At a loss where to go rig wise.....

[VESmedic]

For the last 3 years, I've been professionally playing live with the kemper, and I absolutely love it. however, I recently bought a Jackson Ampworks Mcfly, and had my first gig this past weekend. I absolutely loved it. It really is hard to beat an amp on stage, and I loved using my buddies pedalboard for different flavors of Overdrives that I've never used before. I play modern country/rock type stuff, and I think I finally realized that most of the tones I hear and enjoy are often pedal based, which is why there is many unique tones (to me anyways) in this genre. This has me wanting to go fully back to a pedalboard (which I have nothing at the moment). So part of me wants to sell my kemper, Yamaha DXR monitor, line 6 wireless, and buy another amp for some variation and start to build a pedalboard: or just build a killer pedalboard pocket some cash, and maybe get another guitar. I really enjoyed his shure GLDX 16 pedal mounted wireless a lot, the sturdy case was something I really enjoyed, the battery life was incredible and convenient, and the built in tuner had me sold right there: what a great idea. I am trying not to be irrational at this point, but the mcfly just sounded amazing, and filled the entire stage, even with the amp turned around, it had swirling 3D type tone that could be heard from everywhere. Just looking for some advice and what others might consider doing in my situation. Once again I do play professionally, so this isn't just a hobby for me. Nothing wrong with that whatsoever, but I have to look at it from that aspect and what will work best for me and the artists I get hired by. Also lookin on other amp reccomendations in the 2k range. The CAA PT 50/100 captures my attention as a "do all" type of amp that would be super killer. but I do not know how much I would enjoy that over say something like a 5150 III. the 3rd power stuff looks amazing, but might be too similar to my Jackson, except the dream weaver has the 68 plexi on the second channel: VERY enticing to me.. Anyways, just thinking out loud here. I could also use pedalboard building advice. Thanks guys.

chris

 

[Silent Sound]

Sounds like someone has a case of GAS. My advice, if you're playing professionally, then you should treat it like a business. That means keep a tight budget and manage your money carefully like any other business would, or you'll be out of business. So if what you have is working, then don't waste your money. Besides, outside of TGP, no one really cares about guitar tone. They care whether you can play your parts right. You hire a professional musician based on their skill, reputation, and portfolio, not gear collection. If you run into anyone who's that anal about gear, they'll most likely be supplying it to you.

 

[IM4Tone]

You loved your McFly and your friend's pedalboard. Why not just get the same pedals he has and sell the kemper? What am I missing?

 

[VESmedic]

Sounds like someone has a case of GAS. My advice, if you're playing professionally, then you should treat it like a business. That means keep a tight budget and manage your money carefully like any other business would, or you'll be out of business. So if what you have is working, then don't waste your money. Besides, outside of TGP, no one really cares about guitar tone. They care whether you can play your parts right. You hire a professional musician based on their skill, reputation, and portfolio, not gear collection. If you run into anyone who's that anal about gear, they'll most likely be supplying it to you.

good advice...yea its definitely a case of GAS to an extent for sure. I worry about A: wanting the kemper in certain venues where I enjoy it (huge indoor places, when we are on ears, couldn't hear my amp on stage anyways) and B: not using it as often now that I am on the mcfly kick, thus tying up resources aka MONEY for other things, or to save for a rainy day or whatever. That is really my predicament at this point.

 

[VESmedic]

You loved your McFly and your friend's pedalboard. Why not just get the same pedals he has and sell the kemper? What am I missing?

Well, this is TGP, I have to make it complicated right? haha! mostly because like I said, I worry about wanting it again for certain venues/ situations, but not using it as much as I think I would and it just sitting there. I do not do much home recording, but could in the future if I get into the session side of things, and then I would really want it for sure. But that is not happening right now. But you are right, at the end of the day, I was really enjoying having a solid pedal board and just the amp, using different overdrives for whatever different flavors of tone I wanted. Contrary to most on here, I've never done that, nor been a pedalboard guy. Coming from the metal world I always relied on my amp for overdrive tones; if I wanted a different flavor, that usually meant getting another amp completely. after that, I went to the kemper, and have used it ever since. So the whole pedalboard thing is very new to me.

 

[shanesiegle]

Lots of killer amps in that range for sure that excel and what you are doing. The first amp that pops in my head is the Bogner Goldfinger. One of the best clean channels ever and the lead channel can do anything from light breakup to old school hard rock/metal tones well too. I own the 20th Shiva and for me it's better but if I played what you do that would be my amp.

 

[VESmedic]

Lots of killer amps in that range for sure that excel and what you are doing. The first amp that pops in my head is the Bogner Goldfinger. One of the best clean channels ever and the lead channel can do anything from light breakup to old school hard rock/metal tones well too. I own the 20th Shiva and for me it's better but if I played what you do that would be my amp.

