Touring as a small band in 2019 is extremely expensive and difficult. Your margins are small, the price of gas is high, and space in the trailer is limited. To make my life easier and my live shows more profitable, simpler, and more powerful, I put together a rack for my band In Virtue that has all our in-ear monitoring, guitar and bass sounds, guitar cab power, playback/click track, and wireless guitar setups in one 16u rolling shockmount rack based around 3 Line 6 HX Stomp compact modelers that put all our guitar and bass tones in a single 2u rack shelf.
This video shows everything that the rack does and what it’s used for. The intention was to have a rack that we can bring to a show, plug in the vocal mics, one monitor cable for drums, and keyboard setup, and just pretty much go. Everything is switched via MIDI to the click track for every song, and all monitoring is internally controlled, which eliminates most of the need for a monitor guy.
It’s an expensive and time-consuming proposition, but what it buys you is long-term savings, onstage peace of mind and unbeatable convenience, which makes playing a show far more low-stress and fun.
Below is listed everything I used in the rack, with Amazon affiliate links that support our site and channel, along with the price of each item and the total cost.
3x Line 6 HX Stomps – $599.99 each x3 = $1799.97
1x CIOKS DC7 Power Supply – $229
1x Behringer X32 Mixer – $999.99 (we got ours used on Craigslist for $750)
1x Hosa PDR-369 Mic In Panel – $99.95
1x ART S8 8 Channel Mic Splitter – $239
1x Cymatic Audio LP16 Live Player – $399
1x UE Sound Tap – $249
1x Furman Power Conditioner $80.55
1x Gator Cases 2u Rack Drawer – $100
1x SKB Rack Shelf – $109.99
2x Shure GLXD4R Guitar Wireless – $549 each x2 = $1098
1x Shure PG4 Guitar Wireless – $299 (no longer made)
2x Shure PSM300 Wireless IEM Transmitters – $349 each x2 = $698
4x Shure P3RA Bodypack Receivers for IEMs – $449 each x4 = $1796 (make sure you get the matching frequencies for the transmitters and receivers)
1x OSP SC16U-12 16 Space ATA Shock Effects Rack w/Casters – $507.99
2x 2U Rackmount 2U Rack 2″ Extender – 2x $26 – $52
1x Seymour Duncan PowerStage 700 – $699
Cables
18x Hosa HMIC-003 REAN XLR Cable 3′ – $10.95 each x 18 = $197.10
10x Hosa HSS-003 1/4” TRS Cable 3′ – $10.95 each x 10 = $109.50
2x Hosa MID-301BK 5-Pin DIN to 5-Pin DIN MIDI Cable, 1 Foot – $6.45 each x 2 = $12.90
1x Hosa MID-305BK 5-Pin DIN to 5-Pin DIN MIDI Cable, 5 Feet – $7.45
3x Hosa CPE-112 Right Angle to Right Angle Guitar Patch Cable, 12 Inch – $8.95 each x 3 = $26.85
2x 2 pack Audio 200s TRS to XLR Male Right Angle 3′ – $12.99 each x 2 = $26.97
Total cost: $9697.25
