Guitar Rig
A “Guitar Rig” is everything you need to amplify your guitar and control your sound. This includes your amplifiers, cabinets, effects units, (MIDI-) foot controllers, wireless system, cables and whatever you are using to get your sound. Some people also include their guitars when they are talking about their “Guitar Rig”.
Guitar Rig Setup
Usually, a guitar rig is built around a 19″ rack. Building a guitar rack system takes time as you will need to select the devices which match your requirements. The book Modern Guitar Rigs by Scott Kahn gives you a great overview about all the equipment that can be used in a guitar rig:
- Guitar Amplifiers
- Effects Processors
- Audio Looper | Amp Function Switcher
- MIDI Foot Controllers
- Line Mixers
- Power Conditioner
- Rack Cases
… and many more.
However, this book does not cover all the equipment available. Therefore, search the internet and comb through some forums to find the equipment that fits your needs best. If you like to integrate stompbox effects or even the WahWah into your rack, take a look at the Prostage 19″ Loop System XDS for Stompboxes and the Remote WahWah.
Guitar Rig Wiring
After you have selected all the devices you like to use, there is the more complicated part: properly wiring your rack. The heart of a good rack system is not only the quality of the gear you choose, but also the quality of its wiring. To hook your gear all together, you have to spend quite a little money on good cables.
To avoid hum and signal losses, you need to know a bunch of things and keep them in mind when you setup your rig. We provide a comprehensive guide to hum-free wiring of guitar rigs for free download. The “Guitar Rig Building Guide” explains in an easy way, on over 30 pages and with many illustrations, how to wire your rack properly and what you need to know for a loss-free signal transmission. The manual is divided into a theoretical and a practical part including trouble shooting. Besides the hum, the guide also describes all other possible noises such as hissing or whistling.
