Carlos Alomar is best known for his seminal rhythm guitar work with David Bowie from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, contributing to classics like , , and , to name but a few. However, Alomar's influence extends beyond Bowie and into the world of amps, as he was the mastermind behind one of the earliest examples of a live rack system. “I developed one of the first rack systems for rhythm guitar – out of necessity.
I did it to keep all my gear organized in total stereo, and to make it easily accessible,” asserts Alomar in an upcoming issue of . Forced to compete with fellow and his wall of Marshalls, Alomar devised a way to stand out. “I knew I’d have to address that situation with Earl Slick and his Marshall stacks.
In that moment of clarity, I decided I had to get into some kind of design...
By this time, I was very comfortable with studio-quality 19-inch effect rack units.” He continues, “I decided my best option would be to create a rack unit for the road. I told David, and he endorsed and financed the whole thing.
So I hired builders to build me rack units, some speakers, and a special rig.” The specs for this innovative setup? “Tweeters for highs, two 12-inch speakers in an enclosed fibreglass Alembic cabinet for the mids and an inverted 15-inch Gauss speaker cabinet for the low end – coupled with a three-way crossover system to integrate them all. “Separate Crown power amps to power them all.
And then my 19-inch rack units, MXR flangers and phase.