Guitar Rig Evolution

[jmwjjmwj]

Even if we play the same guitar(s) through the same amp(s) year after year, tweaking the signal chain seems to be a compulsion with musicians, especially guitarists.

After years of slowing growing my chain into an impossible mess, I went back to a simpler rig last year and I haven’t turned back.

My set up today:

2000 Tele/1972 TeleDlx RI/1972 Strat
Morley ABY
“B”  Korg Tuner
“A”  Crybaby Classic  MXR Distortion Plus  MXR Carbon Copy
1976 Deluxe Reverb w/CRex (non BF’d)

How has your rig evolved?

[stantheman]

I started with Silvertone and now play through a Ceriatone.

[T_red7882]

i started with a hot rod deluxe and now i gig thru a tweed deluxe or twin reverb depending on the size of the venue, actually if its large enough, ill lay thru both and get an awesome sound.

[Fret Melter]

Amp wise, Started with a Kustom 10watt, then to a Peavey Heritage 2x12Hybrid amp (Wish I still had it!) Then to a Marshall Lead 100 Mosfet (Piece of *****!), A Carvin X-60B (Wish I still had), Then to A huge Rack Setup with an ADA Mp-1 as the Heart, Then To a Carvin Legacy 100W Head (Still Have for possible use one day) Now, My newly acquired dream amp, a '78 SF Twin reverb. Lord, havin this all down in front of me, I didn't realize how many amps i've been through!! And how my musical endeavors have changed!

[Paul in Colorado]

I used to beg, borrow or rent an amp in the early days of my first band. Finally I got a non-master SF Twin Reverb on a rent-to-own plan. I had that amp for about ten years upgrading it with JBL speakers. Since then I had a Music Man, Carvin, a couple of Boogies, Vox, Traynor, other Fenders, a Rivera and a rack system with multi effects, separate preamp and power amp.(some of which I still have).

But when I have the right gig for it, I bring a '68 Dual Showman Reverb (Twin in a head cab) and a 2 x 12" cab with the same JBL's I had in my original Twin. I've come full circle. I had it right the first time and didn't even realize it! That's the sound I want to hear.

[singlecoil]

Depends on the room. Small I'll play thru my JD tele-rocktron Short timer-tuner-Champ II. Medium = JD tele- tuner -fender Concert. Outside and large= JD tele-ABY box-tuner- Fender Concert and MusicMan RD 112 fifty

[Ben Harmless]

Early/beginning - 15-17 years old: Epiphone Strat thing with Floyd into a dirt pedal into a Peavy practice amp. Upgraded to larger Peavey practice amp when I joined a band.

Early middle era - 17-21 years old: Epi SG, Epi LP Jr Double-cutaway, or MIM Tele Special into one of the following in quick sucession (can't remember order): Peavey combo, Marshall JCM900 halfstack, Marshall JCM combo, some other Marshall head, Mesa Studio .22, another Peavey combo with a terrible dirt pedal, JC-120 with a Boss Dual OD, (actually very Marshall) Reverend Hellhound, Fender Twin, Vox Pathfinder 15R, Mesa Dual Recto, (borrowed) Peavey VTM halfstack, (borrowed) Harry Joyce Custom 100, (borrowed) and some other junk.

Late middle era 22-24 years old: MIM Tele Special into 50w Marshall JCM800 head purchased off of an idiot friend for $200. Needed caps/tubes/love.

Now - darn near 30: MIM Tele Special, or Gretsch Historic Series (MIK) Streamliner, or Gibby Melody Maker RI into that same JCM800 or/and a homebrew tweaked JCM800-type-thing. AND my drummer's JCM800 when my band is feeling very stupid indeed.

I'm pretty happy now. I do kinda want a cleaner amp with some EL84 chime at the moment though. No rush.

I think my journey reflects growth away from gear and towards creativity - with a sidetrack into creating some gear. I like that.

