My next rig ideas

O

OlinMusic

New member
Right now I am thinking of selling almost everything and returning anything borrowed and going with these options

Pedal (OCD, ToneBone, etc) --> FX unit (for verbs or distortions, Boss SE70 or ADA MP1) ---> Marshall SLP and G12H30s

(note: The FX unit allow me to get a pretty darn good clean tone out of the plexi)

THEN

possibly running that in a 2 amp setup with a Fender Deluxe for cleans

OR

Same Marshall rig with a Bogner Shiva Combo as the second amp

I am actually finding that a Plexi with an attenuator, set to Vol 4- 5 and FX sounds better than a lot of tube amps I have used.


I was thinking of either keeping this as my hard rock rig and then having another amp.

Amp #2 should be????? Bogner Shiva? Ecstasy (or is that too similar to having the Marshall SLP with FX). I have to admit the Shiva with the Plexi can sound quite similar as well, though the FX into the Plexi can make the Plexi sound very modern!

OR OR OR should I get a high gain head like an uberschall or Recto?

I want to pair back what I own, and have something so I can play everything from country to r&b to modern hard rock/metal without having 10 amps.

Something gig and road worthy!
 
Last edited:
Re: My next rig ideas

tell you what
i'll be nice and take that marshall of your hands for ya :laugh2:
 
Re: My next rig ideas

OlinMusic said:
You are so giving. You know I met Mother Teresa once in 1995, you remind me so much of her.
Click to expand...
:eek13: :laugh2:

edit: olin, i just looked at your merchandise page. that olin thong is interesting........:laugh2:
 
Re: My next rig ideas

OlinMusic said:
Right now I am thinking of selling almost everything and returning anything borrowed and going with these options

Pedal (OCD, ToneBone, etc) --> FX unit (for verbs or distortions, Boss SE70 or ADA MP1) ---> Marshall SLP and G12H30s

(note: The FX unit allow me to get a pretty darn good clean tone out of the plexi)

THEN

possibly running that in a 2 amp setup with a Fender Deluxe for cleans

OR

Same Marshall rig with a Bogner Shiva Combo as the second amp

I am actually finding that a Plexi with an attenuator, set to Vol 4- 5 and FX sounds better than a lot of tube amps I have used.


I was thinking of either keeping this as my hard rock rig and then having another amp.

Amp #2 should be????? Bogner Shiva? Ecstasy (or is that too similar to having the Marshall SLP with FX). I have to admit the Shiva with the Plexi can sound quite similar as well, though the FX into the Plexi can make the Plexi sound very modern!

OR OR OR should I get a high gain head like an uberschall or Recto?

I want to pair back what I own, and have something so I can play everything from country to r&b to modern hard rock/metal without having 10 amps.

Something gig and road worthy!
Click to expand...

That seems near impossible. A two-amp rig will get you there, though. Maybe...

Bad Cat Hot Cat 15 or 30R for cleans/light blues stuff and...
Bogner Shiva for everything else?
You could get a Tonebone Headswitcher thing and run both heads into the same cab, just not at the same time. That seems smart, as the whole two-amp rig isn't as bulky: two heads and a cab opposed to a head-cab thing AND a combo.
 
Re: My next rig ideas

One thing I noticed is that the Fulldrive II adds a Fenderish quality to Marshall cleans, when you run the FDII's volume high and gain low. Then, you're just adding it's tonal flavor to the Marshall. I know we talk a lot about expensive amps, but if you have several pedals at your disposal, you can shape the sound many different ways. You have a lot of nice gear, so sometimes it's better to stop jonesing, and just spend hours tweaking what you have.

I know I'm as guilty as anyone of jonesing on new stuff, but in reality, I usually use a few of my favorite pieces, and just spend hours discovering what they're capable of. I like concentrating on my playing moreso than freaking out about gear. I guess during the day, I have too much time to think! LOL
 
Re: My next rig ideas

Gearjoneser said:
You have a lot of nice gear, so sometimes it's better to stop jonesing, and just spend hours tweaking what you have.

I know I'm as guilty as anyone of jonesing on new stuff, but in reality, I usually use a few of my favorite pieces, and just spend hours discovering what they're capable of. I like concentrating on my playing moreso than freaking out about gear. I guess during the day, I have too much time to think! LOL
Click to expand...


