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Tell us about your set-up (guitar gear)

5K views 38 replies 20 participants last post by  Formerly Given To Fly 
#1 · (Edited)
I am curious what people are playing their guitars through. This does not get discussed much here and thought a thread about the gear we use would be nice.

I’ll start:

Amp - Bogner Atma head w/ Atma 1x12 cabinet .

Pedals - Eventide H9, PitchFactor, Space
Dunlop 95Q Wah, MXR Bass Envelope Filter, DOD Death Metal (nostalgia purchase, actually pretty cool) I do not use all of them at the same time.

Cables - Mogami Gold - I never wanted to worry about cables again so I simplified my options to Mogami Gold cables. One benefit of doing this is if I have a problem with a piece of gear, customer service always asks about your cables. When you can say “Mogami Golds 10 foot...” they don’t let you finish and say “No, those aren’t the problem.” It’s kind of nice.
 
#2 ·
At the moment, I play everything into an old, cheap Line6 combo, because I have a young son who is learning to play guitar and don't want him using my Mesa Boogies which now live at my parents' home along with a few of my more valuable guitars. I also have 2 cats who like warm dark boxes to hide in, like the back of valve combos.

It sounds ok, covers up a lot of my mistakes and, at low volumes, can get passable clean and distorted tones without the need for externals. I've thought about going Kemper or AxeFX but it's too complicated for what I want to do on guitar nowadays. I just want to plug and play for a half hour here and there with simple controls and a couple of different tones per song.

I'd love to update to a more modern amp, but these days don't know where to start.
 
#5 ·
It sounds ok, covers up a lot of my mistakes and, at low volumes, can get passable clean and distorted tones without the need for externals. I've thought about going Kemper or AxeFX but it's too complicated for what I want to do on guitar nowadays. I just want to plug and play for a half hour here and there with simple controls and a couple of different tones per song.
I think you'd find the Axe-Fx way less complicated than you think it would be, particularly if you have it running to a computer and use the Axe-Edit GUI. It looks just like a pedalboard and although you can get crazy tweaking stuff, the default settings are just fine. Like you, I mainly use the same patch for 90% of my playing and the only thing I'm doing is changing the tempo, which mostly is affecting the delay.



You can find a lot of the II's pretty affordably now that the III is out. Tone and processing wise, they're all the same and the features you get going to the XL and XL+ are mainly more memory for patches and cabs.
 
#3 ·
My live set-up:

Amp: Marshall JVM205H with a Carvin Legacy 2x12 cab loaded with Celestion V30 and G12h Anniversary

Peadal board: Audiotechnica System 10 stomp wireless - Korg Pitchblack tuner - Morley Little Alligator volume - Digitech Drop - Morley Lynch Dragon II Wah (all to front input)
Truetone H20 Chorus/Echo - MXR 10 band EQ (all to effects loop)

cables: Planet Waves American Stage for long cables and Worlds Best Cables (Mogami wire with Eminence gold plated connectors) patch cables that I found on Amazon.

pedal board: Gator large aluminum orange with a T-Rex Fuel Tank Chameleon power supply

practice set-up: same but bypass the wireless and into a Marshall JVM215C with a V30 speaker

guitars: MIJ Ibanez, of course!
 
#4 ·
Amp: Axe-Fx II Mark II

Pedal: Ernie Ball VP Junior

Cables: DiMarzio

Headphones: Beyerdymanic DT 770 Pro

I have some studio monitors as well (KRK Rockit 6) but rarely use them since my daughter was born. They kind of suck and I'd like something different, but no sense doing that with the amount I actually use them.
 
#8 ·
I have no issues with the low volume sound of a modern valve amp, I think they sound amazing, it's the fact that they're crammed full of stuff that can go wrong when you have two cats and a child that wants to be Tony Stark...

If they did a Axe FX 1x12 combo for less than a secondhand subcompact, I'd be all over it. As it is, it's too big a move for me to make for too little an increase in benefits.

You also have to remember that the fine detail of my hearing isn't what it used to be, so I don't need 100% modelling accuracy of an SLO100 vs a Bognor Ecstacy. I need

1) "high gain instrumental lead"
2) "metal rhythm"
3) "classic rock crunch"
4) "clean tone"

and that's about it.

