Reentering Noob needs amp/gig advice

[YamahaGuy]

Originally Posted by Goat Mick

The very best harmonizer pedal I have used was the Digitech Vocalist Live 3. It was versatile and very natural sounding, but sadly has been discontinued.

I'll second that. I had one. It was fantastic. If you can find a used one, grab it up quick.

[Caneman]

What a great community this is! So very welcoming and such great passion.

Thanks all for the warm welcome and so much great information (Methos1979 - you certainly are right about the endless options these days).

I'm a bit of a researcher and a bunch of this is new to me - so this will be a great opportunity to go back through all of your suggestions and educate myself.

At the risk of being duplicative - quick scenario for you all.

- You've been forced to move to a new city, and could not take anything but your one favorite guitar with you
- A distant relative has left you $3,500
- You've decided to invest that money to get up and going again, doing solo gigs

What's on your shopping list?

[Peter Z]

Originally Posted by Caneman

- You've been forced to move to a new city, and could not take anything but your one favorite guitar with you
- A distant relative has left you $3,500
- You've decided to invest that money to get up and going again, doing solo gigs

What's on your shopping list?

1. A really good pickup for the Guild. I like the LR Baggs Anthem, a K&K with a mic would be another good option.

2. I used PAs for the last 40 years but ordered an acoustic amp yesterday. It’s a small one in all package. Let’s see if I like it.
https://www.joyoaudio.com/product/195.html
I’m m sure a Fishman Mini (maybe charge) is a great amp as well.
If you want to be power independent (playing outside on the beach or in the forrest or busking), consider a battery amp.

3. A good dynamic mic. The Sure SM57 has the advantage the some preamps are pre-eqed for it. I mostly use a Sennheiser e935 that I consider as a better mic. Still no problems with a SM57.
Most of my (about 40) mics are condensers but I prefer a robust dynamic for small setups by far.

4. XLR mic cable (5 meters) and 2 good instrument cables (2 and 5 meters). The 2 meter cable, if you want to use an effect box in front of the amp.

5. A nice and compact mic stand. I didn’t find anything better than the K&M 252 for a small setup. I use those in my band as well.

6. If needed, a nice stool without armrests.

Then, I would start playing and see what I miss.

Next step would be a box with an eq or some multi effect box. Consider the Zoom A1 four acoustic. It’s cheap, sounds well and you can play with eqs and lots of effects to see what you like.

A harmonizer and a looper wouldn’t be part of my first purchases. Get used to your basic setup first and then order one that you can return. Those boxes can distract you from playing and singing a lot. You need quite some routine to handle them correctly, otherwise you will sound terrible.
Maybe you can find a used TC Helicon G-XT cheaply. The Harmonizer does its job very well (like the more expensive TC units) and it has some other nice options.

No need to spend all of your budget now - you will spend it anyway, believe me, but later on you will know more about what you want and need.

Have fun!!!
Peter

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Caneman

What a great community this is! So very welcoming and such great passion.

Thanks all for the warm welcome and so much great information (Methos1979 - you certainly are right about the endless options these days).

I'm a bit of a researcher and a bunch of this is new to me - so this will be a great opportunity to go back through all of your suggestions and educate myself.

At the risk of being duplicative - quick scenario for you all.

- You've been forced to move to a new city, and could not take anything but your one favorite guitar with you
- A distant relative has left you $3,500
- You've decided to invest that money to get up and going again, doing solo gigs

What's on your shopping list?

To be honest, EXACTLY what's pictured in post #6.

Since I get to take my one favorite guitar that takes care of that. It's got a good strap attached and has a K&K Pure Mini pickup installed.

Roland Cube EX (light weight, loud, twin inputs (and more) true stereo from dual 8" drivers, good effects, so no pedals necessary, and battery powered if needed)
Gator mini speaker stand
(An 8 pack of AA batteries if I was doing a solo gig with no AC power available...)
Mity Lite Flex One folding chair
1/4" guitar cable
XLR mic cable
Behringer XR8500 dynamic mic (WAY better than it should be for $20 shipped...seriously!)
Good music stand
Good mic stand (or my homebrew all in one as shown...)
Clip on LED light for music stand
Three ring binder full of my favorite lyrics
Ultimate GS 1000 guitar stand (original version if possible...)
Dunlop Primetone 346 style large triangle 1.4mm pick
Dunlop Victor brass capo (or equivalent...)

I would have spent under a grand, so I'd invest the remaining $2500. The reason I say I'd get exactly what's pictured is because it is the present culmination of many years of going through equipment.

I know you're considering something to enhance your voice, but I'd venture a guess that it would simply add unnecessary complexity. My singing voice is OK, but I have problems with loosing my voice due to years of singing in the wrong keys when I did bar band work. I've found that it's MUCH better to match the guitar to a key that you can sing to. Capos are indispensable for me due to that problem.

[Rick Jones]

Originally Posted by Caneman

What's on your shopping list?

I just got hold of a Fishman SA330x line array, stand, expand mixer and wheely bag that makes it all a one journey rig for the equivalent of £750 USD. So far it's the fastest, most convenient way to get a really great amplified sound for my voice and guitar I've ever had, in 20 years plus of gigging, mostly solo. It's a perfect coffee shop set up and you don't need a monitor of any kind due to the sound dispersal pattern. You can sit in front of it and hear what the audience does.