Man, if there is anything I can give a big +1 on, it's this :fing2:

It's amazing how much happier I am with my tone when I stop worrying about it, plug in, tweak and rock out. I think part of the reason I'm so happy with my Shiva is that I've spent time to get to know it inside out... I mean REALLY understand the amp. I can dial in the exact level of brightness, the cut, the thickness, the compression on the fly which is essential live. Even better, I've gotten good at learning what frequencies to boost with pedals to get the amp to react the way I want. I've spent time learning what tubes sound the best, what speakers all to cater the sound to what I want to hear in my head.

It's easy to wonder "is there something even better than _ (insert hot boutique product of the moment)", but it's more difficult to stomach the fact that gear just doesn't get much better at a certain point, so it's up to the individual to really get the most use out of it. I've learned that "the perfect amp or guitar" doesn't really exist. No gear will ever be instant perfection in every way. I could always sell the Shiva and try something else out there, there's plenty of temptation... Divided by 13 FTR 37 or ERT 33, Savage Blitz 50, Custom Audio Amplifiers OD-100 Classic, etc., but I know the Shiva fits me so it's silly to give it up so quickly for the next best thing.

I'm ashamed of myself for spending so much time looking for the next best piece of gear when I should have just been practicing my riffs because now I have to break out of playing sloppy.
 
Re: My next rig ideas

My whole idea is to step back and simplify

The thing is I do a lot of different situations so I never know what to do next. I only know that a good rig, brand names (people are label whores - "oh wow is that an old Marshall?), and classic tones are most important.

You can always sound like yourself if you want to, but I find the classic Marshall Grit, a bluesy breakup clean, and a Fender clean are needed for almost every gig. Line 6 stuff alone won't do it for me.

My idea is to either use FX stuff into a tube amp, and/or have a tube amp with an FX loop. Thus I think it's my 73 Marshall with some modern FX to get more high gain tones and milk other sounds, and have another small amp and/or something killer like a Shiva. The Ecstasy is great but damn pricey. I might get another gear hook up, so even a pricey head like that might be doable for me. Either way, I want less stuff. I work with 6 amps, and another 2 at the studio I have worked out of. Too much junk.
 
Re: My next rig ideas

I agree about downsizing to something reasonable, as long as it covers all the bases. I can only say what works best for me.

Les Paul and Strat
Ecstasy head and either a 4-12 or 2-12
Pedalboard that looks like NASA
A backpack to hold cables, spare tubes/fuses, strings, and the Holy Grail I put on top of the head.
 
Re: My next rig ideas

OlinMusic said:
You can always sound like yourself if you want to, but I find the classic Marshall Grit, a bluesy breakup clean, and a Fender clean are needed for almost every gig. Line 6 stuff alone won't do it for me.
Click to expand...

If you want true Fender cleans, you won't be happy with the Shiva. The Shiva is a Marshall plexi-like clean. For what you're looking for, it sounds like a Custom Audio Amplifiers OD-100 or OD-50 would be up your alley. It gets Fender blackface on the first channel, can be boosted into a bluesy, SRV type tone and the overdrive channel is like a hotrodded Marshall (just not quite as thick as the Shiva). For your "all-in-one" type setup, that should be a strong option on your list. They aren't cheap, but I've seen a few sell used for quite a bit less than the new price (~$2100-2200 sold used versus $3000 new).
 
Re: My next rig ideas

Gearjoneser said:
One thing I noticed is that the Fulldrive II adds a Fenderish quality to Marshall cleans, when you run the FDII's volume high and gain low. Then, you're just adding it's tonal flavor to the Marshall. I know we talk a lot about expensive amps, but if you have several pedals at your disposal, you can shape the sound many different ways. You have a lot of nice gear, so sometimes it's better to stop jonesing, and just spend hours tweaking what you have.

I know I'm as guilty as anyone of jonesing on new stuff, but in reality, I usually use a few of my favorite pieces, and just spend hours discovering what they're capable of. I like concentrating on my playing moreso than freaking out about gear. I guess during the day, I have too much time to think! LOL
Click to expand...


There is A LOT of wisdom right here! I could not agree more. I find myself jonesing over something new all the time, and realizing over and over again that the more time I spend "getting to know" pieces of gear the better off I am.

