Gigging with Run off Groove [whats in your rig??]

[aloupos]

Hi Everyone, Happy Thanksgiving (a little early) --

I've built The English Channel and Dr. Boogie.  I've been using them every week in rehearsal, and they sound great.  (thanks electritabs/ROG!!) So, I live in New York City, and gigging here is a challange.  Most of us don't own cars, and we end up schlepping gear on the subway, down flights of stairs, in taxis -- you get the idea.  My previous rig, which was a JCM 900, sounded good, but was heavy and bulkey.   (Really, I've walked a few blocks carying a JCM 900, Les Paul Custom, and a pedal bag) 

Honestly, I like the sound I get with these pedals better.  I also notice they sound a lot better when used with my Solid State Guitar Research practice amp.  I'd like to capture this sound, maybe with some more bottom end, and way more volume, when I play live.   

I'm wondering if any of you are playing live using SS amps with these pedals? 

I'd also like a recommendation, if you have some experience, for a solid state amp, that's around 50 watts, 1 or 2 12" speakers, thats not too heavy to lug around to gigs. 

Lastly, let's hear what your playing live with ...

A

[KerryF]

Maybe check out the Hartke GT60c.  It has a 1x12 tube preamp and the rest is solid state.  Its pretty nice for use with pedals and other stuff.  The overdrive and distortion it has is decent but I dont recommend too much of it.  But thats what your looking for, to use pedals to get the good sound.

[tcobretti]

I would say that if you plan to use just those pedals as your preamp, I'd think about a light speaker cab (2x12 probly) and a less than 100w power amp.  You could even mount it in the cab so you don't have to carry it separately. 

I used to occasionally use just my English Channel into the power amp section of a Peavey Studio Pro 40, and it sounded great.  If I didn't like my Line 6 so much I would almost certainly use the ROG sims as my preamps.

[aloupos]

The hartke combo looks good ... I notice it has 2 chanels   Maybe a nice mod in the works, Dr. Boogie for a high-gain, and english chanel for low ...

Also, I bet 40 watts (the peavey) is enough for the typical small bar gigs that mic the guitar amp anyway, what do you think?

Do you think it will have enough volume in cases where there are no stage monitors? 

I suppose with 1 x 12 or 2 x 12 it would have enough bottom end, no?

Thanks for the excellant suggestions ... I'd love to hear more

[KerryF]

The Hartke is pretty nice for the money.  Its what, 200-300$ or so?  Two channels.  60 watts.  Plenty of low end in it.  And it works great with all of my pedals, and my multieffect pedal too.

Try it out, but bring the pedals with you to try it.  Sam Ash store carry a million of these Hartkes.

[tcobretti]

The wattage of an amp is far less important the an the number of speakers (For an amp to be twice as loud to your ear, it has to be ten times as powerful).  So, for the sake of flexibility, I'd probly roll with a 2x12 cab.  A 1x12 may be enough, depending on how loud your band is and how large the venue is.  I prefer to play smaller amps and crank them.  I  believe that the sound of a speaker being pushed is critical to a good guitar tone.

My Peavey was a pretty good amp, but it's an 80s model and they were pretty heavy for their size. 

In terms of channel switching, if I were going to use the ROG pedals a lot I'd wire in a SPDT stomp switch that switched between two different output pots.  I'd crank one and set the other lower so you have rhythm and lead volumes in one pedal.  That way you have two "channels" in each of your pedals.

[newbie builder]

When I don't feel like worrying about tubes, I use a Crate Powerbock and a closed back 1X10 with a fane- takes pedals really well and sounds great to my ears. With a Dano EQ in front of it, 9 out of 10 people in the audience probably couldn't tell the difference between that or an amp 10 times as expensive- the only thing you lose is the feel but sometimes it's not worth all the hassel. The powerblock has a bag it comes with so that over the shoulder and the cab in your hand, guitar case in the other- perfect grab and go rig (pedals in another shoulder bag).

[tcobretti]

The power block has fascinated me for some time.  Does it have a clean channel?  Or can you at least get a good clean tone out of it?

[Somicide]

the Powerblock is a single channel amp.  I use mine with primarily Hard/Classic Rock type music, and it holds up really well.  I run it into a "custom" (read: rigged) 2x12" cab. 

