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Tube Amp/Pedal Board Rigs are the Big Block of Musical Equipment


LucSulla

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Seriously, these things remind me of a 454.  I've had two gigs this week where, inexplicably, my guitar just cut out.  Checked everything, couldn't find a problem, never happened again.  

This seems to be a regular occurrence.  I've gotten to where I check all my cable every three or four weeks, patches included, and still, there is always something every gig that comes and goes.  

I used to mess with cars a lot when I was younger, so that's my frame of reference.  Big block Chevies were always cantankerous, and usually for no particular reason.  They'd run like shit one day to the point you wanted to swear it off, but then you'd have a day where the air was cool, everything seemed to be on the same page, and there was just nothing else like it.  So you kept putting up with it.  

I do the guitarist equivalent of that all the time.  I take the Quilter as a backup.  I eyeball Kempers from time to time and find myself sorely tempted to simplify my life.  All of that stuff sounds great and is so much more trouble free.  But then, everything clicks for a set and, I sit there an think, "This is totally worth the incredible pain in the ass that all of these pedals and tubes are."  

At least until the next signal chain gremlin shows up.

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Mopar big blocks were where it was at back in the day. At least, it seemed that way anyhoo...

As far as reliability in guitar rigs, simpler seems better.  I never play with more than 1-2 pedals and rarely have tech problems as a result.  Sure you lose some flexibility or the ability to cop an endless variety of tones, but that makes it more rewarding for the end, at least for me (YMMV of course).

 

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3 hours ago, gtone said:

Mopar big blocks were where it was at back in the day. At least, it seemed that way anyhoo...

Never worked on a streetable 426 Hemi, but I found the 383 that came in the 1st Gen Roadrunner to be a pain in the arse. A high school friend had a stupid low miles '68 in superb condition in the mid '80s and we were constantly pulling the covers to adjust the valves. Thought it was a fluke until I later befriended an older fellow who had two original 440 Chargers, both in great condition with low miles. Same damn valve lash headaches. Other than that, I love those old Mopars. The most reliable big block I ever messed with was a '71 429 Super Cobra Jet. Couldn't believe Ford made something as well conceived as that one and then killed it. Great mill, it was.

As for amps and pedals, I'll not go the way of modeling. Ever.  I'd rather do it the hard way, which is for me, the easy way. 

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57 minutes ago, RobB said:

What brand of patch cables and do you own a cable tester?

MXR at the moment, and not a specific cable tester, but I do own a multimeter. It does the trick for hunting down bad cables.  I have a Solder Saturday every few weeks as well.

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1 hour ago, Biz Prof said:

Never worked on a streetable 426 Hemi, but I found the 383 that came in the 1st Gen Roadrunner to be a pain in the arse. A high school friend had a stupid low miles '68 in superb condition in the mid '80s and we were constantly pulling the covers to adjust the valves. Thought it was a fluke until I later befriended an older fellow who had two original 440 Chargers, both in great condition with low miles. Same damn valve lash headaches. Other than that, I love those old Mopars. The most reliable big block I ever messed with was a '71 429 Super Cobra Jet. Couldn't believe Ford made something as well conceived as that one and then killed it. Great mill, it was.

As for amps and pedals, I'll not go the way of modeling. Ever.  I'd rather do it the hard way, which is for me, the easy way. 

I'm actually surprised all you Mopar guys aren't in prison.  Definitely the roughest bunch at any car show back when I did that.

Down here at the time, Mustang owners were always the most likely to show up with a car on a trailer, which they would as carefully and efficiently as possible get into their parking spot for the night at the Drive In.  Meanwhile, Mopar guys were the most likely to leave a three-inch thick patch of rubber in the parking lot after a burnout and be subsequently passed later that evening while they were pulled over by a cop.

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This is why I'm just gonna pick up a TC Electronics Plethora X5.  It's like having 5 pedals in one, it's got a tuner, and you can control where it patches into the signal and use the 4 cable method of attachment, if desired.

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When I was gigging heavy, I ALWAYS would accidentally step on my pedals or the board cause I move a lot on stage. What a PITA for me.  It was just so much easier to just run a wah and one pedal…or just a tuner and wah and use amp dirt only. It worked for years and years. Now I have a boatload of pedals for recording. I use what I need. 

