Solid state/digital roll call

polara

polara

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This ought to fire up a lively conversation.

For anyone who's ever noticed, I'm focused on just one band now: I am a Rocketship, with the lovely Missus Polara. All original but we have a few sonic touchstones.

  • Curve
  • Garbage
  • The Cure
  • Ex Cops
  • Phantogram
  • Depeche Mode
You get the picture. No classic rock, bluesy stuff, or warm crunchy organic stuff. Add to that we use synths and loops and stuff, no real drummer so no need to get loud. But I do need a ton of weird sounds on demand. My equipment now consists of:

  • Guitar of the Day, which I am sure is The One until another shiny object catches my eye, into;
  • Korg Miku Stomp into;
  • Line 6 Firehawk into;
  • XLR out to front of house, 1/4 in out to Ampeg BA108 bass combo amp.
Couldn't be happier. I'll readily admit that if I were in a blues-rock or Americana or classic rock band I'd grab a Princeton Reverb or Super Champ or JCM800 or something but I can carry everything I need in a gig bag, one nylon pedalboard case, and the amp strap. Who else has gone to something like this?

 
about half the gigs I play these days are with my significant other as a jazz standard and bossa nova duo. we both plug into a Roland Keyboard amp that has an XLR input for her mic, no FX of any kind. About 1/4 of my gigs are using a POD hd400 straight into the console for theater pit gigs. The last 1/4 are tribute concerts at the theater or BBD gigs where I use mainly the Tophat Club Royale or Mesa MKI head and 112 cab. I'll use anything and have no problem w SS gear. 

 
it's me HHB said:
about half the gigs I play these days are with my significant other as a jazz standard and bossa nova duo. we both plug into a Roland Keyboard amp that has an XLR input for her mic, no FX of any kind. About 1/4 of my gigs are using a POD hd400 straight into the console for theater pit gigs. The last 1/4 are tribute concerts at the theater or BBD gigs where I use mainly the Tophat Club Royale or Mesa MKI head and 112 cab. I'll use anything and have no problem w SS gear. 
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In your case the quality of playing might outweigh every other aspect, but it's pretty badass that you two play through a KC amp, no effects :)

 
I've been using the Axe Fx for many years, most recently the II into a pair of Atomic CLRs.  The amps it replicated sometimes sounded better, under perfect conditions, but at the volume I wish to play today, it always sounds better.  

 
Pod HD or Zoom G5 into a powered monitor for me and a direct feed to the board. Mostly 80s butt rock. 

 
The vast majority of the time, I'm using the latest generation of Line 6's 75-watt 1x12 combo I picked up for the shop, and I'm usually using the factory presets called "Still Of the Night" or "Here I Go Again."  Satisfies my Boogie Mark-series lust just fine without the associated volume, as much as I hate to admit it. 

One of these days I'll actually sit down with the manual and tweak out my own settings. I've contemplated getting the switching floorboard for it as well. I could definitely be just fine gigging with it. 

 
For all practical purposes, I'm running guitar => 11R => monitors or PA speakers, but I'm not gigging at the moment.

 
mhmike said:
I have to ask - what the heck are you using the Miku pedal for with the bands listed? Or how?
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We have one song called "My darling robot" that has Miku singing the intro and a break. It's pretty bizarre. We do one cover of "Enjoy the Silence) but we don't actually play those bands' songs. The things we write are just in that vein.

 
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polara said:
We have one song called "My darling robot" that has Miku singing the intro and a break. It's pretty bizarre. We do one cover of "Enjoy the Silence) but we don't actually play those bands' songs. The things we write are just in that vein.
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Now that would be cool to hear! Apologies, my brain must have skipped over the "All original,..." part before the bands list. Didn't mean it in an accusatory way, was just curious - that pedal has intrigued and confused me since it came out.

 
I have an Axe FX 2 but with a Matrix GT1000 power amp and regular cabs.  Sounds fantastic at any volume and I can still move air with 4x12's if I chose to.

