As with most things the dream rig changes on a sometimes daily basis. But it's good to have goals and as of the day I last edited this page here is where I'd like to go for my rig:
| version | description |
| v7.0 gotta be lightweight "medical necessity is the mother of spending . . . " |
A hernia operation induced me to go to lightweight gear only. I'm tired of hauling heavy stuff up and down the stairs so no piece over about 30lbs is the requirement. I already had a Schroeder 15+L (~30lbs) which was plenty loud, sounds fine and easy to carry so adding another will make it work. I'll keep my wedge monitors around for when I want a mini-PA and I'm good to go. |
| v6.0 multi-use full range amplification "it sounds like a good idea . . . " |
The idea is that full-range speakers can amplify anything - bass, keys, horns, vocals, etc. Basically
using a small PA as a bass rig. That way for smaller/quieter/acoustic-ey groups I can use the rig as the PA
and feel safe running bass through it. For bigger/louder/electric groups I can use the rig as just bass
amplification (and hopefully someday as just stage volume).
Overall this reduces the amount of gear I need to have on hand as it can be a bass amp, a PA, a sax rig, etc. It can also reduce the amount of gear I need to haul in some situations. |
| v5.0 ultralight head & cabs "all it takes is money" |
Nice though the combo was things can be lighter by separating the pieces. So in the end an ultralight, powerful head (AI Focus 2R) would be ideal. If it wasn't sonically quite what I was looking for adding a preamp of some type is no big deal as the Focus is ~5lbs and 1000W@2Ohms. It even has phantom power on an XLR input that can power a BDDI/M80 type of pedal preamp via phantom power. Lighter cabs would be great in a modular setup to provide the most options. |
| v4.0 light&powerful combo "back to the future" |
This is going back to my first amp - a wedge combo - with the exception that I want it powerful enough to carry medium gigs (with an extension cab). And it has to be light enough to cart around easily. It reduces the number of things to carry (a combo instead of a rack & cab) and simplifies the setup (plug in and play instead of hooking up a bunch of stuff). With the wedge/tiltback capability it has a lot of flexibility for handling rehearsals, small-medium gigs and stage monitoring for gigs where the PA carries the house. |
| v3.0 light&cheap rack solution |
After trying and failing with the Schroeder cabs (they were light, loud and well-made -- I just didn't cotton to the sound) and not feeling comfortable with the cost of them (spending that much on a single cab just didn't "feel good" to me) I've dropped the single-cab concept. And gone to the best weight/size/volume tradeoff concept. Money is always an object and I'm happy with the sounds I get from my ART tube pre and Avatar cabs. So I'm just trying to optimize that setup. |
| v2.2 "one-cab" solution |
The driving force behind this concept is that a single compact, lightweight cab is all that is needed for most things (all rehearsals, most gigs). Lightweight = <50lbs. Compact = fits in the trunk of my Maxima. The answer to this riddle is a Schroeder compact light-model cab. It is compact enough to fit where I need it, light enough to meet my needs and loud enough for anything except maybe a loud outdoor gig. But it does need juice. So that drives the amp solution to be a pre/power setup (best way to get watts IMO). And a bridgeable amp fits best (more watts into a single cab, simpler setup) with that. |
| v2.1 ultralight rack |
This version has an ultralight rack at its core. Stereo power amp with enough oomph to drive a pair of Acmes or Schroeders, preamp with good clean and blended dirty sounds. One pair of cabs for quieter stuff that are very flat and can run double-duty as lower volume PA mains with bass in the mix and one cab setup for louder stuff. |
| v2.0 "ultralight" |
This version uses a very lightweight integrated head with at least 2 channels/sounds (clean and overdriven/SVT-ish) racked with a tuner and wireless. For bass rig usage it drives cabs directly. For PA usage the output of the head is run into the PA and the PA output is run back into the effects in to power PA cabs. The cabs are dual use, but need to be relatively efficient/lightweight/compact and I'm currently thinking horn-loaded cabs as designed by Bill Fitzmaurice - the only drawback being you have to build them yourself or contract a builder to get them. |
| v1.0 "pedalboard-based" |
This version had all tonal shaping on a pedalboard which you could hook to a PA or a poweramp driving bass cabs. The cabs would be double-duty and able to operate as either bass cabs or PA cabs. I was thinking along the lines of Acme Low B2s. |
| component | current | dream |
| Amplification |
Carvin BX500
The tone of previous Carvin amps (B800, BX-1200) was pretty much perfect. This new one from Carvin has 500W @ 4 Ohms
and only weight ~5.5lbs. That combination is about perfect. 500W into a Schroeder 15+L will kill and it does have a switch
that will let me run it at 2 Ohms (limited to 500W) if I need/want to use 2 cabs.
