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What type amp do you take to a gig?
Non-modeling amp, Tube or SS, w/ cabinet 40%  40%  [ 12 ]
Modeling Amp w/ cabinet (Mustang and like) 27%  27%  [ 8 ]
Modeling Amp wo/ cabinet (footswitch or rack etc.) 3%  3%  [ 1 ]
Non-modeling amp w/modeling pedal(s) and FX 13%  13%  [ 4 ]
Other 17%  17%  [ 5 ]
Total votes : 30
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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 3:37 pm
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fenderfan wrote:

Other than me you are the only person I've seen post about adding a tube preamp between the guitar and a modeling amp. Mine was about $50 and fits in a gig bag pocket. I don't crank it though. Just a little gain adds enough tube richness to get rid of the digital sound I didn't like and add warmth. Like you said, best of both worlds.

But maybe everyone else is snickering and waiting to see how long it takes us to fry our amps? The Fender Champ has that setup built in but would have cost me more.


Is the reference to the Champ in the last sentence intended to refer to the Super Champ XD?

Because vintage Champ owners are probably having a cow at calling a SC XD a Champ. ;)

That said, I love my Super Champ XD. I found one like new (although I had to order a new foot pedal for it, for an additional $15 or so) in a local pawn for not very much dosh at all. Iirc, $175 USD. It's perfect for my low-volume gigs, both with the church band and the experimental/performance art side band I'm in.

For my main, punk rock and roll band, I use a 50W tube head and a 4x12. But the li'l SC XD has its place too.


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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 4:29 pm
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Brian Krashpad wrote:
fenderfan wrote:

Other than me you are the only person I've seen post about adding a tube preamp between the guitar and a modeling amp. Mine was about $50 and fits in a gig bag pocket. I don't crank it though. Just a little gain adds enough tube richness to get rid of the digital sound I didn't like and add warmth. Like you said, best of both worlds.

But maybe everyone else is snickering and waiting to see how long it takes us to fry our amps? The Fender Champ has that setup built in but would have cost me more.


Is the reference to the Champ in the last sentence intended to refer to the Super Champ XD?

Because vintage Champ owners are probably having a cow at calling a SC XD a Champ. ;)

That said, I love my Super Champ XD. I found one like new (although I had to order a new foot pedal for it, for an additional $15 or so) in a local pawn for not very much dosh at all. Iirc, $175 USD. It's perfect for my low-volume gigs, both with the church band and the experimental/performance art side band I'm in.

For my main, punk rock and roll band, I use a 50W tube head and a 4x12. But the li'l SC XD has its place too.


Yes I did - but no disrespect intended.

The XD is kinda like a modeling amp with a tube preamp and power section? If so, I can see how it would be better than a regular ss modeling amp.


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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 5:17 pm
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fenderfan wrote:
Brian Krashpad wrote:
fenderfan wrote:

Other than me you are the only person I've seen post about adding a tube preamp between the guitar and a modeling amp. Mine was about $50 and fits in a gig bag pocket. I don't crank it though. Just a little gain adds enough tube richness to get rid of the digital sound I didn't like and add warmth. Like you said, best of both worlds.

But maybe everyone else is snickering and waiting to see how long it takes us to fry our amps? The Fender Champ has that setup built in but would have cost me more.


Is the reference to the Champ in the last sentence intended to refer to the Super Champ XD?

Because vintage Champ owners are probably having a cow at calling a SC XD a Champ. ;)

That said, I love my Super Champ XD. I found one like new (although I had to order a new foot pedal for it, for an additional $15 or so) in a local pawn for not very much dosh at all. Iirc, $175 USD. It's perfect for my low-volume gigs, both with the church band and the experimental/performance art side band I'm in.

For my main, punk rock and roll band, I use a 50W tube head and a 4x12. But the li'l SC XD has its place too.


Yes I did - but no disrespect intended.

The XD is kinda like a modeling amp with a tube preamp and power section? If so, I can see how it would be better than a regular ss modeling amp.


Yeah, apparently it has a tube pre and power amp section, in addition to amp models. But frankly I don't understand all that stuff. I'm a Cro-Magnon when it comes to tech stuff.

I just know that I can get really good sounds out of it (I only need 3 or 4 amp sounds to get me through a set), and it's dependable and easy to use, with good usable models without doing too much work.

:mrgreen:


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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 6:54 pm
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fenderfan wrote:
Brian Krashpad wrote:
fenderfan wrote:

Other than me you are the only person I've seen post about adding a tube preamp between the guitar and a modeling amp. Mine was about $50 and fits in a gig bag pocket. I don't crank it though. Just a little gain adds enough tube richness to get rid of the digital sound I didn't like and add warmth. Like you said, best of both worlds.

But maybe everyone else is snickering and waiting to see how long it takes us to fry our amps? The Fender Champ has that setup built in but would have cost me more.


Is the reference to the Champ in the last sentence intended to refer to the Super Champ XD?

Because vintage Champ owners are probably having a cow at calling a SC XD a Champ. ;)

That said, I love my Super Champ XD. I found one like new (although I had to order a new foot pedal for it, for an additional $15 or so) in a local pawn for not very much dosh at all. Iirc, $175 USD. It's perfect for my low-volume gigs, both with the church band and the experimental/performance art side band I'm in.

For my main, punk rock and roll band, I use a 50W tube head and a 4x12. But the li'l SC XD has its place too.


Yes I did - but no disrespect intended.

The XD is kinda like a modeling amp with a tube preamp and power section? If so, I can see how it would be better than a regular ss modeling amp.


