# Rig Rundown - Band In A Rack



## ACE IT UP (Apr 23, 2013)

Hey guys, I frequent this side of the website often and thought I'd contribute what we've pieced together as a band so far. Many of the ideas for gear and routing methods I found from recommendations on this forum. I'll be as thorough as possible while explaining our setup but can't possibly cover everything, so feel free to ask any questions and I'll be happy to shed some light.

1st off I should say I play guitar in a progressive heavy metal band and as complicated as some of this stuff may look I see rigs like these becoming more and more common in the scene (you'll see all this in something the size of an iPad one day). Everything besides the drummer for outputting live sound is included in this one rack. 

&#8226; We use an Axe FX II and an Axe FX Ultra for lead and rhythm guitar. Patches are set up for clean/lead/rhythm and other effects. I'll explain how we change patches on the fly later. Our signal from the Axes are sent to two different locations. 1 output from each Axe is sent to an ART SLA - 2 poweramp (2 channels) which in turn powers our mesa cabinets (cab simulators are turned off in this instance on the Axe). The other set of outs have cab simulators on and are being sent through the Axe's balanced direct outs to the FOH, or live sound board. This gives us the benefit of having a clear stage volume with our cabs and a full range tone for the audience to hear through the PA (2 separate tones going at once). You can maybe see how we set up our patches for tone splitting in the image below. 1 row uses cab simulators another does not, we then hard pan the 2 rows in "page right" so there is no bleed through between the two sends.

&#8226; Next we have the bass rig, which is ran solely off of one pedal, the Electroharmonix Big Muff Bass Delux. This pedal has a gate, blend, and high pass/lowpass filter knobs so we can get exactly the bass tone we're looking for. 1 out from the pedal is being sent to a crown 1000 watt power amp into an Ampeg 8x10 cab. The other out is a direct balanced going straight to the sound board.

&#8226; I play guitar and sing in the band, one thing that I've found to be very difficult while performing on stage is being able to hit high vocal melodies against a wall of sound. I've tried many different processors and methods before winding up with the Voicelive Rack by TC Helicon. The unit is an all in one vocal preamp with effects/gate/compression/ and eq and has made a dramatic difference. We even use the unit to help play harmonies by sending MIDI information from our MBP, recreating sounds from the album that would otherwise be impossible to perform live, more on that later.

&#8226; This brings us to the In Ear Set Up which takes an out from the AXE II, 2 outs from the Voicelive Rack (wet and dry) and a click track mixed with our songs and is sent to a Behringer XENYX Mixer. This mixer allows the drummer and I to get exactly what we want in our in ears. I prefer guitar, vocals, and click and our drummer prefers just the click. My in ears are attached to a shure wireless pack and our drummer gets his signal from the phones out jack on the mixer. It is important to mix your click tracks in mono during this process so that sound comes out of both ears/speakers.

&#8226; The most important part of any setup similar to this one is the computer running it all. We use a Mac Book Pro 2.7 GHz Core i7 with SSD drive. The laptop runs our click tracks, midi patches, backing tracks, and guides harmonies, it may even be used to run a light show. We use Pro Tools to set backing tracks where the mixes are presented in mono sources. Our left track has the click and song mixed together and our right track has just the backing tracks (this is sent to FOH through a DI Box). We then set up midi lanes to trigger patch changes for the two Axe units (volume swells, pedals on/off, fade ins/fade outs are all possible). This means no more bringing pedal boards to shows! We use the FCB1010s in the practice space for writing and improvisation. We have also been able to program harmony control using midi notes in PT to communicate with the voicelive rack. This works as if someone was playing a piano where only the left hand notes added harmony to your leads (right hand). After careful mixing and steady control this can become a powerful tool.

&#8226; The larger mixer seen below is used to mix sound within our practice space. If there's one thing we've all learned from being in a band it's that frequencies matter more than volume at times and that by learning your instruments frequency range you will find exactly where you should belong in a mix. We use Alto active PAs in the practice space which have turned out to be great.

&#8226; Last but not least, the instruments... I switch between a Schecter Damien C-7 and Hellraiser C-7 both with Floyd Rose. Our other guitar player uses an Agile 7-string and bass is now an Ibanez SR505. We all use Line 6 G30 wireless systems to send signal to our units. You can get a better look at those guitars in our music video down below and if you found any of this info helpful it would sure be nice if you could like our page! 

