grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

[PVFan]

think I found mine. Wolfgang, OCD, TSAmp, 212 w/ Greenbacks. Just that and a few spare tubes, fuses, and cables are all I need to bring. The pedal can sit on top of the amp and just stay on. I was looking for a small and simple affair with no dialing in needed. During the journey I was able to get smaller (watts, no. of speakers, size) but not better. I am hoping this is the Goldilocks "just right" rig for most gigs and venues.


That's for rock / metal. Anything else, country, R&B, blooz, longhair, classical, is covered by something even smaller and simpler: a Tele straight in to a seriously bang-4-buck Carmen Ghia (less $$ new than many of the Peaveys I've owned) & Celestion Blue combination, no pedals at all. (everyone should try this: tele, ghia, blue = O face)


That's it. That's all of my guitar gear. One other speaker and a few pedals, and a collector axe in its case. Nothing else. If I find something that is better for anything I will use that instead.


Anybody else using/gigging cheap crap and getting $3000 tone anyway?

 

[Bludave]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

I have a Deluxe Reverb that is as portable as I need to get. I usually bring a Strat or Tele and something with buckers too, then my pedalboard which is setup with a CE2, DD3, TS9, Wah & Tuner..... Good to go. I can be setup & ready to play in 5 minutes.

 

[aleclee]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

Modded Hot Rod Deluxe. Lovely cleans, tasty drive, it needs no pedals unless I'm looking for modulation or delay.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

Modded Hot Rod Deluxe. Lovely cleans, tasty drive, it needs no pedals unless I'm looking for modulation or delay.

What mod does yours have? I always think about the Omega mod for my DeVille 212, but I always say to myself, "if you have to mod it, you might have the wrong amp."

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

1x8", 15 watts.


I gigged mine a lot. Brought a dynamic mic, and a mic stand everywhere I took it and gave the soundguy my XLR cable from the mic and said "here ya go."

Sound guys love it, because it doesn't pollute the soundstage, I love it because it sounds good and can do every tone in the book pretty well, and it's literally the only amp I've ever been using when getting complimented on my guitar tone.

Also of note, made me a better on-stage team player --- it forced me to learn how to communicate with FOH, trust monitor mixes, etcetera.

Here it is at the illustrious church gig (shown for scale).

 

[post toastie]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

Guitar of Choice / Backstage Plus. 1 trip.

maybe a mic for the PA, but often not needed.

 

[post toastie]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

1x8", 15 watts.


I gigged mine a lot. Brought a dynamic mic, and a mic stand everywhere I took it and gave the soundguy my XLR cable from the mic and said "here ya go."

Sound guys love it, because it doesn't pollute the soundstage, I love it because it sounds good and can do every tone in the book pretty well, and it's literally the only amp I've ever been using when getting complimented on my guitar tone.

Also of note, made me a better on-stage team player --- it forced me to learn how to communicate with FOH, trust monitor mixes, etcetera.

Here it is at the illustrious church gig (shown for scale).

that's what i'm talking about.:yourock:

 

[PVFan]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

but then, I could add *just* the delay ...

but then, as long as I'm doing that I might as well get a pedal board for em

but then, as long as I'm doing that I might as well add the Plimmy, and the Stone that is Small

but then, as long as I'm doing that I might as well get a GOOD tuner and a GOOD pedal board

but then, as long as I'm doing that I might as well bring along an extension cab, or maybe get a bigger cab again!

but then, as long as I'm doing that I might as well

but




no more but thens :cussing:

think I found mine. Wolfgang, OCD, TSAmp, 212 w/ Greenbacks. Just that and a few spare tubes, fuses, and cables are all I need to bring. The pedal can sit on top of the amp and just stay on. I was looking for a small and simple affair with no dialing in needed. During the journey I was able to get smaller (watts, no. of speakers, size) but not better. I am hoping this is the Goldilocks "just right" rig for most gigs and venues.


That's for rock / metal. Anything else, country, R&B, blooz, longhair, classical, is covered by something even smaller and simpler: a Tele straight in to a seriously bang-4-buck Carmen Ghia (less $$ new than many of the Peaveys I've owned) & Celestion Blue combination, no pedals at all. (everyone should try this: tele, ghia, blue = O face)


That's it. That's all of my guitar gear. One other speaker and a few pedals, and a collector axe in its case. Nothing else. If I find something that is better for anything I will use that instead.


