Versatility for a cover gig?

[B2D]

Hey all. I've recently been offered a gig that would require a bit of a change-up in my rig. I'd need to play exclusively cover tunes and staples from popular genres. I have two good guitars and a good amp setup, so what I'm looking to optimize here is my effects setup.

I won't be needing to absolutely nail the tones and sounds I'm going after, but I do need to ballpark them pretty close.

For the record, I'm currently using an LTD EC1000 and a modded Music Man Silhouette for guitars, and a Boogie Multi-Watt Dual Rec for an amp with a Carvin cab loaded with Eminence speakers. I figure that's a good start for the amp rig. I currently have pedals that I like for the following: tuning, wah, boost, overdrive, chorus, delay, and tremolo, and then there's the amp's footswitch. It's a solid foundation but may not be enough to tackle any of the (literally) few hundred tunes I'd have to play at any given moment.

I've looked at my options and I've figured on one of three ways I could go with this;

A) Control the pedals and the amp with a switcher. Namely something like the Voodoo Labs or RJM units. I figure this would allow me to get deep into custom-tailoring the sounds I want and call up combos on command without a flurry of tap-dancing, but it'd be a lot of connections and knobs to monitor. Plus if I want another effect I have to add another pedal.

B) TC G System. I'll admit I've wanted one of these for a while. This would allow me control over amp channel switching as well as tons of sound combos. I could rack the brains as well as any other extraneous effects I'd want to use and keep the essential pedals and controller on the floor while keeping cable lengths in the loop to a minimum. It's still a good amount of physical hardware but not nearly as much as option A.

C) Get an Axe-FX and powered speakers and go to town. Hellaciously expensive option, especially with the powered monitors and footcontroller in there. Plus it'd be a total swapout. Buuuut... ultimate flexibility, no mics to worry about (go straight to the house mains) and the ability to send my own signal to my own monitor if I need to.

Before anyone says it... unless someone can convince me to try these again, I'd prefer to stay away from a Digitech or Boss or Line 6 multi effect board. I've tried them, used them, and even owned a few and I've never been totally happy with them, mainly for tonal reasons.

So... any thoughts from the frequent giggers or owners of any of these setups?

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

Does any of your guitar have single coils? I'm just wondering.

I'd go with option A, do you really think you wouldn't have enough time to switch things around?

it helps to have your personal settings for certain sounds, settings which are pretty flexible for a certain type song you know, "70s rock" "solo boost" "80s new wave" "creed with arms wide open drop d chunk"

do you catch my drift?

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

I would first think very carefully about how many different tones you really need. Do you need anything that isn't on this list?......

Single coil guitar
Humbucker guitar

Clean sound
Crunchy sound
Higher gain sound
Ability to clean-boost any of the above

Wah, phaser, chorus, flanger, delay, reverb, tremolo....

Assuming you have the guitars covered, then you could do the rest with a good clean amp and a large(ish) pedal board. If your amp has good crunch and/or high gain channels you need less pedals.

In my experience nailing the feel of the song is more important than precisely nailing the tone as long as you are in the right ballpark (and sometimes the ballpark doesn't even matter ....)

You may not even need both single coils and humbuckers. There are plenty of guys playing a whole cover gig with a Strat or Tele and even I have had compliments from people impressed that I did the whole thing with a Les Paul! In fact, there is an advantage to only using one guitar and one pickup type in that you can optimise your rig to that rather than having to compromise or switch things around to suit different pickups.

I am a great believer in keeping things as absolutely simple as possible when playing live.

 

[B2D]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

Does any of your guitar have single coils? I'm just wondering.

Not currently... I can switch over my Music Man to a single coil setup easily enough (modular pickguard FTW).

I'd go with option A, do you really think you wouldn't have enough time to switch things around?

Depends on the songs... I don't like to have a lot of downtime between songs live, though this gig would let me get away with it.

it helps to have your personal settings for certain sounds, settings which are pretty flexible for a certain type song you know, "70s rock" "solo boost" "80s new wave" "creed with arms wide open drop d chunk"

do you catch my drift?

I do. I was thinking I could have "generic" settings on my first bank and then stuff for specific artists/songs on other racks. I could probably do a bunch of country tunes with one guitar and one patch set up right, for example.

The G system and the Axe FX would allow me to turn certain FX on and off within the preset - something I would use to great advantage.

 

[B2D]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

I would first think very carefully about how many different tones you really need. Do you need anything that isn't on this list?......