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14 hours ago, LucSulla said:

MXR at the moment, and not a specific cable tester, but I do own a multimeter. It does the trick for hunting down bad cables.  I have a Solder Saturday every few weeks as well.

I used to use those George L cables for my pedal board and would have problems once in a while. I broke down and bought a bunch of the Spectraflex short cables in various lengths and connector types and in 6 years I have had zero instances where my signal mysteriously disappears. 

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I don't gig so have nothing important to say. But I started using 3 monkey cables last year and Grandson #1, who does play out with his garage band of grungies, has been happy ever since.

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On 9/10/2021 at 1:29 PM, LucSulla said:

Seriously, these things remind me of a 454.  I've had two gigs this week where, inexplicably, my guitar just cut out.  Checked everything, couldn't find a problem, never happened again.  

This seems to be a regular occurrence.  I've gotten to where I check all my cable every three or four weeks, patches included, and still, there is always something every gig that comes and goes.  

I used to mess with cars a lot when I was younger, so that's my frame of reference.  Big block Chevies were always cantankerous, and usually for no particular reason.  They'd run like shit one day to the point you wanted to swear it off, but then you'd have a day where the air was cool, everything seemed to be on the same page, and there was just nothing else like it.  So you kept putting up with it.  

I do the guitarist equivalent of that all the time.  I take the Quilter as a backup.  I eyeball Kempers from time to time and find myself sorely tempted to simplify my life.  All of that stuff sounds great and is so much more trouble free.  But then, everything clicks for a set and, I sit there an think, "This is totally worth the incredible pain in the ass that all of these pedals and tubes are."  

At least until the next signal chain gremlin shows up.

Back before I retired from my day job I was playing in a jam band and every so often in the summer heat and humidity of NJ I'd completely lose signal. Nothin'. Squat. Diddley. I could never figure it out, but then I'm not the sharpest tack on the cork board. Sold the map and guitar, changed cables and have never (knock wood) had that happen again.

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23 hours ago, tbonesullivan said:

This is why I'm just gonna pick up a TC Electronics Plethora X5.  It's like having 5 pedals in one, it's got a tuner, and you can control where it patches into the signal and use the 4 cable method of attachment, if desired.

Hmmm.... no tap tempo and no eq. I'd have to see it in real time but the concept sounds good.

 

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On 9/11/2021 at 7:13 PM, rugby1970 said:

Hmmm.... no tap tempo and no eq. I'd have to see it in real time but the concept sounds good.

I think it does have a tap tempo on the delay. It's also got a built in tuner, noise gate, and other things.

There is probably no EQ pedal because TC Electronic, as far as I know, has never offered one. They tend to do use almost entirely DSP digital effects, which is why it's so easy for them to stick a bunch into one pedal.

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I had a problem during a gig last weekend that I thought was in the pedalboard but ended up being the guitar.

I started thinking about everything that can fail in the signal chain:

  • Pickup - has happened twice
  • Pickup selector switch - still an issue with all my Hamers
  • Input jack - ditto
  • Main cable
  • Pedals - several of my pedals have failed
  • Pedal power supply
  • Patch cables
  • Final cable
  • Amp fuse
  • Preamp tubes
  • Power amp tubes
  • Speakers

This is what makes troubleshooting during a gig so wonderful.

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37 minutes ago, DaveH said:

I heard a story once, true or not who knows, about a vindictive ex who applied clear fingernail polish to some the fellow's plug ends. 😂😬

He had more than one "plug end"?  

Impressive...

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Just now, DaveH said:

Do you have only one cable? 😂 What am I missing here?

Lol. Yep, just one. 

And you know what they say: "It's not the length or gauge of your cable, but rather the strength of your signal."

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On 9/14/2021 at 8:41 AM, HamerHokie said:

I had a problem during a gig last weekend that I thought was in the pedalboard but ended up being the guitar.

I started thinking about everything that can fail in the signal chain:

  • Pickup - has happened twice
  • Pickup selector switch - still an issue with all my Hamers
  • Input jack - ditto
  • Main cable
  • Pedals - several of my pedals have failed
  • Pedal power supply
  • Patch cables
  • Final cable
  • Amp fuse
  • Preamp tubes
  • Power amp tubes
  • Speakers

This is what makes troubleshooting during a gig so wonderful.

I've gone through all this, and then...just a quick roll up of the volume knob on the guitar solves the issue. My favourite thing!!

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