Author Topic: Guitar Rig (Read 556 times)

pace · « **Reply #15 on:** January 07, 2005, 08:31:43 PM »

Hollis, Is the Demeter a rackmount or one of the big Fender-type tolex boxes?

James,

It's all subjective & I have no idea what your preferences are or the elusive sound is in your head, but here's my $0.02:

The 50/50 paired off with Celestions sounds like a good match.... 50 watts @ 8 ohms driving a Vintage 30 will break up if you dig into it. That's a trait about Celestions that some people love & others hate. If you're aiming for a nice compact hi-fi rig you might wanna consider another speaker.

Personally, I feel you'd get the most out of the rig w/ a pair of cabs (be it 2x12s or 1x12s etc, etc). Seriously~ the rig has all the potential to be a true stereo rig, so why merge the 2 signals back into one cab? Having two cabs spaced out 5-6' sounds wonderful (1x12s on amp stands pointed right at the ol' noggin). Even if you're hard pressed for space you can put the 1x12s right next to each other & its the same amount of space as the 2x12 cab....

If you ever gig out at a venue w/ a house rig (like a pair of 4x12s), the Mesa power amps are great 'cause they have two 4ohm outputs per side. One of the things the newer 50/50 has which my amp lacks is the bias switch which allows you to use either 6L6's or EL34s.... The one thing that sucks about these amps is that you cant bias them yourself..... you have to use the Mesa & Sovtek color coded / number system.

.....blah...... sorry for the rant....
-Mike

lbpesq · « **Reply #16 on:** January 07, 2005, 09:33:49 PM »

James:

Here is the message I previously posted:

I asked about FX-1 vs. F2-B while I was at the factory yesterday. Here's the lowdown: Both are based on the Fender Dual Showman Pre-amp. The FX-1 has a single channel pre-amp and a crossover circuit for bi-amping. The F2-B has two channels but doesn't have the crossover.

So if you want to go stereo, you want the F2-B. As far as a rig, I can't be of much help. I play a Boogie Mark III combo. I can offer a suggestion on cabs, though. You might want to check out the Boogie single 12 Thiele cabinet. It is closed and ported. It gives a real nice and full bottom and pairs very well with the open back 12 in the combo. The Thiele is rather directional and really projects into the audience. You can read other reviews at harmony-central. Here is the link:

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Mesa_Boogie/1x12_Thiele_Cabinet-01.html

By the way, ignore the 7 rating for customer service. One clown gave them a 1 because they don't answer my questions. My experience is that Mesa and Alembic came out of the same mold when it comes to supporting their products.

Another piece of gear you might want to look at are Tone Tubby speakers. The cones are made of hemp and Clapton and Santana are among the converts. Here is the link:

http://tonetubby.com/

I'm going by the factory, A Brown Soun, in San Rafael tommorow to bring in an amp for repair and will be checking them out, if I get the chance. If I do, I'll post my impressions.

Bill, tgo

David Houck · « **Reply #17 on:** January 08, 2005, 08:03:00 AM »

Mike; the Demeter is rack mount, single space. Here's the web site:
http://www.demeteramps.com/proaudio/rv1.html

pace · « **Reply #18 on:** January 08, 2005, 09:51:03 AM »

The Demeter has two channels?!?!~ sweeeeeet!!!!

David Houck · « **Reply #19 on:** January 08, 2005, 10:25:55 AM »

It looks like a nice unit for guitar; but I don't know how it would be for bass. And it appears to be quite a bit beyond my budget!

vjd3 · « **Reply #20 on:** January 30, 2005, 05:31:25 AM »

You might try the Electro Harmonix Holy Grail stompbox ... it's a bit hissy to my ears, surprising for a digital reverb, but I a/b tested it against the tube reverb in my 79 Vibrolux and it is very, very close to real Fender reverb. Far cheaper than the Demeter.

David Houck · « **Reply #21 on:** January 30, 2005, 07:22:37 AM »

Vic; I ended up getting a TI Electronic M-One XL.

kmh364 · « **Reply #22 on:** February 05, 2005, 05:58:52 PM »

As far as pre-amps/heads go: vintage Fender tube circuits are the basis for most of the amps players have cherished for generations. Alembic's stuff is no different. Find something you like and run with it. You could try an old, beat-up Fender amp combo and liberate the amp section. Use it as a pre-amp a la Jerry Garcia via old Silverface Twin Reverbs and pair it with a nice clean power amp of your choice (vintage Mac anyone?). Good luck...tone is a very subjective thing. Everyone has a different brain attached to different ears.

Try Sultone.com for speaker cabs. Real solid hardwood tone woods are used instead of tolex or rug-wrapped plywood and/or MDF. The prices are unbelieveably reasonable, even compared to inferior mass-market crap. Bill Boekhoff @ Sultone is a master craftsman, a nice guy, and is very knowledgeable. Ck out his reviews @ harmonycentral.com. You can also ck out my amp thread here:

http://club.alembic.com/Images/449/16159.html?1107461037

in order to see the custom 2x12 guitar cab he built for Straub Amplification for me.

kukuforcoco · « **Reply #23 on:** February 06, 2005, 02:58:21 PM »

I recently read that rack systems sound dry and brittle compared to normal amps. Something to do with the fact that the preamp and poweramp aren't in the same circuit interacting. Is this a myth?

hb3 · « **Reply #24 on:** February 06, 2005, 05:43:16 PM »

I play with Aguilar separates and it's the phattest thing I've ever heard.