Single coil guitar
Humbucker guitar

Clean sound
Crunchy sound
Higher gain sound
Ability to clean-boost any of the above

Wah, phaser, chorus, flanger, delay, reverb, tremolo....

Assuming you have the guitars covered, then you could do the rest with a good clean amp and a large(ish) pedal board. If your amp has good crunch and/or high gain channels you need less pedals.

The single coil guitar is the only instrument I'd really need. I could purpose-build a strat or tele for the task (ideally I'd like both).

My amp and my Fat Boost satisfies the second list.

The G system would handle tuning and switching of any effects NOT involving overdrive or distortion.

I used to love having tons of pedals and then I got into phase of using very few... I'd like to keep things as simple as possible but still allow for maximum flexibility.

In my experience nailing the feel of the song is more important than precisely nailing the tone as long as you are in the right ballpark (and sometimes the ballpark doesn't even matter ....)

You may not even need both single coils and humbuckers. There are plenty of guys playing a whole cover gig with a Strat or Tele and even I have had compliments from people impressed that I did the whole thing with a Les Paul! In fact, there is an advantage to only using one guitar and one pickup type in that you can optimise your rig to that rather than having to compromise or switch things around to suit different pickups.

I am a great believer in keeping things as absolutely simple as possible when playing live.

Yup, that's pretty much my school of thought as well.

 

[Brow]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

Something like a TC Electronics G-Major or Rocktron Repliflex/Xpression in the loop and then controleld by MIDI would allow you to keep your pedals to a minimum (Tuner, Wah and possibly a boost) and then have instant access to any combination, minus anything boosted or wah'd, with 1 click of a MIDI pedal.

This is how I run my G-Major/Splawn Quick Rod/Rivera MIDI Controller setup and it works great, doesn't take ages to setup and is easy to troubleshoot if anything goes wrong.

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

Doing lots of cover I'd go with option B. You can easily create a different patch(s) for each song and this gives you the ability to set the volume of each patch. That's keeps your stage mix bang on and that translates to a bang on FOH mix without needing a sound man to make lots of (if any) adjustments.

If you want to be a great cover band go that extra mile to mimic the tones and the mix. Your audience will notice the difference.

 

[aleclee]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

Even though I'm a happy AxeFx owner, I'd suggest trying (A) first (* unless the new gig is volume constrained). Going whole hog digital often involves a paradigm shift that you may or may not be willing to make. It pretty much forces you to look at your rig from a different perspective: more of a system than a collection of components. I didn't personally have any issues but in my three years as an AxeFx guy I've seen a lot of people struggle with it.

Feel free to PM me if you want more info. I'd rather not derail the original topic.

* If you're looking for a low/no volume setup, I'd go with the AxeFx in a heartbeat rather than futz around with plexi shields, attenuators, or speaker sims.

 

[crguti]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

sorry dude, but what you have there is a LTD EC1000.

 

[lpmarshall]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

I've been in a few cover bands, and I've always had simple setups compared to my original bands.

I usually had a Strat/Tele and a Les Paul. And then a clean amp with low/mid/high overdrive to cover some territory. And extra pedals if I needed them.

When I did the 70's/80's rock cover band it was the Splawn channel switcher and a tuner with Floyd rose equipped guitars.

 

[SwampRocker]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

If you are going to being playing consistently and paid.

Speaking from experience
I can say two guitars in what you'll need at least one main and one back up, preferably 2 guitars with humbuckers that can coil tap. the back would only be for a broken string or ghost in the machine as it were. reliable amp and a decent rack effect or multi effect pedal board pre-programmed( for your stuff) of course. If you can do it and that pays worth your time then go for it!

 

[B2D]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

sorry dude, but what you have there is a LTD EC1000.

Ah yes... it's been such a good guitar that I forget it's not the full up ESP version. Corrected for your ass.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

Simon is right on the money. Your tone is far less important than how well you play the song, and how well you and the band capture the vibe of the song. Using gear you are comfortable with is probably the best way to achieve that.

My suggestion is to start off with your normal rig and see how it goes. Tweak as needed. I wouldn't bother with a super versatile rig for a cover band.

 

[B2D]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

Doing lots of cover I'd go with option B. You can easily create a different patch(s) for each song and this gives you the ability to set the volume of each patch. That's keeps your stage mix bang on and that translates to a bang on FOH mix without needing a sound man to make lots of (if any) adjustments.

If you want to be a great cover band go that extra mile to mimic the tones and the mix. Your audience will notice the difference.

