Conference napalm::guitar

    I'll start it off.
    
       I am in the process of constructing a 7-Space rack for may
    bass amp. I have not sourced any of the parts yet but will be 
    soon. I'll be using a wide mortise and tenon joint scheme for 
    the edges.
       I'll be using recessed handles, metal corners, and a scrounged
    up set of rack mounting pieces.
       I haven't figured out what I'll be using for front and rear 
    covers yet. I'll be using 3/4 plywood for ruggedness. The measurements
    are (Outside dims.) H,W,D - 11-5/8" x 20-5/8" x 18". 

	I was at NE Speaker in Stoneham,Mass to get a speaker repaired and
they have the best selection of rack and other hardware at average prices 
I've seen.You might give them a call to locate the front rail stuff. They also 
have grille cloth and ozite covering. I've noticed Daddy's in Nashua NH has a
few items like grilles,blanks,rails and drawers.
	Also you might call Horizon Electronics in Framingham,Ma they 
occasionly have this stuff as they have alot of used scrap. 
	I've built a few racks and used right angle edgeing or rails
from a hardware store,you might want to check out there supply of aluminum 
and steel.

							Rick
	

	I've made the last 2 racks that I have. The last one that I made
	uses 3/4 inch by 3/4 inch by 1/8 inch thick extruded aluminum Angle
	material for the rails. I used 5/8 inch Plywood for the outside &
	added a recessed area so I can have covers that pull off easily
	(using velcro). Commercial racks have a little extra clearance between
	the top & bottom openings. Add 1/4 inch for this (probably to
	accomodate things with rubber feet that would sit in the bottom
	position, or screw heads that might stick up a little in the
	top position.

	Allow 1/8 inch clearance for any layers of ozite (in other words
	add 1/4 inch to the opening size if you are going to cover the
	beast in Ozite). I also suggest that you use steel bracing on the
	inside (this costs about $.25 to $.50 per bracket) before you start
	putting any gear into the rack. You'll need 8 brackets (I'd get the
	ones that use 4 screws & are at least 2 inches long on a side).

	I used steel corners (Peavey - got them at a music shop) on one,
	and used aluminum railing (same stuff as used for the rails that
	hold the gear in the rack) on the outside. 

	I made a 6 high & an 18 high. Both work well & were fairly easy
	to put together.

	There is an article in either the GUITAR or COMMUSIC notes file
	that discusses covering cabinets.
								Jens

    	So far I have built one rack, 14 spaces. I salvaged the rack rails
    from an old DEC cab that was being scrapped. 14 spaces comes out to
    exactly 24", so if you like round numbers, this is a good size if you
    need this much space. My rack has rails on both front and back. This is
    nice for three reasons. First of all it allows you to mount equipment
    to the front or back. Second of all it allows you to mount heavy gear
    like power amps to both the front and back for extra support. Third,
    you can use blank rack panels as rear covers. I'm using blanks as rear
    covers. I use two large 6 space covers (one vented), and a 2 space cover 
    on the back of mine. I found some nice knurled thumb-screws which I
    thread into nuts which snap right onto the rack rail. I generally only
    have to remove one of the 6-space blank panels to get to the back of
    the rack to make connections. The rack rail I have on the front of my
    rack recesses the equipment 2" which protects the knobs.
    
    As far as construction is goes, I started by making a frame out of
    1"x3" firring strips. I found some heavy duty allen bolts with "kepp"
    nuts (sp?) which I use to hold the rack rail in place. I drilled a hole 
    in the frame and pressed the kepp nut in from the back. I then cut all
    the sides,top, and bottom plywood (5/8" thick). Once everything was 
    properly fitted, I glued all the plywood to the framework with Elmers 
    carpenter glue, and screwed it all together with general purpose screws 
    (similar to sheetrock screws). I recessed the firring about 3/4" into 
    the plywood sides. This allows for a cover that presses on and clings 
    to velcro pads. I then beafed up all 8 corners with metal brackets, as 
    Jens suggested in his note. This not only adds support, but it also 
    squares the rack off perfectly. Once this was done, I cut holes in the 
    sides for handles and made sure the handles fit properly, but didn't 
    install them yet. Next step was to paint the inside of the rack with 
    flat black spray paint. This of course if optional, but gives it a 
    professional touch. I then covered the entire rack with a heavy vinyl 
    similar to Tolex. I attached the vinyl with contact cement. Once the 
    vinyl was applied, I then attached the rack rail to the kepp nuts (this 
    also makes the rack rails removable), attached the handles (Sessions 
    recessed type), and chrome corners. The chrome corners hide any minor 
    screw-ups in the vinyl which seem to be unavoidable in the corners. I 
    later added a set of Jim Dunlop pull-out casters. I like the pull-out 
    feature, because it allows you to stack racks. Even if this rack is on 
    the bottom of the stack, it is still a good idea to pull out the casters 
    to make the stack more stable.
    
