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  #1  
Old 04-21-2017, 03:20 PM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Default NAD: Mackie DLM8 and TC Helicon Play Electric

My new toys have arrived at the office. The only thing I miscalculated was having to carry this stuff 3 blocks to the parking garage. :-(

I decided on a Mackie DLM 8 powered speaker purchased new and a TC Helicon Voice live Play Electric pedal, also purchased new. Both were well discounted by Sweetwater.

My Varaiax Standard guitar is home waiting for its amp companion. Gonna be a loud Friday night at the MartinGitDave house!

I'm playing Sunday, but I think I'll just be taking my acoustic.

Oh, and I've also got a Dunlop Cry Baby mini pedal coming Sunday.

I'm taking bets to see how long it takes before all of this equipment is replaced, by the respective manufacturers, with new and improved models. Since I got such good discounts, I'm assuming no more than two weeks. :-)

The whole kit fits in this little bag.






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Last edited by martingitdave; 04-21-2017 at 05:52 PM.
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  #2  
Old 04-21-2017, 11:26 PM
Davis Webb Davis Webb is offline
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Finally@! There you have it!
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  #3  
Old 04-22-2017, 07:07 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Default NAD: Mackie DLM8 and TC Helicon Play Electric

Thanks Davis.

I played for a few hours through the pair last night. The tone is really great. I was able to dial up some classic rock songs and pipe them through the PA and then use the same TC Helicon the preset for that song. I'm amazed at how close the reproduction is!

They even got the presets right for U2 songs. I could never figure those effects out back in the late 80s.

I would say that the amp models are reasonable faithful, especially for the Marshall products. I haven't figured out what all the amps are supposed to represent, and which ones work better for the blues. I'm still trying to figure out which one represents a Fender Deluxe. (Any help would be appreciated)

The Line 6 has some advantage of being genre specific in its presets. So, I'll need to spend more time with the TC Helicon (song specific) presents and stomp settings to mimic BB King, etc. the TC Helicon seems to be programmed by younger engineers with a preference for rock and roll.

Lastly, because the Firehawk FX I was using remotely controls the guitar's instrument models, it spent all of its time in modeling mode, making changes I couldn't see without an iPad, and I seldom got the use the magnetic pickups.

Now, I control the guitar manually, and use the on board rechargeable guitar battery to power the guitar model selection.

However, night I put the magnetic pickups through their paces and I really like the tone. They sound more powerful, and quieter, than my old Stratocaster. I'm happy to discover this, because I might save the modeling for specific songs and generally use the magnetic pickups.

Fun stuff! I haven't rocked out like that in 25 years. The Line 6 stuff was a bit too complicated and distracting, and I wasn't focused on the music. Instead, I was just a little overwhelmed by the amount of technology.



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Old 04-22-2017, 07:38 AM
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KevWind KevWind is offline
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Having had a Mackie mixer/ 450 powered spk's PA combo for about 6 years,
I often wondered why the Logo appears to be sneaking off

Just kiddin' congrats on the new gear
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Old 04-22-2017, 07:54 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KevWind View Post
Having had a Mackie mixer/ 450 powered spk's PA combo for about 6 years,
I often wondered why the Logo appears to be sneaking off

Just kiddin' congrats on the new gear


Clearly we're in for a surprise. :-)


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Old 04-22-2017, 08:18 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Default NAD: Mackie DLM8 and TC Helicon Play Electric

Just saw this video. This explains the three amp models I was most interested in. They found a clever way tell you which amp model is which, without stepping in any toes.

It looks like I could have gotten away with the VoiceSolo FX 150 as my monitor FRFR speaker. I spent a lot of time looking at that product. But, I couldn't find any testimonials suggesting the 6.5" coaxial speaker was a good fit. Of course, at the time, I wasn't considering the Play Electric product, so that wasn't in my search parameters.

That said, I suspect the 8" coaxial (1,000 watt RMS) Mackie is a better overall investment for my personal PA equipment. It is a bit heavier though.

https://youtu.be/JEkoSRuRzj0


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Old 04-22-2017, 10:46 AM
Cuki79 Cuki79 is offline
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No doubt Jackie is a better choice, spec wise.
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  #8  
Old 04-22-2017, 11:18 AM
martingitdave martingitdave is offline
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Default NAD: Mackie DLM8 and TC Helicon Play Electric

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cuki79 View Post
No doubt Jackie is a better choice, spec wise.
I finished cutting the lawn. Girls are out of the house. Just spent an hour playing the blues. I turned the Mackie up to "10" and put som BB King and Buddy Guy on the Eon One full blast! **** this is fun! I've got a whole blues band down here.

I also ventured to try my acoustic through the Play Electric pedal. It sounds very good on the "acoustic shape" setting. However, the specialized low cut filter and parametric EQ in the Play Acoustic will need some serious work to approximate. I can see an electric/acoustic player relying only on the Play Electric pedal. I can also see the additional value in the Play Acoustic pedal for acoustic only players.

The Mackie 8" speaker is not going to be ear bleeding loud like a 2-12" Fender amp. In fact, the rated 120+ dB SPL at 1,000 Hz really don't mean much that much to me. There is a clear maximum volume from the system that I would rate at around 100-108+ dBA. That might not be loud enough for some, but plenty loud enough for me.

The extra power (1,000 RMS) keeps the tone clean all the way up to max volume. I would use this as a backline amp, or monitor, and mic it, or DI out to the PA.

As a stand-alone PA system, it's not going to be too much louder than a single 150 watt 8" acoustic amp. So, maybe it would work standalone for small coffee houses and such. Using a small mixer would give you some flexibility and better hands on control. Or, you can use it as I would intend, as a monitor for a bigger PA system.

Recognizing this is a honeymoon phase for new stuff, I can actually see myself holding onto this gear until it quits working. Looking forward to receiving the Cry Baby mini pedal.

Thanks for all the help everyone!


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Last edited by martingitdave; 04-22-2017 at 01:40 PM.
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  #9  
Old 04-22-2017, 02:52 PM
Paleolith54 Paleolith54 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by martingitdave View Post
My new toys have arrived at the office. The only thing I miscalculated was having to carry this stuff 3 blocks to the parking garage. :-(

I decided on a Mackie DLM 8 powered speaker purchased new and a TC Helicon Voice live Play Electric pedal, also purchased new. Both were well discounted by Sweetwater.

My Varaiax Standard guitar is home waiting for its amp companion. Gonna be a loud Friday night at the MartinGitDave house!

I'm playing Sunday, but I think I'll just be taking my acoustic.

Oh, and I've also got a Dunlop Cry Baby mini pedal coming Sunday.

I'm taking bets to see how long it takes before all of this equipment is replaced, by the respective manufacturers, with new and improved models. Since I got such good discounts, I'm assuming no more than two weeks. :-)

The whole kit fits in this little bag.






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The Crybaby Mini replace a Fulltone Clyde Deluxe on my gigging board, and I honestly don't miss it at all. IMO, Dunlop hit it out of the park with that one.
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