Just got a shipping notification for my new RAC12!

Ah I k ow what it is. Yeah cool idea but kinda pointless for me.
I mean the axe already has knobs .
I understand but don't agree with the reasons for buying one.

What it would be really useful for is the AX8 but so far I haven't been able to get that to work yet.
 
While I'm interested in using the amp tone knobs, I'm actually much more interested in using them for effects like phaser speed, delay speed and feedback, etc. I find turning knobs like I did for pedals much better than using a mouse to scroll through values for a parameter.
 
I HAD one. Hardly used it at home. I could see the it to be much more useful if gigging. One other thing I DID and DIDN'T like was the screen. I liked the color screen......but it's almost too small for all the detail they try to put on one screen. You have to be right in front of it...but then I guess you are if you're turning the knobs.....just seemed small to me.
 
I got mine today. Immediately programmed my first configuration with knobs for my favorite tweaks.
Amp, Cab, Mic, Gate, Compression, Delay, Reverb - settings all for grabs within 19 inch.
I am so happy with it! Tweak tweak tweak, sounds much better, done. Let's roll. Brilliant.
Bye bye axe-edit. Bye bye front-panel and checking NAV, <PAGE>, or A, B,C or f*ckin D.
For those who "don't see the point": my fancy Fractal 19" computer just turned into an 19" AMP with the RAC12.
Thank you Alex & Seb, you made exactly what I needed (and asked for on this forum in Febr. 2012) ;)
 
Last edited:
Yes, for UK you'll need your own adapter ;)
I use the one provided, with a euro/uk socket adaptor - but my rack has a standard 4 way power strip in it.

Actually, unless you want the RAC plugged into you PC all the time, ive found the best way of powering it is from USB. When I next open my rack, Im swoping the euro adaptor and provided 9v pin for a phone charging adaptor and USB cable.

Of course if you use a rack power supply with IEC outs, youll need something different.
 
Might sound a bit radical, but you could always take extreme action, and just not buy one if this is the case. ;)

Joking aside, I use the knobs on the front panel of my Axe-FX a lot, but having more than 5 of them to go at without needing to scroll is the thing that floats my boat. I'm going to take a guess that I'll be able to apply most of what I habitually want to get at to 3 or 4 pages, and expect to mainly use just 1 or 2. I'll let you know if it turns out to be worth it, but I'm pretty confident it will.

Liam

Each to their own, but I have mine set up as follows:

Page 1 (default)

Main knobs as per the labelling. 1-2-3 and 4 hare Trim, Overdrive, Dynamic Presence and Dynamic Depth. Toggles I have boost on the drive knob, cut on the bass knob, fat on the mid knob, bright on the treble knob. The Presence is x/y switch. Thats most of what I want to get to.

Page 2 - is for other amp stuff I might want.

Sat drive (amount is on the rotary and the switch toggles on/off), Definition, Character and Character Freq, Bright, Sag and level (duplicate from page 1) on 1-4 I have Neg Feedback, XF Match, Pre amp hardness and dynamic damping. I dont use this page much, but it has its uses.

Page 3 is EQ> Knobs 1-8 are assigned to the amp blocks EQ page, set to 8 band. 1-4 are high res freq and amount, as well as low res freq and amount.

Page 4 is Levels page. Reverb, Delay, Chorus, Flanger, phaser, Rotary, Trem and compressor. Knobs 1-4 are drive level and gains for both drive blocks.

Page 5 is my mix page, and had mix levels for the same FX as Page 4. 1-4 has Drive tone and mix for both drive blocks.


From that I pretty much have everything. Page 1 gets 90% use (and nearer 98% during a live set) - its pretty much what youd have access to on a real amp. Page 2 is useful for deeper editing on occasion. Page 3 is broad EQ sculpting (normally to a room) while 4 and 5 help tune FX to a venue during sound check.

I access each page with a long press of the relevant knob. So from left to right, drive is knob 1 - accesses page 1, bass is knob 2 accesses page 2 etc etc. That makes switching between pages easy and intuitive.
 
I HAD one. Hardly used it at home. I could see the it to be much more useful if gigging. One other thing I DID and DIDN'T like was the screen. I liked the color screen......but it's almost too small for all the detail they try to put on one screen. You have to be right in front of it...but then I guess you are if you're turning the knobs.....just seemed small to me.

I didnt worry about the screen TBH. Its large enough when using it at home - at gigs I dont care what the numbers say - just twist until it sounds right.
 
Thanks for the report! Mine shows up Wednesday! :)
You might get it earlier. My original estimated delivery date was Wednesday, but it arrived in the FexEx Memphis facility yesterday and it's at my local sorting facility now. So my guess is Monday for mine. I have a Carvin 1 RU amplifier on order as well that I'll get this week, and it looks like the RAC12 is going to beat it by days.

If the planets align, this will wind up being a great all purpose rig. Not quite as portable as the guys with and AX8 and a powered monitor, but sufficient for my needs and with a bit more overall flexibility.
 
That i don't know, maybe.

OK, it works to control AX8 with two MIDI cables! Only flaws I see so far: 1) yes, the Level control not only doesn't work but it completely silences the unit if you move it; 2) the RAC12 doesn't reflect the proper amp name. But great to have some ability to control the AX8 live without bending down.
EDIT: But getting the Level control working is important!
 
Last edited:
You might get it earlier. My original estimated delivery date was Wednesday, but it arrived in the FexEx Memphis facility yesterday and it's at my local sorting facility now. So my guess is Monday for mine.

Same here, I checked the tracking today figuring, "oh, it's probably still over the Atlantic somewhere", but was pleasantly surprised to see it was sitting at my local fedex depot already. Looks like I'll be getting it a few days early. Much excite, all the yays :)
 
OK, it works to control AX8 with two MIDI cables! Only flaws I see so far: 1) yes, the Level control not only doesn't work but it completely silences the unit if you move it; 2) the RAC12 doesn't reflect the proper amp name. But great to have some ability to control the AX8 live without bending down.
EDIT: But getting the Level control working is important!
Great, thanks for the report.
The level thing could be fixed soon but the amp list is strange, i thought the ax8 had the exact same models
 
What's all this tactile bullsh}t? I mean, arent' we beyond touch;

Or are we just out of touch?

I think this is a really cool product. Of course I personally want a unit that lets me use my MIDI controller to adjust the various additional knobs and costs $100. Is that possible?

But can you imagine telling a non-keyboard playing guitarist to control his amp using a MIDI controller? That would be SO unpopular.
 
Back
Top Bottom