    	I could have made this rack a lot more rugged by using aluminum
    extrusions on all the edges, and could have cavered it with either
    Ozite carpeting, or fiberglass laminate. The extra metal would have
    added to the weight, and the Ozite is much harder to apply because
    of the thickness. My rack doesn't travel much, and when I does, I 
    baby it. Right now, I'm debating whether to build another, or buy a
    rack. I need a rack of 8-10 spaces for guitar efx.
    
    
	Mark Jacques (rack-a-holic)
    

    By the way, a good source of harware for building racks, or speakers
    is Penn Fabrication. They have several differant branch offices in the
    U.S. and other counties. See note 1421.5 for more information. I suggest
    you call them and request a catalog of their products before you even
    start planning a rack. They give the dimensions of everything they
    sell, so you can design around the Hardware. 
    
    Mark
    

    I want to rack mount some Microstack circuit cards from my Micro stack
    heads.  I want to also build in a costom switching system.
    
    I need a rack "blank"...Ergo, a rack box with no guts that I can
    drill my own holes in, put my own logo on, and stuff it with my
    favorite circuits.
    
    Where can I get an empty rack box (single space) ??
    
    Ideas ?
    
   

    Coop,
    
    There's a catalog that only sells stuff like empty racks, etc.  DAL
    Systems got the stuff for my Bradshaw KH-Based switching system from
    this place.  Reasonably priced, too!  I forget the name though...

    YES !  This is what I need.  Can you find the name of the place ?
    
    See, take two Microstack cards, wire the inputs and outputs together,
    wire the master volume together and WHHAAAAALLAAAAA.  A mega-cool
    preamp eh ?
    jc

    Hmmm, ok...lemme slip on this flame-resistant suit...
    
    
    
    Anybody know where I can get some plans to build a rack from scratch??
    
    Buck, who just wants to have one.

    
       re: -.1
    
       .... Ya mean like the kind 19" wide w? holes on the side?
    
       .... UPS man . WTF are you?
    
    							-B()()M-

    re: -.1
    
    >       .... Ya mean like the kind 19" wide w? holes on the side?
    
    Yeah...need something to stick the REXX stuff in!
    
    >       .... UPS man . WTF are you?
    
    That's WHERE kiddies, not WHAT!  8^)
    

    Keyboard had an article on building racks within the last year or so.
    Certainly not Anvil quality, but if you just need a place to mount some
    19" stuff it might be OK... 
    
    Personally, for the cost of building a rack (including my time) I'd
    buy one. I've been down this road...
    
    Edd

    Thre are probably tons of spare parts that could be used to build
    a complete rack,.. or at least a start of one lying around as
    "Idle Assets" or actually on the "soon to be scrapped" piles of
    stiff that Digital has. There's probably something close to 
    a complete rack if you dig a little.
    
    If its still an ASSET,.. you might have to pay DEC something to buy
    	it,.. but more than likely we throw things like this away. Check
    	it out,.. 
    
    							/Bill
    

Good luck getting any DEC assetts or otherwise. I tried to get a PDP-11 rack for
my studio as we were scrapping them and they were going someplace down south
to be crushed. The answer locally was talk to corporate muble or something
group that crushes the stuff, the answer from them was NO.

dbii

    Man, that sounds as bad as the US Government!  
    
    "We can't let you have  this surplus equipment, it's got to be
    physically destroyed"
    
    "Why?"
    
    "Because that's what the rules say"
    
    Greg (who worked for 'em for several years)

    You can always check in the Mill Pond ;-)
    
    DEC policy is the same for competitors equipment owned internally. 
    About 4 years ago, we were told we had to destroy an IBM PC when we no 
    longer needed it.  
    
    I did know an ex-DECcie that had an H96xx cab that he used for his
    Crown amps.  I'm not sure how he got it though, maybe the Mill Pond.
    
