Hey All Of You Church Players!

[GregS]

So what are you using amp-wise when playing at church?

Are you miking a tube amp with pedals in front of it?

Are you using a POD, ToneLab, or something else?

I really don't want to haul around a tube amp + pedals twice a week, but I'm too picky about my tone to settle for just anything. I have a POD XT now. I just returned a ToneLab SE. Is the POD the best solution for this venue?

Thanks!

 

[Jimi Ray]

I play in rotation with two other players. I use all tube amps and pedals. Tomorrow morning I'll be packin up a Bogner Metropolis and a DR-Z (z-28) head into a two twelve cab. loaded with greenbacks. I have a few other tube amps that I use on a regular basis, just depends on the material. I had a pod a few years ago and it was very usefull for me when I got too lazy to schlep the tube amps to practice. However I sold it. I just couldn't get connected with it for even just practice.

 

[SQUAREHEAD]

Bogner Xtcy Classic with two 4x12 Bogner Straights.

 

[dbeeman]

Alessandro Blue Tick or
Bruno U30
tomorrow AikenInvader

All with attenuators and a closed back cab aimed at me - away from the parishioners

 

[Jarrett]

I had been using the Tech21 Trademark 60 for that with the built in SansAmp. That way I could go striaght to the board via XLR. It's a really good sounding amp, but I never played it except at church and then played tube amps (Flexi and Allen Old Flame head & 4x10 cab) at home.

I decided to try and consolidate down to one amp for both at home and the church gig, as well as, any other gig I needed to go to. I got a Tone King Meteor and sold my Tech 21 and Allen Old Flame. The plan now is to use my Koch Load Box 120 for the XLR out. I did some recording with it today at home and it ended up sounding better than the Tech 21 on tape. And of course, the Meteor is a much better sounding amp in the room as well. WIth a Tim pedal in front it, then amp sounds phenomenal. Enough so that it made me put my Flexi up for sale as well.

Going to debut this rig tomorrow and see how it goes

 

[ButchR]

Komet 60 into Germino 2x12 with greenbacks. Kometbrake ran in the other speaker out, so as not to affect tone. Pedalboard has a Clyde wah, Hotcake,TIM, and Maxon AD999 delay. We play LOUD! Sundaynight services usually run 102db in the house on a rockin night.

 

[Swampash]

A POD XT into a Roland KB-500, then the direct outs of the Roland into the house. We are endevoring to keep our stage volume as low as possible, so any tube amp I've tried is just too loud. We use the Aviom monitor system, so that everybody gets exactly the mix they want to hear: http://www.aviominc.com/products.html#A-16
And lowering our stage level has greatly improved the FOH sound...WAY less bleed and out of phase sound.

I find that with the POD (particularly since the ver 2.0 firmware update 2 weeks ago), I can pretty much get whatever sound I want and still keep it "peaceful" on stage...in the "mix", it works just fine.

....and, it fits in my guitar case!

 

[George H]

I use an A/B set up w/ a Matchless HC30 into a matching 2X12
for the clean-mid gain side & a Fargen Mini Plex into a 2X12
for the gainier OD stuff. I run them both into the house using H&K Red boxes. My pedal board consists of: Pharaoh Class A boost, (on all the time) Barber DirectDrive, Boss TR2 trem, Dunlop Univibe, & a Teese RMC wah. I also use 2 A/B/Y boxes. (1 to switch channels on the Matchless & 1 to switch amps.)(I also use a DD5 for a bit of delay on the Matchless most of the time.)
We are in a HUGE room (used to be a theatre) w/ a fairly heavy
hitting drummer, so stage volume is not a problem.

George H
http://community.webshots.com/user/strat62555

 

[rjgtr]

I've tried PODs and don't like them, (sorry POD owners). The best direct device I've played it the Tonelab, followed by the Digitech GNX pdeals. But I still prefer a tube amp.

We went to a headphone system a while back and wanted to reduce the stage volume. When the drummer and I were the only ones producing sound, the singers complained so I kept turning down until my sound suffered. So I solved my dilema by using an ISO box with a 12 in it. This solved the volume issues (except the drummer, but at least they haven't done electronic drums - bleh!).

So to get to your original question...

