Ampless… pedalboard to PA

SalFromChatham · #1 08-25-2022, 06:01 PM

I’m going to start using my electric more for gigs… even though the music is kind of “acoustic rock-y”.

I splurged and bought the JDX in the photo below, and I also bought a soon to arrive reverb pedal.

I guess I just want to carry the guitar, pedalboard, mic stand, and backpack with cordage; I can’t always park nearby.

Maybe I jumped the gun? I can also bring my Yamaha THR and plug out the back into the PA as well…

Anyways, I suppose I don’t need advice, as I already plunked the money down and made my bed, but I am curious if any of you have created simple setups to gig, and what did you go with?

Glennwillow · #2 08-25-2022, 06:40 PM

Hi Sal,

I'm sure you will sound great! So many simulation devices are so good these days that there is no reason you can't bypass the carrying of a heavy amp and go direct to a PA.

- Glenn

rule18 · #3 08-25-2022, 06:50 PM

I'm with Glenn, make the adjustments to your liking and it'll sound right. The last few gigging years, I ran my acoustics through a few pedals into a PA. It sounded good, and actually mitigated much of the quack from my trusty ol' Fishman UST.

jricc · #4 08-25-2022, 07:54 PM

Looks like a cool rig to me. Let us know how it goes Sal.

YamahaGuy · #5 08-26-2022, 04:28 PM

Nice rig! Up until a month or two ago, my electric pedalboard was only set up to DI out to a PA [or effects loop through an amp, but I always used the PA route].
Now, I've added a Seymour Duncan Powerstage 170 "pedal" which is an 'amp' that pushes my Line 6 4x12 cab to the limit if needed.

enjoy your new rig.

Rick Jones · #6 08-26-2022, 05:25 PM

I did this with a Proco Rat, a wah, an EHX holy grail reverb and a Samsamp DI for a 5 nights a week ‘house band’ gig in a big music bar for a couple of years in the early 2000’s.

I had been using a Fender twin, but the sound guy at the venue was constantly struggling to balance me with the bassist and keyboard player as far as monitoring went, and he always wanted to mic my amp as the bar was so long (longest bar in Europe at the time) that the music was piped to the opposite end to the stage.

In the end, DI’ing me was the best thing we did, even though it really wasn’t conventional wisdom at the time.

At one point I seem to remember that I had a groove tubes brick at the end of the signal chain, which just made feel more amp-like through the monitors.

SalFromChatham · #7 08-26-2022, 06:43 PM

Guys. Thank you all for weighing in! I’m looking forward to playing around with it this weekend.

jonfields45 · #8 08-27-2022, 05:21 PM

Just finished a three set winery gig. My partner switched between his Taylor acoustic and Fender Bass. I played my Ibanez Q52 into a Tube Screamer clone into a Mustang Micro. Fits in the gigbag pocket.

SalFromChatham · #9 08-27-2022, 06:48 PM

Oh my God!

That’s genius!

The Micro has enough juice for a gig?

And how does the sound get from the Micro to the mixer and PA?

jonfields45 · #10 08-27-2022, 07:05 PM

The Mustang Micro headphone output is essentially a consumer line level signal. It has no problem driving any PA line input with the right adapter cable. In my case I am going to the 3.5mm stereo input on the back of my QSC CP-8. In my usage, the Mustang Micro internal battery is good for about 6 hours. I think Fender rates it closer to 3 or 4. I suspect if I was driving 8 ohm headphones and using some super high gain patch, it might not do my 6 hours. I am using the clean Deluxe model with the spring reverb. Not far off the well known SRV TS to Vibroverb set up.

I am really enamored of these 3M Command strips. It's a great way to attach a battery to a pedal.

Rudy4 · #11 08-28-2022, 07:33 AM

I played Tele in a fairly successful band for a few years without a dedicated stage amp.

I packed a Tele in gig bag with a couple of cords, a Digitech multi-effects pedal, a D.I., and a small Peavey Minx bass amp that I brought for those just in case situations where the house monitors didn't provide me with enough to hear myself. I very rarely needed the amp or D.I. since the clubs were usually pretty well-equipped.

The one thing you need to be cognizant of is making sure your patches are mostly at the same output volume. A small bit of boost is appropriate for playing leads, but you really need to avoid large volume changes if you want to gain the trust of whoever is running sound.

SalFromChatham · #12 08-28-2022, 07:37 AM

Thank you all…

Great information. I know what to watch out for. And I am absolutely floored by the ingenuity of the Mustang Micro solution.

Cheers all.

Glennwillow · #13 08-28-2022, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SalFromChatham

... And I am absolutely floored by the ingenuity of the Mustang Micro solution. ...

Yes, I thought that was pretty cool, too!

- Glenn

jricc · #14 08-28-2022, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonfields45

Just finished a three set winery gig. My partner switched between his Taylor acoustic and Fender Bass. I played my Ibanez Q52 into a Tube Screamer clone into a Mustang Micro. Fits in the gigbag pocket.

That is a cool micro rig Jon!

jonfields45 · #15 08-29-2022, 01:59 PM

I A-B tested the Mustang Micro against a Tone Master Deluxe. A real Deluxe is too loud at these knob settings. The Mustang Deluxe "clean" model is almost exactly the Tone Master with all its knobs set to 5, which is distorted for my humbucker equipped guitar set wide open.

I put numbered knobs and Gibson style pointers on the guitar. I use these volume settings:

7 - totally clean
7.5 - a little richness for rhythm (my default setting)
8 - a bit of grit for the bridge pickup, nice for rhythm or repeated riffs
8 - a little richness for fingerpicking with the neck pickup
9-10 - leads

I usually roll back the tone to 6 when using the bridge pickup.

I use the Tube Screamer clone for leads when adjusting the guitar volume is not convenient or I want more distortion/sustain. I have the TS clone set for min tone (no treble boost), max level (minimum distortion), and drive around 9 o'clock.

The main difference Tone Master Deluxe vs. Mustang Deluxe, besides the lack of control on the Mustang, is the Tone Master is dead quiet. With the Mustang you can hear a bit of white noise being gated when you stop playing.

I often put a “tactical” rubber band around the Mustang to keep me from accidentally adjusting its master volume when engaging the TS clone's foot switch. It is handy to have a pedal with the output jack located higher up the side (or some padding under the pedal) as it gives you more flexibility positioning the Mustang.