Minimalist rig?

[Kodee_Kaos]

Really trying to shave off dead weight and get into a more streamlined position. As such, my rig is getting an overhaul. I've had the same halfstack for like 11 years, and while it is a robust monument to the Guitar Gods, I grow weary of lugging it about.

Currently running a JSX head on top of a 4x12 Marshall, with a Boss ME-80 in the fx loop. I would like to trim it down to something very streamlined without sacrificing sound quality.

Was thinking maybe..

->Fractal Audio Axe FX (or similar)
->Some sort of 50-100w tube power amp (Maybe a Carvin TS100?)
->Handbuilt 1x12 with a Celestion (perhaps a Greenback?)

OR

->Fractal Audio Axe FX (or similar)
->12 or 14" Powered PA speaker

Hopefully, the whole thing should stow into a rack case with the footprint of a small hotel fridge and weigh under 80lbs.

Suggestions much appreciated!

 

[Sogradde]

I've had the same problem and I went for an EVH 5150 LBX, an Orange 212 and a POD 500 (via 4 cable method) for my live rig. I thought about a 112 aswell but I couldn't stand how boxy it sounded. Since we work with IEM I could have went for a Kemper rack + Floorboard and just be done with it, would have probably costed around the same but I like lunchbox amps. I guess the most minimalistic approach would indeed be a modeler with a MIDI controller and a speaker but in the end it's up to your personal preferences and whether or not you can live with a single possible point of failure in case something breaks.

 

[kylendm]

Fwiw
Going axefx and still getting a tube poweramp isn't going to shave off too many pounds. You'd be better off getting a nice solid state one like a matrix power amp. Otherwise the axefx and the PA would be the best for someone looking for minimal gear to haul.

With all that said, I still prefer to be lug at few more pounds and have a tube power amp. There's just something I miss in ss power amps that I get with tube stuff.

 

[bostjan]

My current rig is Guitar > MESA Boogie Dual Recto > Seismic 212 cab loaded w/ Eminence Neodymiums.

It's super lightweight, and I love the sound. I looked around for a lightweight replacement for the Recto, but ultimately, didn't find anything I loved. The AxeFX II I tried sounded just like it, but I didn't click with all of the extra stuff. I'm sure it could have worked, but, with that kind of price tag, I couldn't justify it.

Anyway, I'm certain you can pull this off. A couple of things, though:

I've heard some pretty good 112" cabs, but they are a rare find, and by design, tend to be very "beamy" (i.e., the sound beams out of the cab, making very high SPL in front of the cab and very low SPL off axis). They make beam blockers that spread the sound aperture at the grille, which helps quite a bit, but compromises some high frequency response, and 212 cabs tend to not need it.

I've found that, while 50W seems to be plenty of power for rehearsal, (in fact, 50W sounds better in an empty room, to my ears) playing to a room full of people, I "need" 100W to obtain the tone I like at the appropriate volume level.

PA speakers will work for amplifying a guitar signal, but tend to include a horn and thus, sound significantly brighter. Having extra high end, though, you can adjust the EQ to compensate (whereas you can't EQ high end into a speaker that doesn't push it).

I think those are all pretty easy hurdles to clear, though. You probably already thought of all of that, actually.

 

[TedEH]

I'd just ditch the Boss, and get a smaller cab. IMO the simplest rig is still just guitar -> head -> cab. And if size is a concern you could go guitar -> lunchbox head -> 1x12.

Compared to what you have, switching to an Axe gives you potentially the benefit of less weight for the amp itself, and the extra features of the Axe would easily replace the Boss (and probably sound a lot better). But to get the weight benefit, you'd need to avoid needing a poweramp with it. The Axe+Poweramp might weigh as much as your normal amp. But if you skip the amp and get a powered speaker instead, then you've lost your access to gear sharing situations since you can't just show up at a gig with only the head and use any ol' cab anymore.

That's what I really like about lunchbox amps right now. I show up at a gig with the guitar in one hand, the tiny little lunchbox amp in the other hand, and 9 times out of 10 someone has already supplied a cab I can use. Doesn't get easier than that.

 

[mnemonic]

Regarding 1x12 cabs, a TL806 / thiele style cab may work, if you pump enough volume to get the benefit of the design and you like the EVM sound. Apparently they do sound much larger than they look.

It would save space but not so much on weight, a 2x12 may well be the same weight or lighter.

 

[Jeff]

Mark V:25, 1x12 ported, and a Boss MS-3.

