Downsizing while upgrading - Rebel Story

Kiteboarder

Kiteboarder

New member
For those of you who believe that less is more:

Lately I've been swamped just thinking of rig combinations and the like. Plugging cables and configuring my rig in all kind of different ways - all in my head. Well, I've gotten to an interesting conclusion. It's the quality that matters, not the quantity. I currently have a 30 inch wide pedalboard with a bunch of nice effects. My favorites... stock Ibanez TS-808, Keeley modded RAT2 and Ibanez CS-9 Chorus. Apart from that I have an array of other nice pedals and a Lehle amp switcher.

I'm loving playing through the Rebel. I've always believed in the "you don't need 100Watts" adage. That after seeing an amazing guitarist in Puerto Rico year ago, playing a Rickenbacker like there was no tomorrow, sounding loud and incredible. All, though a 15W Fender Blues Junior and maybe a pedal or two at the most. A pretty loud band altogether

Well, I'm currently seeing how I can downsize that board and make it even cooler. Plus, I have an Eggie 2x12, which I love, but I also want to get the 1x12. The basic principle would be having something that sounds amazing and is easy to carry to small gigs. I mean, If I play a little gig at a coffee shop I certainly will feel wierd with a 2x12 behind me and a 30 inch pedalboard in front.

So, the essentials must stay... Rebel, 1x12 cab, Boss TU-2 Tuner, Vox Wah, TS-808, CS-9 Chorus, AD9 Delay and maybe a True Bypass Looper. Lots of Mojo in a small package. Oh! And I must not forget... I've got my eyes set upon a Keeley Compressor... once I can collect the cash.
 
Lately, I'm ALL for downsizing and upgrading. Quality over quantity. Right on. :thumbsup: And I agree that you really don't need 50 or 100 watts to play MOST gigs, especially if you're being mic'd up. (I actually played 3-4 gigs with my tiny RM20 while waiting for my Mod50, worked fine...)

That being said, there's nothing wrong with having TWO seperate rigs... in fact I think it's essential for anyone who gigs out in different scenarios.

I have my big rig, and my small rig. Big rig for my main band, A Clean Getaway. Small rig for when our band plays NYC shows in tiny bars, or for when I jam alongside a singer songwriter dude that I'm friends with. (or for in my living room. haha)

Big rig is my Mod50 and Mod 2x12, w/ a 24 inch pedalboard in a gig bag. Buffer, tuner pedal, wah, footswitch, chorus, delay, PP2+ to power it.

Small rig is a Randall RM20, same pedalboard, but minus the footswitch, and slap on a homemade pedal that is just a volume knob that you can preset, and click on and off. It's kinda ghetto, but that gives me my clean channel if need be. Instead of rolling down my volume knob all the time.
 
I've definitely thought about this. I've been wanted to put together a small rig too. So I started a thread begging the guys to make an amp the size of the rebel with one slot for a module. It had enought posts that Jeff actually joined in. I wonder if the **** on the website could be a MOD 20. Ok - put my order in now!

But the Rebel IS cool too. Maybe I'll buy one with a 1x12 cab. Can you use the Egnater modules in a RM20? Will one channel work?
 
With the gear I currently have I can build a "small rig" But, I do need to get a 1x12 cab. The 2x12 is just too big for tiny venues. That said, I just feel my pedalboard is too big for the "small rig" and building a "small rig pedalboard" might mean having to buy additional "duplicate pedals" since I'm not going to take pedals off the big board and switch them back and forth.

So amp-wise, as long as I can get a 1x12, downsizing is not a problem. I am giving some thought though, to see if I can be happy with a smaller pedalboard being my "go to board for everything. I'm thinking 24" x 16" (instead of the 30" x 16" I currently have.) I can do this by eliminating a few pedals, and upgrading or modding the others to "upgrade"
 
Yes, the Egnater modules will work in the RAndall RM20 (and all the other randall stuff), but you can only access channel 1.

Not too bad though. If you have a clean module (like a T/D), just use an OD box to "switch" channels, or if you're using something like an SL2, just roll back your volume knob. Or, use the CHA of an SL, set to crunch, and clean up with your volume knob, and use a box for boost.

I think the 1x12 cab is a great idea, Kiteboarder. And also, a pedalboard that's 24x14" or so is very manageable. I think that's the standard size of a pedaltrain one.

And if this is still your rig, to try to consolidate, why not move the TU2 up, put the TS808 underneath that, and perhaps ditch the pedal pad thing, and make a smaller MXR size 1/4" jack junction box instead (that's what I did, and I piggyback another MXR right on top of it.) I'm sure if you tried, you could cram it all in. Working out the pedalboard puzzle is all part of the fun!