[Mark N]

when I first started to learn guitar back in the mid 80's I got a tele and it came with an old Peavey head with a 412 cabinet...my bedroom was on the third floor of an apartment...yikes! I have had a few Peavey amps, a backstage 50, two Bandit 65's, a Deuce 212, a Stereo Chorus 212 and a Classic 30. The C30 was probably the best one with the Bandits in second place...I also had a red knob Fender Champ 12...then I got a Blues Deville 410 that was quite nice but wanted something lighter like a DRRI, so I had one of those and now I have a TRRI...it's probably the best amp I have had hands down with the DRRI and B D'ville second and third respectivley. I like a simple rig:

52 ri/50's Esquire>Bad Monkey>Marshall Blues Breaker>Digitech Digi delay.

The best tone I can find is guitar, cable and amp...but the TRRI is so clean I need to have pedals for the OD..

[Tim Armstrong]

My first good rig was a mid-70s Telecaster Deluxe into a mid-70s Deluxe Reverb.

And yep, just like so many, that was just about right, but I had to go through a whole lotta stuff to get to my present guitar rig, my Beloved 1966 Telecaster into a 1969 Princeton Reverb (with a 12" Weber in it)...

Cheers, Tim

ps- I see we're talking about the stuff inbetween, too.

I went through a bunch of amps, including a Southwestern Electronics solid-state kit amp head (it had a FUZZ knob!), a nice golden sparkle tuck'n'roll Kustom head, a 1968 SF Bassman head, a 1966 BF Princeton (non-reverb), a Peavey Classic 30, a 1978-ish 50-watt Marshall JPM head, a couple Traynor YBA-1 Bass Master heads, and finally a mid-70s Traynor YGM-3 Guitar Mate that I still have. There were various speaker cabs for the heads, 1x15, 2x15, 2x12, etc., built by various outfits...

As long as I'm adding to this list, might as well talk about bass amps (as I've played more gigs as a bassist):

First gig rig was the Southwest Electronics head above, into a Fender 2x15 cab. Then there was a Peavey Mark IV into a Peavey 2x15 Black Widow cab (ouch! heavy!!!), followed by the SF Bassman head mentioned above into a chopped-down Kustom cab with a single 15" speaker. Then, there were the Traynors mentioned above, into a Guild cab with a single 15 (which I'm using still), followed by an SWR Workingman's 2004 head (not a year, but a reference to 200 watts into 4 ohms) into a Steel Sound 2x10 cab, a Crate PowerBlock, and my present gigger, an AMP BH420 head (a real sleeper, this amp KILLS!).

[T_red7882]

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

My first good rig was a mid-70s Telecaster Deluxe into a mid-70s Deluxe Reverb.

And yep, just like so many, that was just about right, but I had to go through a whole lotta stuff to get to my present guitar rig, my Beloved 1966 Telecaster into a 1969 Princeton Reverb (with a 12" Weber in it)...

Cheers, Tim

which weber ya got in there? ceramic, alnico?

[studio1087]

12 year old - Tele and a Vibro Champ - No Pedals

Teenager - Tele and a big solid State Kustom Lead III - MXR Distortion + and a Phase 45

College Band - Les Paul and a Music Man RD50 Head with 2-12 Music man Bottom - Boss Analog Delay and Boss Chorus

After College - An Ibanez Strat and a Roland JC-120 - Boss Compressor and Chorus (the late 80's new wave rig)

Early 30's - Fender VJ Squier Strat and VJ Squier Tele - Carvin SX200 amp and a Marhall SS Amp - Boss Compressor, Delay, Chorus

Mid 30's - Fender Stage Amp SS - Mexi Tele - Epi Jazz Guitar

Turning 40 - Fender Pro Junior or VOX AD50VT or mid 70's Champ - Mexi Tele - Mexi Strat - PRS Santana - PRS P-90 Guitar

Today - Fender Blues Junior - Mexi Strat & Tele - Nashville Tele - SG - Melody Maker - BBE Green Screamer - Carl Martin Red Repeat - Boss Trem - Boss Compressor


John

[Tim Armstrong]

Originally Posted by T_red7882

which weber ya got in there? ceramic, alnico?

You'd think I'd know, and you'd be wrong!



The previous owner put it in there, and I have no idea!

