Best Sounding Rig In The History of YOUR World?

[django49]

I would love to play, or even hear more demos of, the Fuchs ODS-II. The trade I was able to work made me default to the ODS-30.....Currently using 2 6L6s rather than 4 6v6s. I am absolutely sure I have NOT got it totally dialed in yet, but still love it.

 

[László]

I spent some quality time last night with my CU24/30th model, and my HXDA 30.

I gotta say...this combination is a beautiful sound, from delicate and clean, to overdriven and nasty, all with a turn of the guitar's volume control. Heck, I even liked it with the 1x12 last night - maybe the darn V-30 in the cab is finally breaking in a little more.

With the McCarty Singlecut, I like the HXDA plugged into a 2x12, there's simply more "room" for the guitar to breathe on the low end and the SC needs it. But the CU24 sits really nicely in either cab.

I gravitate more to the DG30 for the 20th Anniversary of PS guitar...(the "20thAOPS" and I really shoulda given it a name, dang it!). It sounds great with the HXDA, of course, but the DG brings out the differences between the pickup positions just that little bit more at higher volumes. Same with the McCarty/maple neck.

As to the Lone Star, I seem to like it best with the guitars I like the DG30 with, for a different flavor, however, the DG30 is still my preference between the two for most things. Nonetheless, I'm glad to have the Mesa, it compliments the PRS amps very well, especially when I want something that sounds "Leo-ish."

I think I'm super-lucky to have the rig and the guitars I have. Couldn't be happier, honestly.

 

[Blackbear]

I play my PRS Hollowbody II single cut into a Super Reverb Reissue. I played a Super Reverb back in the early 70's and loved the tone then spent the next 35 years going from amp to amp chasing different sounds, then 2 months ago I bought a used SRRI and set the bias at 33ma and the tone I was searching for was there! My rig:

PRS - Fulltone Wah - Barber 1/2 Gainer - El Capistan - SRRI

My dream amp is a DG Custom 30 & cab, someday I will own one, just need to keep saving!

 

[ozboy]

I don't know whether The rig is good or not. The cu24 goes into a Mesa MK V then to a horizontal dual recto cab. That combo alone gives an enormous range of tones. There are the three channels and just turning the reverb on and off changes those tones as does turning the sliders on or off and that's before you touch the guitar volume or tone pots. So far that's taken me about three years to get a feel for, but then my ears were not well educated at the beginning. On the pedalboard I some times like the compressor and I used to add a way halfway down fixed for solos. At the moment the clean channel gets most of the time because the ears can live with it longer. Still turning led z backing track for rock and roll and opening up on the extreme setting on channel 3 is my fav time of the week.

The strymon delays can make for a nice lead tone. However you end up doing a lot of toe tapping when I mostly need to focus on more humble task like staying in time and on tone.

I also have a lone star 100 combo and my mate wolf mail loves using that and he gets sensational tone from it, but the weight is beyond belief thanks I think to the two separate inbuilt reverbs.

If I made a change it would be to downsize, smaller more transportable rig that would be miked to a pa for headroom.

 

[László]

I don't know whether The rig is good or not. The cu24 goes into a Mesa MK V then to a horizontal dual recto cab. That combo alone gives an enormous range of tones. There are the three channels and just turning the reverb on and off changes those tones as does turning the sliders on or off and that's before you touch the guitar volume or tone pots. So far that's taken me about three years to get a feel for, but then my ears were not well educated at the beginning. On the pedalboard I some times like the compressor and I used to add a way halfway down fixed for solos. At the moment the clean channel gets most of the time because the ears can live with it longer. Still turning led z backing track for rock and roll and opening up on the extreme setting on channel 3 is my fav time of the week.

The strymon delays can make for a nice lead tone. However you end up doing a lot of toe tapping when I mostly need to focus on more humble task like staying in time and on tone.

I also have a lone star 100 combo and my mate wolf mail loves using that and he gets sensational tone from it, but the weight is beyond belief thanks I think to the two separate inbuilt reverbs.

If I made a change it would be to downsize, smaller more transportable rig that would be miked to a pa for headroom.

Sounds to me like you have a great setup; the Mark V is a superb amp, and so is the Lone Star 100.

I've had the Mark V head, and you're right about the Lone Star combo, I have one, too, and it's crazy-heavy, though my Tremoverb combo back in the 90s was even heavier. Of course, I was 20 years younger, so there was that...

 

[jfb]

Bogner Uberschall Twin Jet. Orange 4x12. Done. A close second was a 5150 III and the Orange 4x12.

 

[László]

Bogner Uberschall Twin Jet. Orange 4x12. Done. A close second was a 5150 III and the Orange 4x12.

I saw/heard that demo you posted in my other thread. That was some really nice sounding stuff there, buddy!

