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Here's
my current rig (which changes all the time) - any with red titles have links
to further information. The GP100 provides the tone & odd
effects, feeding two looprs, the Jamman and the Powertran. The GR30 doesn't always
show up, but gives access to a wider pallette of sounds. Each of these goes through
an FX unit, then into a small mixer. I'd love to fund a cheap mixer that had
3 stereo sends, so I could use any of the processors on any of the inputs. The
Zoom reverb adds ambience to each input. The mixer feeds my 20 watt power amp.
I'm happy to answer any more detailed questions.
Here's more info about the Powertran, Zoom G2, FCB1010 and my home-grown midi controller project using the arduino chip.
The Lexicon Jamman was bought
from a wonderful looping guitarist called David
Allison. This has the full (32 seconds) of memory and allows both looping
and echo. I upgraded it using a Bob Sellon chip, to offer a few extra features, including seamless transition from loop to echo. It comes with 2 footswitches for controlling the basic features,
but to get real control, you need a midi controller - I use a behringer FCB1010
or a rolls midi pedal. To add some zing to the final mix, I picked up a very
cheap zoom reverb unit, the studio 2100. This is run from the effects send
of the mixer, either a tiny Phonic MM1002, or the mixer of my Yamaha MD8
midi-disk recorder. The bonus of the latter is the ability to tape the
gig without faffing about with microphones, although I regularly manage to hit
a button pausing or cancelling the recording.
Latest rack addition is an Alesis Akira - multi-fx with amazing pitch & mod settings. If only you could comine patches...
A
more recent, and frankly wonderful device, is the Zoom G2. The latest
in a series of
Zoom pedals, this one finally seems to have all a looper
could reasonably require. Firstly, you get 5 seconds worth of ping pong,
tape echo or delay, each of which can be frozen using a non-latching footswitch.
Longer review here.
Another
natty device is the Alesis AirFX, which allows you to control three parameters
by waving your hands over the device, kind of like a theremin. Sadly, no midi
or foot control options are available. Although everything is preset, the interaction
of the effects is sensibly chosen and
allows you
to
inject some
welcome real-time variation to loops. It's currently sitting between the powertran
and the mixer, usefully converting a mono feed into a stereo'd signal.
Power
(if needed) comes from a marshall 2020 power amp into a stereo Marshall cab, or a pair of mini PA speakers on stands - perfect for churches etc where I want decent stereo projection. An awful lot of volume available from a relatively lightweight amp. I'm never short of volume! One side of the amp did die n me, but I suspect the speaker cables had been shorting slightly. new cables, new transformer, it's been right as ninepence since.
Another
recent purchase is a Red Federation FX Pro - an amazing piece of discontinued
gear. It has 4 sections - echo, flange/filter, pann and cut (gate) which can
be beat-synced to incoming music. Needless to say, there's not much discernable
beat in mine, so I tap the tempo. I've not really got it under control, but this
means there's a welcome element of randomness in using it. It has presets, but
I 've not started used them yet. A joystick in the centre allows me to fade between
the effects and each can be switched off. The efefcts it provides are subtle,
but moving ;)
Tone
comes from either a Roland GP100. I cannot find a perfect sound, so every few months I try a new combination.
Since my early days, there has only been one guitar, the Strat. Anything without
a tremolo arm seems half a guitar. My long-term love is a white Strat with a
rosewood neck. I've retro- fitted lace sensor pickups and some replacement "low
friction" saddles, since which I've yet
to break a string. It also has orange knobs, since I was in a band called "Satsuma"!
I picked up a cheap Roland-ready Strat on
ebay, which
fires up the GR30 synth unit. This has opened my ears to a whole new range
of sounds. For years I've been trying to make the guitar sound like something
other than a guitar, usually with slow attacks, and here they are by the bucket
load! Seriously inspiring - see the audio section for some samples.
More recently I've acquired a Fernandes Dragonfly guitar with the amazing sustainer
system. This is certain to work it's way into my repertoire, assuming I can
afford to keep buying 9v batteries ;)
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