to go to the input on the wall (that we just wired up yesterday).
A second panel would be for the 6 monitor outputs. Those I located on the front of the rack for ease of running cables. The front of the rack consists of a power strip, dbx Driverack, two 4U drawers, the Rack Mixer and the Monitor panel. I purposely located the Rack mixer and the Monitor panel at the bottom of the rack in order to make the drawers accessible without having cables draped over them.
Currently the Rack is pretty much finished, but I can't load the Mixer and drawers until I update the mixer online. So, I'll post the build up through that point and finish up this build in a couple of days.