help me design my next live rig

[gnomethrone]

I'm working on songs for a new project with a goal of playing them out once gigs are a thing again and I want the right gear for the job. I know it may be a long way off but thinking about fun future times is helping me stay positive. This might get long winded but I'll try to post lots of pictures to break it up

My current setup: tele deluxe -> pedalboard -> Quilter 101 head -> homebrewed 2x12 with some old celestions

pros: love the guitar, happy with the pedals, setup sounds good at bedroom thru band practice levels, small and lightweight
cons: wish the Quilter had a regular EQ, also it doesnt really get louder after halfway on the volume but that could be my cab I guess. It's really directional and the speakers are mismatched impedance (lol)

Tele is tuned to drop B and I mostly use the neck pickup. I use the boss LS-2 to switch between cleanish and dirty sounds.
Clean is overdrive -> phase -> delay. Dirty is overdrive -> green russian reissue

I can post a demo recording as a sample but eh, you get the idea right?
[to be continued]

[John Matrix]

I recommend trying an EQ pedal of some sort in the loop. Fixed a lot of the tone complaints I had with my Quilter 101. It can be a pain if you aren't already using the loop but maybe give it a shot and see if it works for you.

[dubkitty]

a demo of a chord sequence, partial or complete song idea, or some riffs would help us know what would complement your ideas. the first thing you should do is get quality speakers that match your amp's output impedance settings; mismatched impedance *or* speakers with different efficiency in dB will lower your perceived output/volume, can cause phase cancellation in front of the amp, or even fuck your amp in extreme cases. speakers are as important to the sonic result as pickups, preamp tubes, and stompboxes. good ones can make everything sound better; crap speakers *will* make everything else sound worse. a set of Webers, Eminence, or Celestions might cost $4 or $500 for a pair of Alnicos, but they'll make you sound better than a new $400 pedal or a $400 set of aftermarket pickups. alnico Jensens are mean little doggies too, a wee bit cheap and nasty like a logger's tavern somewhere tucked in under the Cascades in the mildewy part of southwest Washington.

matching efficiency is important...a JBL or the Weber California D120 clone is a few dB more efficient than a Greenback, so the Greenback's going to get drowned out and disappear from the mix if you use them together. efficiency increases loudness, and matching efficiency helps the waveforms from each speaker couple and reinforce each other. that's part of why people like 4×12 Marshall and Hiwatt cabinets with four matched speakers, and why the Dead's Wall Of Sound used multiple stacks of as many as twelve ported 15" enclosures for Phil Lesh's bass, driven by 1600 watts of McIntosh tube hi-fi power amps. it's all about moving air effectively and efficiently. if i could, i'd use 15" speakers in everything, but they don't fit in most combo amps.

[gnomethrone]

So my favorite guitar players are King Buzzo and Dylan Carlson. Both of them these days use pedals into solid state amps and um, "unconventional" cabs
Here's the most recent pic of Buzzo's rig I can find without digging around too much

MelvinsRR_05Cabs-WEB.jpg (109.3 KiB) Viewed 792 times

One cab is a 2x15 and one is a 1x12, 1x15.
Last I read, Carlson was touring solo with a trace elliott elf, an inexpensive teeny tiny 200 watt bass head. They seem really cool and have me interested. From watching youtube it seems like he just uses whatever is around.

In the past I've used old solid state amps into 4x12 cabs. I've still got a couple 4x12s in my basement but they're heavy and ugly and not worth putting nice speakers in. All my old amps succumbed to their age and weren't worth the repair bills. I haven't ever liked 10" speakers but I do like 15"s. For a little while I had one of those Randall 2x12&1x15 cabs. It had Eminence legends in it and I really liked how they sounded but the cab itself had some weird resonance thing that I didn't like.

I recommend trying an EQ pedal of some sort in the loop. Fixed a lot of the tone complaints I had with my Quilter 101. It can be a pain if you aren't already using the loop but maybe give it a shot and see if it works for you.

That's a really simple solution that I haven't tried yet, nice.

speakers are as important to the sonic result as pickups, preamp tubes, and stompboxes. good ones can make everything sound better; crap speakers *will* make everything else sound worse.

