Gig question

Sonic Blue 55

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Feb 16, 2018
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I will use the H head into a single 12" and Sennheiser mic.
We are a Boomer Blues band since we range from 62-69.

I have narrowed it down to the Brondel Strat, PRS McCarty gold top double cut with soap bar P90s from Harmonic Design, and the Tele with Harmonic Design Vintage Plus pickups.
All sound great.

What would YOU choose?
 
I will use the H head into a single 12" and Sennheiser mic.
We are a Boomer Blues band since we range from 62-69.

I have narrowed it down to the Brondel Strat, PRS McCarty gold top double cut with soap bar P90s from Harmonic Design, and the Tele with Harmonic Design Vintage Plus pickups.
All sound great.

What would YOU choose?
Nice rig!
Not sure I'd change much. P90s are a fav of mine and they cover a lot of ground. My 594 soapy has been there done that.
Although I use a Kemper at the moment I've gigged my H combo a pile of times and would not hesitate.
What's in the 1x12?
 
The band consists of 1 guitar, 1 bass, keys, drums, and a singer. I've had good luck with the Tele and McCarty at previous gigs.
Last time I used my LP TV Special.
I'll take the Tele and McCarty.
Thanks for your input.
The 12" is a Jensen MOD. their version of a British sound. My other cabinet is a Dan Armstrong with a Cerwin Vega 12" in a sealed back. The Jensen breaks up sooner. Cerwin Vegas tend to be very clean.
 
When I opened my double guitar bag I realized the McCarty was not there. I had to play the Tele since the McCarty was still at home.
After setting up the PA mains and monitors and getting levels for the band, I started off rather beat. First set was not my best.
Clean channel was cranked in the pre section and about 1/3 on master. Sound was to my liking. The drive channel was about 2/3 pre and 1/2 master with a growl. It was a bit thin.
At the break I chatted up a blonde and brunette. It inspired me to shake off the cobwebs and got my mojo rising.
We played an extra 30 minutes with the crowd asking for just one more.
$185 in tips in addition to agreed upon payment so we did better than average.
By the end my strings were crusty and my finger tips were black.

They offered us three different dates to choose from for our return.
 
I'd say you had the rig for the job, minus the McCarty, although it sounds like you made it through just fine! I'd have done something very similar - probably my 2 Channel Custom 50, S2 Studio, and either 594 or Mira Soapbar.

The PRS 2 channel platform (C, H, Custom) makes for a fantastic gigging amp. The circuit of the amp seems more open and vintage style, in that it's more reactive to pretty much everything in the signal chain compared to a modern and more heavily filtered amp sound. It can be hard to control at first, but great once the choice of guitars, boost pedal, tubes, speaker are all settled.

I've settled on an open back PRS 2x12 with Celestion Ruby and Cream alnico speakers, and wow, does it sound great. Although, again, still very sensitive, it does best with hog neck/bodies, Humbuckers and P90's, much more so than Fender type guitars. Big bottom end, but leaner in the low mid, which is great for classic PRS builds. I also just got done moving a few preamp tubes around in it this morning, just finding the best balance on tubes that suit both channels best.

I'm really hoping that PRS comes out with an update to the 2 Channel C/H/Custom at some point. The Archon is kind of close, but hard to dial out the aggression on the lead channel, and darker sounding, too. I'd prefer something Maryland made, mainly for the sake of build quality and serviceability. The current Maryland amp offerings, while excellent in the DG30 and HDRX, is a narrow focus in the world of amps. I've come very close to getting the HDRX that my dealer has in their warehouse, but I'm just not going to drag an attenuator to gigs.
 
That last gig was 101degrees outside. 5 people braved the heat.
The bassist showed his lack of woodshedding between rehearsals and really blew it.
As a result, he just was told his services are no longer needed.

I found a used 15" Celestion Fullback for the Dan Armstrong oven back pine cabinet.
I went with the Les Paul TV Special and Strat.
Turns out the Strat was the right choice.
It sounded far better second set.
The H did what it was supposed to: clean channel for rhythm and drive for leads.
 
I play similar music and am in the age group you reference. In addition to blues, when I gig, (about once every 3 months), I also do smooth jazz.

I will stay out of the amp discussion, because I compromise and go with something that is easy to left and carry up and down stairs. As far as guitars go, a guitar with P90's in it will cover a lot of blues and blues rock. If you can take more than 1 guitar, I have found that Tele's work really well for me at gigs for blues. I like the Strat tones more but Tele's are really easy to play and stay in tune. On the smooth jazz side, I usually bring a PRS Hollowbody

Sorry to hear about the weather at your last gig. If I knew the temprature was going to be that warm, I would not bring any expensive gear to the gig. Hope you find a good bass player.
 
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