    Mike

    	If you can't find anything in the Mill Pond, and you decide to
    	"roll your own", I know of a outfit that offers loads of hardware
    	for cases, cabinets and 19" racks.  Top quality stuff, but I'm
    	not sure how they compare price-wise.  They will do mail order,
    	minimum $25.
    
    	Penn Fabrication (USA) Inc.
    	Hawthorne, New Jersey 07506
    	
    	201-839-7777
    
    	- Jim

    
    Well, I have an old pdp cab at home which I converted to a storage
    bin, but it is one heavy mofo, and I would *not* recommend it for 
    mobile rack mounted gear...
    
    -pb
    

    I bought a roack this past weekend, so I won't be needing any
    "build yer own" info.
    
    
    Buck, who sez "Edd was right, it was cheaper to buy built!"

     
       OK, How many spaces in a rack do you need before Cooper gives his
    MRP seal of approval? I'm not sure if you'll qualify Buckster!
    
       But ventilations slots are tres cool and might get you Honorable
    Mention.
    
    							-B()()M-

    I now own a 14-space rack.  It will house the following:
    
    ( 1) Power Conditioner
    ( 2) Korg DT-1 Pro Tuner
    ( 3) Ventilation slot
    ( 4) REXX 1601 Amp
    ( 5) REXX 1602 Amp
    ( 6) Ventilation slot
    ( 7) REXX 602 Preamp
    ( 8) REXX 1150 Power amp
    ( 9) Ventilation slot
    (10) REXX 601 Preamp
    (11) REXX 602 Preamp
    (12) Ventilation slot
    (13) \ 
           REXX 2150 Power amp 
    (14) /
           

    
        MRP Qualification Requirements Attained!!!
    
    
    
    
    				->someday!
    							-B()()M-

                  MRP Minimum Qualification Standard v1.0


Purpose:

The purpose of this standard is to outline the necessary component needed to
qualify as a MIDI (Musical Instrument Data Interchange) Rack Puke (MRP).

Scope:

This document applies to guitarists and bassists.  As MIDI is used for little 
more than a communication protocol, this document does not apply to rack 
mounted computing gear, sequencers or SGU's.  See applicable documentation 
section, and hit KP7 to add COMMUSIC to your notebook.  However, using sequenced 
patch change information from applicable MIDI synthesis devices is allowed, but 
will be covered in a document to be released at a later date.  At a later date,
another document may be released which will cover "Rack Puke" (note the lack of 
the acronym "MIDI").

Applicable documentation:

- DNEAST::COMMUSIC
- EIA Standard 11.1, covering standard rack mount measurements
- ADA Mp1, DSP128+, Quadraverb MIDI implementation reference manual(s). 

Body:

The minimum requirement to obtain MRP status is more than one of the following:

	1.  The use of MIDI Protocol used to execute patch change 
	    commands.
	2.  The use of MIDI Protocol used to control (in real-time) MIDI 
	    continuous controllers.
	3.  At least two (2) 19 inch EIA boxes, mounted singularly or 
	    multiply in a standard rack container (herein and hereafter 
	    referred to as "A Rack").
	4.  The use of at least one (but not limited to) EIA Standard 5 pin
	    MIDI cord.
	5.  The presence of at least one MIDI In, Out, or Thru port.

Conclusion:

The obtain MRP status, you just gots-ta-have a 'MIDI something' for goodness
sake !!

       So that settles that, Buck is gonna be a F-RP (footswitchable
    rack-puke) or something like that. Well my main rig definitely
    qualifies for the MRP status (3 MIDI outs, 2 MIDI ins, 1 MIDI thru)
    and my secondary REXX rack is gonna stay of the F-RP variety so my 
    pedal effects can also be utilized by the M1 stacks. 
    
    							-B()()m-

    RE: -1 and -2
    
    If I can get my hands on a REXX 701 or 707, I'll be golden!

    OOOH Boy.... I've fqualified for MRP status....
    
    3 Midi In's
    2 Midi Outs
    1 Midi through
    2 5 Pin Cable
    
    It's a proud day !
    
    BK

    Sick...

    
    To be totally cool, you gotta have some of those cooling fans off of a
    780.  You don't use to cool your rig, though.  You mount them on the
    bottom so that you can just plug the rack in and float it into
    position.
    

    No man, you mount them on your monitors so your hair can flow like the
    pros...