NAD, New Pickups, and beginnings of a home studio

[SZjammin83]

Got a Fender Super Sonic 60 1x12 combo for a steal, got some new pickups for my LP and my Strat, and getting going with what is so far a makeshift home studio. Using Bias FX 2 and Reaper with my home studio equipment along with a new HP Pavilion with 12GB RAM and an i7 processor (gave my girl the other laptop when I upgraded... easy way to make her happy with a new gear buy), a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 3rd gen, two 8 inch Sterling Audio Studio Monitors, and a Sennheiser HD 300 Pro Studio Headset. I've also been noodling alot through a Spark 40 I got around Xmas time. New Pearly Gates in my Gibson Les Paul Standard, and new Alnico II Pros in my Fender Stratocaster. Been having ALOT of fun in this little music room lately! Deleted my last post to put this updated one up, didn't want to double up.

 

[gsammo79]

I'm jealous, man. I'm just jealous. Badass amp and rig.

How do you like the PG set so far?

 

[Condemned soul]

Supersonics are awesome amps. How are you liking the clean channel with the two voicings?

 

[Artie]

Nice setup. I love my little Scarlett and Reaper. Still learning Reaper. Enjoy.

 

[SZjammin83]

I'm jealous, man. I'm just jealous. Badass amp and rig.

How do you like the PG set so far?

It's definitely a work in progress, but I couldn't be happier with all of it. I got the amp from a guy who was the original owner, it was kept in a music room and had all the paperwork including the cardboard advertising insert they put on top of the amp when they sell them new. I couldn't believe it. And its is indeed a killer amp. It's my 2nd Fender. The 1st was my 1st tube amp ever, a Hot Rod DeVille 4x10 combo and really wasn't my thing I quickly realized. But this one is a whole nother animal and I love the Vibrolux and Bassman circuits on channel one, they are some beautiful cleans just like you would expect from a good Fender amp, and the Burn channel can do anything from mild crunch, to an SRV pushed tone, to all out gain madness. I was looking at AC30s till I saw this amp and I still plan on getting my hands on one, but definitely glad I jumped on this Super Sonic when I did.

The Pearly Gates are killer. I love the warmth of Alnico II's in my LP. The set I took out was a Gibson 57' Classic/ 57" Classic Plus set that I put in almost immediately after buying the LP to replace the Burstbucker Pros that came in it from the factory. I still love the 57' set, but these Pearly Gates are in that same ball park, but just the right amount hotter, so the neck pickup has more definition and is more articulate, each note seems to stand out just a bit more, they sound great through anything, but killer through the Fender cranked up a bit, whether clean or dirty.

I never thought I would go digital in any way shape or form, but I have to be honest, they've begun to get SO CLOSE. Playing through the Spark and on my PC with the Bias FX 2 rig have turned me on to so many tones that I never knew I was missing and the reality is, I could never afford that many amps, so it's been alot of fun to use those tools to explore tones and try out different effects. It's really something else and with the 8 inch monitors, I can crank it up loud and jam out just like through a good amp and I get all the low end I would get from a cab. The program has killer IRs for celestion loaded cabs and it's just fun AF and inspiring. Thanks for taking a look. I've got other stuff in the making and when I add something new I will post.

BTW, I rarely buy new gear. I am constantly on CL and FB and forums checking out gear. I did buy my pickups new. But you can find all types of great deals if you constantly keep feelers out in local classifieds.

 

[SZjammin83]

Nice setup. I love my little Scarlett and Reaper. Still learning Reaper. Enjoy.

Right... Learning Reaper seems like a never ending story/process

 

[SZjammin83]

Supersonics are awesome amps. How are you liking the clean channel with the two voicings?

Love both of the clean channels. Think I'm going to get a good EQ to put in the loop though to have a bit more control over the mids and overall tone. Definitely a killer combo though. Been alot of fun

 

[Mincer]

I don't know a whole lot about the Super Sonics, other than people who own them really like them. How can you compare them to a more well known Fender model (Super, or Deluxe).

 

[CaptainWhizz]

Dregen from The Backyard Babies / The Hellacopters has used Fender Super Sonics, that’s a good enough endorsement for me!

I should try out the Amplitube sim. What sort of tones do you get out of it? I hear it’s pretty damn versatile.