Wired.

[László]

Never getting another amp? I'll blow the BS horn on that one!

No, seriously, every time I get an amp I wind up moving everything in the studio to accommodate the changes to the rig. And I'm just too freaking old to keep doing that. I'm literally hurting from it, and I'm still not happy with the way it looks with that damn printer cart. In order to accommodate another amp, I'd have to move my studio stuff around...again. I think that's over for me.

"But Les, it works fine and sounds great, right?"

"Yup."

"Then why would you want to change it?"

"Because, as my wife always says, I'm a glutton for punishment."

As for being obsessed...like that's a bad thing?

Haha! See the above glutton for punishment quote...

By the way, Bodia, did you get the pedal yet?

 

[bodia]

No, seriously, every time I get an amp I wind up moving everything in the studio to accommodate the changes to the rig. And I'm just too freaking old to keep doing that. I'm literally hurting from it, and I'm still not happy with the way it looks with that damn printer cart. In order to accommodate another amp, I'd have to move my studio stuff around...again. I think that's over for me.

"But Les, it works fine and sounds great, right?"

"Yup."

"Then why would you want to change it?"

"Because, as my wife always says, I'm a glutton for punishment."



Haha! See the above glutton for punishment quote...

By the way, Bodia, did you get the pedal yet?

Ok,
1) I don't think it's over for you. I think you need an intern! Someone that works for the sole purpose of gaining knowledge, and not a paycheck.
2) Yes, I did. Mailman brought it about 2:00 this afternoon. Haven't had a chance to even open the box though
It'll probably be Monday before I have a chance to fire it up.

 

[László]

I think you need an intern! Someone that works for the sole purpose of gaining knowledge, and not a paycheck

I've had interns, but I've paid them. I don't believe in having guys work and not get paid. Because we all have a lot to learn on any job. And if someone's going to help me in the studio, thus help me make money, that person is going to be paid.

However, at this point the only thing an intern would be needed for would be to move furniture and amps. Otherwise he or she would just be underfoot in my house. So...nah.

Anyway, I have the HXDA, the DG30, and the Lone Star. I can't think of an amp I need that isn't pretty much covered.

Oh wait. A Vox.

But I'm not gonna go there. I wouldn't be able to get it down the stairs in my weakened state. I had to call my brother to help get the Lone Star into the studio, and the two of us old guys wound up sliding the box down the edge of the stairs at an angle, we couldn't wrangle it like younger men do. I have to laugh at myself for getting a combo amp! WTF was I thinking? I literally can't lift it!!

Yeah, it came with wheels, but I'm too weak to tilt the amp back, put the wheels on, and lift it back up. That's really, really, really sad!

Never buy an amp you can't lift by yourself. Right now, for me, that's just about any amp! LOL

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Les, two things come to mind:
1) Get Les back on track. He needs a new amp. Let's see... he mentioned a fuzz pedal for fun/rock god moments, sounds like he needs an ARCHON!
2) NEVER, I repeat NEVER EVER, let Les see a picture of my pedalboard. After this, and his reaction to some cabs I had just stacked up just for a picture... Pedals come and go. Most aren't velcro'd so they can turn just slightly when stomped. Cables everywhere. Power cables everywhere... Yep, NEVER!

 

[bodia]

I've had interns, but I've paid them. I don't believe in having guys work and not get paid. Because we all have a lot to learn on any job. And if someone's going to help me in the studio, thus help me make money, that person is going to be paid.

However, at this point the only thing an intern would be needed for would be to move furniture and amps. Otherwise he or she would just be underfoot in my house. So...nah.

Anyway, I have the HXDA, the DG30, and the Lone Star. I can't think of an amp I need that isn't pretty much covered.

Oh wait. A Vox.

But I'm not gonna go there. I wouldn't be able to get it down the stairs in my weakened state. I had to call my brother to help get the Lone Star into the studio, and the two of us old guys wound up sliding the box down the edge of the stairs at an angle, we couldn't wrangle it like younger men do. I have to laugh at myself for getting a combo amp! WTF was I thinking? I literally can't lift it!!

Yeah, it came with wheels, but I'm too weak to tilt the amp back, put the wheels on, and lift it back up. That's really, really, really sad!