 

[bostjan]

Slightly on topic:

A couple years ago, I got on a kick - I wanted to make myself the best micro guitar rig possible and take it to open mic to play electric. I kitted together a noisy cricket with a $3 Walmart computer speaker, and, as good as it sounded for a $3 speaker with a $1 amp, it still sounded bad. I messed with the noisy cricket circuitry and ended up replacing the buffer with a transistorized clone of the first two stages of a dual recto. I then replaced the $3 Walmart speaker with a pair of Radio Shack CB radio speakers, and then started messing with biamping (with a and using a 6" bass driver, blah blah blah. Then I plugged the old noisy cricket into my 212 cab just out of curiosity and it pretty much just plain ripped! Whoah... so I guess the problem all along was the horrible speakers.

But anyway, there are some great suggestions here. Where I'm a little lost with the recommendations is where most folks in the thread are not specifying which 112 cab. I've personally tried out Orange 112s, Vox 112s, MESA 112s, Fender 112s, etc., all mainstream stuff, and sometimes 2-3 different varieties from these manufacturers, but I still have not come across a single 12" cab that grabbed me. I have not tried the TL806, although I have wanted to build a properly tuned cabinet for ages now, I just don't have a good tablesaw... My concern with something like that is the weight. I think the TL806 is going to weigh more, even at it's lightest, than my Seismic cab. Maybe it would sound better, though.

To the point of the power amp weight. A SS power amp is going to be physically much smaller, and weigh much less. If I were you, going for an ultra light and super small rig, I would at least try out a bunch of different power amps and see if there is enough of a difference to justify the added bulk associated with a tube amp. An amp with a torroidal transformer and a class A transistor power section is probably going to sound exactly the same, anyway, since the power amp shouldn't be doing any distortion anyway - it'll merely make the signal from the preamp louder.

 

[odibrom]

I play a really minimalistic rig on rehearsals, as simple as Guitar -> Amp -> Cab. Amp has 4 different sounds, I use them all via the switch pedal. The guitar has lots of sounds, I use most of them. I've been happy with this set up on rehearsals (rental studios)...

 

[tupesaku]

I've written this in some other thread already but as it goes well for this thread also, I'll repeat myself

I had an EVH 5150lll with a Boss Gt-100 that I dithced to go into something else...first I got the Helix rack with a Matrix Gt800fx poweamp, which I really like and still have. But it's still a pretty big rig...

So, I decided to build another rig that would fit in a pedalboard. I went with a Taurus Stomp Head 4 HG as my amp on the board, and I'm really surprised how good it sounds and how loud it is...so if a small proper amp is what you're looking for, check Taurus Amps out! At least for me it really is a perfect solution for a small and powerful amp.

Kinda tempted to buy an Amplifire 12 to go with the Stomp Head...that would be an awesome setup!

 

[BurningRome]

This could be a fun giggable rig.

Iphone running Bias FX > FRFR powered speaker

Bias FX also sells a midi foot controller so that you can switch through various presets you have running on your iphone, ipad or computer.

I saw they have a free iphone one to try that I may give a shot to see how good it is. The ones you pay for seem to have a ton of cool fx, amps etc.

 

[Gmork]

Got my entire rig on my pedalboard. Just a speaker cable to a cab (which is often supplied) and im good to go!

 

[tupesaku]

Nice, congrats!

Here's a pic of a similar setup from me:

 

[WhammyZhou69]

Line 6 Helix, power amp, 2x12. or line 6 helix to pa

 

[Gmork]

Nice, congrats!

Here's a pic of a similar setup from me:

Cool! People look at you weird wondering where your amp is too i bet! Lol.
Hows that taurus amp? Its huge lol. So 2 tubes in the pre? So its ahybrid? Im guessing your main tones are from that and you just use the 5150 pedal once in awhile?

 

[tupesaku]

Cool! People look at you weird wondering where your amp is too i bet! Lol.
Hows that taurus amp? Its huge lol. So 2 tubes in the pre? So its ahybrid? Im guessing your main tones are from that and you just use the 5150 pedal once in awhile?

Thanks! The Stomp head, has two channels with three switches for a separate crunch mode, boost and for muting...and it sounds huge...it uses the tubes for the front and power some how, I guess...so some sort of a hybrid. The size is actually quite ok, especially considering it is a full on amp head...but Taurus has some smaller ones too.

The amp distortion channel I use for my sevens and the 5150 OD for six stringed guitars...this way I have different distortion channels for both, which is handy because we change guitars in the middle of our live set.