Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

[jony]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

Actually Eric Johnson's signal path to the amp is pretty simple.

Its what happpens post mic that gets pretty complicated.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

If i'm using the 5150 stack i only have a Boss Chorus in the FX Loop and turn it on and off with the amps footswitch.... Odd time i will use a Flanger in it's place, not often...

My larger Pedal Board is for my Classic 30 combo or my Classic 50 head and cab.... I have a few OD's and Distortions but the only time based FX is the Chorus.... a Boss Line Selector pedal and a Boss Chorus.... And a Morley A/B box so i can switch my cord off to change guitars and switch to a tuner..

Signal path is A/B Box, Line Selector with a DS1 on loop A, and a Danolectro Fab Tone in Loop B, Tube Screamer-(for adding punch to the amps own dirt channel), then the Chorus and out...

Between using the amps own distortion and these FX units i have a multi amp like set up that can get me any tones from blues to metal in an instant... Most amazing set up i have found yet.

I have enough FX boxes to make a 2nd back up pedalboard.... just need another Line Selector pedal..... I swear by those things.. You can use one Distortion in one loop for a rythym tone, and switch to a different distortion in the other loop and get a large volume boost for solos at the same time!!!!!

PS- a very interesting Clean tone is my C50 head into a 4x12, my Godin with the neck humbucker and piezo's mixed, and the Boss Chorus!!!!! OH MY! Lush!!!!

That's cool having a couple rigs like that. Before my Marshall's PT went, all I ran in the FX loop after a while was a delay, and it was always on. Out front was a booster or OD, maybe my wah, and the amp footswitch. I started the trim-down process quite a while back. Now I'm just seeing if I can go any further with it.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

Actually Eric Johnson's signal path to the amp is pretty simple.

Its what happpens post mic that gets pretty complicated.

http://www.guitarplayer.com/story.asp?sectioncode=4&storycode=10270

Yeah, real simple alright. That's more anal retentive than anything (read the tour of his live rig about half way down). :laugh2:

Yes, the man has chops and can play, no doubt about it, but some of his assertions (like the Tube Driver on a block) are loaded with mojo. No ground pin? Is he nuts???

 

[Bezmotivnik]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

I used to run like 6 pedals and it was nuts. I got tired of tapdancing so I trimmed it down.

There are few things that kill the mood for me and signal "BAND DOESN'T GET IT!" more than guys fidgeting with gear while they're supposed to be performing.

That's yet another reason to hate jam bands, too. :laugh2:

 

[ErikH]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

There are few things that kill the mood for me and signal "BAND DOESN'T GET IT!" more than guys fidgeting with gear while they're supposed to be performing.

That's yet another reason to hate jam bands, too. :laugh2:

I agree. If they can't at least show they're appreciative of the audience being there because of being too busy fiddling with the pedalboard during and in between songs, it doesn't impress me.

I like the shows where the music is not only good, but the band is interactive as well, and that is how I like to be. I may start out a little shy but after the first song or two, game on. So, the less I have to step on and fiddle with out front, the more I can have fun.

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

There are few things that kill the mood for me and signal "BAND DOESN'T GET IT!" more than guys fidgeting with gear while they're supposed to be performing.

That's yet another reason to hate jam bands, too. :laugh2:

AGREED!

 

[doveman]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

I like the "just use cord" route ... but everyone's different.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

That's cool having a couple rigs like that. Before my Marshall's PT went, all I ran in the FX loop after a while was a delay, and it was always on. Out front was a booster or OD, maybe my wah, and the amp footswitch. I started the trim-down process quite a while back. Now I'm just seeing if I can go any further with it.

ya i had to have a rig that could do Van Halen's Ice Cream Man and then Supertramp's Give A Little bit next kind of thing... I got tired of lugging 2 tube heads, a cab and bunch of other gear.... The tube head rig still sounds the best when it is all together, but i almost need a roadie... It's close to a Bradshaw kind of thing....

I prefer the Guitar Cord Amp route myself... If i could find a band that i could just use the 5150 and nothing else i'd be happy.... But i find i always need completely clean sounds as well...

But the rigs i made for my Classic 30 and Classic 50 amps are almost like having a POD but using real stuff.... I still have not 100% jelled with Modeling but maybe the VOX will help in that area....

