Hey now, finally got something worthwhile to post on this thread. Traded a stratocaster for a GCX rig and built a rack with the help of my trusted friend and sometimes roadie, Steve F. Actually Steve did most of the work and I just directed, but hey his payment was the promise to hang backstage with the band at the local pub. Not bad considering back stage is AKA has sitting outside.
I did this one on the fly, oversized the box for the GCX so it could screw into some wood blocks, canted the "pedal wall" so if the box sat lower on the floor I could see the dials better and cut out slots just like a floor board allowing me to mix and match on the go. I also labeled everything so in that typical pre gig panic trouble shooting is easy easy, and finally I colour coded my labels so my mind can think old school Boss when I'm looking for the "just right" effect for that extended jam sequence. I also velcro-ed in my floor clock which goes to every gig to sense when last call is and velcro-ed in two power bars in sequence so everything runs off of one power source including my amp - which cuts down on noise.
I have to say the GCX is the best thing since sliced bread. Tone went way up and it was so easy to set up at the gig. Lots of other guitar players there as we had a friends band open for us and I sense some local gear envy. I'm seriously considering retiring the Axe FX Ultra, or running 2 rigs, one digital for mostly spacey stuff at bigger venues. Most say folks can't tell your tone on the floor, but I'm going to totally disagree on that one. Being a head that was the first thing I would hear at every dead show, and even when I saw Zappa plays Zappa versus say the Gov't Mule show I could sure hear the difference between Zappa's Fractal rig and Warren's "oozing with killer tone" analog rig.
Peace,
James