I am coming to swear by Fishman's Powertap Earth pickup system, although the Rare Earth Blend is a less invasive install, and comes in slightly cheaper where I live. Both are dual source with options to split the signals (mic or sbt from the humbucker) or send them, blended, down one lead into the amp or mixer.

I like Sure's Beta58 dynamic for vocals, especially male, and especially mine. It rolls off something around 250k that stops my voice getting mushed into the bottom end of the guitar. It allows you to use proximity effect to sing baritone, quiet passages that would turn into mud with the more common SM58. Then when you sing high and or loud, it's smooth.

I like Hercules mic stands because they don't look battered even years later. They're rugged and reliable and dismantle to wipe/wash clean easily, whereas some I've had get beer, coffee or (at least once) the errant dog territory marker in the folding foot assembly.

[Goat Mick]

Originally Posted by Caneman

- You've been forced to move to a new city, and could not take anything but your one favorite guitar with you
- A distant relative has left you $3,500
- You've decided to invest that money to get up and going again, doing solo gigs

What's on your shopping list?

You'll get a lot of advice on pickups and I have several different ones in my gigging guitars as well, but I'd opt for a Baggs M80 in the Guild as it's fairly bulletproof, sounds really good and has near zero feedback issues. Then I'd get a good, solid mic stand and a Shure Beta 58 (again good quality and durable). Next I would invest in PA (alternatives). You can play about any gig you get anywhere with a Fishman Loudbox Performer, I'd also pick up a Bose S1 Pro for times I needed to cover large rooms without being overly loud. A Baggs Para DI would be good to have as well as it's a very good and bulletproof preamp. I play around 150 gigs every year with basically this equipment and I works everywhere I play.

[gfa]

A small amp is less expensive and simpler. A mixing board and powered speaker(s) is more expensive and complicated, but much more versatile.

[YamahaGuy]

Originally Posted by Caneman

What a great community this is! So very welcoming and such great passion.

Thanks all for the warm welcome and so much great information (Methos1979 - you certainly are right about the endless options these days).

I'm a bit of a researcher and a bunch of this is new to me - so this will be a great opportunity to go back through all of your suggestions and educate myself.

At the risk of being duplicative - quick scenario for you all.

- You've been forced to move to a new city, and could not take anything but your one favorite guitar with you
- A distant relative has left you $3,500
- You've decided to invest that money to get up and going again, doing solo gigs

What's on your shopping list?

Two powered speakers, a speaker stand, the best mic stand under $120, a good guitar stand, a small mixer, a good dynamic mic made by Sennheiser, i.e. 935 or 945. Quality cables with Neutrik connectors. IEC/XLR snakes for the powered speakers. A good gig bag. And a guitar with the best sounding pickup built in already.

[jricc]

Originally Posted by Goat Mick

You'll get a lot of advice on pickups and I have several different ones in my gigging guitars as well, but I'd opt for a Baggs M80 in the Guild as it's fairly bulletproof, sounds really good and has near zero feedback issues. Then I'd get a good, solid mic stand and a Shure Beta 58 (again good quality and durable). Next I would invest in PA (alternatives). You can play about any gig you get anywhere with a Fishman Loudbox Performer, I'd also pick up a Bose S1 Pro for times I needed to cover large rooms without being overly loud. A Baggs Para DI would be good to have as well as it's a very good and bulletproof preamp. I play around 150 gigs every year with basically this equipment and I works everywhere I play.

I'll agree with Mick on the Baggs M80 (you can use it passive or active) and Fishman Loudbox Artist. Two good pieces of gear that will handle a lot of situations. The S1 is great too, but if you can only choose one, the Fishman can handle bigger rooms. I have and use both.

[Caneman]

Just shot Mick an email for his advice ... saw that one of the music shops (are we allowed to say which one on these forums?) has a bundle deal on a Fishman Artist coupled with a Sennheiser e 825-S mic - plus mic stand and mic cable. Seems like a decent price.

Thoughts?

[Caneman]

Just a quick update. Thanks to all for the great help and advice, I pulled the trigger on the Artist combo package. Should arrive next week.

I'll keep you posted on my journey.

(And thanks again Mick!)

[SalFromChatham]

I was going to weight in and say to keep it easy with the Artist, or a Fender Acoustic. I love mine and it is loud as well, and has nice effects built in to each channel.

[leew3]

Originally Posted by Caneman

Just a quick update. Thanks to all for the great help and advice, I pulled the trigger on the Artist combo package. Should arrive next week.

I'll keep you posted on my journey.

(And thanks again Mick!)

This was my rig for years and you'll find it will be a great combination. Good choice and enjoy it!

[jricc]

Originally Posted by Caneman

Just a quick update. Thanks to all for the great help and advice, I pulled the trigger on the Artist combo package. Should arrive next week.

I'll keep you posted on my journey.

(And thanks again Mick!)

Good choice, think you'll be happy with the Fishman.
Yes keep us posted.