Using a Godin with the Piezo bridge meant i could get away without an acoustic.... The singer used a real acoustic so i just needed to get some nice sounds but not completely acoustic sounding.... The piezo's i'd mix with the neck humbucker into the clean channel of the C50 for Give A Little Bit... At some phases i'd turn the chorus on and off thru-out the tune..

Next i'd be using the bridge humbucker and the DS1 for some Deep Purple, Then switch to a Jackson guitar with a Floyd for some Van Halen and use the Fab Tone for Solos.... Turning the chorus on for Solos as well from time to time, but just for a quick second as it does begin to sound funny using it too much.... And a stock tele for some Zeppelin tunes thru the amps own Distortion Channel...

 

[ErikH]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

Well, we had rehearsal yesterday and I did what I said I was gonna do, not run any pedals other than the tuner (which really doesn't count anyway). After setup, I kept thinking what Skarey said, sink or swim. There were a few songs I was concerned about but just went with it. I was only going to find out how this works in this band one way. Well, after a few songs I was feeling pretty good. Did a few more and felt even better. Yeah, I was swimming and keeping my head above water and at the end of the day, was satisfied enough that my rig just got a little lighter. I'm still on the fence about the wah, just because it's something I *could* use here and there, we'll see. But right now it's not totally necessary.

The models that I'm using on my amp are the Black 2x12 (or Twin) for cleans, UK 80's (or JCM800 2203) for rhythm and some leads and the US High Gain (or Soldano) for the high gain stuff and leads. I get lighter drive with the 800 model just by rolling back the guitar volume. Two guitars covered everything, my Texas Specials loaded Strat and the Iron Maiden Strat (H-S config). My other guitars will be fine no doubt.

Sure, I could load up the floor and have a palette of sounds for every song we do, but I guess I just look at doing covers in a different way. I like to sound like me and retain that sound throughout the whole set/show. That's not saying I'm not going to at least get in the ballpark for what is called for, I'm just not going for the *exact* sound. Close enough or "it works" works for me. The vibe is much more important in my book.

My backup rig will need at least an overdrive out front (Marshall Lead 12). No biggie there. Everybody has a different set of tools for the job. Some have more tools in their toolbox than others. That's cool. It seems I've gone full circle and come back to the smaller toolbox lately. I love pedals, and always will. They'll just be used at home for fun and experimentation.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

Hey Erik,

Do (or did) you use the effects loop at all in the Valvetronix?

- Keith

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

I get really put off by the "Oh, I don't need all that crap" attitude a lot of guys have. You know, the ones who run guitar->amp and think they're better than the guy who uses pedals.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

Hey Erik,

Do (or did) you use the effects loop at all in the Valvetronix?

- Keith

The AD50VT doesn't have an effects loop. Only the 100 watter does. The only effect in the amp that I use is the reverb.

I get really put off by the "Oh, I don't need all that crap" attitude a lot of guys have. You know, the ones who run guitar->amp and think they're better than the guy who uses pedals.

Such as? Sorry, but I don't sense any of that in this thread.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

I have a crapload of pedals on a board . . . and while I might like to go Guitar -> amp for blues, jazz, and some classic rock stuff, I NEED my pedals to play many other songs (try playing "Run Like Hell" without a delay . . . or doing "Tales of Brave Ulysses" without a wah . . . it's missing somthing). It's also fun to have somthing that sounds different when you're at a jam with lots of guitarists - just so that you can tell it's you playing! I don't think that I could cut down my pedal collection to less than three . . . a phaser, a delay, and my wah.

 

[Rich_T]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

I get really put off by the "Oh, I don't need all that crap" attitude a lot of guys have. You know, the ones who run guitar->amp and think they're better than the guy who uses pedals.

Too right. Just because i've got 12 pedals infront of me doesn't mean I can't play the guitar like an old blues dinosaur, it means I don't want to.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

I get really put off by the "Oh, I don't need all that crap" attitude a lot of guys have. You know, the ones who run guitar->amp and think they're better than the guy who uses pedals.

?????? Sounds like you have had a bad experience... I have seen a few guys out there that are quite bold, say this way or that way is cr*p... but who cares they are not you.. do your own thing. I love Floyd Roses yet their is a million players out there that will bolding claim you can get by with out one and still stay in tune.. ya right.. Vai and Satch trem moves with a non-locking trem does not work well enough for me and most others..

