A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

....and if you do not gig, then, what is your main set up when you play at home?

Currently I use a Goldtone 15W 1x12 combo with a Vintage 30. The pedalboard has a tuner, a Handwired Tube Screamer, AMI Dumblicious, and a cheap mini pedal fuzz off Amazon (fuzz one particular song off our upcoming 5th record). Basically I normally have a tuner and two OD pedals. I keep one at crunch rhythm level and the other at solo level. I put the rhythm in line first and sometimes I use it as a boost when stomping both OD pedals. For guitars I take one LP with P90 pickups. Of course the Jr only has the one P90. The second is always a semi-hollow. I just got the Gibson 335 as you guys know but I have not used it yet. It's been a Gretsch or a few times a Firefly for the last year or so. I also take an acoustic for about 7-8 songs and I play it through the PA. I have a separate tuner on the board for it so I can mute it. I keep it unplugged when not in use. Those 1032 batteries wear out quick. I use a Heil microphone but I carry a Shure 57 Beta for some venues. If I mic up the Goldtone I use a Sennheiser 609.

It sort of boils down to a low wattage tube amp, a couple OD pedals and a guitar. Over the years I have had at least a kazillion different pedals, mic, guitars, etc. but this the combination that has prevailed. Many years of experience brought me to this set up. It fits the music we play.

Maaaaan....that's a complicated question.

You can read below for my detailed answer. But honestly, I roll the dice often; switching between amps, guitars, pedals, and supporting accessories. It's a point of pride for me that whatever gear I take, it works and gets the job done. Not because of luck, but because I use my gear a lot at home and rehearsal, and that's as much what you're doing in those situations as you are learning the parts, or what not. I'm no virtuoso, but whatever I play I pretty much sound like me. I align with the notion that tone is in the fingers, so I roll to a gig with whatever feels right for the night. And that can depend as much on travel logistics, bar seediness, setlist, aesthetics, etc.

I play bass most of the time and guitar on like 5-6 songs a night.

I have a Fender Rumble 800 combo with a 1x15 extension cab. Overkill in some situations, but better to have more than less, right? That, paired with a Squier P Bass (with Buddha pup) gets the job done. Oh, I do run my bass through my guitar pedalboard. Mostly for the tuner, but I'm zero opposed to punching in a boost, OD or whatever if the song calls for it.

On the guitar side:
Always gotta have delay and some dirt/boost (if the amp doesn't do all that itself). My gig amps have reverb onboard.

For bar gigs I like to leave the pricey stuff safely at home. I'll rock any of the following amps: Katana 100 1x12 combo or Fender ToneMaster Twin Reverb; mayyybe something nicer if I can bring it in at the last minute and keep a close eye on it. Lately, I've been using a "B" pedalboard for gigs (gets the job done...won't make me cry myself to sleep if something happens to it). That, plus any of my fav, non-expensive guitars fits the bill.

For parties, if the conditions are right, I'll be willing to bring out some higher caliber equipment. First of all, my friends are all mature and responsible. Even their pets are. Secondly, if it's an outdoor gig, you need a bit of oomph to make the whole neighborhood boogie. In that case, the ToneMaster Twin is the least I'd roll with (200 watts, 2x12).

I got an Orange Rockerverb 50 combo just before a big outdoor party gig this summer in a spot where we could be LOUD. I took that AND my Marshall 4x12 cab. Together, it was 50 aggressive tube watts through 6 twelves...nothing wrong with that at all.

tonebender wrote: ↑Thu Oct 26, 2023 10:03 pm It sort of boils down to a low wattage tube amp, a couple OD pedals and a guitar.

Add a delay and I'm the same. We haven't had a gig in a while but that's my practice rig to a "T." 'Just spoke to a bar manager and we going to book something in mid-December.

My home rig looks like this and does what I'd like it to do capably. The dog, too.

tlarson58 wrote: ↑Fri Oct 27, 2023 8:48 am

tonebender wrote: ↑Thu Oct 26, 2023 10:03 pm It sort of boils down to a low wattage tube amp, a couple OD pedals and a guitar. Over the years I have had at least a kazillion different pedals, mic, guitars, etc. but this the combination that has prevailed. Many years of experience brought me to this set up. It fits the music we play.

My home rig looks like this and does what I'd like it to do capably. The dog, too.


Both.jpg

Congrats on the bar gigs!

I was looking at your studio set up and thought of a really inexpensive mod to make your monitors sound more precise. Cover your work desk that holds the monitors, with a couple of old beachtowels or two tablecloths. It will cut down on the standing reflections of the treble frequencies. It will also tighten up the bass and dampen any rattling on the workspace, by decoupling the speakers from the table.

My last gig was at a picnic and was basically an open jam, that at one point had 6 guitar players going at once. My tone was comfortable and was at the right frequencies that I could be heard without having to crank it and cause volume wars.