The firmware is getting to the point now that it's hard to differentiate between the Axe FX and the amps its modelling. 

 
I "had" the ultimate Axe FX rigs, both I, then II. The II killed me in respect that I could not get what I had in #1.

So I went back to true tubes.

I do tote around my lil Vox valvetronix for jams, etc.

But if I do go back to synthetics, Ill try out the AMP-1. The dude got it down pretty good. http://bluguitar.com/english/AMP1.html

 
I am simple. As much as I love the ODS-30 I got from Jamie (and use it a LOT), I can (and have) gotten almost everything I need for a casual jam or guitar class) from an Ethos Overdrive AMP (30 watt pedal) into a single 1 x12 cab, I like to add a simple rev/trem pedal (Strymon Flint) in front. I DO like the Ethos better in front of the "right" combo amp, but here I am talking quick and easy.

It sure makes transport, setup/breakdown and lifting so much easier.

Dialed in right, I seem to be able to get enough of the "basic food groups" for my needs. Not that it is NOT fun to slip something like one of the "keyboard emulation" EHX pedals to add a bit of variation in a keyboard-less band setting......

 
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murkat said:
I "had" the ultimate Axe FX rigs, both I, then II. The II killed me in respect that I could not get what I had in #1.

So I went back to true tubes.
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Wow I am surprised.  I had the AXE FX Ultra and didnt think the amp modelling was great - and sold it- but the ll is incredible with the latest firmware.  A whole different league - and I am hard to please with tone.

I've had old Marshalls, Mesa's, VHT's, Bogner's and took a LOT of convincing to go AXE FX.  

 
sixesandsevens said:
My bandmate has the II and its VHT/Fryette Deliverance 60 model has a lot in common with my D60.
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I completely agree.  It's a very dry sound and replicates it very well indeed.  As it does the majority of the other amps.

My friend, who has an old Plexi, was staggered at the comparison between his amp and the AXE ll model of the same.  

 
last 3 gigs were

1) butt rawk w/ stike (the same DED MULLET gig a few weeks ago); last month i ordered the new marshall code modeling amp, but it hasn't shipped yet, so i used my vox stomplab into my powerblock into a 1x12 wedge w/ a emi manowar. the whole rig would fit into the front passengers seat of most cars. did it sound as good as my recently departed mesa mini recto 1/2 stack? no. was it close enough to have a good gig? yep.

2) wedding gig yesterday; duotone (w/ acoustic strings) into a ditto looper into a 30w SS acoustic amp. did women cry? yes, but not because i didn't have any tubes.

3) last night's italian bar fake jazz looper gig; gibson p90 midtown into mxr comp & ditto looper into a shitty little fender bullet 15 dsp combo. a local barfly guy who is a name dropping guitar teacher told me "man, you play all the fancy notes, nice job".

the only "tube" gear i still own is an orange micro terror head that i got for $30 on CL. will i own another decent tube amp someday? probably, but its all just tools to me.

 
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Brooks said:
last 3 gigs were

1) butt rawk w/ stike (the same DED MULLET gig a few weeks ago); last month i ordered the new marshall code modeling amp, but it hasn't shipped yet, so i used my vox stomplab into my powerblock into a 1x12 wedge w/ a emi manowar. the whole rig would fit into the front passengers seat of most cars. did it sound as good as my recently departed mesa mini recto 1/2 stack? no. was it close enough to have a good gig? yep

2) wedding gig yesterday; duotone (w/ acoustic strings) into a ditto looper into a 30w SS acoustic amp. did women cry? yes, but not because i didn't have any tubes.

3) last night's italian bar fake jazz looper gig; gibson p90 midtown into mxr comp & ditto looper into a shitty little fender bullet 15 dsp combo. a local barfly guy who is a name dropping guitar teacher told me "man, you play all the fancy notes, nice job".

the only tube gear i still own is an orange micro terror head that i got for $30 on CL. will i own another decent tube amp someday? probably, but its all just tools to me.
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I'm surprised you moved that mesa

 
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