And I know the magnets are supposed to look different, but I forget just how!

Cheers, Tim

[Bill]

From the first time I picked up an electric, I've wanted one kind of sound: warm, fat, organic, and touch-sensitive that ranges from jazz clean to overdriven and sustaining. Think Wes Montgomery/Joe Pass on the clean side to B.B. King/Otis Rush on the overdrive side.

So I've gone bigger in range of amps, from

Vibro Champ

Princeton Reverb

Super Champ

Deluxe Reverb

Pro Reverb

and back and forth between guitars:

Old Strat

Old Tele

ES-347

And an overdrive designed to work with a clean amp:

Blackstone Appliances MOSFET Overdrive

That means I can get the sound I want at any volume by using this pedal into a clean amp, then just clean up the sound via the volume control on my guitar.

Really simple and does everything I want.

[Demo]

A test?

A 69SG into (amp question):

a Kustom something
Vox Royal Guardsman
another Vox Royal Guardsman (2 at once)
72 Marshall S/L (ordered brand new)

Enter Telecaster

64 Vox AC-30
SF Princeton
Fender Concert (brown)
UV
Brown Princeton (6G2 maybe?)
Tweed Champ
Tweed Deluxe
Emery SuperBaby
Supro 24

I still have the SG, two CS Teles and the last four amps. Now if only I could remember what I forgot?

[rock_and_or_rol]

some sort of cheap Washburn electric with a Peavey practice amp

then got a MIM strat and Fender FM212 (solid state)

then got a LP studio and a Marshall ModeFour w. 4x12 cab

sold the MIM strat (stupid), got a real old beatup strat copy?? with orig. 60's pickups (bought for $75!!)

traded the ModeFour head for a Traynor YCS100

got a Tele thinline and now I just sold the Traynor head and got a Vox Ac15 (which I'll sometimes run through my Marshall 4x12)

[skeksis]

Hmmm... I'll just have to focus on the last 18 months since I started working with a gigging band again. I'm happy with what I've got, but am really itching for something vox.

the listed guitars, amps, pedals are roughly in chronological order starting early last year, and for the most part I only still own a few of the items in each category... the last couple items in each category represent my current rig, depending on mood.

50's Classic Tele
Blue MIJ Strat
Silvertone (harmony) Stratotone
Silvertone (harmony) 1454
52 RI MIJ Tele
62 RI MIJ Tele
55-56 Gibson LP jr

DRRI
SF Vibrochamp
SF Vibrolux Reverb
Silvertone 1482
BF Princeton Reverb
Airline 9015A
Marsh 5f4 kit

bad monkey
ibanez ts-9 (808 mod)
boss sd-1
arion sod-1
boss od-3
DOD od 250

[Rumble]

Let's see, over about 20 years-

1st: A sunburst ES 335 copy (Westbury) into a little keyboard amp through a Boss distortion pedal

2nd: a black MIJ Tele into a Yamaha 112, maybe a wah pedal

3rd: A white Gibson SG into the same Yamaha and then into a Marshall VS100 4x12, maybe a wah pedal

4th: A 1979 sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard into a 212 Blues Deville no pedals

5th: A Hwy 1 Tele through either a Vox AC15 or a 1976 Marshall 1987 4x12, no pedals

I still have everything listed except the MIJ Tele and the Gibson SG

[RocksOff]

Alright here we go...

First a Kustom amp of some sort
Marshall JCM600 thru Marshall 4 x 12
Sovtek Mig60 thru Marshall 4 x 12
then Sovtek Mig60 thru Boogie 2 x 12
then several Marshall plexi combos passed thru the stables
then Boogie Lonestar Special 2 x 12
now VoxAC30

pedals??? wow...
Prescription Electronics Yardbox
several DanEcho's
Boss DD4
Keeley JavaBoost
Rotovibe
Banshee
Boss Tremolo
Boss Tremolo Keeley modded
Pigtonix Disnortion
Fultone GT500
Planet Waves Tuner
Springfield Fuzz
some others...

guitars...
have stuck to Tele's and Esquires wth the exception of a Epi Dot, Gibson LP Jr. and a Gibson Firebird.