The PB supposedly has "tube-like" feel to it, which I don't particularly believe, though it does sound decent.  Controls are (left to right) Gain, High, Mid, Low, and Level.  That's it.  Up to about 12:30 - 12:45 on the gain gives a pretty nice clean tone.  For hot HB p'ups, 12 o'clock would be better, I'm sure.  I like a little breakup with hard picking, so there you go.  Plus, the slightly pushed gain sounds better with my distortions.

All in all, a nice little amp (cheap too, last I checked) though a reverb would've been nice, but at the price, it's pretty awesome.

[tcobretti]

Can you get it to totally clean up?  Could it be used for a small bass rig?

[Ge_Whiz]

My main 'voicing' rig is either a late 1970s HH VS Musician combo or an early 1980s Laney Linebacker, with tone shaped by either a ROG Supreaux or Prof Tweed (both in the same box). Another guitarist in our band uses a Matchbox into a modern Laney.

[coffyrock]

I've tried the powerblock with my 4x12 and it was plenty clean with my strat at really loud levels. My biggest complaint with it was the lack of a drive channel, but it was like $200cdn new. I should really go back & pick it up!

[Meanderthal]

 I wouldn't use a Powerblock for bass... for the same price Behringer makes some small, light, very powerful SS bass heads that sound good on bass(but dry), and aren't THAT much bigger. They appear to be Eden knockoffs. I use one now, my only complaint is how dry it sounds compared to my Ampeg V4b, but then again the Ampeg's too ... uhh... 'wet' for my taste. And the damn thing weighs 65 pounds, where the Behringer is about 10.
Frankly, I'm sick of the hassle of hauling around and maintaining a tube amp, and no one BUT me has ever complained about the Behringer. I'm just REAL persnikkety about bass tone...

[tcobretti]

I'll check into the behringer, but I think Crate could sell a million of em is the built a bass power block.

[Barcode80]

for a small solid state, i would recommend one of three: the crate powerblock, a marshall 50w combo, or the fender deluxe 90 dsp.

powerblock advantages are size and portability, as well as a great sound for the money

the marshall and the fender both sport dual channels, and the fender has a "more gain" switch. both also have decent built in dsp effects, though i only use them when space is a concern and i can't stretch out the pedal board

[newbie builder]

I use the powerblock at full band level completely clean- all gain comes from my pedals. it does a great job taking pedals and it's clean is prettyy nice sounding.

[aloupos]

Interesting ... I really like the idea of the powerblock ... It might be a nice compromise.  Most of the places we gig tend to have a cabinet or two on the stage, so using a micro head is perfect.  Will be interesting to see if this keeps up with my band at rehearsal next week!

I'll pick one up tomorrow and report on my findings with Dr. Boogie and The English Chanel. 

Anthony

[Somicide]

plus, it's great showing up to a gig carrying your entire rig with you.  Really ticks of other bands!  Plus, with 150W in bridged mono, it's not bad for a 4.5lb amp, is it? ^_^

[aloupos]

Actually, it's a pretty good little amp!  I bought 2 from guitar center ($99.00 a peice, cheap cheap cheap).   With Dr. Boogie in the effects loop (you need a TRS Y cable to do this), and the head attached to a marshal 2X12 cab, I'm getting a decent tone at a low (apartment) volumes.  There's definately pros and cons: 

- So far, lacks the full, rich, warm tone you get from a tube amp.  I hate to use those vague terms to describe the sound, but I think most of you understand what I'm talking about.  I'm going to continue EQing to see where I can get with this. 

- No Option to turn off the speaker simulation!  Since I'm going into a cab, I don't really need this, and it makes shaping tone a little more complicated.  I wonder if there's a possible mod here to switch this off and on??  Schem anyone?   

- No Control to blend the effects loop (ie, treated / untreated)

+ Has plenty of volume, power.  You can dial in some good tones, especially with one of the ROG pedals in the effects loop. 

+ Super light, comes with it's own carying bag, lots of options. 

I'm bringing it thursday to rehearsal, where I'll get a chance to really hear it with band and at higher volumes.  I'll report back on what I find.  I'm thinking for thursday, this is the signal path: 

   Guitar--->RAT--->Amp Input

   Snd--->Dr. Boogie--->Return

[tcobretti]

Have you tried just running the guitar into the Dr Boogie, then into the return of the effects loop?  I do this with my amps to bypass the preamp, and I would be curious to know if it works with the powerblock.