But a dedicated SLO100 lead patch would be cool ;)
 
#10 ·
Exactly, i'd love to make the switch, but I don't trust myself to have a guitar in my home office, and to go fully PC based for music would be just too big an outlay to justify given I don't know what i'm doing! I feel like there's nothing approaching a learning curve for old guys, it's a sheer cliff face!!!
 
#11 ·
My JVMs sound awesome at any level. They both have a volume for each channel that I keep at 10 and use the Master 1 for regular volume and Master 2 for a boost for solos. Adjust Master settings for home practice or gig level sound. Really only get to around 3 1/2 on Master even on stage so far. Both are only 50 watts but some savage tube power for sure. Depending on settings, I can go from Beatles to Metallica and everything in between with the tap or 2 on the footswitch.
 
#13 · (Edited)
My setup these days isn't very exciting when playing live.

Guitar : 1994 Jem 7V - stock aside from SD Full Shred in bridge, with the 2nd position wired to give me the bridge humbucker single coil.
Amp : Line 6 Helix floorboard into the rack running ableton live straight out to the PA, in-ear monitoring.
Monitoring : Shure SE535

In the past I used a traditional pedalboard into a Peavey 5150 and later a Cornford Hellcat but now I just use the Helix. In the past I played in metal bands playing original music so a 5150 was ideal, now I do more session work and covers because I need to pay bills, so a Helix was an obvious choice. Especially as during 2017 I had some pretty nasty pain in my back after carrying my Hellcat combo, could barely get out of bed for 2 weeks and have had it return 1-2 times since then, so I'm in no rush to go back to carrying amps when I get amazing results with my Helix (though I still have to carry PA speakers, etc).

There has been talk of some reunion gigs with my band from over a decade ago, I think if that happened I'd probably get my 5150 back in action.
 
#17 ·
Guitars

Ibanez S5520K Limited Austrailian Blackwood
Ibanez S6570Q - Blue
Ibanez PWM100 - Ash body

Amp:

EVH 5150III EL34 50 Watt head
EVH EL34 2X12 Cab

Effects

Gator XL Tour pedalboard with:
Hardwire Tuner
Soulpress Wah/Volume pedal
Boss Compressor
Boss Noise Suppressor
MXR 10 band EQ
Line 6 M13

Think that's about it.
 
#18 ·
Pretty cool thread. It is interesting to see what equipment others use. As for me, I have a few setups for the different bands/projects I am involved with:

80s thrash band:

Guitars:
Ibanez PL 2660CI with BK warpigs.
Ibanez 540P II with BK warpigs.
Ibanez XV500BE with BK warpigs.

Amps/Cabs:
ENGL Savage 120.
Mesa Boogie Recto 2x12 and 4x12.
Marshall 1960B 4x12.

Effects:
Boss TU2
Dunlop EVH95 wah
ISP decimator
MXR EVH90 phase
Boss DD-3 delay
Boss ES-5 switcher

Rock Opera Project

Guitars: Various, mostly Ibanez and Charvel

Amps/Cabs:
Rivera KR7 - custom
Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier with Euro tubes high gain kit
Mesa Boogie Road ready 4x12 with EV speakers
VHT 4x12

Effects:
Bad Horsie Wah
Boss TU2
Digitech original whammy
MXR EVH90 phase
Boss DD-3 delay

Practice/Musicals/Cover band

Guitars:
Various, mostly Ibanez, Fender, and Godin

Amps/Cabs:
Fractal Audio AX-FX Ultra with FCB1010
Depending on application either Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier rack mount or Yamaha powered monitors
VHT 2x12

Outboard effects:
None
 
#20 ·
nothing but a TS9 mini goes to the katana head.

I have to say being old school , I hate this milenial amps , where need to download patches and sh1ts before it sounds good.
No, I don't even do that on my katana, I'm just using the factory preset ( with TS9 always on). Somehow to lazy to drag my laptop and do that.
The katana goes to randall 1x12 with V30.

I hope next year I will get a real tube amp (again), being watch the HK grandmeister 40 deluxe lately.

Btw, the reason why I bought the katana because my laney IRT studio was dying.
I was hoping that the katana would sounds good right on, and i was wrong.
 
#21 · (Edited)
Since I'm just a spare bedroom player, I settled in on a small inexpensive setup that is pretty versatile and works good for me:


Guitars - old 540S, RG520QS, JS1200, '76 LP, SZ320, but main player is an old Roadstar II neck on a strat body.