I may not be a metal shredder, but I can appreciate the tone and playing.

 

[jfb]

I saw/heard that demo you posted in my other thread. That was some really nice sounding stuff there, buddy!

I may not be a metal shredder, but I can appreciate the tone and playing.

I should have probably said my Bogner Ecstasy 20th Anniversary and matching 2x12. It had a lot of knobs. And yes, all of them were at noon!

Appreciate the kind words. One day I will travel to your studio and be a menace. I have to take 5 weeks of vacation this year so no excuses.

 

[Rapdog]

After tonight my HXDA 50 watt head with celestial heritage g12 speaker and my signature limited or my les paul clone with a rosewood neck. Very different sounds from each. The LP is in your face thick and rude while the Siggy is distinct and versatile.

 

[Boogie]

Bogner Uberschall Twin Jet. Orange 4x12. Done. A close second was a 5150 III and the Orange 4x12.

That 5150 III of yours rocked my world. No lie!

 

[aristotle]

It's been almost 3 months, and I've tried to resist it, but I can't help it. DGT or DG stoptail through a Marshall Astoria Custom through a Swart stereo cab is just unbeatable for me, for now. Second best is my DC Ted through the same rig. Then the SC Ted. Ironically, a Les Paul is about 10th on the list, behind 9 other PRS guitars. So much for Gibsons through Marshalls....

 

[jfb]

That 5150 III of yours rocked my world. No lie!

I started my 5150 journey with an old Peavey 5150 block letter version and matching 4x12. The 5150 III is easily one of my favorite amps. Fire breathers.

 

[László]

It's been almost 3 months, and I've tried to resist it, but I can't help it. DGT or DG stoptail through a Marshall Astoria Custom through a Swart stereo cab is just unbeatable for me, for now. Second best is my DC Ted through the same rig. Then the SC Ted. Ironically, a Les Paul is about 10th on the list, behind 9 other PRS guitars. So much for Gibsons through Marshalls....

So...you know...we have to hear this amp and cab combination with your guitars. Now I'm really curious!

OTOH, much as I dig the Mesa Lone Star 100 for what it does - and it does certain things very well - for the most part, my DG30 and HXDA are much better for what I play, and the guitars I use.

Still, it's nice to have choices.

 

[aristotle]

I'm really delinquent in doing some recordings... In my defense, I've recently moved out of my old house, and am split half-way between a condo near the office and a new place on the water that I haven't fully moved into yet. For whatever reason, I always do recordings at home instead of the warehouse....so I need to get set up at home again.

In any case, my recording rig is just a small portable Zoom R24, so no reason I can't set that up in the warehouse temporarily.

I doubt that an Astoria recording will be particularly compelling (the way I do it anyway) but I'll do it just the same.

I may have said it before in this thread, but if so, I'll say it again. Regardless of if it's the MDT or the Astoria, or the HX/DA or the Vintage Modern or the DG30... I find that my "dream rigs" are more and more ending up being single channel amps. And I'm not particularly sure why. For me, the joy I get out of an amp is how it makes me feel when playing live in a band. And since I play in a cover band, you'd think that multi-channel amps would suit me better.

I'm aware of some of the compromises that that are sometimes made with multi-channel amps, but it's not a given. Take the Archon. Each channel on its own is as superb as any single channel amp out there, and there doesn't seem to be any compromise so far as I can tell. But still, It's just more.....expressive???.... with a single channel amp. I do find that a loop is important running a single channel amp live for me. Both because effects sometimes need to be run with the amp relatively gainy, and because you can control the volume with the loop when dialed back on the guitar for a loud clean.

 

[László]

I may have said it before in this thread, but if so, I'll say it again. Regardless of if it's the MDT or the Astoria, or the HX/DA or the Vintage Modern or the DG30... I find that my "dream rigs" are more and more ending up being single channel amps.

I feel the same way, and can't explain why, either. Maybe they just do more of "that thing great amps do."

And maybe it's because so many classic and iconic recorded tones were done with single channel amps? Whatever the reason, I'm that guy, too.

 

[Cranknfrank]

I have a Bad Cat Wildcat 40R (built by Mark Sampson) that I pair with a Marshall 2-12 cabinet loaded with a Celestion V30 and G12H-30 and that rig sounds great with any guitar or pedal combination that I plug into it. I have old and rare Fender, Marshall and Vox amps that I love but the Bad Cat and Marshall cab together just works really well.

Some of us, no doubt, are rock stars with a lot of choice gear. Some of us, like Aristotle, are gods of gear who have Mount Olympus sized rigs.

But for most of us, a few amps, a pedalboard, and some guitars are all it's ever gonna be.

Some of us love our current rigs. Some are still looking for their ultimate setup.