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I tried to do this with a Rebel and just could not quite get enough options for my situation and tatse.

Big thumbs up for accomplishing your goal. :thumbsup:
 
Hi, RockStarNick, that photo is more or less my setup. I'll make a big effort to post more pics and videos by the weekend, as a few things changed already. First off, the Pedal Pad router came off about a week or two ago. The original plan was to use it to route amps in stereo. It works well for that, but, only if you are not using the effects loops as you can only use one of the amps' loops. (Not enough connections on the router for the second amp's loop.) Secondly, I took the Line 6 Tremolo out. I like this pedal, but not enough to keep it there. The Rat is now on top of the Tuner. And the space is now taken by my Mesa Lonestar's channel switcher. The space of the Pedal Pad thingy is now taken by the Lehle Amp Stereo Switcher. What really bothers me is the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power. I don't want it on top anymore. It takes too much space. I like how you can put it under the board, on the Pedaltrain boards. I thought about adding a small second tier along the back and putting the PedalPower under that. I could use the space and put some pedals on top. But that's not going to make the rig any smaller, unless I get the 24" board with a tier. I'm also toying with the idea of running the two Rebels one clean and one dirty, and switching between them. But, I would need another cab. By the way, the board in the photo is a 30" x 14"
 
I can tell from the posts on this board that most of you guys are into analog pedals, and that's cool. I just thought it worth mentioning that my Boss GT-10 (using the 4CM) sounds great through my Rebel and one 1x12 cab. For anyone looking for a simple, reliable setup with a huge amount of available tonal variety on a budget, this setup would be hard to beat.

BYW, if you are not totally set on a Keely, I'll sell you a Barber Tone Press cheap ...

JWW
 
Kiteborder, get this guys Tone Press!!!!!!

Trust me. I have had both, and the Barber Tone Press is WAY better than the keeley. More versatile, and the blend control works amazingly even with high output humbuckers.

I found the Keeley to be pretty darn squishy. It was transparent in the fact that it didn't COLOR your tone, but it sure did squash it. I found it impossible to use with humbuckers, especially high output bridge ones.

The Tone press, with that paralell blend control, is just incredible. And set to 100% wet, it acts just like a normal compresser. AND the tone press has a tone control trim pot on the inside which you can tailor it to sound vintage or modern.
 
jwdubois":2h1dvsbk said:
I can tell from the posts on this board that most of you guys are into analog pedals, and that's cool. I just thought it worth mentioning that my Boss GT-10 (using the 4CM) sounds great through my Rebel and one 1x12 cab. For anyone looking for a simple, reliable setup with a huge amount of available tonal variety on a budget, this setup would be hard to beat.

BYW, if you are not totally set on a Keely, I'll sell you a Barber Tone Press cheap ...

JWW
Click to expand...

The GT-10 is great, I won't argue with you on that. I got into individual stompboxes 11 years ago when the guitarist in my band back then (for with I was the drummer) broke out a DOD Death Metal pedal and made his cheap amp sound like a million bucks (a million bucks to a 16-year-old). After that, he built this awesome looking pedalboard on one of the original SKB boards with little Danelectro pedals. I just thought it was the coolest thing! So, after that, I guess I was hooked on little stompboxes! In fact, I don't own a single Danelectro pedal, but I'm picking up a little Fish N' Chips EQ one of these days.

I will consider that Tone Press... I kind of had my heart set on the Keeley, but I'm willing to experiment. I wish it had a smaller footprint though. Hence the original post.
 
Kiteboarder":1w613w4e said:
I will consider that Tone Press... I kind of had my heart set on the Keeley, but I'm willing to experiment. I wish it had a smaller footprint though. Hence the original post.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. I no longer buy pedals if they are any bigger than MXR size. I just dont have the pedalboard real estate to spare.
 
By the way Nick... That gold Tele is freaking awesome looking! I keep you guys posted, I'm putting in the time to do a video review of my current setup this weekend.

Also, since I'm running 2 Rebels at once... If I want to add reverb or delay through the loop on both...? Wait a sec... Nevermind! I could run delay through only one of them and that way have one dry and the other wet. See! That's when it starts getting interesting!

I'm a gear nerd, just like half of you guys! :student:

-D
 
RockStarNick":3vxhoyqt said:
Kiteborder, get this guys Tone Press!!!!!!

Trust me. I have had both, and the Barber Tone Press is WAY better than the keeley. More versatile, and the blend control works amazingly even with high output humbuckers.

I found the Keeley to be pretty darn squishy. It was transparent in the fact that it didn't COLOR your tone, but it sure did squash it. I found it impossible to use with humbuckers, especially high output bridge ones.