Never buy an amp you can't lift by yourself. Right now, for me, that's just about any amp! LOL

I've got just the answer for your whoa....Kemper! All the sounds in one tiny box that weighs less than 15 lbs! Perfect! ... I keeed, I keeed

 

[László]

NEVER, I repeat NEVER EVER, let Les see a picture of my pedalboard

Haha! Hey, I just kid around, really. I'm not at all judgmental. I'm just...mental.

I've got just the answer for your whoa....Kemper! All the sounds in one tiny box that weighs less than 15 lbs! Perfect! ... I keeed, I keeed

I actually checked one out when they were first introduced, for that very reason. It's a very impressive box. It does a lot of stuff.

Stick one in, or on top of, the rack, and you're done. Unfortunately, I was too picky about the TONEZ.

Had I gotten one, I would certainly have had less aggravation of my worn out body parts. But...also I'd have had less joy when playing. I took the "joy when playing" route.

 

[vchizzle]

Awesome Les. Can you have the 3@1 have more than 1 amp on at once?

I'm really interested in the P-1800PFR. I've wanted a voltage regulator for my rig for years. I wanted a AR-15 series II for a long time. Now Furman has revamped the line. The P-1800 AR seems like the equivalent of the AR-15? What I don't understand exactly is the difference between the 1800PFR and the 1800 AR. I'm not good at comparing specs for these types of things. My patience level in sussing these things out is not at a high level.

The old AR-15 can be had at a reasonable price now when you can find them.

 

[László]

Awesome Les. Can you have the 3@1 have more than 1 amp on at once?

Yes, but there's a slight catch. The 1 at 3 automatically transfers the ground to the amp that's selected. To have more than one amp on, the ground switch has to be pressed in to defeat that automatic ground transfer.

If you do that, it's likely that one or two of the three amps will need to be isolated with a transformer box like the Lehle P-Split to avoid ground loops. Since I have one of these, it isn't a problem, but the Palmer 3 amp switch box has ground lifts at each output that can be switched manually on or off. However, the Palmer is more expensive, and is gigantic. Way too big for my pedalboard.

The Lehle is also supposed to be more transparent sounding, and it's programmable within itself and can be operated via MIDI. I've had good luck with Lehle gear, it's quality stuff, so that's what I got.

I'm really interested in the P-1800PFR. I've wanted a voltage regulator for my rig for years. I wanted a AR-15 series II for a long time. Now Furman has revamped the line. The P-1800 AR seems like the equivalent of the AR-15? What I don't understand exactly is the difference between the 1800PFR and the 1800 AR. I'm not good at comparing specs for these types of things. My patience level in sussing these things out is not at a high level.
The old AR-15 can be had at a reasonable price now when you can find them.

Before buying this, I called Furman and spoke with their tech folks, so I can walk you through it.

The 1800 AR is like the AR15, and is a voltage regulator, but doesn't have the 45 amps reservoir feature. It's intended to be more of a generalized studio product, and its filtering is updated and more powerful.

The 1800 PFR is not a voltage regulator, but it has the 45 amp reservoir feature, along with the filtering of the 1800 AR. It's made for guitar amps and powered studio monitors.

My guess is that what they did was use pretty much the same chassis and parts, and one got the voltage regulator, while the other one got the power reservoir.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Les, I know, just having fun with you. I used to have a fellow worker who was OCD and just used to have a ball re-arranging their desk, messing up perfectly stacked files, neatly arranged accessories, etc. I've already got something in mind for my next picture.

 

[László]

Les, I know, just having fun with you. I used to have a fellow worker who was OCD and just used to have a ball re-arranging their desk, messing up perfectly stacked files, neatly arranged accessories, etc. I've already got something in mind for my next picture.

When I was a kid, I built plastic models. I'd put them on the shelf just so...and my kid brother would come in and screw with them just to piss me off! LOL

Of course, he broke them, too.

No one is allowed in my studio when I'm not here. Visitors aren't allowed to breathe on my stuff, let alone TOUCH ANYTHING !!! Gaaaaaaaaa!

 

[LJD]

board's looking sharp

 

[László]

board's looking sharp

Thanks LJD!

