ever realize less is more? or bigger isn't always better?

[markD]

for the past several years i have been lugging a massive rivera rig for my band's shows....a rack, several cabinets, two pedal boards - one with stomp boxes, one with my midi controller and amp switcher - and a head (or two depending on the stage)...

well, last night it was raining, so i loaded up a smaller rig. i brought my stomp box board and an amp switcher. then, for an amp, i brought my rivera M100 combo (1x12) and a 1x12 extension cab. i stacked them on top of each other, ran the cables to and from the board....

and....

NOTHING!!!!!!!

the stomp box board was getting power, but not passing signal!!!! FUCK!!!!!! we were just about to play, so i didn't have time to diagnose the board.

i ended up plugging straight into the amp and playing 100% dry for the whole set.

my sound was KILLER!!!!! i was SOOO blown away by how thick and juicy the sound was....you could hear all the character of my guitar (EBMM shilouette special) and it was just organic!!

have any of you ever experienced anything like this? i was quite shocked!!!

[DonP]

That's my normal rig (straight into a DSL100 1/2 stack). I'm too lazy to get out the pedals and delays (I have a MidiVerb4 but never use it). I love my tone, so I leave it at that.

[wilkinsi]

I was able to get a fantastic sound out of a Marshall JMD 501 without any effects running from or to it. I neglected to bring any money with me that day, now I'm stuck til next month before a new one arrives .

[BenoA]

Right on markD!

Those are fantastic nights!

[Chief_CrazyTalk]

Yep. I used to use an Alesis QV with Marshall amps...sounded pretty good but I gave that up long ago. I've tried analog and digital delays occasionally but much prefer the amp by itself. Well, I usually use a boost...it's a Marshall ffs.

[Rsmacker]

have any of you ever experienced anything like this? i was quite shocked!!!

Yep, way back in the day, I had a little um, "pharmaceutical incident" the day before a hometown gig and because I had to pick my gear up myself, things got a little hectic. Anyway, at load-in time, I discovered that my rack, with ADA MP1, Power amp, Aural Exciter, FX unit (cannot for the life of me recall what it was), controller, tuner, every fucking thing, plus my ADA 2x12 cabs and even my main guitars were all locked away in the transport company's warehouse.

In my very fragile state, I had to cobble something together, went home to my parents' house and dug out an old Park Master Volume head, an old Boss DS1 and my old Park 4x12. I borrowed another cab and went to the gig, much to the mirth of those other cunts in the band. It was absolutely immense!
My trousers actually flapped, I swear, in front of those cabs, it was fucking hard. (Unlike me, who was fucking soft, and was doing well to stand up) After that day, I flogged my rack stuff and went back to using Jubilee heads.

[Shawn Lutz]

I was never big on effects. Primarily guitar-->cord-->amp. Everything you signal runs through steals a little tone

[Ward]

Completely agree. I used to have a bunch of effects and a Quadraverb. Now I have my guitar straight into a TSL100. I've never been happier with my tone. I will use the Quadraverb for some things when I record, but that doesn't happen often. It's almost always Jackson-cord-Marshall-big smile.

[VitaminG]

had that happen at practice a while back. Couldn't be arsed packing up the pedal board so just grabbed the footswitch for the amp, the RM100 and the Genz 2x12. Practice was at the drummer's house on his farm that weekend so we're able to turn up to gig volumes. It was awesome!

[jgcable]

I understand 100%. That is why my live rig consists of
Randall RM100
Marshall 4 x 12 cab
Crybaby out in front
Yamaha SPX90 in the loop for a splash of delay only.

No more pedal boards, stomp boxes, amp switchers blah blah blah

For my other band I play through a 2 x 12 combo with no effects. Only factory reverb with a wah out in front. Again... I don't miss all the stomp boxes or a complicated rig at all and my sound is consistant and always good with no worries.

[Trypp Powell]

I sort of follow that philosophy except I have a ton pedals and outboard effects I never use. The stuff is there, but I never switch any of it on. I'm essentially going guitar - crybaby (a Chi Wah Wah) - amp, but all of the other stuff is there if I ever want to use it.

[bratfink]

I have simplified my rig a lot of the last few years, but I have just bough a rack amp and I want to run it in stereo with my TSL100 so I imagine I might be having to complicate things a little again.

[markD]

i was doing the stereo thing...a wet/dry rig all controlled through midi. it looked exceptionally impressive, sounded really good, but was a pain in the ass to set up and tear down quickly. just plugging straight into the front of that 1x12 combo with no effects was a profound experience....one that even my band mates shared. we were hanging out yesterday and the singer and bass player said my guitar sounded better than it ever has. the bassist said he thought i should just continue to keep it that way!!!

so for now it appears that i am going to keep gigging with a combo and an extension cab....reducing from (8) 12" speakers to (2) 1x12 cabs!!!! no effects...no rack...just my tuner and the pedal for changing channels on the amp.

the down side??? that rivera combo weighs almost 100lbs!!!!!!

[Endrik]

Less is more when your main sound is amp's overdrive... no argument there. That's the way I play most of the time. But in one project I only use 10% of pure amp tone while most of the time I need all kinds of crazy sci-fi effects. I just spent 600 bucks on even more pedals which in normal rock'n'roll situations I'd never need, I wouldn't bother rocking out with polyphonic octave generators, ring modulators and all that shit but sometimes making the guitar sound like not guitar is cool too. Nothing beats guitar plugged straight to cranked amp though.

[BenoA]

Nothing beats guitar plugged straight to cranked amp though.

Exactly! Main reason why I bought my Peavey 6505.