HRS (Harmonic Resolution Systems)
MXR Equipment Rack
Uncrating and Assembly

 

Unpacking and Preparation of One Side of the  MXR Equipment Rack

[This is just a guide and is not a substitute for the manual.
It is rare for there to even be a decent manual these days - so, since you got one, you might as well check it out]

 

HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

These are the two crates that contain the two sides of the rack. This particular rack in gloss black, but there are racks that come in various furniture-grade wood finishes as well as different colors. The album in the picture is there to try to portray the scale of the size of the crates, not because we couldn't find anywhere else to put it. Nor because we always seem to leave them lying around resting against some sort of equipment rack, even unassembled ones.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

Let us spend a moment and bow our heads in thanks to all the wonderful people who spent part of their lives inventing power tool equipment. 16 screws per crate need to be removed.

We put all of our screws, except two per crate, into two Ziploc baggies that will go back into the crate, along with packing materials, for safe-keeping. This way we will have them if we ever need them instead of having to make that lame, and stupefying boring, run down to the hardware store looking for the right screws because we lost a bunch of them in all the years between the opening of the crate and the needing of the screws.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

We performed the MXR Equipment Rack Assembly Task downstairs where there was both a lot of room and where the rack was going to be initially placed. The rack is somewhat heavy (but not prohibitively so; Neli and I carried ours with relative ease across the room, but going up stairs will require more effort and probably a lot more cussing) and there should be some consideration about where it is going to eventually be placed when assembling it. Not that we won't change our minds - or have them changed for us :-) - sometime in the future, but if you are like me you want to get the assembly done as quick as possible - so it is good not to have too many delicate things in the area whose cosmetic well-being always seems to somehow take a distant second place to the Getting the Equipment Rack Assembled NOW task.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  The two creates with the two sides of the equipment rack - as 'snug as two bugs in a rug'.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

We take a lot of pictures like this so we know what the side should look like if we (Neli does most of the packing, thank goodness) ever have to pack it up again.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  The first side, either one will do, just lifts out of its snug position in the crate.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  This is how the crate should look during repacking.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  The side of the HRS MXR equipment rack, all wrapped up.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

The foam ends come off with a little back and forth wiggling - wiggling of the foam, not you, silly. You may have to lift the end up a little.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  Both ends are off - the side is starting to reveal its true shape.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  Off comes the plastic wrap...

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  We needed to use scissors here to get the plastic wrap off on this end.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

Now, with the plastic off, we see that there is a soft wrap covering and protecting the very fine finish of the wood or acrylic found on the sides of the equipment rack.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  Alley Oop, and we turn over the side to get at the next layer of wrapping.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  Finally, the innermost, paper-like layer is exposed for what it really is... i.e. the next layer we are going to have to remove.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

OK, enough with the pictures, we are finally getting to see some of that lovely finish on the MXR. Oooh! Aaaah! I know, I know, it is only a few square inches.

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  As it turns out, there are multiple patches of the paper-like protective layer.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

Neli says: This is a layer of gently adhesive Kraft paper that is stuck directly to the perfectly lacquered equipment rack finish. This stuff is great. Leave it on there as long as possible to protect the finish during assembly. I see a big roll of this stuff in our future, protecting lots of other stuff besides equipment racks.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

Now we get to see where the spikes on the bottom of the MXR equipment rack will be attached. It was attached so securely at this particular point that we did have to tear it to get it off.

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

This is as much of the protective paper-life wrapping as we decided to remove - preferring to remove the wrapping on the other (outer) side of the rack at the last possible moment - which was right before inserting components into the rack, if I remember correctly - and the pictures agree with me for once.

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

The box of rack points contains the spikes for the bottom of the rack. We need to install two of the four now on the unwrapped side of the equipment rack. Why is it that playing with spikes are so much fun? Wonder if it is a 'guy thing'.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  The instructions in the manual are fabulously well done.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
   
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Following the instructions in the manual, and with Neli's constant assistance, I was able to figure out that the nut goes on first, and then the washer.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  The fist spike is in place.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  The second spike is in place.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

OK, here we are. As you can see, this project does lay waste to a goodly amount of floor space.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  The next step involves attaching the steel beams that attach one side of the equipment rack to the other.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  First loosen the bolts in the center of the braces.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  Yes, that means this bolt too.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  Then select the correct sized screws to fasten the braces with.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  These are the holes that the bolts will go through.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  On your mark. Get set...

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

They are not that heavy, but the precision with which they were manufactured is second only to a few of the best turntables out there.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

The brace fits perfectly in place - and I mean perfectly. All of the screws when in smoothly and could be tightened using only the fingers - which is what we want here anyway - just finger tightness. The hex wrench tool is so you, the reader of this HRS MXR Equipment Rack assembly fiesta can see which screws we are talking about.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
 

Here we demonstrate that the orange-handled tool does not work well with screws when they are close to something else, in this case the side of the rack. That is why there are the other two hex wrench tools. Ah, so. The mist clears. The brain engages.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  Both braces are now loosely connected. Spikes (rack points) are in place. Looks like we are good to go.

 

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HRS - HARMONIC RESOLUTION SYSTEMS MXR Equipment Rack
 
 
  The larger picture of the mess we have made to this point.

 

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