Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

Andrew Lamprecht

Andrew Lamprecht

Minion of One
I am just curious I guess. I have a friend who brings a tele and a large pedalboard with all his effects/dirt he wants to all his gigs and he said he has never been let down and it is actually more convenient. He has played around 90 gigs in the last 5 years using the same rig, he just has a little practice amp that stays clean at home. Got rid of his Deville I think it was a while back.
EDIT: No, it was a Bandmaster.

I saw this article a few days ago and found it kinda interesting.

http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazi...ig_Getting_Great_Tones_With_Minimal_Gear.aspx

I know of one guy on the TDPRI who keeps his amps at home and just gigs with a tech 21 blonde pedal into the PA. He brings a small board along with a reverb, delay, and some overdrive.

Seems like an interesting way to go about things but maybe more convenient. I know the ONLY local place to gig living in a small town has only a Peavey Bandit but my old Tech 21 Sansamp actually sounded pretty good into a little SS amp. Would probably sound a lot better with bigger speakers.

Anyone here do this or something like it?
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

Negative.

Although I do use less pedals live, I'm always using my A rig. Just less stuff in the chain to worry about as far as pedals go.

I can see using a smaller rig live if you are playing out constantly, but I've never really played out consistently enough for it to be an issue. I did about two years of a gig a week, but that was just my acoustic and a few pedals.

My amp/cab are lighter these days compared to my 100 watt head/4x12 days. And I'll never buy a guitar/pedal/amp that I won't play live.
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

Generally I use my head/ 4 x 12 plus pedal board but for small/ cramped venues where space is an issue I just take a small combo and a Wah.
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

I have a main rig and a practice rig. I gig and rehearse with the main rig, and practice at home with the practice rig.

I've pondered if it would be useful to have a "B" rig for smaller rooms/stages. My thinking was to get a 1x12 for my Mark V, switch it down to 10 watts, and put together a small, basic pedal board. We're not actively looking for gigs at the moment, so there's no real reason to do it.
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

Most of the venues around here lack a real PA system, so the DI idea wouldn't work unless you brought your own PA to support it... which kind of defeats the purpose IMO.
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

Not a 'gigging' guy per se. However, I fully support this approach. Used to play in a band with Boss ME-6. Ran into a Peavey clean amp, small 1x12 combo.

But could have easily gone direct.

I have always said it's about setting the knobs correctly. every pedal has its place. Learn it.

A tech 21 pedal could easily work for this IMO. A POD? duh...
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

Just don't get this approach. I would never do that. First, I would never play without an amp that I love, unless you had to count on a back line/rental scenario. There is a band that plays around where I live that my wife likes, top 40 type thing. The guitarist uses some solid state direct into pa setup. One of the worst guitar tones ever. Sounds thin, papery, sterile, and weak. The clean sounds terrible, the OD sounds are even worse. Like I said, I just don't get it. If you are so lazy that you can't haul a Deluxe or other decent sounding combo and some pedals, just stay home.

Having said that, they pack bars with women who like the songs they play and wouldn't know a good guitar tone from bad, so maybe it really doesn't matter to the audience, but it sure matters to me. I need inspiration from my rig!
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

i see how it can make sense for some people, but that's not something I would ever want to do.

I don't care how good the PA and the soundguy are, when it comes to playing live, i want to play the rig that makes me feel like a million bucks on stage. Part of that is hearing the sound of my own amp roaring.

Using a little modeling rig or scaled down mini-rig or whatever is never going to accomplish the same thing for me.
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

Would having something like a Crate Powerblock with you in case your head fails count as a B rig? Just curious. I've wanted to pick one up forever - they don't sound too bad for what they are, especially considering the price - but whenever I have spare cash it's the last thing on my GAS list.
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

ConvoysToNothingness said:
i see how it can make sense for some people, but that's not something I would ever want to do.

I don't care how good the PA and the soundguy are, when it comes to playing live, i want to play the rig that makes me feel like a million bucks on stage. Part of that is hearing the sound of my own amp roaring.

Using a little modeling rig or scaled down mini-rig or whatever is never going to accomplish the same thing for me.
Click to expand...

+1
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

Agileguy_101 said:
Would having something like a Crate Powerblock with you in case your head fails count as a B rig? Just curious. I've wanted to pick one up forever - they don't sound too bad for what they are, especially considering the price - but whenever I have spare cash it's the last thing on my GAS list.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't consider that a B rig... it's more of a backup.

Having a foolproof/failproof backup is always a good idea..but that's just in case your A-rig goes bust, it's not a completely different rig.
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

I've thought about getting another Bassman for backups when I start gigging. It's not too difficult, as they're pretty cheap... worst case, around $700 after having it brought to ideal operating condition, or $450 if the seller has done that for you. But the idea of lugging around another heavy ass amp head on the off chance mine takes a crap? No thank you... I'd rather get a Powerblock that weighs nothing and suffer through a mediocre tonal night.
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

I am now running a B rig. I got a Vox Tonelab SE the other day and plan to use it in smaller venues. In the summer we play outside so much I like having my A rig there so I can turn it up a bit and feel the noise. Smaller gigs I have to save space as much as possible. I love my amp but lugging it up and down snow covered stairs and ramps can get a bit scary at times and if I get hurt I'd get fired from my job in a heartbeat. Yes, the people I work for are just that nice. Broke a finger at work, bosses reply "you don't need to go to the doctor they won't do anything for you" and after hyper extending both elbows same stuff. Working for mom and pop type places is a buggar especially if mom is a um how do I say Cant Understand Normal Thinking. Sorry for the sidetrack, B rig, yes.
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

I run my B rig at practice and keep my A rig at home and for gigs.
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

Hmm... really depends. In the past, I used to own one amp and that was my rig that I took everywhere. For a long time I did not understand why anyone would own more than one amp. Well..... Now here I sit with 4 different amps, all of which could or have been gigged in a capacity.

These days I'm really into getting my overdriven sound from the amp and not the pedal. Since I don't have any amps that have a master volume knob, this means selecting the right amp for the gig.
Large or outdoor stage: Bassman 4x10 combo (use pedals for OD)
Medium/large gig: Custom Vibrolux Reverb 2x10 combo (use pedals for OD)
Small/medium club gig: 5E3 Deluxe 1x12 combo (with attenuator and almost no OD pedal use)
Small bar/pub: Fender SF Champ 1x8 (straight, no pedals)

For band practices I usually just use the Champ and crank it to 8 or 9. Definitely loud enough to keep up unmiked and I've got a hard hitting drummer. If I use anything bigger/louder, the vocal section starts complaining that they can't hear themselves properly.
 
Re: Does anyone here use a "B-Rig?"

I've only played at venues with their own gear - Mostly Marshall or Mesa rigs, so only had to bring my pedal board and guitar.
I'm bandless atm tho, so haven't gigged since april.
 
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