What do your guitarists use onstage?

[SteveXFR]

7 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

When I was briefly playing guitar I used a BluGuitar Amp1 - size & weight of a lap-top, sounded just like a Marshall JCM900. Not cheap (£600+ second hand) but worth every penny imo. And a good advantage is that it can be connected straight to FOH without a speaker so monitors can do on-stage sound.

 

I used to play in a band where both guitarist used these. They sound incredible and have some serious power output.

[tauzero]

One guitarist uses a pedalboard with multiple single effects, going into a Line 6 head and cab, and the other uses a pedalboard which is mainly a Boss multifx (can't remember which one but I think it's the ME-80) and a Darkstar pedalboard amp. His cab is a ludicrously heavy Peavey thing so to avoid having to get it out of the car, he's running the Darkstar into the PA. This has all yet to be tried out, first gig is on Saturday, though we have had a dry run with my PA to make sure it all worked. If I had to switch to guitar, it would be through an HX Stomp into the PA.

[Pseudonym]

11 minutes ago, tauzero said:

One guitarist uses a pedalboard with multiple single effects, going into a Line 6 head and cab, and the other uses a pedalboard which is mainly a Boss multifx (can't remember which one but I think it's the ME-80) and a Darkstar pedalboard amp. His cab is a ludicrously heavy Peavey thing so to avoid having to get it out of the car, he's running the Darkstar into the PA. This has all yet to be tried out, first gig is on Saturday, though we have had a dry run with my PA to make sure it all worked. If I had to switch to guitar, it would be through an HX Stomp into the PA.

 

Yes, the HX Stomp is excellent, especially for its price, and extremely portable. It might cost be a bit more than your preferred limit but it gives you a hell of a lot of power and flexibility for whatever you do in the future on guitar and bass.

[Dankology]

2 hours ago, MichaelDean said:

Don't suppose it was a silver Korg Toneworks pedal? 

 

Sounds like the same one - got it for my 21st birthday and thought it was amazing. 

[msb]

I mostly see older mid sized Fender combos. We have some great tube techs in town so most of the older Fenders I see really sing.

[Bluewine]

14 hours ago, Dankology said:

I've been demoted to guitar duties in one of my bands and there might be a handful of gigs before a proper tour in the new year so I want to get my house in order.

 

My only guitar amp is a little 4 watt Vox all-valve thing that sounds great but just has single volume and tone controls (plus a 4w, 1w, 1/4w selector!) and, aside from a handful of idle Ebay purchases, my fx is just a Korg multifx thing that I've had for 23 years.

 

I think I will be very much rhythm and the odd fill/FX. I am still a traditional amp person but the band seems to be increasing in size so an amp-less solution may well be the way forward. I don't really want to drop a significant amount of money on what I suspect is a very polite and gradual way of me exiting the group so was hoping to get some ideas as to what I might be looking at for about £200 that gives me distortion, chorus, delay & reverb and something approaching a useable amp sim. I'm a keen secondhand buyer and time isn't a particular issue so I can hold out for Ebay or Marketplace bargains.

 

Bit sad to be being bumped from bass but I've got a couple of nice six-strings so it'll be good to dust the cobwebs off them.

 

That 4 watt Vox amp sounds good to me.

 

Blue

[Downunderwonder]

My guitar players have all used little combos turned right down with pedals and mic'd. Easy to do if the stage volume is under control.

 

If your band has the whole band monitor thing going on all you need it a mic and a stool to put the litte box combo on so you get a good earful.

[NancyJohnson]

Guitarist in my band has more guitars (50+), amps and outboard gear than you can shake a stick at; he mixes things up a lot, so every rehearsal/gig is a revelation. 

 

Right now he's favouring a class-d amp and assorted effects on a floorboard (about 18x12"), which he just jacks into whatever cabs are available.  I suppose this will change again at some point.  He always sounds fine, but part of me just prefers the straight approach, guitar into amp. 

[moley6knipe]

On 31/05/2023 at 21:45, SteveXFR said:

 

I used to play in a band where both guitarist used these. They sound incredible and have some serious power output.

Agreed… our guitarist has not long picked one up second hand. It’s quite astonishing for the size! Runs into a 1x12” passive black star cab and has an out for passing to mixer / local mon. Such a neat setup.

 

EDIT: refers to the BluGuitar…

Edited June 1, 2023 by moley6knipe

[Bluewine]

That Vox amp is perfect. All you might need us a $69.00 Chorus pedal and your set.

 

Blue

[SteveXFR]

14 hours ago, moley6knipe said:

Agreed… our guitarist has not long picked one up second hand. It’s quite astonishing for the size! Runs into a 1x12” passive black star cab and has an out for passing to mixer / local mon. Such a neat setup.

 

EDIT: refers to the BluGuitar…

 

There were rumours of a bass version but it's not appeared yet. I'd definitely have one

[moley6knipe]

I had a good read of the manual last night… it really is Swiss Army knife that thing! 

[FiestaRed]

Cheap but good-sounding solutions:

1) get a Shure SM57 mic, and use it to mic your little Vox, or

2) plug your effects into a Joyo American Sound pedal, which you then plug into the PA to go direct.

 

More 'professional' options would be things like Two Notes Torpedo Cab M+ or some of the multi-effect processors mentioned above.

[JapanAxe]

In the various bands in which I play bass, the guitarists use:

 

Kemper

2 Kempers (one each)

Fender Twin

Fender Deluxe Reverb

[diskwave]

On 31/05/2023 at 14:27, chris_b said:

Also I see a lot of Session combos around.