It works really well. I cut some tracks with it today for an ad.

 

[The Fight]

Hey Les I'm really digging your setup, I especially like the space between your gear. Very nice open practice space.
Just curious, how did you wire up your amp switcher? I'm just wondering bcs things get complicated when using effect loops, but I don't think you are. By the way I love your effects unit.

 

[László]

Hey Les I'm really digging your setup, I especially like the space between your gear. Very nice open practice space.
Just curious, how did you wire up your amp switcher? I'm just wondering bcs things get complicated when using effect loops, but I don't think you are. By the way I love your effects unit.

Thanks! I like to have a little room to work in, it helps when clients are over working on their ads, or when I have a vocalist or other session player in, etc. The distance between the recording station and the amps also reduces the roar from the amps bleeding into the headphones just enough that I can actually hear what the mic is picking up through the cans.

The wiring on my rig is really simple - all the outputs of the amp switcher are wired to the jacks on the top of the board to make setting up a little easier- that way I don't have to get on my knees to hunt for the right jack on the back of the pedal. Same with the input jack. Then they're cabled directly to the amp inputs, I don't use FX loops.

The DG30 needs a simple, passive DC Filter to fully prevent switching noise, and Lehle makes one that I have on order. That simply gets inserted between the pedalboard and the amp head. Some vintage style tube amps can have DC offset at the input jack, and I've had several pedals that cause switching noises with the DG30 for some reason. It's not a defect, it's just the way the amp is, and the filter is a 50 buck item.

The other two amps don't need DC filtering - they don't react to switching issues. If I want to run more than one amp at a time, I do need to isolate the grounds with Lehle P-Split (or other brand) transformers, but I have one already. Just insert it between pedalboard and head, and off I go. I rarely use two amps at once in the studio, so this is a very minor issue for me.

 

[bodia]

Well, I sure hope you like it, then!

Here's what I use it for - at low settings, it adds a nice sheen, fullness, and detail to the sound. So I set it to just push the front of the amp a little bit, so clean becomes "edge of grit" and overdriven gets pushed into additional fatness, or at lower guitar volumes, it just rounds out the clean tone and makes it thicker and more hi fi. I find that it works well with all of my amps equally, and that's rare in my experience for any pedal.

I don't often use the mid-boost except with the HXDA, because I got pretty addicted to the fuller, less EQ'd tone. But in any case, I think it's a slick pedal.

This is the first time in a long time I've done without an overdrive pedal, because I like what this thing does to push an amp into a more natural OD. But if you check the pedalboard picture above, you'll see that I use it very moderately, just a a couple of db of boost. I'm sure it can do way more than I do with it, but that's my sweet spot.

Warning: You may become a bit enthusiastic about these Suhr pedals...I have their fuzz on my radar in addition to what's already on the board.

Ok, I spent an hour-or-so noodling around with it this morning in front of the HXDA. All I can say is I LOVE this thing! Totally killer. I was running the boost around 11:00, the mid and Q were around 10, and the HXDA was set with both gains at 9:00 and the volume fairly low. Presence was at 10:00. I really like how it fattened everything up. Struggling for the right adjective, but DAMN, I REALLY LOVE THIS PEDAL! Too bad I had to do some actual work today.

 

[László]

Ok, I spent an hour-or-so noodling around with it this morning in front of the HXDA. All I can say is I LOVE this thing! Totally killer. I was running the boost around 11:00, the mid and Q were around 10, and the HXDA was set with both gains at 9:00 and the volume fairly low. Presence was at 10:00. I really like how it fattened everything up. Struggling for the right adjective, but DAMN, I REALLY LOVE THIS PEDAL! Too bad I had to do some actual work today.

Fantastic!

I kind of think of it as a "press this switch and make everything sound better" pedal. Am I right?

Even when the guitar volume is turned down, the guitar still sounds better. Yesterday I cut some overdriven tracks with the McCarty and HXDA with the treble gain at around 11 o'clock and the bass gain around 8 o'clock, and when I switched the Koko Boost on, it improved to one of the best recorded OD tones I've ever gotten.

There are days I just leave it on all the time.

In fact, the Koko Boost is the reason I don't have an overdrive pedal on my board any more. I don't see the point.