Rivera Jake Studio Combo (or Rivera Fandango) into an ISO box with a Celestion, miced with a Sennheiser E609 (I think). The internal speaker is left disconnected. I use a TC Electronic G Major in the amp's loop with Behringer FCB-1010 to control it. I use the relays in the FCB-1010 to control channel switching, so I can just select a patch to change all my sounds.

I still prefer the amp in the room (so I can get feedback!) but this gives me a great amp tone and it sounds good. Plus I'm monitoring the sound the PA guy is using, so I know what's going on in the room.

 

[jokerjkny]

usually, i use my Fuchs ODS-30, but sometimes, i'll get odd glances from the new-comers.

but these days, been using my Fargen Blackbird with a few fun Keeley pedals, and havent looked back since. drape an SM57 in front, and i'm good to go.

i'm realizing a small lightweight combo is best for me, since i criss cross the city on sundays, so the Fargen has been very cool. but Bob Burt is also making a super lightweight pine shelled 1x12 combo box for my Fuchs, so it should be interesting having those options for me, and the crosstown bus.

 

[Play by Tone]

I leave a Shiva 2x12 open cab there so all I have to do is bring pedalboard and Shiva amp head.

We will be switching over to IEM's this fall (Aviom of course), when this happens my cab will be in a room behind stage with an iso booth made for the cab. I'll just run 50ft of speaker cable to and leave the head on stage. I already face my cab towards the back to keep the sound eng. happy.

ButchR, we also avg. around 100db at 9:30am 110db and the classrooms on the second floor that surround the sanctuary comment/complain So we keep it back.

 

[Jonathan]

Fender HRDeluxe (mic'd) with a V-Stack and Maxon OD820 for drive. The V-Stack does low volume really well.

Maxon AD900, DLS EchoTap, and EBS DynaVerb for effects.......though I just acquired an Eventide H3000 D/SE that is probably going to bump out most of the use of those pedals once I get a MIDI foot controller.

 

[tuna]

Fender '64 Custom Vibroverb w/ TS808, a Choral-Flange and a mic hanging over the amp.

 

[David-R]

I'm using a Tech 21 Trademark 60 and a pedalboard.

All of our instruments are run through the PA as we play in a large high school auditorium. I use the SansAmp out to go direct to the board and the amp is turned around in front of me and used as my guitar monitor.

I used a POD (both the original and the XT) for several years and was just never happy with the tone quality. IMO - the Trademark 60, although less versatile than the POD, has better tone going through the PA.

 

[Davepig]

Komet 60 into Germino 2x12 with greenbacks. Kometbrake ran in the other speaker out, so as not to affect tone. Pedalboard has a Clyde wah, Hotcake,TIM, and Maxon AD999 delay. We play LOUD! Sundaynight services usually run 102db in the house on a rockin night.

Hehe I get those images from the Blues Brothers movie where the people were doing flying backflips in the air.

 

[ButchR]

Originally posted by Davepig
Hehe I get those images from the Blues Brothers movie where the people were doing flying backflips in the air.

Not too far from that! Our auditorium seats 3000 and its full most of the time. Hey, we are on a mission to bring LIFE to dead churches. Church should be fun and exciting!

We also use in ear monitors and our stage is pretty big so we don't have a lot of problems with overriding the mains. I use one in ear monitor and one open ear.

 

[Davepig]

3,000 is a pretty big church! I live up here by Rod Parsleys church, not sure how many it fits, but quite a lot.

Guess with a space that big, yea you could crank them up a lot.

 

[ButchR]

I think Rod's church is a little bigger than ours.

 

[Mastervolume]

I have been using a Germino LV55 and a Germino open backed 2x12 w/ Greenbacks with a pedal board.

Recently I had a chance to travel and play with another church and took my PODxt. I loved it.

Worked great in the mix, had a ton of different sounds at my feet. I don't think that I'll be schlepping my rig to churches anymore unless asked to by the leader.

Get the 2.0 upgrade (free download) and a short board. I don't mind using a monitor for my tones but plan on picking up an atomic amp for my stage monitor.


www.atomicamps.com

 

[marks]

I use a Tone King Meteor 20 miced up and a Fulldrive for effects. Sounds terrific!