Cheers,

- Cory







A Distant Calm - Facebook


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## Rick (Apr 23, 2013)

Good lord.


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## TonyFlyingSquirrel (Apr 23, 2013)

That's what I'm talking 'bout. 
We're hoping to do that at some point, but I'd rather make the switch to PT from Sonar & to Mac from PC in order to get the full benefit.


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## ZXIIIT (Apr 23, 2013)

Fuck yes.

This will make touring for you guys less crammed.


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## Syrix (Apr 23, 2013)

I still think plug and play is the easy button but since you got me into the Axe it's been candyland. You definitely need to do your homework to get all that working together well. I think I told you Jim Root said the hardest thing with the Axe live is mastering the mix with the bass frequencies in different venues. I guess that's something to look forward to. 

Cool stuff Cory ~ Brian


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## danresn (Apr 24, 2013)

Syrix said:


> I think I told you Jim Root said the hardest thing with the Axe live is mastering the mix with the bass frequencies in different venues. I guess that's something to look forward to.
> 
> Cool stuff Cory ~ Brian



Not to be to too much of a fanboy but I think Markides mentioned on his formspring that he has a graphic EQ on each guitar/bass for this kind of thing


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## BenSolace (Apr 29, 2013)

Very similar to my bands live rig! Always great to see more and more bands doing the whole automation thing with patch changes and stuff - really makes it more fun playing live!


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## ducer (Sep 21, 2013)

Damn, I would like to set something similar. Currently going to sell my Uberschall and buy AXE FX II, so maybe one day...  I'm quite interested in MBP configuration - how you set and send everything (to in-ear systems).


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## ACE IT UP (Oct 6, 2013)

ducer said:


> Damn, I would like to set something similar. Currently going to sell my Uberschall and buy AXE FX II, so maybe one day...  I'm quite interested in MBP configuration - how you set and send everything (to in-ear systems).



look here http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/li...9197-need-help-live-click-backing-tracks.html


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## iRaiseTheDead (Oct 11, 2013)

That's legit as f*ck


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## Lava Joe (Oct 17, 2013)

Nice! I wish all of my pedals changed for me, too. That just seems like the ultimate convenience!


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## ACE IT UP (Jan 8, 2014)

Some updates on the rig. We acquired a Fryette two/ninety/two tube power amp that has dramtically effected our guitar cabinet tones (before things were sounding a little too stale/thin with the art sla-2) now tones are beefy and huge with the right blend of digital/tube. With our MBP we are now sending out individual signals for backing tracks, triggers (superior drummer 2.0), and bass drops. The Focusrite Pro 40 let's us configure what balanced outs we want to send those signals from the back of the unit to reach the sound board. Pro 40 also allows us to create individual in ear mixes within protools/logic to send to both myself and the drummer (eventually every member of the band).

Played our 1st show with the updated rig on Sunday and things went smooth. Looking forward to adding lights to the mix soon \m/


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## BenSolace (Jan 8, 2014)

Perfect updates, though I bet the weight of the rig has changed with that Fryette! I would say, though, that when I was researching audio interfaces to send backing tracks *and* mix in-ears, I found that the Focusrite has it's own software for mixing its inputs and outputs that might be easier to navigate than multiple busses in Pro Tools. The MOTU unit's CueMix FX software I use is a lot easier to navigate than bussing in Logic!

Also, how receptive are you finding venues at taking the backing track elements separately as opposed to a mono/stereo mix?


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## ACE IT UP (Jan 8, 2014)

We hired a sound guy for this last show and he said it was a huge improvement having the tracks separated. We keep everything mono for simplicity's sake. Should also add I ditched the voice live rack and now use a mic splitter out front to send one signal to the board and another to our rack... less hassle and saves time... think we might've been aiming too high


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## BenSolace (Jan 8, 2014)

ACE IT UP said:


> We hired a sound guy for this last show and he said it was a huge improvement having the tracks separated. We keep everything mono for simplicity's sake. Should also add I ditched the voice live rack and now use a mic splitter out front to send one signal to the board and another to our rack... less hassle and saves time... think we might've been aiming too high



Ha, the splitter thing's what I do too! Its funny - you have all these grandiose thoughts of the perfect rig, you shell out and put it together, only to find that it's either a pain in the arse or the FOH engineer turns his nose up and you end up fighting to get the monitoring/backing track accommodation you desire!