 

[bodia]

Fantastic!

I kind of think of it as a "press this switch and make everything sound better" pedal. Am I right?

Even when the guitar volume is turned down, the guitar still sounds better. Yesterday I cut some overdriven tracks with the McCarty and HXDA with the treble gain at around 11 o'clock and the bass gain around 8 o'clock, and when I switched the Koko Boost on, it improved to one of the best recorded OD tones I've ever gotten.

There are days I just leave it on all the time.

In fact, the Koko Boost is the reason I don't have an overdrive pedal on my board any more. I don't see the point.

Yes, fantastic! That would be another good description. You are absolutely right with your "press this switch" comment. That's exactly how I was feeling this morning. As for this keeping an OD off your board, I get that too. I was ready to put together a small board for the HXDA and was thinking Suhr Riot (because now I'm addicted, damn it!) or Bogner Burnley. I'm sitting here trying to decide which I like best, thinking maybe I'll just order both. Then I start second guessing myself because it just sounded so good with only the boost. That's rare for me. I'm mean, who says, "do I really need a distortion/OD in the mix here?" I certainly never do! Not until today anyway. Guess I'll sleep on it, and revist in the morning.

 

[László]

Yes, fantastic! That would be another good description. You are absolutely right with your "press this switch" comment. That's exactly how I was feeling this morning. As for this keeping an OD off your board, I get that too. I was ready to put together a small board for the HXDA and was thinking Suhr Riot (because now I'm addicted, damn it!) or Bogner Burnley. I'm sitting here trying to decide which I like best, thinking maybe I'll just order both.

I had a Burnley, and it's a killer pedal, but I liked it better with the DG30 than the HXDA. I haven't tried a Riot, so I can't help ya there.

But here's my Gigantic Miraculous HXDA Discovery: it doesn't need an OD pedal. I learned this when I had an Xotic EP Boost.

The amp itself is all about OD. Sure, you can goose it with an overdrive pedal and make it sound different, but if you goose it with a good boost, it sounds like an HXDA, only even more gainy. And that's really a better tone, for me anyway. It's more organic sounding than a transistor distortion pedal.

The DG30 seemed to want an OD. So I put my favorite OD at the time, a Fulltone Plimsoul on the board for it. Then I tried an Xotic BB. Then the Plimsoul went back on the board instead. They both sounded great, but not exactly fulfilling the potential of the amp.

Then I got the KokoBoost. Suddenly, I liked what was happening with the DG30 even better with the Koko. And I liked what was happening with the HXDA with the Koko, more than the EP Booster.

Finally, I decided that instead of OD pedals, what I really liked doing was switching between the two amps. This prospect became even cooler when I added the Lone Star, an amp I hadn't even planned on but needed for a project - that got cancelled.

So my solution became the Lehle 1 at 3 switcher. The Koko sounds fantastic with all 3 amps, and I can get so many tones with this combination - sometimes I run it with the Koji Comp for even more variety - that I sold my beloved Plimsoul.

I'd put a fuzz on the board, though, because a fuzz isn't trying to be a tube amp, it's a square wave generator that is just private fun for acid flashbacks to the late 60s.

 

[bodia]

But here's my Gigantic Miraculous HXDA Discovery: it doesn't need an OD pedal.

I'd put a fuzz on the board, though, because a fuzz isn't trying to be a tube amp, it's a square wave generator that is just private fun for acid flashbacks to the late 60s.

You're right, it doesn't need an OD. I've come to the same conclusion after a good nights sleep dreaming of sugar plum faeries dancing around my head rocking a PRS. Looks like I'll save some money today (or blow it on some othe guilty pleasure pedal).

 

[László]

Looks like I'll save some money today (or blow it on some othe guilty pleasure pedal).

There ya go! I'm all for the guilty pleasure stuff!

Actually, I do my truly guilty pleasure pedaling with the Eventide H9. Because...choruses.....phasers....flangers....rotary speakers...

"Do you ever use those guilty pleasure things in an ad track, Les?"

"Sometimes I like a little modulation in front of an overdriven amp. But...clients say things like, 'What's that weird sound? Take it out'."

"So why..."

"80s flashbacks. And...I just like messing with their heads..."