Yeah that's what lead me to make this post, mostly looking for advice on speakers /cabs. I've got some ideas and I'm hoping to talk them over with folks who know about this stuff before I start blowing my small budget. I'll post a demo track as well.
[one more post incoming]

[goroth]

Check out some Eminence Texas Heats. They're pretty cheap, handle lots of power and handle lows, and they don't have ice pick highs. I dig em.

[gnomethrone]

So here's what I'm thinking as of today: This band will be a guitar and drum two piece most likely so getting a big sound is important but I'm trying to keep this relatively cheap, and I want something easy to move. I'm thinking I should figure out a better cab / speaker situation and see how the Quilter does before worrying about amps. It would be easy enough to do a shootout with an ELF and a few other little mini class d bass amps if it comes to that.
I keep looking at vertical 2x12s and these seem cool

http://www.trmguitarcabs.com/
Front ported bottom section, open back top, unfinished pine, like $260 shipped unloaded
It seems like he does custom stuff for a little extra so maybe I could have him make the lower compartment a 15"?

As for speakers, I remember liking those eminence legends and they're fairly cheap. That would make it easy to match up a 12" and 15". I've also been looking at the Weber Tone Cvlt line. Pricier but the demos sound great.
Here's a demo track for reference
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAD6lGLHK3I[/youtube]

Check out some Eminence Texas Heats

Thanks I'll check those out

[coldbrightsunlight]

Definitely second the "sort out your cabs/try different cabs" suggestion. My Quilter (it is a 201 though) just keeps getting louder and louder through a decent cab and I would be surprised if a 101 isn't enough for most things through any solid cab - I really like mine through a 4x10 at the rehearsal room it is loud as fuck. 2x12 or 12+15 should sound absolutely massive.

As for the EQ good call John Matrix - also worth considering EQs / drive pedals with good EQ in front of the amp as well and just running the Quilter pre-amp super flat (which it does nicely).

[goroth]

Eminence Legends are nice, for sure.

[dubkitty]

a 2x12 and a 1x15 could just be the gateway to sonic heaven. sometimes 12s just don't have enough Thud Factor. and if you're doing a two-piece you're going to want to fill a whole lot of room.

[dubkitty]

i'm thinking about doing a setup for amplifying my loopers with a guitar amp/two 12s, a 200 Hz crossover, and a bass amp with a Hartke aluminum 15. guitar speakers generally crap out around 60-70 Hz.

[gnomethrone]

Thanks for the responses. What do you all think about that cab I posted up above? I think that kinda hybrid design could be really nice. After reading the website again I guess it has pine sides and a birch baffle and back. I emailed the guy about maybe adding some recessed handles and seeing if he could do a 15" on the bottom. It would be cool to do a nice finish on it myself and it comes with a frame for a grill cloth. I'm always looking around locally at used stuff and it's been tough finding anything that meets my criteria AND that I like the look of.

i'm thinking about doing a setup for amplifying my loopers with a guitar amp/two 12s, a 200 Hz crossover, and a bass amp with a Hartke aluminum 15.

sounds beefy

[coldbrightsunlight]

Oh did I forget to say? That cab looks rad AF. Would definitely add the recessed handles (even if it's just cutouts in the wood) if I were you. But the construction looks solid and it's a cool shape/size.

[dubkitty]

i've actually been watching a 2x12 on eBay with a slanted front. DEFFO get the handles added...you'll be glad you did every single time you have to move it. i would also go for metal corner caps. it never hurts to be a little safer.

[dubkitty]

that slot port snuck right by me. you might be on the money here.

[K2000]

Check out some Eminence Texas Heats. They're pretty cheap, handle lots of power and handle lows, and they don't have ice pick highs. I dig em.

Also, the Lil' Texas speakers are the neodymium (lightweight) version of Texas Heats. They only weigh like 5 pounds, and they are loud AF (very efficient speakers). Supposed to have a relatively flat (uncolored EQ) response. If you care a lot about portability, they are worth a look.