Well, when I say "ballpark" the tones, a ballpark for me is like 80% of the way there, more if possible. I find a lot of that is the WAY I play and the right guitar/pickup used as well.

Even though I'm a happy AxeFx owner, I'd suggest trying (A) first (* unless the new gig is volume constrained). Going whole hog digital often involves a paradigm shift that you may or may not be willing to make. It pretty much forces you to look at your rig from a different perspective: more of a system than a collection of components. I didn't personally have any issues but in my three years as an AxeFx guy I've seen a lot of people struggle with it.

Feel free to PM me if you want more info. I'd rather not derail the original topic.

* If you're looking for a low/no volume setup, I'd go with the AxeFx in a heartbeat rather than futz around with plexi shields, attenuators, or speaker sims.

I've never really had a problem controlling big amps live, and I usually play nice with sound guys. However being able to turn my rig WAY down and not compromise the tone is something I'd like to do.

I've been in a few cover bands, and I've always had simple setups compared to my original bands.

I usually had a Strat/Tele and a Les Paul. And then a clean amp with low/mid/high overdrive to cover some territory. And extra pedals if I needed them.

When I did the 70's/80's rock cover band it was the Splawn channel switcher and a tuner with Floyd rose equipped guitars.

Sounds good. I'm going to be doing everything from 60's music to now, but if it was one genre or one era I'd probably stick with real pedals.

If you are going to being playing consistently and paid.

Speaking from experience
I can say two guitars in what you'll need at least one main and one back up, preferably 2 guitars with humbuckers that can coil tap. the back would only be for a broken string or ghost in the machine as it were. reliable amp and a decent rack effect or multi effect pedal board pre-programmed( for your stuff) of course. If you can do it and that pays worth your time then go for it!

Playing consistently and paid = thats the goal. Hopefully I can reinvest whatever I might earn into my rig as well.

I usually bring 2 guitars to every gig.

 

[Diego]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

I've played Enter Sandman with a JCM800 model in a digital amp, live.

Nobody threw beer bottles at me or anything.

 

[B2D]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

Simon is right on the money. Your tone is far less important than how well you play the song, and how well you and the band capture the vibe of the song. Using gear you are comfortable with is probably the best way to achieve that.

My suggestion is to start off with your normal rig and see how it goes. Tweak as needed. I wouldn't bother with a super versatile rig for a cover band.

Yeah, being comfortable with a peice of gear has a lot to do with how well I can use it.

More than anything I need to be able to access and change/control whatever I have really easily.

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

Honestly, I'd go with a used Axe Ultra or Kemper, a Behringer FCB1010, and a poweramp like the Art SLA2 for axe or EH44+ for KPA into a 2x12 if not just a powered speaker. If I was doing a lot of cover-based gigging (read: frequent gigs but no roadies or load-in crew as you'd usually get in a touring situation), the absolute last thing I want to deal with is a heavy head + 4x12 + FX rig in addition to my guitars.

 

[Archer_of_Fish]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

I do a weekly jam and we cover styles ranging from Country to Metal. I use a Dr Z Maz 38, Fulltone GT 500, HBE Compressor and a Les Paul. I can ride the volume controls on the Les paul and get what I need for anything.

The trick to covers is knowing the songs not really copping tones. People just drink beer and listen to the vocals anyway. I

 

[B2D]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

I do a weekly jam and we cover styles ranging from Country to Metal. I use a Dr Z Maz 38, Fulltone GT 500, HBE Compressor and a Les Paul. I can ride the volume controls on the Les paul and get what I need for anything.

The trick to covers is knowing the songs not really copping tones. People just drink beer and listen to the vocals anyway.

After considering this post a bit... I think I may take stock of what tunes we'll be playing most often and see how much ground my current gear will cover.

I should add that this project will involve some audience participation, so accuracy is important.

 

[B2D]

Re: Versatility for a cover gig?

Honestly, I'd go with a used Axe Ultra or Kemper, a Behringer FCB1010, and a poweramp like the Art SLA2 for axe or EH44+ for KPA into a 2x12 if not just a powered speaker.

I reeeaaally need to read up on the latest version of the Axe FX and the Kemper as a whole. Does the Kemper do effects?

If I was doing a lot of cover-based gigging (read: frequent gigs but no roadies or load-in crew as you'd usually get in a touring situation), the absolute last thing I want to deal with is a heavy head + 4x12 + FX rig in addition to my guitars.

Yeah you have a point. When I last gigged I did it all myself and paid a friend in beer to help load the band in.