Ive used this for a few shows as well, another amp I definitely love, totally agree. The Drz Stuff is always a contender as well. It's hard NOT to hear great guitar tone with a guy in a band using a dr z maz....

 

[shanesiegle]

The Dr. Z stuff is awesome for sure. Anything that is touch sensitive and warm sounding i'm all over as long as it doesn't have el34s! I can't seem to get along with those tubes no matter how many times i've tried them and no matter what amp! I would honestly think you won't dig the 5153 as it is pretty compressed compared to what you are used to but I might be wrong.

 

[VESmedic]

The Dr. Z stuff is awesome for sure. Anything that is touch sensitive and warm sounding i'm all over as long as it doesn't have el34s! I can't seem to get along with those tubes no matter how many times i've tried them and no matter what amp! I would honestly think you won't dig the 5153 as it is pretty compressed compared to what you are used to but I might be wrong.

I think you are probably right....I remember enjoying it back in the day, and I liked the idea of how versatile it is, but I have to remember my taste and style has changed dramatically over the last couple of years, and I haven't played one for real in quite some time, may not be as fond of it as I remember now.

 

[VESmedic]

I absolutely LOVE the divided by 13 stuff too, I should have mentioned that...the LDW 17/39 and FTR 37 in particular...I mean hell they all sound amazing to me, BTR 23 as well.

 

[Al Rose]

For the last 3 years, I've been professionally playing live with the kemper, and I absolutely love it. however, I recently bought a Jackson Ampworks Mcfly, and had my first gig this past weekend. I absolutely loved it. It really is hard to beat an amp on stage, and I loved using my buddies pedalboard for different flavors of Overdrives that I've never used before. I play modern country/rock type stuff, and I think I finally realized that most of the tones I hear and enjoy are often pedal based, which is why there is many unique tones (to me anyways) in this genre. This has me wanting to go fully back to a pedalboard (which I have nothing at the moment). So part of me wants to sell my kemper, Yamaha DXR monitor, line 6 wireless, and buy another amp for some variation and start to build a pedalboard: or just build a killer pedalboard pocket some cash, and maybe get another guitar. I really enjoyed his shure GLDX 16 pedal mounted wireless a lot, the sturdy case was something I really enjoyed, the battery life was incredible and convenient, and the built in tuner had me sold right there: what a great idea. I am trying not to be irrational at this point, but the mcfly just sounded amazing, and filled the entire stage, even with the amp turned around, it had swirling 3D type tone that could be heard from everywhere. Just looking for some advice and what others might consider doing in my situation. Once again I do play professionally, so this isn't just a hobby for me. Nothing wrong with that whatsoever, but I have to look at it from that aspect and what will work best for me and the artists I get hired by. Also lookin on other amp reccomendations in the 2k range. The CAA PT 50/100 captures my attention as a "do all" type of amp that would be super killer. but I do not know how much I would enjoy that over say something like a 5150 III. the 3rd power stuff looks amazing, but might be too similar to my Jackson, except the dream weaver has the 68 plexi on the second channel: VERY enticing to me.. Anyways, just thinking out loud here. I could also use pedalboard building advice. Thanks guys.

chris

OK, you are now beginning down an endless path. I remember the first time I played a Mesa MKIIC+....OMG..had to have one. Every time one showed up on E-Bay for less than $2000 I wanted it. Still don't have one, as I realized what I have is working great, and is paid for. And, quite frankly, 99% of folks in the crowd would not be able to tell the difference.

GAS is tough to stop sometimes. If you can't be happy with what you have, or really feel that the Jackson sounds and feels better than the Kemper, I would first look at a few pedals BEFORE I plunked down $2K on another amp. See if the pedals and the Jackson does it for you for the next few months. If it does, THEN sell the Kemper, but if not, you'll still have the Kemper and can go back.

I know this attitude is in direct violation of TGP, but just my 2 cents....

Al

 

[Cgkindler]

I agree
Sometimes MAKING yourself work with what you have can be its own reward man. I know that when I started to have to concentrate on PLAYING instead of the tone ....... it became awesome!

 

[VESmedic]

OK, you are now beginning down an endless path. I remember the first time I played a Mesa MKIIC+....OMG..had to have one. Every time one showed up on E-Bay for less than $2000 I wanted it. Still don't have one, as I realized what I have is working great, and is paid for. And, quite frankly, 99% of folks in the crowd would not be able to tell the difference.

GAS is tough to stop sometimes. If you can't be happy with what you have, or really feel that the Jackson sounds and feels better than the Kemper, I would first look at a few pedals BEFORE I plunked down $2K on another amp. See if the pedals and the Jackson does it for you for the next few months. If it does, THEN sell the Kemper, but if not, you'll still have the Kemper and can go back.