I used mostly AMI equipment (my home built, what else?): 2004 Andrews Les Paul, Lil Giant amp (50w tube - like a Dumble meets Mesa with reverb) with an additional 4x10 cab (just to get the amp to ear height, to keep the volume wars down), Duality overdrive pedal (my take on an ODR-1 into a King of Tone) and Black Magic for boost (like a Fender Black Panel amp tone). Also on the board was a EH2020 tuner (have to purposefully tune one-cent flat) and a Keeley Halo echo set to a tape type echo.

My preferred rig:

- Orange CR120H: it's overkill for most of what I need, but I love the tone, and after struggling with volume and headroom at some gigs where I used a different amp, I'd rather have too much than too little. (I've never had to bring my own cab, although I do have a 2x10 I could use if I really needed.)

- Line6 wireless unit: I like having the freedom of being wireless.

- Plutoneium Chi-Wah-Wah: I don't use a wah very much, but this one sounds great and has a small footprint

- ProCo Rat: Not so much for the distortion per se as for balancing between the channels of the Orange.

- Channel-switching pedal


Occasionally also

- EHX East River Drive: If I'm not using the Orange, I put the ERD before the Rat and use it to shape the tone.

- Earthquaker Arrows: at the end of the signal chain for solo boosts, if I'm not using the Orange.

I don't gig anymore but when I did, depending on the venue size I used either a Messa Boogie lonestar 2x12 or a Messa Boogie Studio 22. I changed out the pedals on my pedalboard so often I can't really say what was on it other than I always had the MXR 10 band EQ on it. Again depending on the venue I sometimes just had our sound guy drop a mic in front of the amp and run it through the PA.

THIS WAS OUR SETUP FOR AN ACOUSTIC GIG

I haven’t gigged since before my son was born, but I’m still wearing out the Orange OR15|EVH 1x12 with a tube screamer clone in front setup. Almost exclusively playing the Gibson Mustaine V, I think I’ve picked up the LTDs a couple of times at most.
But the boy just turned one recently, and he always loves it when I play, so I just play for him, that counts as a gig right? Lol.

Short and curly of it:
Gibson Mustaine V EXP
Rattlesnake Cable Co Cables
ModCo Tubescreamer OD
Orange OR15
EVH 1x12

LancerTheGreat wrote: ↑Fri Oct 27, 2023 11:43 pm
Short and curly of it:
Gibson Mustaine V EXP
Rattlesnake Cable Co Cables
ModCo Tubescreamer OD
Orange OR15
EVH 1x12

Love it.

My rig is undergoing a redo. I had a Bassman 10 but sold it and brought the old rack out. I'm also putting a guitar and bass friendly pedalboard together. The current rig is:
SWR Goliath III cab
GK MB200 amp
MIJ P Bass, Rickenbacker 4003 or Squier P Bass
Rack with RackRider, Pitchblack tuner, dbx 166XL, Sansamp RBI
Pedals (not using live yet):
EHX Small Stone Nano
BOSS TR-2
TC Electronic Spark
Joyo Ultimate Drive (in the mail)
Probably an EHX Memory Toy soon

The Bassman 10 was cool but only 50 watts and front/top heavy. The GK is 200 watts and it doesn't keep up with my Doom band, I use the guitarist's Ampeg for those gigs. I'll probably get a rackmount power amp to replace the GK. The dbx is likely on the way out, too.

LancerTheGreat wrote: ↑Fri Oct 27, 2023 11:43 pm I haven’t gigged since before my son was born, but I’m still wearing out the Orange OR15|EVH 1x12 with a tube screamer clone in front setup. Almost exclusively playing the Gibson Mustaine V, I think I’ve picked up the LTDs a couple of times at most.
But the boy just turned one recently, and he always loves it when I play, so I just play for him, that counts as a gig right? Lol.

Short and curly of it:
Gibson Mustaine V EXP
Rattlesnake Cable Co Cables
ModCo Tubescreamer OD
Orange OR15
EVH 1x12

That's the best gig of all. Cherish these times, hold them close, and remember them when he's 16 and thinks you're the biggest idiot on the face of the Earth.

LancerTheGreat wrote: ↑Fri Oct 27, 2023 11:43 pm I haven’t gigged since before my son was born, but I’m still wearing out the Orange OR15|EVH 1x12 with a tube screamer clone in front setup. Almost exclusively playing the Gibson Mustaine V, I think I’ve picked up the LTDs a couple of times at most.
But the boy just turned one recently, and he always loves it when I play, so I just play for him, that counts as a gig right? Lol.

Short and curly of it:
Gibson Mustaine V EXP
Rattlesnake Cable Co Cables
ModCo Tubescreamer OD
Orange OR15
EVH 1x12

A Gibson, a tube amp and a Tubescreamer is exactly how I roll. I do have this new AMI Dumblicious pedal that is getting a lot of airplay.