Rackmounting Mark IV combo

[mikeymo]

Just bought a (2nd hand) Mark IV combo. Not wide body. Superb. But heavy. Thought about rackmounting it. Splits the weight, and saves guite a bit of wiring, as I could put the TC G major in the rack plus any midi to relay switching device I might get.

If I get the boogie rack mount kit does the chassis just go in that, or does this only work with the separate amp head?

Has anybody done this? And what sort of weight do you end up with? Most racks are actually a lot deeper than you need for a boogie chassis, anybody tried it in one of those SKB racks, maybe the short effects ones?

Cheers, Mikeymo

 

[mammothcave]

if the width is 18.75", cab included, it should fit the rack kit. i personally found the rack version to be really inconvenient, but that's b/c i was always swapping my mark iv w/ my mark iii. it will also definitely work in an skb case, which combined w/ your g major, power conditioner, switcher, et al, will be at least 8 spaces worth of case and gear which will be pretty heavy. i don't know if skb makes cases w/ casters, but you might want to look into some of the other brands available. i've seen 'road cases' for reasonable prices, w/ casters, at GC for example.

how do you like the g major? does it have spillover between presets?

 

[mikeymo]

I like the G major. Seems to be remarkably tone free - i.e. it doesn't colour the sound atall. I've still got (somewhere) a TC analogue chorus, which is superb.

I've not really investigated the spill over too much. The G major is new to me, and I haven't used it for heavy Reverb/delay effects. The venue I was in this weekend was a huge concert hall so just had a touch of reverb. And anyway I don't change patches that fast. I think you can set it up so that effects do or don't spill over.

It's got a poor reputation for reliability, both in online forums and by heresay. Out of the 2 people I know who have one 1 has had problems. But mine's been fine so far. But very light use up to now. There's a good www.groups.yahoo.com forum.

Part of the reason I bought it was the 2 relays, which means you can change channels on the boogie at the same time as the effects. Combine that with a Behringer FCB 1010 and with a Mark IV you could switch between the 3 channels and switch the Graphic In/Out with only one footswitch. Which is probably all you'd want, assuming the G major is in the effects loop all the time.

Has anybody actually weighed a Mark IV chassis out of the case?

If I go this route I'm only expecting to have the Boogie, G major and maybe a midi solutions R8 in the rack, with perhaps a self made patch panel (power in, midi in etc.). Oh, and maybe an analogue compressor. And a bypass switch for that. Yes, it's looking heavy isn't it. But compared to my current set up it will still be lighter (maximum) and I could prewire more things.