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## Funz (Jan 8, 2014)

Thanks for posting and sharing the details. Rep'd, followed, and appreciated!


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## SandyRavage (Jan 13, 2014)

And you guys are local.....this thread delivers in all aspects.


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## Devyn Eclipse Nav (Jan 13, 2014)

That is just insane, not sure I could ever set something quite like this, DAWs and MIDI just confuse the heck outta me.

But dAMN that's a killer setup. Definitely the way to go when it comes to a streamlined, easy to use setup


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## ACE IT UP (Feb 10, 2014)

new video y'all should check out

A DISTANT CALM // EXODUS // OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO - YouTube


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## TonyFlyingSquirrel (Feb 10, 2014)

I'd love to see a signal flow chart for that rig, might help everyone understand its function more clearly.
I'm looking to do the same for our project.


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## Brootal93 (Feb 10, 2014)

My band sort of is going to do a dumb downed version of this. This is an amazing rig though! We're a 6 piece, so we'll be using two racks.
Left side: Pod HD pro, Axe FX, Triggers, drawer, furman and wireless.
Right side: 11 rack, bass amp, possibly lights, furman.
All go out to powered FRFR monitors.
We'll still be using our pedals though. Much easier for us at this point I think. I haven't seen many bands doing setups like this though, it's great to see!


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## danresn (Feb 12, 2014)

Do you find this 'less fun' than having an amp blasting behind you. I mean this not considering the evident ease of travel/etc.


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## BenSolace (Feb 12, 2014)

danresn said:


> Do you find this 'less fun' than having an amp blasting behind you. I mean this not considering the evident ease of travel/etc.



He has the Fryette in the rack which will send a signal to onstage cabs. My band also do in ears with direct signal and have recently aquired a power amp for onstage cab tones, and I can say that IMO having a real cab onstage is still hard to top. We did DI for a couple of years and while clear, there was just "something" missing that a tube power amp/cab seemed to bring back


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## ACE IT UP (Feb 13, 2014)

Ben is right, the digital/tube combo has been the best tone I've had so far and I started out with a mesa roadster dual rec.


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## psycle_1 (Feb 17, 2014)

Nice rack sir! LOL. I may be implementing something similar to this with my band, using my 2 channel Saffire 6 USB for bass and kick trigger and 2 GSP1101's.


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## rectifryer (Feb 18, 2014)

I thought everyone did this.


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## BenSolace (Feb 19, 2014)

rectifryer said:


> I thought everyone did this.



If only! 

IMO it makes sense to if you're in a band that primarily uses rack gear and are going to be playing a fair few gigs in a row (e.g. a tour). Not only is it frustrating to have a band take ages getting offstage, gathering up all their cables etc. but it's also frustrating to spend ages getting your stuff all cabled up in a tiny, badly lit area


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## ACE IT UP (May 1, 2015)

Hey Guys, new thread is up with an update on the rig. You can check it out here...

http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/li...d/294223-rig-rundown-band-rack-continued.html


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## chickenxnuggetz91 (May 2, 2015)

Good music, and it seems like you already know what you are doing. I hope you get your live rig figured out. Not trying to start a genre argument, but I would not call this progressive metal. This seems like one step above the average deathcore band. Just my opinion. Then again, every metal band calls themselves progressive these days, so who am I to say.


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## ihunda (May 2, 2015)

Thanks, this is great to see the details of a rig like that!
I am curious, and this may be a dumb question but why do you need your own stage amp and cabs if you're using in ears?
Would it possible to play with just in ears and FOH? Uber simple rig?


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## ACE IT UP (May 2, 2015)

Besides our drummer, we do not currently use in ears. We like to have stage volume with the cabs because when you're a low level touring band like us you tend to find out real quick that some, if not MOST venues don't always carry the necessary PA equipment to output sound efficiently


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