Re: Setup of the day

[MrShake]

Brought a new velcro'd plank to the practice space today, swapped my stuff over and made a boost breakthrough.



I've had a song with grunge dynamics, been stacking a Big Muff or something like it (scooped, thick sound to boost highs and lows) on top of a lightly crunchy Rat for the blowout chorus. Haven't been able to find the right Big Muff or equivalent yet. Too ragged or too squealy.

It only occurred to me last night to try a boost, an LPB-1, IN FRONT of the Rat. Just about perfect. May have to try a treble booster to keep the low end a bit tighter? It's not the volume blast I want, but in Turbo Rat mode, there's a little bit more headroom that helps make it feel louder.

Guess I'm building a Screaming Tree soon. I'd never messed with boosts because there was no sense in blasting my clean high-headroom amps. But treating the Rat like a preamp, I see the use for it in my setup.

Plus it means it frees up that final gain spot on the board for anything I want. Right now it's a Fuzzrite. May be a Donner Stylish Fuzz (Triangle Muff) soon.

[MrShake]

A week later, things keep changing. Racing to the budget bottom now for my live rig. What's wrong with me?

[hulakatt]

A week later, things keep changing. Racing to the budget bottom now for my live rig. What's wrong with me?

Found out the expensive way that I'm just not a Jag girl but that one sure does look beautiful to me!

[MrShake]

Aw, shucks, thanks! Just a run-of-the-mill VM Squier, but a $15 pickguard and some stickers do wonders for aesthetics!

It's funny, for times when I want to play slow and stretch my legs and feel luxurious wide lanes, the JM's scale is perfect for my smaller hands. But for high-octane garage stuff, the short scale and thunkier sound just feel right. I've gigged with the JM in that band and it felt bulky and unwieldy. The hands want what they want?

[hulakatt]

Jags just feel too plinky and tight for me. The JM fits me better.

[MrShake]

Jags just feel too plinky and tight for me. The JM fits me better.

Legitimately curious - I assume Mustangs are a solid no-go for you? I love mine, but it's plinky as hell without a drive pedal and mine's got the extra-narrow nut from that era so it feels like a matchstick. But weirdly, with .013s, it's great for punk.

However, even for my slight digits ("They're perfectly average-sized!"), It feels tiny after playing my JM.

I kinda wonder what a full scale Mustang would be like...

[hulakatt]

Jags just feel too plinky and tight for me. The JM fits me better.

Legitimately curious - I assume Mustangs are a solid no-go for you? I love mine, but it's plinky as hell without a drive pedal and mine's got the extra-narrow nut from that era so it feels like a matchstick. But weirdly, with .013s, it's great for punk.

However, even for my slight digits ("They're perfectly average-sized!"), It feels tiny after playing my JM.

I kinda wonder what a full scale Mustang would be like...

Yeah, same thing with Mustangs/Musicmasters/Duo Sonics. I just have long fingers and lean towards the 25.5 scale more readily. Funny that I don't really have the same issue with Gibsons? I dunno.

[Ceepers]

VOX Ac10 not pictured.

Really loving the sound lad Liverpool hungry beaver fuzz. Super versatile pedal!

[MrShake]

None of my other amps have an effects loop. So it's

2003 Mustang
Rat
Amp
FX500 in Effects Loop.



It's been a while since I used it on guitar. It's mostly been in my mixer loop for synthy stuff. The 808 and 303 clones are going nicely with the guitar stuff today, as well. Getting into Warp Records territory at moments.

And, yeah, I've got the FX500 set to "Slowdive" after that "shoegaze pedals" thread.

Literally.

[Dave]

Made a little board for a specific recording project that I was playing on with a friend, quite happy with how this setup sounds.



Up until a couple weeks ago, I was using a Marshall “Reflector” pedal for big spring sounds, one of those heavy steel ones they were making a few years ago. The spring was surprisingly useable on it and I kept it for years just for that use. It started engaging once out of 15 clicks on the foot switch and I had enough so I bought my first pedal in like 11 years with the Topanga and am very pleased with it.

The compressor I then picked up a couple weeks later as similarly I was using a mini Danelectro Ham and Eggs or whatever the fuck it’s called for years and it was so sensitive to voltage/AC hum/ interference that it was fucking near unusable so I kinda traded without trying anything because that’s how I roll and went “I’ll try the plain white one”, it seems fine and does not have the interference issue at all and doesn’t have a knob snapped off that must be adjusted with a narrow flat screwdriver.

I set that big box overdrive to the slightest bit of push and feed it with a singing compressed splashy spring tone and it just channels some good twangy juju with the Casino through the Traynor. I tried the Jazzmaster through it but it just sounded weedy and fucked so I put that back in it’s case, it seems to sound best through the super reverb.

[Pacafeliz]

Rehearsal today, recording next weekend

[MechaBulletBill]

yesterday, i just played my old tokai strat (pretty upgraded) straight through a black deville for some garagey surfy stuff and it sounded pretty flippin good for not-too-distorted sounds. i think i'd need to add a pedal to get more pleasant heavier sounds but i was impressed by what i have in my head as a very bland, stiff-sounding amp.

[JSett]

yesterday, i just played my old tokai strat (pretty upgraded) straight through a black deville for some garagey surfy stuff and it sounded pretty flippin good for not-too-distorted sounds. i think i'd need to add a pedal to get more pleasant heavier sounds but i was impressed by what i have in my head as a very bland, stiff-sounding amp.

People always slate the Hot Rod amps but I've never failed to get a decent sound out of one with a bit of fiddling. Crank that clean channel up and their natural overdrive is pretty damn good. I have one at our rehearsal space as a backup, and take it to gigs sometimes, and it always sounds great once I've got the EQ set up nicely. Mines one of the 1st Gen USA-built ones and I paid £250 for it...that's a LOT of amp for not a lot of money. I'd happily tour with a couple and have no issues with how they sound.

[Shadoweclipse13]

yesterday, i just played my old tokai strat (pretty upgraded) straight through a black deville for some garagey surfy stuff and it sounded pretty flippin good for not-too-distorted sounds. i think i'd need to add a pedal to get more pleasant heavier sounds but i was impressed by what i have in my head as a very bland, stiff-sounding amp.

People always slate the Hot Rod amps but I've never failed to get a decent sound out of one with a bit of fiddling. Crank that clean channel up and their natural overdrive is pretty damn good. I have one at our rehearsal space as a backup, and take it to gigs sometimes, and it always sounds great once I've got the EQ set up nicely. Mines one of the 1st Gen USA-built ones and I paid £250 for it...that's a LOT of amp for not a lot of money. I'd happily tour with a couple and have no issues with how they sound.

Same! I've never played a show with one, but I've played so many pedals through them in shops, and they always sound good to me, occasionally needing a little tweaking as you said. Awesome little amps. It also doesn't hurt, that they were supposedly all over Death Cab For Cutie's Transatlanticism album, which an all-time favorite.

[sal paradise]

Swapping delays about today. And got the JM out for the first time in ages.

Suddenly desperate for a vintage fender amp now that I’m mostly playing the rat into muff on the clean channel.



*edit* just spotted the cat pee on the cab Benny has ownership issues