# The search for the perfect live setup!



## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Who’s playing out or getting ready to play out and what are you using for a set up?

How long did it take you to find and nail down exactly what you wanted for your current needs.

I’ve been trying amps in the rehearsal room with my band since covid started. It was a slow process cause we could only get together to rehearse so sporadically with all the restrictions. We’ve been back at it steady for a couple months now and getting ready to book some shows.

I tried so many amps I loved but had to choreograph so much to make work the way I wanted, there was always something compromised or missing.

After a shitpile of amps and pedals and different tap dancing and programming pedal switchers etc I finally found the perfect hard rock amplifier, an EL34 Bogner shiva. 

All need with it is a simple board with an ts style drive- Deadweald Duality DX, Jam Rattler for the clean channel(sounds glorious), a bb always on at end of the front of amp chain and an rc boost and GFI specular tempus in the loop.

We are playing a kind of stripped down punk rock/ alternative thing and the amp delivers everything I need. I never thought I’d play a 1x12 live but I’m pretty sure I will since it will be all super small rooms and the MV is really good. 

Love to hear what everyone is using and what kind of music they are playing with them.


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## Cups (Jan 5, 2010)

I’ve recently overhauled my rig too except I’ve been ampless for 10+ years. I recently bought a Strymon Iridium after trying one out in the store. I haven’t tried them all by a long shot but this is the best “amp in my ears” I’ve ever tried.
Your rig sounds (in theory) glorious. One of the reasons I went ampless was because of constant amp swapping. Going the modeler way was a compromise but it let me change “amps” as needed.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Axe fx 3, midi controller and whatever frfr speaker I end up with. No plans to haul a ton of stuff, or large stuff of my own.


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

I am playing in a small punk project right now. We have a show planned in a couple of weeks.
Since I hate to troubleshot and thinking about what to do, I have a REALLY simple setup. Tuner into a Mesa Triple Crown.
If something goes bad, I have a Rat in my guitar case.

In my metal band, I play bass in a ampless setup. Tuner - Low Pass Filter - Comp - Preamp - FOH. Again, as simple as possible.

Playing live is still stressfull for me, a good stress but still. Keeping things simple and easy to fix help me stay focus on playing and not worrying.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Being a bassist makes it sooo much easier. lol
Bass - cable - amp (Marbass Jeff Berlin 115).


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## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

laristotle said:


> Being a bassist makes it sooo much easier. lol
> Bass - cable - amp (Marbass Jeff Berlin 115).


Where is your tuner? Someone needs to be in tune in that band!


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## DaddyDog (Apr 21, 2017)

As a hobby band guy, having a backup is critical to me. I never want to be done for the night because one piece in the chain failed. I have The Amp from Milkman on my pedalboard. I use it concurrently as:
1. a pedal in front of a tube amp, and
2. DI to the PA

I'm covered if:
1. the tube amp fails (I can use it as a speaker cab, or I still have the DI)
2. The Amp fails (I can use the tube amp)

If the PA fails, I have a Yorkville M1610 in the car.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

laristotle said:


> Being a bassist makes it sooo much easier. lol
> Bass - cable - amp (Marbass Jeff Berlin 115).


My bass rig is my guitar rig, or my fender rumble 30 if I ever jam with people.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Ti-Ron said:


> Where is your tuner? Someone needs to be in tune in that band!


You got me there. lol
Clip on. Leave it on the amp beside my beer.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Cups said:


> I’ve recently overhauled my rig too except I’ve been ampless for 10+ years. I recently bought a Strymon Iridium after trying one out in the store. I haven’t tried them all by a long shot but this is the best “amp in my ears” I’ve ever tried.
> Your rig sounds (in theory) glorious. One of the reasons I went ampless was because of constant amp swapping. Going the modeler way was a compromise but it let me change “amps” as needed.


Are you monitoring with in ears then w that set up?

