Rack Gizmo Stereo Setup

C

ChefJason

Active Member
Hi, for years I've had the Rack Gizmo, since it first came out. With that, I've had a Marshall EL84 20/20, a few stereo racks collected along the way, and finally have 2 iso cabs loaded with greenbacks. So for the Rack Gizmo, I need to figure out what I'm doing wrong where only one channel is going through. Down below I will post what my current test setup is, and what we can do to identify why it may not be working. I do have quite a few TRS cables, in addition to insert cables.
 
Front Input
From Front - out to NS2 input
Input 1-4 - from NS2 send
Send 1 - into HM2ManyClones
Return 1 - from HM2
Send 2 - out to NS2 return
Return 2 - from NS2 output
*nothing 3 or 4
Output 1-4 - into Input 5 with TRS canare (Ive tested it prior with just a mono mogami)
Send 5 - Mono cable to Fulltone TERC (only has the one input)
Fulltone TERC L/R Outputs - mogami insert TS to TRS
Out 5 - In 6 w/ TRS Canare
*Repeat Out/In w/ TRS until In 8
Out 8 Insert TRS, to mono L/R Marshall inputs
Marshall Outputs to each iso cab inputs
 
Im thinking that when the TERC gets it, perhaps its changing everything to mono on one side, let me just quick test with the TRS cable, though could have sworn before when I tested it that it was still doing it, and the TERC is also set on stereo
 
So my test just now, I shut off the marshall, and swapped the left and right, and the speakers swapped, meaning the outputs are both fine, seems like one of the inputs isn't recieving the information, I should check all the cables to make sure they are sending both signals through.
 
The cable from Output 1-4 to In 5 needs to be TS on the Out 1-4 end and TRS on the In 5 end. Connect the tip and ring together on the TRS side. This converts the mono dry signal to stereo. The TERC might be converting to stereo itself, but if its loop is bypassed, you don't get that conversion and you will lose one side of the signal.
 
So do I partially plug it in? Or do I need a special cable, I was wondering about that a ts to trs cable but didnt know if they existed
 
That one doesn't look like it will work. You need something like below (ignore the pedal & PBC labels - the TS end goes to Out 1-4 and the TRS end goes to In 5). It's not something commonly available, but a custom cable builder like Best-tronics will be able to make it.
MonoStereoCable.png
 
in the mean time i have a saturnworks splitter/combiner (thats not the right word) mini pedal, i could try and see if itll work.

*splitter/summer is the word
 
Hi, so I was wondering, would this cable be 2 merged balanced signals to one signal, with resistors inside? Or is this cable one that is unbalanced to balanced?
 
This cable is mono unbalanced to stereo unbalanced. We're using the TRS connector as a stereo plug (like headphones), not as a balanced cable.
 
So I contacted Best-tronics quite a few times late last year, noone got back to me or anything, I'm not sure why, but anyways I'm still at a stand still with all of this, its holding me up. Please help me where the hell can I get a cable made that will allow this?
 
hey thanks, i was at a stand still for months, was resorting to synthwave and keyboards, can't wait to get my rig working, thanks again!
 
Hi, for the love of me I cannot figure out even with the new cable how to get a stereo image! I'm about to make a noose out of all the cabling I've gotten over the years to try to make this god damn thing work! I ordered a stereo version, Rack Gizmo, and I'm hoping thats what I received, this was just over 10 years ago, been pulling my hair out (actually its been falling out) and even gave up guitar playing for about 3 years due to all the constant uninterest in my dream rig....Sure I have other amps but I was like screw it. Either channel on my Marshall works(switched L/R to check), simplified everything so that all I had to check was multiple canare TRSs in the same spot, even TS patch Mogamis, for insert cables I have 4 Mogami insert cables, each of which I checked out, and I added the bestronics cable and its still going to one speaker. What do I do? I first was testing the stereo chorus a few years ago, again the same now and tested my other stereo racks, goes to just one speaker, which I swap the final Y patch send. Is it the insert cable?

Edit*9 years from purchase date.
 
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Make sure that the TS side of the Best-tronics cable is in Out 1-4 and the TRS side in In 5. If it's connected the other way, you won't get a stereo signal.

And, if you connect a stereo effect to one of the last 4 loops and turn it on, does the output become stereo?
 
Unfortunately, that's how I've been running it, as per the manual. At least when I had just the mono cables in the past, I've pulled it out and checked about 5 times, which is silly, more an act of desperation than anything else. TS in the 1-4 out, TRS in the In 5, TRS canare send 5, return 5, TRS Y Mogami Out 5 directly to Marshall rack L and R ins, Mogami speaker cables out of each Marshall output 16 ohm into either jet city iso cabs loaded with 16 ohm greenbacks. I know that even when I swap left and rights along the way, it tends to just send to either (one) speaker. This is a simplified test situation, to eliminate the patch cables in between the last 4 loops and out 8.
 
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