Yamaha BBT-500H I've always been knocked out by the tones the BBT-500H can produce. It does a wide variety from smooth, tubey, and modern through various edgy/overdriven variations and full-on fuzz. It's a bit heavier than the current microheads at 11 lbs but it's still an easy haul. The power is a little on the light side but the Schroeder 15+Ls are efficient enough that it can cover my situations. My only complaint is it has 1/4" outputs instead of speakons so I need different cables for it than the BX500 (although I could use the 1/4"->speakon cables I have with the BX500 as well but prefer all-speakon when possible). It's in the backup head slot for now. |
Genz Benz Shuttle 12.0 Max Dual 600W @ 4 Ohm power sections in a 6.75lb package. My only complaint with the Shuttle 6.0 was a lack of true low end. The Shuttle 12.0 will have both a lower bass rolloff and a controllable LF Boost (the 6.0 LF Boost was fixed and too much). This would get rid of my tonal gripe and let me revel in the light weight, size and now double the power. 600W into one Schroeder 15+L will be plenty (and it's got another 600W for the second one). The price is a bit steep but I may have to get one at some point or Carvin BX1000 (rumored!) Rumor has it Carvin will be putting out a BX1000 which is the same as the BX500 with a pair of 500W @ 4/2 Ohm power sections that will be bridgeable. As long as the weight and cost didn't increase dramatically from the BX500 I would have to get one and be set for amps. or Acoustic Image Focus 2R Very expensive but 1000W @ 2Ohms in a ~5lb package the size of a paperback book. If the Focus preamp didn't satisfy me I could add a pedal preamp (powered via phantom power on the XLR input), a Bass POD or a rack preamp without much trouble and still use the Focus as a power amp for minimal weight. I could add a power amp for times when I needed/wanted more output than the Focus could give. The Focus is single channel so if I like biamping something else will need to be the "dream amp". |
| Cabs |
Schroeder 15+L This is a light (~30lb), compact cab with a 15" driver and a tweeter. While I didn't like the angled baffle Schroeder cabs (1212L, 1210L) the 15+L sounds fine to me. Combine the high sensitivity, the light weight/compact size with the nice tone and it's a winner. At 4 Ohms the 250W from the BBT-500H gets it loud enough for even loud rock band rehearsals. Adding a second one of these gives me all the volume I'll ever be willing to deal with in a very portable stack. |
??? Acme Low B1s are the only 3-ways that match my weight requirement but they won't get nearly as loud as the Schroeders. I may add a pair of B1s at some point unless a better lightweight 3-way becomes available in the future. |
| Effects/Misc |
Sennheiser 1092D wireless A nice digital wireless that doesn't degrade my sound and has 4 selectable 900MHz channels. Drop it back on the pedalboard to "portablize" the setup. Or eventually rack it up with rack effects. And since the EWI has a 1/4" out for use with the internal synth I can do wind synth wirelessly if I feel like it. |
Sennheiser 1092D wireless Can't beat it, although it seems to distort more easily than I like. Gotta watch the gain and the battery level. |
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Dunlop MXR M-80 DI Good clean DI (liked it better than the Sansamp for going direct to the PA) with a fun Billy Sheehan-like distortion that "rawks" in a rock setting. Sometimes it seems to suck the life right out of my tone (or maybe just the mids) so it doesn't get a lot of use. |
--- The Focus has a DI of it's own so this spot is not something that necessarily needs to be filled. But an M80, PBDDI or something similar on the front of the Focus would be a powerful combination. |
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Zoom BFX-708 w/Boss LS-2 A reasonable multieffect that has some fun sounds. The LS-2 allows me to mix in dry signal (since the 708 sucks bottom) and bypass it (since it sucks tone) to make it usable to me. |
??? I'd like a nice multieffect that does it all with good tone, small size and low cost but haven't found it yet. Separates are probably the way to go. My thinking on "needed" effects are:
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Boss TU-12H or Boss TU-2 Both good tuners used in different setups. |
Peterson Strobostomp In a dream world I'd have the dream tuner. The new Planet Waves strobe tuner may be more affordable and more likely to make an appearance sooner. |