I know this attitude is in direct violation of TGP, but just my 2 cents....

Al

direct violation, DEFINITELY. Sane and rational and probably what I already know to be true: Definitely as well haha . I obviously need to put together a pedalboard. I just wonder if its worth saving for, or selling the kemper and putting it all together right now and not looking back and being able to get everything I could want at once....I thought impulsivity was something you grow out of as you age?

 

[shanesiegle]

Being logical isn't allowed here. Sell the Kemper while they are still hot. If you decide in a couple years to go back you won't have lost much. For me there is no substitute for a great amp (or three) and some good pedals although I'm still mostly a gain from my amp guy. I like fuzz, delay and mild overdrives. Couldn't imagine not having my board and amps.

 

[riffmeister]

Kemper
Jackson Ampworks Mcfly
CAA PT 50/100
5150 III
3rd power dream weaver

How about one of each?

 

[Stormin]

I've never owned a Kemper, but I did gig for a few years with a Boss modeling board thru a power amp. I get and appreciate the flexibility and ease of use of these kind of rigs. That said, I'm always happiest when I'm gigging a great tube amp with a few different overdrive pedals.

I don't think you'd go wrong with making a switch, but if you're like the rest of us, you'll probably never have the cash to go back if you're unhappy. My advice would be to keep the Kemper rig and purchase the amp and pedals piece by piece as the cash flow dictates.

 

[Al Rose]

>>>direct violation, DEFINITELY. Sane and rational and probably what I already know to be true: Definitely as well haha . I obviously need to put together a pedalboard. I just wonder if its worth saving for, or selling the kemper and putting it all together right now and not looking back and being able to get everything I could want at once....I thought impulsivity was something you grow out of as you age? <<<

OK, you said you LOVE the Kemper. Selling something you love is ALWAYS a bad idea (I've been there too many times). So if it were me, I'd buy a Timmy and maybe a Zendrive or something like that and roll with the Jackson for a while. I know, that's too logical....

Al

 

[VESmedic]

>>>direct violation, DEFINITELY. Sane and rational and probably what I already know to be true: Definitely as well haha . I obviously need to put together a pedalboard. I just wonder if its worth saving for, or selling the kemper and putting it all together right now and not looking back and being able to get everything I could want at once....I thought impulsivity was something you grow out of as you age? <<<

OK, you said you LOVE the Kemper. Selling something you love is ALWAYS a bad idea (I've been there too many times). So if it were me, I'd buy a Timmy and maybe a Zendrive or something like that and roll with the Jackson for a while. I know, that's too logical....

Al

This definitely makes the most sense. and in reality the jackson is such an amazing amp for me personally, it needs very little in the way of drive pedals to do whatever you could possibly want to do, just an amazing sounding amp. The problem is gas hit me all at once: so many different pedals I enjoyed with the jacons (walrus audio voyager, and a "vintage" lovepedal purple plexi 100, the handwired one), as well as really enjoying this new wireless system by shure over my line 6: all this is not good for GAS!

 

[effectsman]

I wouldn't sell the Kemper. If you want the amp onstage sound why not get your DXR up off the floor in front of you and place it behind you like you would a speaker cab. The Kemper can give you any amp you ever want, plus I believe there are stomp box models as well. THhe DXR has good dispertion (better than a traditional guitar speaker) so you can get plenty of stage sound and 3D swirl.

If you really want the sound of amp and cab and the DXR is not enough, get a guitar speaker cab and the Fryette Power Station to use as a power amp.

 

[Al Rose]

This definitely makes the most sense. and in reality the jackson is such an amazing amp for me personally, it needs very little in the way of drive pedals to do whatever you could possibly want to do, just an amazing sounding amp. The problem is gas hit me all at once: so many different pedals I enjoyed with the jacons (walrus audio voyager, and a "vintage" lovepedal purple plexi 100, the handwired one), as well as really enjoying this new wireless system by shure over my line 6: all this is not good for GAS!

Yeah, if you take it one step at a time you can keep GAS at bay and still enjoy each "upgrade". The Lovepedal purple plexi is a great pedal...buy one of those and experiment. I've actually been looking some at the wireless you're referring to for me as well.

For me, my Boogies do what I need - great cleans, and great OD. Add a couple of pedals (Mythical OD and a Zendrive 2 now. Have also used a Fluxdrive and a Hot Buttered Scotch) and I can get any tone I need. It just took a while (well, years) for me to realize the GAS cycle always ends up where you started....so for me tweaking makes the more sense, is the least expensive, and is the most fun. YMMV and all that....

Al