The guitar industry underwent a 1.4% annual growth rate between 2012 to 2017, and many believe the trend will continue well into 2022.
Playing the guitar is a journey that expands both the mind and body. About 45% of all the guitars Fender sells goes to first-time players. People have been experimenting with tunings, composition, and custom rack effects since the early days of guitar music.
If you’re wanting to get into playing the guitar or want to get to the next level, paying attention to your effects is vital. Many songs can’t even be played as they were recorded without access to advanced effects and technology.
Custom Rack Effects
Professional and home-based studios are famous for using custom rack effects. In a live setting, many guitar players choose to use pedals instead.
This doesn’t mean that rack effects aren’t good for live music. In the past, it wasn’t as easy as it is today.
The Difference Between Rack Effects and Pedals
In general, the effects you can get from a rack-mounted system are superior to pedal-based effects. For many rack-based systems, you have a superior amount of control over every aspect of the effect. This is why studios have long used rack effects when capturing sound for albums.
Pedals are a great choice if you only need a single or small set of effects on your sound. If you’re going into anything more complicated or if you value sonic precision, custom rack effects are the best way to go. Pedals are convenient, especially when you only need one or two.
When you use pedal boards, you increase the difficulty of use. One significant difference between rack-mounted effects and pedals is that when put in sequence or together, rack effects are much cleaner. It is easier to differentiate the tones, and you don’t have as many equipment issues.
Best Guitar Rack Effects
Guitar rack effects have long been used and are growing in popularity. For the last decade, an increase in the use of digital delay has made precision more critical than ever. Rack-mounted delay gives you incredible control over the type and intensity of the delay that you put on your sound.
Another great example of this is in the area of echo. Echo effects have long been popular, but using a pedal can make them sound almost comical. This is because not only is the effect of lower quality, but the controls on the effect make it more difficult to control at the extremes.
Pre-Amps
Pre-amps are another area in which having a rack-mounted effect will benefit you. Modern pre-amps can alter the sound and tone of your guitar like nothing else. Pre-amps work by intensifying the power of the signal coming from your instrument. This has a couple of unique benefits.
The first and perhaps most important for our discussion is that it allows additional processing on the signal. This means you can add and layer more effects onto the signal. The second is that you can then send that signal to a power amp or a PA system. This helps reduce noise disturbance and distortion.
Custom Rack Effects
The coming of computers has forever changed the music industry. Some of this has been seen as a bad thing, like the pervasion of easy to download content. But some aspects have made this the most exciting time to play guitar.
Custom rack effects are sounds that you create for yourself. These effects can be unique, or they can be a blend of otherwise normal effects put together as you would like. Doing this properly can require a bit of time and a bit of patience.
Using a computer to build a custom effect is not as hard as it sounds. There are programs that exist which can be used in order to make very fine-tuned tonal distortions. Compiling these effects into a custom rack effect has never been easier for those without access to expensive studio equipment.
EQ effects are very prevalent in this area. They are enabling you to sculpt your tone without the need to purchase specific amplifiers.
You can reduce bass and increase midrange, or perhaps you prefer treble. The options and conditions of change are entirely up to you.
Combining traditional effects to create a custom rack effect is also crucial for distortion. When you use a pedal, you only have one type of distortion, whatever the pedal provides. With a custom rack effect, you can hone your distortion by combining various types of distortion into a unique sound.
You can, therefore, combine the effects of overdrive, distortion, and fuzz generators. This can help you formulate a sound that is exacting in providing you the tone and quality that you want. This type of specificity is not possible with pedal mounted effects.
The Core Effects
The basic effects that every guitar player should experiment with and learn are delay, echo, distortion, and EQ. Understanding the way to employ these will help you build a more enjoyable sound for yourself and your listeners.
These basic effects also give you access to a fantastic library of songs that you can try out. You can alter the sounds of classics by using your custom rack effects, or you can try to capture their exact tones. Either way you go, you will impress yourself, crowds, and friends in no time.
For some basic effects, like a wah-wah pedal, you can still use pedals in combination with your rack-mounted effects. Doing this will help you have a unique sound and direct control over how it is displayed and listened to. All of these things that are reality now were once the dreams of the great guitar players of the past.
Hone Your Sound, Learn Your Effects
The very best custom rack effects available for you are the ones that sound good to you. Experiment with systems and setups to truly create a unique experience. Pre-amps and equalizers walk hand in hand with the effects you need. Remember that custom rack effects are much cleaner, controllable, and easier to set up than ever before. The sky is the limit when it comes to guitar players, so get out there and make some noise.