I’ve been thinking more and more on setting up and ampless rig as a back up or lazy days i don’t want to haul gear to rehearsel.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Modeler direct, monitor with good quality IEMs.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Ti-Ron said:


> I am playing in a small punk project right now. We have a show planned in a couple of weeks.
> Since I hate to troubleshot and thinking about what to do, I have a REALLY simple setup. Tuner into a Mesa Triple Crown.
> If something goes bad, I have a Rat in my guitar case.
> 
> ...


Simple really is best. In my last band Punk band I ran a tuner- Tubescreamer -into a 900.

For awhile here during covid I had this huge board going and I hated it, but needed just a bit more tones. Finding the right amp for me made all the difference and back to simple again.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

DaddyDog said:


> As a hobby band guy, having a backup is critical to me. I never want to be done for the night because one piece in the chain failed. I have The Amp from Milkman on my pedalboard. I use it concurrently as:
> 1. a pedal in front of a tube amp, and
> 2. DI to the PA
> 
> ...


Haha sweet! I went on tour once with a back up amp head. Pain in the ass when your loading all your own gear. 

You got all the bases covered and doesn’t seem to much hassle. I like it.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Budda said:


> Axe fx 3, midi controller and whatever frfr speaker I end up with. No plans to haul a ton of stuff, or large stuff of my own.


I’ve been thinking more and more about a similar setup but not sure I’m there yet.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

If I was doing a house gig and money and space were unlimited, I might consider housing a 4 X 12 celestion cab with a 50 watt tube head (dirty tones) and maybe a Fender Twin Reverb (clean tones) in a room offstage (isolation room) and having a conventional pedal board.

But, I'd still opt to monitor with good IEMs.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Milkman said:


> If I was doing a house gig and money and space were unlimited, I might consider housing a 4 X 12 celestion cab with a 50 watt tube head (dirty tones) and maybe a Fender Twin Reverb (clean tones) in a room offstage (isolation room) and having a conventional pedal board.
> 
> But, I'd still opt to monitor with good IEMs.


My next project is getting an IEM set up going.


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## SteveS (Apr 25, 2006)

We do classic rock and I use a Shiva EL34 1x12 as well with a fairly basic board. Boost, delay, wah, and tuner for the most part. I've yet to find an amp that does it better in one package. JCM800 ish tone with one of the best clean channels you'll find. 
80 watts so there's all kinds of power if you need it but an excellent master volume for smaller rooms. 
Effects loop and reverb if needed. The crunch channel is smoother and darker than a JCM800 but you can dial that out for the most part. I run the treble pretty high on that channel. It really sounds great. Heavy bugger though....


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

SteveS said:


> We do classic rock and I use a Shiva EL34 1x12 as well with a fairly basic board. Boost, delay, wah, and tuner for the most part. I've yet to find an amp that does it better in one package. JCM800 ish tone with one of the best clean channels you'll find.
> 80 watts so there's all kinds of power if you need it but an excellent master volume for smaller rooms.
> Effects loop and reverb if needed. The crunch channel is smoother and darker than a JCM800 but you can dial that out for the most part. I run the treble pretty high on that channel. It really sounds great. Heavy bugger though....


I agree with everything you said. I like the darker tone tbh, we play some songs in D standard and I can see why Cantrell was attracted to the shiva.

Heavy is the price to pay for the tone for sure.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

My trio is playing this Friday and again on the last weekend of November. Still looking for more gigs in between. We play our own original material plus some R&B covers. In this setup I am using a Gibson es235 straight to my Milkman Creamer. If we are playing with the 2 other band members, which are keys and drums, I still play the same rig but with my pedalboard.


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

basically this;








The Kingsley Minstrel is gone as well as the Particle. Pedalboard changes somewhat frequently but the amp (Tex 5e3) remains the best gigging amp ever. Just killer.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

zztomato said:


> basically this;
> View attachment 385079
> 
> The Kingsley Minstrel is gone as well as the Particle. Pedalboard changes somewhat frequently but the amp (Tex 5e3) remains the best gigging amp ever. Just killer.


Funny, at a glance I saw "Particle. Pedalboard" and my mind somehow eliminated the word pedal.