I have most of the stuff still.

[tazzboy]

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

You'd think I'd know, and you'd be wrong!



The previous owner put it in there, and I have no idea!

And I know the magnets are supposed to look different, but I forget just how!

Cheers, Tim

Web speakers have either a serial number or model stamp on the speaker.

[Tarnisher]

Since you asked...

I Started with a Wurlitzer Mandolin because I wanted to be different from all those guitar players.

I decided I needed to be louder to play it in a rock band, so I bought one of those Dean Markley sticky pickups and a Radian combo amp from a kid at school. I paid ten bucks for it. We're still friends, but I lost track of the amp long ago.

After playing my friend's strat, I finally decided to become a guitar player after all, and bought an Epiphone SG.

At some point I bought a DOD Classic Fuzz at GC for $35, and it's been a constant in my rig ever since.

I loved the look of the SG, but it just didn't sound or feel as good to me as my friend's Mexican Strat. So I saved up and traded it for an American Standard Telecaster.

The Telecaster looked cool, and played great, but I was listening to a lot of Aerosmith, and lusted after that big fat humbucker lead tone, so I replaced the bridge pickup with a red lace sensor.

I also wasn't thrilled with the neck pickup. On the other hand, I LOVED the neck pickup on my friend's Mexican Strat, so when he upgraded guitars, I convinced him to sell it to me (the pickup, not the Strat).

Now that I had my guitar sorted out, it became clear that my Radian sucked, so I bought a Fender Blues DeVille.

I played the Tele through the Classic Fuzz into the DeVille until my band broke up and I went to college. Then all my electric gear sat in my closet for a few years, and I became a folk singer, only playing my Yamaha FG-180 acoustic guitar.

I started to get interested in the idea of playing an acoustic like an electric, and I bought a Lawrence soundhole pickup, and dragged out the DeVille. It was much too loud, so I bought a small Silvertone instead.

I decided that I needed a good solid wood acoustic, and that I wasn't going to have any use for my DeVille, so I traded it towards a Larrivee Parlor guitar, and that became my main instrument.

Then I bought a big Silvertone- two channels, head that's hardwired to the cab, one big 15" Jensen speaker. I played that rig with my band in college- the Larrivee through the Lawrence, into the Classic Fuzz, and out the Silvertone. I used only the Larrivee and the Yamaha with my two Silvertones to make my first record.

After college, I inherited a redknob 80's Fender combo from a guy who left it in the house when he moved out. I retubed it and began gigging with it.

Then I found a Carvin DC-100 for $100 at a yardsale, and began playing that as my main guitar.

I bought a Boss TU-2 tuner and a Morley Volume pedal at some point.

I took some time off from music for a while, during which time my redknob and my big Silvertone were destroyed in a fire. Fortunately, my guitars survived.

When I started playing again, I started researching amps, and ended up with a Victoria 20112.

Around this time I also bought a BBE Sonic Stomp, a MXR EQ, and an Ernie Ball Volume pedal to replace the Morley, which was making too much noise with the Victoria.

The Victoria is a terrific amp, but it's almost too good- I don't like taking a $1200 amp to gigs. So I started shopping for something cheaper.

Instead of something cheaper, I found a 1955 Tremolux for the same money, so now I've got two really amazing expensive amps that I don't want to take out of the house.

To solve the problem, I bought ANOTHER amp, a vintage Premiere. But it just wasn't the sound I wanted, so I kept looking.

I found what I was looking for in a modded Fender Pro Jr. that's been completely rewired, and now produces a clean tone that is incredibly loud and balanced. I am experimenting with running it in tandem with another Silvertone I just bought.

I began having wrist trouble (ganglion cyst), which has kept me from playing the Larrivee quite so much. That, combined with my desire for better high fret access on an acoustic led to my purchasing a Stroup archtop, and I plan to throw that into the mix as soon as I get a pickup for it.

Finally, I now have my Telecaster back in working order, and I'm playing it as my main guitar for the first time since high school, so I'm right back where I started, in a way. I am considering replacing the bridge pickup, though...