The Tone press, with that paralell blend control, is just incredible. And set to 100% wet, it acts just like a normal compresser. AND the tone press has a tone control trim pot on the inside which you can tailor it to sound vintage or modern.
Click to expand...

Damn, now I want to keep it .... :lol: :LOL:

The Tone Press is pretty good, for sure, but it just never really lit my jets. I was looking for a fair amount of squash and the Tone Press can supply a fair amount, but I wish it had a conventional attack control. I just couldn't get the response I was looking for when I set it up with a lot of bypass to simulate a fast attack/high compression setting. Maybe I should trade for a Keely ;)

The Tone Press is far more transparent and less noisy than the Boss CS3, which is the only other stomp compressor I have tried. The compressors in the GT-10 however are actually pretty good (way better than the CS3), which is why I can let the Tone Press go. You can also use the parallel A/B fx paths in the GT-10 to simulate the bypass function of the Tone Press.

JWW
 
Tele Goldtop = 100% home made from Warmoth stuff. My #1.

Agreed about the MXR footprint... I actually called BArber one day and asked if they could make the tonepress in a smaller box, and they said no. I looked inside, and I'm SURE some experienced pedal rehouser could rehouse it, but probably it would run you $75.

RE: Keeley - It was actually a really good compressor. And the 4 knob one probably works more like a traditional compressor, with sustain, attack, etc.

The only thing that my Keeley wouldn't do great was stay consistent from loud strums, to single note lines, with the bridge pickup. Whereas the Barber Tone Press would.
 
OP, agreed. +1

I'm in a similar downsizing modernizing effort as well, which is nearly complete. I play bass, guitar and keys. It just so happens that I also play Rickenbackers primarily (330, 620, with several on order for years now :( ).

Here is my "prior" guitar rig:
full-rig.jpg


To the left of this guitar rig is my bass rig. Here is my "prior" bass rig:
bass-rig-1.jpg


To the right of this guitar rig is my keyboard setup. For keys, I didn't have amplification yet (using headphones, since I'm using software instruments (IK Multimedia)).

"prior" = I still have it, but components are up for sale (see spam in sig below)

For guitar, I have an Axe-Fx Ultra; for bass, I have a Trace Elliot MP11 preamp. I always go direct out with bass when playing live; the Ultra is designed to work with various amp/cab combinations especially FRFR PA systems, and can go direct to FOH too. I needed an amplification system that wold work for bass, guitar and keys. I looked at JBL, Yamaha, QSC, and several others. Specifically, I was looking for Active FRFR cabs, 2-way cabs with 15" speaker plus and active subwoofer for bass & keys. I also looked at a Bose L1 system.

What I ended up with is the Bose T1/L1 System. Small space, can support all my instruments, and has factory presets for Rickenbacker guitars and basses - these sound amazing IMO, just what I'd expect a stereotypical Ric to sound like, which is why I liked Rics in the first place. So far, I've connected my guitar (Rics) direct to the T1/LI and to my Ultra --> T1/L1 and played it for several hours. It sounds great to me "out-of-the-box" - I have some tweaking to do to get it perfect. The T1/L1 takes up 1/3 of the space of my former bass and guitar rigs, not to mention if I had a keyboard amp in my home office / studio space too. I'm getting an AB footswitch, because I think I can do most of my main rhythms with the Bose System (A), and switch to my Ultra (B) for lead and other rhythms (still waiting for the FAS footcontroller to be released!). I also plan to A/B for bass.

Here's the new set-up with my Ultra and MP11 in a 6U rack, the tower is nearly 7' tall so I'm not able to get a full pic:
BoseL1-MagicBox.jpg


There are quite a few mixed opinions on the Bose L1 system out there, and I still have about 30 days in my trial period to decide - but so far its a keeper for me. I know this isn't for everyone, especially tube amp purists, but it works for me. I'm very satisfied with this set-up, it sounds great with minimal effort on my part. Over the next several weeks, I plan to create and tweak my Ultra presets for the L1. Ideally, this will be my GAS killer (well, except for Rics)
 
EWSEthan":w6ubzh21 said:
Kiteboarder":w6ubzh21 said:
I will consider that Tone Press... I kind of had my heart set on the Keeley, but I'm willing to experiment. I wish it had a smaller footprint though. Hence the original post.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. I no longer buy pedals if they are any bigger than MXR size. I just dont have the pedalboard real estate to spare.
Click to expand...


Dudes I just bought the newer version of the Retrosonic Compressor. The one with the bright switch on it. VERY nice comp. Check out the Pro Guitar Shop demo on You tube. I really liek it, MXR sized.
 
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