I quickly re-read the whole thing, LOL. So, just to confirm, that's not a particalboard Tele....

Sorry, small things.....


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

tdotrob said:


> I’ve been thinking more and more about a similar setup but not sure I’m there yet.


I was there the day I didnt have to worry about touring. Ive been digital for two years and havent missed a traditional setup in that time. Not everyone has that experience, but Im glad it is working out. My guitar collection appreciates it too.


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

Milkman said:


> Funny, at a glance I saw "Particle. Pedalboard" and my mind somehow eliminated the word pedal.
> 
> I quickly re-read the whole thing, LOL. So, just to confirm, that's not a particalboard Tele....
> 
> Sorry, small things.....


 yeah, great tele, just don't play it in the rain.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

zztomato said:


> basically this;
> View attachment 385079
> 
> The Kingsley Minstrel is gone as well as the Particle. Pedalboard changes somewhat frequently but the amp (Tex 5e3) remains the best gigging amp ever. Just killer.


That looks awesome. Love the tele


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Budda said:


> I was there the day I didnt have to worry about touring. Ive been digital for two years and havent missed a traditional setup in that time. Not everyone has that experience, but Im glad it is working out. My guitar collection appreciates it too.


I like modelling and capture tones. But things keep holding me back to making the live switch.

Perfect example, I went and saw Downway and Belvedere last week in a small room.

Downway guitars were through two Marshall half stacks a dsl 50 and JVM 410. They sounded huge and amazing and the energy was incredible. 

Belvedere Steve looked like he was running a grandmeister 36 and the other guitar player was ampless, but not sure what he was using.

Steve sounded good but I couldn’t really hear the other guy much at all unless I was right In front of a pa speaker and it didn’t sound that great but……

The band was super tight as always and literally no one gave a shit at all and danced and sang along just like every other Belvedere show I’ve been to haha


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Then that's on the venue, not the band?


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Budda said:


> Then that's on the venue, not the band?


Could be? I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to learnZ

Could the sound guy fix the thin and lifeless guitar tone coming out of the pa? Everyone else sounded good


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

tdotrob said:


> Could be? I don’t know. That’s what I’m trying to learnZ
> 
> Could the sound guy fix the thin and lifeless guitar tone coming out of the pa? Everyone else sounded good


Yeah - use the eq on the board, and ask the guitarist if he'd mind tweaking his eq for a better mix.


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## Jalexander (Dec 31, 2020)

Latest rig rundown is an interesting two-guitar band. One with an amp. One with a kemper.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Budda said:


> Yeah - use the eq on the board, and ask the guitarist if he'd mind tweaking his eq for a better mix.


As someone who has been asked to do so on a number of occasions, I have to remind you that polishing a turd will only yield a shiny turd in most cases.

You can make the most of a shitty tone at the board but you can only do so much, and frankly a soundman shouldn't be changing the sound of the band. I'm there to deliver YOUR tone, not mine.

Fixing the problem at the source (your second suggestion) although not easy, is better.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Yep - if the band member(s) vote no, they get what they get.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

This is the smallest I can get a tube amp rig and have enough to stay ahead of our drummer and do all the different tones I want for this band. Since we have to pack gear back and forth to our spot we don’t bother micing cabs and such as it’s not needed, but our drummer is animal re-incarnate. this works great and all fits in my old ‘05 Civic! My wife doesn’t let me pack my gear into her nice car.


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## Analogman (Oct 3, 2012)

I run either my metropoulos metroplex or Morris GCM-008 into a friedman OS 1x12 and into a Suhr RL IR to take a line to the PA.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Analogman said:


> I run either my metropoulos metroplex or Morris GCM-008 into a friedman OS 1x12 and into a Suhr RL IR to take a line to the PA.


Very cool. Is it a v30 in the 1x12?


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## Analogman (Oct 3, 2012)

tdotrob said:


> Very cool. Is it a v30 in the 1x12?


65 watt Creamback


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Analogman said:


> 65 watt Creamback


Awesome. I’m kind of lusting for a Morris.


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