Analog gear & digital gear in same rack?

[Bender412]

I remember reading on a thread a while back, that digital & analog gear should be separated in a rack. Can anyone give me the basics on this? So is it bad to have my Avalon M5 next to my Rosetta 800? And is this just regarding analog gear with tubes? Or all analog gear, such as a TRS patchbay?

[mattg082]

I've had issue with equipment sometimes being racked on top of each other giving me buzz with my rosetta, lunchbox 2pres, sm pro m patch for volume control and mic chords. had to move everything around sometimes and it finally stops. So I guess even analog on analog and vice versa can cause noise issues. A power conditioner and good placement of gear regardless of digital or analog would be a good idea imo.

[Bender412]

Thanks Mattg ... anyone else have any info on this subject?

[onesong321]

Buy Humfrees Rack Isolation Tabs | Rackmount Accessories | Musician's Friend

These things work like a charm - from personal experience.

Most electronic (digital and analog) devices connect their internal ground wiring to the metal chassis or frame. In a rack, our gear tends to touch each other and rub up against each other. Combine this with the 3rd prongs on each device grounding to the power strip, and each audio cable having a ground, and you have a dozen or so paths to ground, which causes ground loops (buzzing, hum)

I'm paraphrasing, here is a full article from our own Ethan Winer on the subject:

Kill Studio Hum and Buzz at the Source

[mattg082]

i'm getting a horrible hum form a bass guitar i'm using but i guess it's just the bass since it's not the best bass kinda crappy. i ended up putting a behringer headphone amp that i don't use not plugged in between my lunchbox and rosetta and took my volume control and moved it to the desk and it took care of it. if you have too much gear to really do something like that or want it nicely racked maybe the above metioned idea and read would be your best bet.