I love wahs, delays flangers and chorus's and play with them all the time around the house... But getting in and out of clubs as light as you can would be is a major gear factor for guys that do gigging... That is why i'd love to find a 1x12 combo that does it all....

It's about less playing around with FX's and more just set up and go.... Being a fan of Floyd Genesis and a few others that use loads of effects i love playing around with that FX stuff...

I used to love adding Delay to my rigs for solos and stuff but my past Band members used to give me a hard time saying your a good enough player to not have to hide behind delay... oddly i didn't think i was trying to hide anything... i was adding a slight amount of delay for the hell of it...

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

With the crappy weather we had this past weekend I decided to go minimal on the pedals since I don't have a bag for my board yet. So, I only took my overdrive and the amp footswitch. The tuner is always there now regardless. Just tossed 'em in my cable bag and went.

That sure made for a little quicker setup/teardown but what I noticed afterwards is that I didn't necessarily miss not having the other two pedals, those being an MXR Phase 90 and Wah. I was perfectly content with just the overdrive. Sure, my amp (Vox AD50VT) has some built-in effects but all I use is the reverb and on rare occasion the delay.

So now I'm pondering whether I really need those other two at all, but at the same time there are a few songs where they may be needed. I use the Phase 90 during the VH stuff and part of the lead in Hotel California. The wah I sometimes use at the end of Born to be Wild (just for something different) and will need it for a few others. But still, that thought of just going minimal enters the mind.

Has anyone else had this kind of thought before?

Well sort of. I got an ME-50 because the # pedals I'd need for occasional covers would've outweighed the cost of a multieffects. Is this what you're wondering?

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

Well sort of. I got an ME-50 because the # pedals I'd need for occasional covers would've outweighed the cost of a multieffects. Is this what you're wondering?

i wish more modern MultiFX's worked better in front of tube amps... I'm sure i'd use more of them!!! I use an old Roland GP8 rack mount unit from 1989.... It is like having 7-8 Boss pedals all midi controlled... cool units as the FX's are anolog but digital controll

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

i wish more modern MultiFX's worked better in front of tube amps... I'm sure i'd use more of them!!! I use an old Roland GP8 rack mount unit from 1989.... It is like having 7-8 Boss pedals all midi controlled... cool units as the FX's are anolog but digital controll

I use the ME-50 in front of my Twin Reverb with excellent results, mainly because of how clean this amp is. That's my sound. However, if I could afford some sort of MIDI controller or something to turn a Roland FC200 or whatever the 15-pedal-plus-expression MIDI controller they have into a pedal board, with labels like "blues" "metal" etc, I'd buy it. As is, the GT PRO and GT-8 are nice but have too much amp modelling: I'd prefer a version without amp modelling. So I'd be spending $1000 to sit there and tweak it, or go with the $300 ME-50 combination and have a superb clean tone and awesome amp tone (plus vintage footswitch for turning on/off tremolo and reverb on amp, and even another dual footswitch from Boss to go up/down in bank in memory mode and/or turn on/off compressor and tone modify, etc etc etc).

But anyways, for what it's worth, the ME-50 is all knobs, not buttons, so it's easy to modify patches, comes with excellent presets, etc. What mode could you want?

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

Such as? Sorry, but I don't sense any of that in this thread.

That wasn't directed at anybody in this thread. I should've been more specific. The topic just got me thinking about all the local assclowns who refuse to believe there's more to guitar playing than SRV.

Most of the local music stores are very quick to talk smack about anything younger people are into (high gain amps, pedals, low-tuning), and then they all wonder why no absolutely no young people buy anything there.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Pedal/Rig Observation - Question

Well sort of. I got an ME-50 because the # pedals I'd need for occasional covers would've outweighed the cost of a multieffects. Is this what you're wondering?

Well, not really. It's more of a having them there because you like them but they're not absolutely necessary to begin with kinda thing.

That wasn't directed at anybody in this thread. I should've been more specific. The topic just got me thinking about all the local assclowns who refuse to believe there's more to guitar playing than SRV.

Most of the local music stores are very quick to talk smack about anything younger people are into (high gain amps, pedals, low-tuning), and then they all wonder why no absolutely no young people buy anything there.

I see what you mean. That makes perfect sense. I don't see much of it out here unless it's an older player that is very stuck in his ways and refuses to see beyond his own setup. Not all of them are like that, but they're out there.