No disrespect taken. My Champs a 74 and I just replaced the speaker last year with a Weber Sig 8, a 1,000% improvement. Not to waste anything, I built a little 5 watt hybrid and put the Champs speaker in it. I'm a professional freelance photographer and I also like building amps, pedals and cigar box guitars and amps. No modeling stuff in there.

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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 10:19 pm
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Cool... neat little amp... how does a Tele or a Strat sound thru it?

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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 2:27 am
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fenderfan wrote:
Is it possible that those who really like modeling amps are the ones who devoted a lot of time into learning all about it and tweaking their presets just the way they want them while those who are anti-modeling just didn't take the time to fully know the amp and set it up the way they want?


I think there's a certain amount of truth to that. Pretty much every technological advance undergoes this same thing which is really resistance to change. Once you've learned to do something one way it's not uncommon to resist learning a new way to do things even if there may be certain advantages to it.

Quote:
For me it seems like the learning curve is longer on the modeling, Doesn't take long to find the tone I want with a tube amp and six knobs. With the modeling amp I've managed to get a few presets that cover Chet Atkins type fingerpicking, blues, classic rock and country. None as well as the tube amp though. Some posters make up a new preset for each song and sometimes multiple ones for one song! Just like a computer, the more time you spend fiddling with it the more you learn and the better you can make it do what you want it to do. I can't imagine spending that much time in front of an amp pushing buttons instead of bending strings though!


Of course the learning curve will be longer due to all the features. However consider the learning curve you would have if you bought 12 different amps and 40 different pedals and set out to learn how to use all of them at one time. Pretty much the same thing.

It certainly takes a while to figure out how you're going to manage all these capabilities that's why it's great to have forums like this and the Mustang forum so people can get advice on the best practices for employing the technology. These days I don't spend a lot of time fiddling with it much. I've come up with about 10 or 12 presets that I use commonly depending on the style of song I'm playing so it's really no more time than I would be spending on a tube amp.

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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 1:54 pm
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Strat-Slinger wrote:
Cool... neat little amp... how does a Tele or a Strat sound thru it?


Not too bad actually. It is what it is. I bought the kit from Oatley Electronics in Australia. It was like twenty nine bucks plus shipping. It uses a Raytheon JAN6418 tube and a LM1875T IC. The tube is a sub-miniature and is used as a preamp tube and is board mounted. The LM1875T IC handles the power end of it. It sounds really decent and sounds tube-like. The breakup is pretty decent I guess because of the tube. I actually built the amp for the photo. The suitcase belonged to my great aunt. Somehow I wound up with it. I know it's really old and covered in tweed or something similar. It's a fun conversation piece.

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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2015 2:09 pm
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It certainly takes a while to figure out how you're going to manage all these capabilities that's why it's great to have forums like this and the Mustang forum so people can get advice on the best practices for employing the technology. These days I don't spend a lot of time fiddling with it much. I've come up with about 10 or 12 presets that I use commonly depending on the style of song I'm playing so it's really no more time than I would be spending on a tube amp.[/quote]

I only use one preset on my GDec 30 that I actually sat there and changed. I turned all the effects off, use the cheesy Blackface model, and that's about it. I use the drumbeats to practice timing, or plug in my iPod with backing tracks.

That's just the GDec, I tried sitting down with a Mustang III and just got frustrated. I'm probably the guy who IS happy with a dozen amps and forty pedals. I'm just used to turning actual knobs and the sound of a good analog pedal. Like I said before, I just built a tube driven long spring reverb driven by three 12ax7 and a 12at7 preamp tube. I just changed the 12at7 to a JAN Phillips NOS preamp tube and it's seriously quiet. It sounds glorious. I also built a digital reverb pedal and there's no comparison. I'm just either not smart enough for all this digital stuff or have a low frustration level. :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 6:45 am
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Here's a thought...

Get the best gear you can afford.

Get gear that helps you create the sounds you like.

Get gear that "moves" you to play well and create something worth listening to.

Start playing and practicing and play something that hasn't been done 8 billion times before.

Ignore what the gear is--digital, solid state, tube or hybrid--and just use it.

If it sounds good, it IS good.

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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 6:46 am
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^ Wisdom.

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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 7:17 am
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63supro wrote:
I'm just used to turning actual knobs
Hey look ..... knobs! :shock: :P

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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 7:36 am
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Wow, and an LCD screen with little pictures and numbers on it too with little rubber buttons and a USB port too! Glad to see they're made in China instead of Mexico. No Thanks. :lol: Strings, just use what you like, it's no biggie. :lol:

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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 8:25 am
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TheKingofPain wrote:
^ Wisdom.


+1 He waits in the shadows until needed. Who is that masked man? :)

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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 8:41 am
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Years ago there was a guy on the forum that used a Cyber Twin. It was a pretty cool amp for its time, I liked them there was another forum member or two that used them. But this guy was always trying to convince us that this amp was the end all and be all of everything amplified and tube amps were doomed. Silly really. If we want to haul around a heavy, old technology piece of amplification because we like it, what's the problem? I have no problem with solid state amps at all. Modeling I'm not thrilled with yet. Who knows, maybe down the line, but not right now. Right now, for me anyway, I don't feel like hooking up my amp to a computer, programming presets, or searching for a great sound on the internet. I've played with these things at Sam Ash. I have lots of music stores around me and one I can walk to if I feel like it. It's just a stupid poll, don't take it personally and just use what you like. Maybe if I used a Mustang that was hooked up to Fuse, I would get better results, but as it is now, it don't float my boat. Quilter Amps on the other hand are a different story...............

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Post subject: Re: Modeling or non modeling for gigging.
Posted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 9:16 am
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It's ok 63supro, the original question was "what do you use for gigging?", not "what should everyone use for gigging?". People feel the need to defend their amp when someone else talks it down. It's human nature. :wink:

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