Did a few holiday seasons with a guy back in the 80's and he used a tweed`'15 watt' session combo. Beautiful tone and loud as heck. Whether the new ones are like those originals I've no idea but a solid make nevertheless.

[casapete]

47 minutes ago, greavesbass said:

Did a few holiday seasons with a guy back in the 80's and he used a tweed`'15 watt' session combo. Beautiful tone and loud as heck. Whether the new ones are like those originals I've no idea but a solid make nevertheless.

Session did do a valve combo, the 15/30 if IRC. Loud AF with a 12” Celestion.

All their other stuff was transistorised I believe.

Great gear at good prices. 😊

[casapete]

Just now, casapete said:

Session did do a valve combo, the 15/30 if IRC. Loud AF with a 12” Celestion.

All their other stuff was transistorised I believe.

Great gear at good prices. 😊

Edit - forgot that I’d had one of their 100 watt bass combos, which sadly wasn’t a patch on the guitar ones.

Big graphic EQ and quite heavy although not that loud. 

[LeftyJ]

I play in a band that plays melodic doom metal, with three guitarists. As far as gear is concerned, they're very different. One doesn't really care about gear and has stuck with the same Ibanez 7-string and Engl Fireball halfstack for well over 10 years because it just works for him. He uses just a few pedals, most importantly a digital reverb with a blend knob so he can dial out the dry signal entirely. One uses a 7-string through a Hotone Ampero II and a Friedman FRFR speaker as a monitor, and it's brilliant. Compact, lightweight and sounds great. The third guitarist plays a Jazzmaster through some analog pedals to shape his tone, and will just plug into the input of any clean amp that's available to him. During rehearsals that would be my small 20 watt 1x12 Koch Studiotone combo, and for gigs we'll often bring that along too. 

[casapete]

I’m in an occasional country band which also includes my guitarist mate who forms our acoustic duo.

He’s one of those amazing musicians who can use any kit and somehow still make it sound great.

Recently he’s started using (and collecting) older Peavey combos, including some of the 70’s / 80’s

models which had solid state preamps and valve power stages. They sound amazing, and are

what are annoyingly now called a ‘good pedal platform’ - in other words a proper design with

a quality clean sound. Our local tech guy loves them too, and reckons they will outlast him!
 

For my (very) occasional guitar dalliances I’ve always preferred an amp that will give me the 

sound in my head with minimal pedal usage. After parting company with my vintage Marshall

18 watt combo, I now have a Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb RI, which is far too good for me. Ace

reverb and vibrato means only need to use a boost or overdrive and that’s it, job done.

[Angelus]

On 01/06/2023 at 07:55, NancyJohnson said:

Guitarist in my band has more guitars (50+), amps and outboard gear than you can shake a stick at; he mixes things up a lot, so every rehearsal/gig is a revelation. 

 

Right now he's favouring a class-d amp and assorted effects on a floorboard (about 18x12"), which he just jacks into whatever cabs are available.  I suppose this will change again at some point.  He always sounds fine, but part of me just prefers the straight approach, guitar into amp. 

If you had been in Scotland, I’d have said you were in one of my guitarists other bands. 🤣 He’s gigged with everything from a wee 8” headrush to a line 6 amp, all through various pedals, HX Stop and Pod Go, with everything from a Variax to a ‘74 Gibson SG. I used to struggle with the inconsistency, but now look forward to seeing what arrives with him. 
 

to answer the question, I bought a wee Sonicake Matribox recently and while I understand guitar is different to Bass, that and your wee Vox should cover everything you need for under £100?

[SteveXFR]

Our guitarist recently used a Line 6 Spider modelling amp while his Marshall was being repaired. Some amps sound amazing, most sound pretty decent but this thing fits in to the rare category of absolutely bloody awful. After half an hour of fiddling he couldn't even make it sound half way acceptable. All I could hear while we were playing was an unpleasant white noise, I couldn't make out any actual notes at all. He ended up switching to the old Marshall 4x10 bass combo in the corner of the studio which is terrible but did a better job than the Line 6. He wasn't even pushing the amp, all his distortion comes from pedals so most amps do a reasonable job for him but not this sorry excuse of an amplifier. 

[Old Horse Murphy]

7 hours ago, casapete said:

I’m in an occasional country band which also includes my guitarist mate who forms our acoustic duo.

He’s one of those amazing musicians who can use any kit and somehow still make it sound great.

Recently he’s started using (and collecting) older Peavey combos, including some of the 70’s / 80’s

models which had solid state preamps and valve power stages. They sound amazing, and are

what are annoyingly now called a ‘good pedal platform’ - in other words a proper design with

a quality clean sound. Our local tech guy loves them too, and reckons they will outlast him!
 

For my (very) occasional guitar dalliances I’ve always preferred an amp that will give me the 

sound in my head with minimal pedal usage. After parting company with my vintage Marshall

18 watt combo, I now have a Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb RI, which is far too good for me. Ace

reverb and vibrato means only need to use a boost or overdrive and that’s it, job done.

My guitarist has got a couple of old Peaveys. One is definitely fully valve but the other is a solid state preamp with valve power stage. When they're working (one in particular is quite temperamental) they sound fabulous. 
 

Our singer/rhythm guitarist puts her electro-acoustic through a preamp direct in to the PA desk. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Old Horse Murphy

[nilorius]

A lot of pedals !!!

[Skybone]

Our guitarist uses a Marshall DSL20 & the matching 2x12 cab. Great little amp.

[nilorius]

13 minutes ago, Skybone said:

Our guitarist uses a Marshall DSL20 & the matching 2x12 cab. Great little amp.

Mmm....2x12'' cab for guitarist!?