Have you guys checked out Mike Fuller's rig on his website? Pretty cool and capable of delivering such a variety of useful tones! I am sort of copying him, but using HIWATTs. Ends up similar to a scaled down David Gilmour rig.

Clayton
 
Re: My next rig ideas

A lot of brands sound cool but from Rivera, Budda, Fender, Marshall etc
I would say MAtchless has me intrigued. I have never vibed well with Bad Cat and I cannot explain why.

Marshalls are my fave, but after that it's Bogner - alwats keep me reeling. I played a situation against a guy with a Divided by 13 and WOW that thing sounded amazing for cleans and pedals.
 
Re: My next rig ideas

how bout the supersonic?

it has clean cleans, OD cleans, and a real warm gain channel

if you throw in some new tubes & get yourself a pedal or 2, no reason why this shouldn't do it for you

another thing you could do is get a '59 bassman, throw in some warmer, cleaner power tubes, use that for cleans & kick on a TS when you want the bluesy stuff

and for the high gain you could either run a distortion pedal into it or get another one & set it differently. It won't do like mesa or jcm2000 high gain but it'll crunch up real well & give you one hell of a mean tone

don't forget that you can bridge the channels on those '59s, that'll open up a whole new tonal range for you
 
Re: My next rig ideas

Maybe you should go Hiwatt. A Hiwatt with pedals would be much like a plexi with pedals, but you would have a great clean tone at the foundation.
 
Re: My next rig ideas

hmmmmm HiWatt might work since I think Gilmour is god.

I dunno how I feel about Digital FX. The OCD is my measure of the best pedal tone I have ever heard for pure hit you in the face sound. Not necessarily a ton of saturation. I much prefer the HP mode.

I do bridge my 59 btw. It's just too f---in' loud. I need a better attenuator.

Supersonic? Nah, not for me. The Shiva is way more my style in that regard.

I am gonna go look at getting a TC G MAJOR today.

I sold my 6100 last night.
 
Re: My next rig ideas

OlinMusic said:
R

OR OR OR should I get a high gain head like an uberschall or Recto?


Something gig and road worthy!
Click to expand...

Yes! Yes! Yes!
 
Re: My next rig ideas

Olin...FWIW, a HiWatt sounds very little like a Plexi. It does have that brit vibe but the overall tone is not much like a Marshall at all to me.

If you want a nice simple rig why not get a Plexi and a good Fender amp for cleans (I use a Twin Reverb but as you know there are several that will do the job) then get the OCD (or distortion pedal of choice) maybe a good reverb pedal (I like the Holy Grail). That alone is a good basis for a killer rig...after that just add whatever flavers you need to get the job done.
 
Re: My next rig ideas

the_Chris said:
Man, if there is anything I can give a big +1 on, it's this :fing2:

It's amazing how much happier I am with my tone when I stop worrying about it, plug in, tweak and rock out. I think part of the reason I'm so happy with my Shiva is that I've spent time to get to know it inside out... I mean REALLY understand the amp. I can dial in the exact level of brightness, the cut, the thickness, the compression on the fly which is essential live. Even better, I've gotten good at learning what frequencies to boost with pedals to get the amp to react the way I want. I've spent time learning what tubes sound the best, what speakers all to cater the sound to what I want to hear in my head.

It's easy to wonder "is there something even better than _ (insert hot boutique product of the moment)", but it's more difficult to stomach the fact that gear just doesn't get much better at a certain point, so it's up to the individual to really get the most use out of it. I've learned that "the perfect amp or guitar" doesn't really exist. No gear will ever be instant perfection in every way. I could always sell the Shiva and try something else out there, there's plenty of temptation... Divided by 13 FTR 37 or ERT 33, Savage Blitz 50, Custom Audio Amplifiers OD-100 Classic, etc., but I know the Shiva fits me so it's silly to give it up so quickly for the next best thing.

I'm ashamed of myself for spending so much time looking for the next best piece of gear when I should have just been practicing my riffs because now I have to break out of playing sloppy.
Click to expand...
Pretty much what I love so much about my little Fuchs.

The very best money I've spent on gear is having the Artist footswitch upgrade done to this little tone monster.

I use no pedals at all with it...reverb/OD/mid boost/gain boost at my feet with the upgrade & it friggin' ROCKS!!!

No tweaking or d!ckin' around....ya' plug in & play...and smile profusely !!! :D
 
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