Signal - Boss ME-80 as the front end, run into the fx return of a Blackstar HT-5R w/V30 in a 1x12 cabinet.


Also have a PC with a Focusrite 2i2 and Audiotechnica AT2020 mic and Vestax studio monitors for recording (Reaper). PC line outs go to an old school stereo system for jamming with songs I know or backing tracks (90% of what I do for fun/practice).


Lots of pedals I never use anymore... except a Digitech Trio occasionally if I come up with a cool riff I want to play with.
 
#22 ·
Amp: Soldano SLO100 - putting a perma grin on my face since the day it arrived in 2005.

Effects: TC Gmajor 2 in SLO loop for some occasional delay or chorus and to switch channels on the SLO with the relay function. I use a Behringer midi pedal to control the patch changes on the Gmajor.

Guitar goes into a Boss TU3 tuner, then into a Digitech Whammy DT (primarily used to drop or raise tunings for some songs my band plays), then into a Morley Bad Horsie II, then into an Ibanez TS-9 (used for extra kick for solos), and finally through a Boss NS2 noise suppressor and then straight to the amp.

Cab is an old ADA split stack 212 or a Marshall 1960A 412,,,,all loaded with Eminence V128 legend speakers, which are amazing with the SLO.

My guitars are either a Jem 7VWH, Jem 77VBK, or Jem 77BRMR.
 
#28 ·
Amp: Soldano SLO100 - putting a perma grin on my face since the day it arrived in 2005.
I have always thought about getting a SLO, but worry about its versatility. My perception is that it is well suited to classic/hard rock, but may not have a suitable voicing for heavier music. This perception may be totally wrong though. What styles do you use it for? Thanks! Tobe
 
#23 ·
I'm another Fractal user. I have two Axe FX II's & one Axe FX III. I play the Axe FX II's into Matrix FR10 & FR12. The Axe FX III I play thru an ATOMIC CLR NEO MK II.
I still own a dozen amps, a box load of pedals & a Digitech RP1000 effects pedal. Rarely power those amps any more. Some of the pedals I use with my keyboards instead.
Using a modeler (Axe FX or others) means with a simple turn of a knob I can go from a Fender amp sound to a Marshall to a Engl to 5150 to many many others. on the Axe FX you have the same identical controls as on the actual amp. A few more buttons and can access dozens of effects: distortion, Fuzz, Delay, Reverb, Echo, etc.s again with the same controls as the originals.
 
#26 ·
DV Mark Multiamp through a Marshall 4x12 with greenbacks.
I used to have a EVH 5150III 50 Watt head before that but that one was not really practical in the living room. I played through a huge 19" rack setup (mainly using an ADA MP-1 preamp and Marshall poweramp) before for many years but prefer to be able to move my gear alone these days :)

Cheers,
Oliver
 
#29 ·
After a discussion with a friend, I thought I would share this.

My first tube amp was a Carvin Legacy 2x12 Combo. I was not ready for that amp. I eventually traded it for a VHT Pittbull Classic 45 1x12 Combo. That was a bad idea but I stuck with it. Eventually, I traded the VHT for an Eleven Rack with ProTools. That was fun! I learned a lot about how gear works from that bright orange digital modeler. I also learned I needed to know how to use a real tube amp in a meaningful and productive way. I bought a used Mesa/Boogie Roadster 2x12 Combo (103 lbs.) and that was the right amp for me at the right time. It helped me become a better player because if I played well it was rewarding. If I played poorly, it was not forgiving. It had a built-in incentive for me to practice more! The Roadster also made me aware that tube amps really "feel" different to play through. The amp IS part of the instrument. I think this is rather important.

I think being pragmatic is rather important too. A modeler like Fractal AX8 has an appealing form factor and it can sound good depending on what kind of speakers you connect it to. A 103 lbs. combo amp is a great studio amp where it can sit in the same spot, more or less, and sound good. 8)

So the discussion I had with my friend was about buying a decent amp. He deserves a great amp to be honest because performing is one facet of how he makes his living as a musician, but for some reason, he is stuck on his legacy (old) Line6 modeler and wants an amp that makes the modeler sound better. There were some other things he said that made me realize talking about gear every "once in a while" is actually a good thing. When digital technology starts making life more difficult (he is there), it is time to make a change.

