What would you place in a rack?

[waveformz]

I'm thinking of getting a studio rack so I can place a MIDI Interface (19" Std Rack size) and an Audio Interface which can handle more simultaneous inputs into my workstation/PC. My question is what other types of Rack Gear do you all place up front at the studio desk level. Besides the easiest and most fun (Instruments). Are there Tools I would benefit from now or possibly in the future as I look towards mastering and recording an entire albumn worth of tracks too?

Just curious to see what you all had under your hood or would like to add and why? Might give me some pathways to look into besides just audio interfaces.

[jlgrimes]

I'm thinking of getting a studio rack so I can place a MIDI Interface (19" Std Rack size) and an Audio Interface which can handle more simultaneous inputs into my workstation/PC. My question is what other types of Rack Gear do you all place up front at the studio desk level. Besides the easiest and most fun (Instruments). Are there Tools I would benefit from now or possibly in the future as I look towards mastering and recording an entire albumn worth of tracks too?

Just curious to see what you all had under your hood or would like to add and why? Might give me some pathways to look into besides just audio interfaces.

It depends.

1. Channelstrip.
2. Headphone amp.
3. Rack synthesizer.
4. I/o expander for audio interface.

None of that stuff may be necessary but stuff you might acquire as time progress.

[jestermgee]

Yeah really depends on your own personal needs and a reason to probably not get a rack if you don't have enough gear to fill a rack is you will look at the empty space and wonder what else you could waste money on filling holes that will never be used

I personally do not have a rack for my work station because I do not need enough gear to fill a rack, tho I do have a custom "rack shelf" with my gear installed in my desk of which I have:

- Roland Octacapture Audio Interface
- Presonus Central Station monitor speaker switcher/controller
- Behringer 6 channel headphone amp
- Behringer 2 channel compressor/gate
- Presonus 1ch compressor

I do have a medium rack in my server room which just has network switches, audio distribution gear and automation controllers.

I also have another mobile rack for my portable audio/DJ system which has 2 amps, 2 EQs, audio mixers, lighting controllers, power conditioners

[Tarekith]

I have two small racks in my studio. One is under my desk and has two power conditioners/distribution racks, everything in the studio gets power from them. On top of the desk I have another small rack with my Hilo DAC and a RME Fireface UFX+. All of these are items I really don’t need to interact with that much, so the racks are mostly a way of getting things out of my way.