Anybody else using/gigging cheap crap and getting $3000 tone anyway?

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

One of the best tones I ever heard was a guy in Folly Beach, SC playing a Vinetto Tele and a Dr. Z Mini-Z.

Yeah, it's nice stuff, but the point is, this guy was playing a Tele through a 1x10 combo and FILLING the entire giant outdoor bar with delicious, full, rich, warm guitar.

 

[Mincer]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

The small rig? Tube Screamer, Delay and Reverb Pedal into a Tech 21 Character Series Blonde amp modeler and then into the PA.

 

[crguti]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

small rig? no way. at least a 50 watts head with 2x12" closed cab.

 

[PVFan]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

small rig? no way. at least a 50 watts head with 2x12" closed cab.

sounds grab n go to me! doesn't have to be small *sounding* !

 

[aleclee]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

What mod does yours have? I always think about the Omega mod for my DeVille 212, but I always say to myself, "if you have to mod it, you might have the wrong amp."

Mine is modded by Omega. I generally agree with "if you have to mod it" but since it's really just a backup rig, cost weighs more heavily for me than maximizing quality. It was never meant to be my #1 amp so I'm less concerned about having a great amp than a good amp that didn't set me back too much.

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

sounds grab n go to me! doesn't have to be small *sounding* !

A twin reverb is less than half the size of a halfstack and is louder than many of em, and has a tone you can hear on albums in most every genre. That's pretty grab and go IMO. You can also pick up a used RI for less than the price of a new tiny terror

 

[WhoFan]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

i have many rigs that fit this bill... but a few basic pedals, a C30 and any of my guitars is the main small and cheaper rig... and i have used that same rig for many years now... it's the first one i grab for a jam session, a band practice, or a bar gig if i ever do another... a c30 is loud enough, fits in one hand and works well with my pedals...

i paid about $250 for the C30 used, a few used pedals at $30-$50 each, and my work horse cheapie is a 1999 MIM Standard Strat that i grabbed for $199... added a used Duncan Custom into the Bridge for $50... sounds great for roughly a $600 rig...

 

[WhoFan]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

a few odd times if someone has a good PA or a Spare keyboard amp i've in the past used an older POD 2.0 with a cable and guitar into it... not my favourite set up but it can work... not really into MutiFX and modelers but sometimes you have to experiement...

it's funny but the other day on youtube i watched a pile of tour rig videos... Megadeth, Rush, and a bunch others... some of these guys have $20,000 amp set ups but no speakers cabs with it... they basicly have the worlds biggest pods in fridge size racks with palmers... i'm sure they sound better then Pods...

 

[WhoFan]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

one of the axes i started using with that old POD was a pawnshop prize Fernandes... $99 for an 80's superstrat with a quality floyd copy... The POD cost me $150 i think years ago and the guitar was $99....

 

[TwofacePimp]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

Mine is modded by Omega. I generally agree with "if you have to mod it" but since it's really just a backup rig, cost weighs more heavily for me than maximizing quality. It was never meant to be my #1 amp so I'm less concerned about having a great amp than a good amp that didn't set me back too much.

I had an Omega modded HR Deville. When the amp needed repairs I decided to send it for the mod instead of just having it repaired by a local tech. It did make the amp quite a bit better (both channels), but in the end I ended up selling it because it didn't have enough clean headroom for me, and there was a motivated buyer.

As nice as the amp was, I wish I would've just spent the extra bucks and bought a twin reverb instead. Of course back then I was a metalhead who didn't know that a clean channel is sometimes meant to distort a little :smack: In the end, "if you have to mod it"...

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

62 Fender Deluxe and a ZVEX Box of Rock...if I can crank the Deluxe i'm good plus the BOOST side of the BoR lets me go to 11...if I can't crank the Deluxe I just use the BoR for both dirt and boost.

Even more grab and go that that...just the Box of Rock and use whatever backline amp is there...

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: grab n go rigs, nothing special, sound great anyway - got one?

Vox Little Night Train, 1x12 loaded with ... anything, but probably something high-efficiency like a V30 ... boost pedal. That's about it. With the right guitar I can get a ton of tones out of that little rig!