I realized today that I have things pretty much covered. I'm in a good place, certainly my best amp/pedalboard/guitar rig ever. Yes, best in the history of MY world.

Sure, I might add something here or there, but it wouldn't be to upgrade anything; it'd be to make an addition just for the sake of adding to the joy that's already there.

Where do you fall? Are you walking into your studio or practice room and loving the stuff in there, or are you still on the Quest for the holy grail of tone?[/QUOTE

 

[Boogie]

... my "dream rigs" are more and more ending up being single channel amps. And I'm not particularly sure why.

I know, right??!! Remember the Mesa/Boogie ads in Guitar Player in the late '80s touting their new "3 channel" amp? That's what hooked me. The thought of all that flexibility at the tap of a toe was so alluring. So much so that I saved up $2k (insane money for an amp back then) and ordered one. Little did I know that I could have attained nearly the same thing with a single channel amp. Well, at least close.

Having a single channel amp capable of doing all these things makes me feel like I'm really in the driver's seat...I'm sculpting my musical self with two potentiometers at my finger tips and a couple stompboxes. It really is all in/at my fingers. That excites me. It's a little more challenging to "dial-a-tone" than to preset it and "tap-a-tone".

 

[László]

I know, right??!! Remember the Mesa/Boogie ads in Guitar Player in the late '80s touting their new "3 channel" amp? That's what hooked me. The thought of all that flexibility at the tap of a toe was so alluring. So much so that I saved up $2k (insane money for an amp back then) and ordered one. Little did I know that I could have attained nearly the same thing with a single channel amp. Well, at least close.

Yup. I remember being floored at the fact that I could get two channels and two different modes (sounds) in each channel with the Tremoverb when it came out...was around '93 or 4?

And yeah, it was an expensive amp! But I got ten good studio years out of that thing, and I don't regret it, even though toward the end I was pretty much using it as a single channel amp, using the blues channel only, and controlling it with my guitar. By then I was also getting my cleans from the Blue Angel or Maverick.

But afterward I spent a lot of years with Two-Rocks, and they did have two very, very good sounding channels.

Still, I will never forget the sublime surprise and joy I felt playing the HXDA for the first time. After a lot of very fine amps, It was just...perfection. I felt I could do anything with it.

Of course, I also wanted the DG30 almost immediately because I am a glutton for this stuff and it does sound different - I like layering different amps in mixes, not just clean and dirty from the same amp. I think it enriches a track to have different timbres, almost like having violas and violins in an orchestral track, not just violins (to cite just one simple example).

Because I'm optimistic (perhaps overly so) that my hand will not deteriorate further after surgery, I've already got a second DG cab on hold for the HXDA, though I'm not having it delivered until I'm cleared post-surgery.

 

[Boogie]

Speaking of speaker changes, I pulled out my other 1x12 cab from the basement. It's a custom made closed back cab with a WGS ET65 in it. For the longest time I thought it sounded fantastic except for the boxy and boomy bass. In the middle of the business day (it's tough when this stuff is staring me in the face 20' in front of my office desk) I decided to drop in a slab of 8" fiberglass insulation behind the speaker. The result was perfect! So good, in fact, that I decided to gig it last night. Plus, it's lighter than my PRS 1x12, and that's always a good thing.

By itself, that cab sounds great...with the Les Paul and the Super Dallas it's possibly my fav. Breakup is smooth, balanced and no harshness at all (when compared to the V30), and is a sweeter sounding cab. But, with the band, it just doesn't cut. I had to compensate with volume, and that's always bad. It was a great gig and I think I sounded pretty good, but all things considered, the V30 is a better speaker for my live applications. For recording and practice, I vastly prefer the ET65.

 

[László]

Speaking of speaker changes, I pulled out my other 1x12 cab from the basement. It's a custom made closed back cab with a WGS ET65 in it. For the longest time I thought it sounded fantastic except for the boxy and boomy bass. In the middle of the business day (it's thought when this stuff is staring me in the face 20' in front of my office desk) I decided to drop in a slab of 8" fiberglass insulation behind the speaker. The result was perfect! So good, in fact, that I decided to gig it last night. Plus, it's lighter than my PRS 1x12, and that's always a good thing.

By itself, that cab sounds great...with the Les Paul and the Super Dallas it's possibly my fav. Breakup is smooth, balanced and no harshness at all (when compared to the V30), and is a sweeter sounding cab. But, with the band, it just doesn't cut. I had to compensate with volume, and that's always bad. It was a great gig and I think I sounded pretty good, but all things considered, the V30 is a better speaker for my live applications. For recording and practice, I vastly prefer the ET65.

You just never know until you try things, right?

For the same reason you like the V30 in the band context, it works for me in a mix context. Sits in a mix with minimal EQ nicely, works well with a 57. So I seem to use these speakers quite a bit.