Overall, I think the guitar community could focus less on gear, but being aware of what is available and what works is not such a bad idea either. This forum seems to as "normal" as it gets in that regard, which is a good thing!
 
#30 ·
I don't play live anymore, so it's more of a stress reliever/hobby so as of right now, I play mainly Ibanez Rg's and Jem Jr's. All are more/less customized. Some have dimarzio's, some have Seymours, some have edge trems, some have real Floyds, I like to experiment with diff. pups, hardware etc. I also travel a lot with work, usually gone 2-6 weeks at a time and home only 1-2 weeks at most so due to that, I find amplitube 4 from IK Multimedia the most travel friendly, since it's on my laptop which I take w/ me everywhere i go and on the road I take my little Focusrite solo interface which packs easily in my carry-on as well as my behringer headphones . At home, I do have some amps and pedal-boards but I still find amplitube is what I use the most due to I spend more time on that and creating patches that I really like. And it's easy and I don't disturb my family and neighbors playing through amps etc. However, at times I do play through amplitube through monitors or I'll use my Zoon G5n through headphones or monitors depending on if anyone is home or not.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Guitars: RG's the AZ242, and a FRM150.

Amp: Marshall Valvestate 100w. (I've been playing this forever but I might change to an EVH 50w or the Positive Grid Bias Mini. I know - not similar....)

Pedals (in order currently): Ibanez Weeping Demon Wah -> TS9 -> Boss DS-1 -> EHX Holy Stain -> EHX Small Stone -> Ibanez AF-2 Flanger -> EHX Neo Clone Chorus -> Boss DD-3 -> Topanga Reverb.
Sometimes I'll switch out the Holy Stain with a Holy Grail next to the Topanga. The Topanga is awesome but niche surf reverb. Sometimes I'll throw in an EHX Good Vibes too.

Cable: Monster cable.
 
#35 · (Edited)
Just wanted to say,,,,as an update,,,,I've been gigging with my Soldano Hot Rod 25 head for some smaller shows lately. Using the same TC electronic Gmajor 2 in the loop and all of the same gear as with my SLO...and compliments have been non stop. Lower wattage and the amp just "sings" at a much lower setting. I was even forgetting to stomp on my TS9 for a bump for leads, as this amp was already dripping with so many overtones...... Keeping the overdrive preamp setting around 7 as on my SLO, and the master volume around 4.....just hair raising lusciousness. What a sweet amp. I would illustrate this amp as one of those beehives just dripping honey all over the forest floor and accessible to even the smallest bear cub. Whereas the SLO,,,,in a bigger outdoor or indoor gig setting, gets there too with just a bit more volume. The SLO is like a massive dripping beehive , but not as easy to get to as the HR25.....like a bigger luscious hive but much more massive and higher up in a much bigger tree......need the momma bear to access it :) They both provide the sweet honey nectar, just in different situations. The HR 25 gets there right away in a smaller room.
 
#36 ·
Just wanted to say,,,,as an update,,,,I've been gigging with my Soldano Hot Rod 25 head for some smaller shows lately...What a sweet amp...I would illustrate this amp as one of those beehives just dripping honey all over the forest floor and accessible to even the smallest bear cub. Whereas the SLO,,,,in a bigger outdoor or indoor gig setting, gets there too with just a bit more volume. The SLO is like a massive dripping beehive , but not as easy to get to as the HR25.....like a bigger luscious hive but much more massive and higher up in a much bigger tree......need the momma bear to access it :) They both provide the sweet honey nectar, just in different situations. The HR 25 gets there right away in a smaller room.
This is perhaps the best description of an amp I've ever read! I know o thing about the amp but Im interested in any amp that will make me feel like a contented bear eating honey. :grin:
 
#37 ·
Guitars: Jem, UV, Strat and Tele

Amp: Hughes & Kettner Tubemeister 18 into an H&K 2x12 cab

Pedals: Boss Tuner, MXR Dyna Comp, EHX Soul Food, Xotic BB Preamp, Ibanez Tube Screamer mini, Wampler Pinnacle, Line 6 M5 (wildcard pedal), TC Electronic Triple Delay, TC Electronic Hall Of Fame Reverb, TC Electronic Ditto Looper
 
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