What are we all using right now?!

[MaurysMusic]

Martin OM-28V, Trance Audio Amulet M, Radial PZ Deluxe & Bose L1 v1 w/2 subs. My first gig of the year is next Thursday & I. Can’t. Wait. 🥳

[Jinder]

Gibson SJ200 with Sunrise into my board consisting of a Boss AD10, with a Boss DM2W, SD1W and Mooer Tender Octaver Mk1 in the loop and FS5U for added looper functionality, into an AER Compact 60/4.

Vocal mic wise, an AKG D7. All cabling is Van Damme with Neutrik jacks/XLRs.

[jricc]

My Rainsong CH-OM has been my workhorse for the last 5 years or so. But for my gigs in the last 4 months, Ive been using a Martin Dread Jr10e thru a Zoom A1Four into a Bose S1. Yamaha MG06x mixer into two JBL Eon10s for bigger gigs. Sennheiser 935 for vocals. I'm pretty happy with the sound, although still looking at a Tonedeq and an Acoustic Flyrig to replace Zoom A1Four.

However, this could be changing as I await a used Gibson L-00 Walnut Burst....very excited about this last part...

[lkingston]

I've been using a Godin Doyle Dykes Signature Multiac every time I play out lately. The amplified sound is fantastic and it plays so effortlessly. I love that guitar!

[stringbound]

My first gig is coming up June 27th, due to the local Corona rules in Germany. The gear I'm gigging with hasn't changed. My vocal mic is a DPA 4288 Core earset, which I love. Great sound and a neglectable, visual impact, plus you don't need a boom stand. I play the Taylor 914ce with the armrest and the latest version of the Expression System 2. I like the quite natural tone you can get with the pickup, by using the three knobs and the phase switch of the preamp. Next is a DPA 4099 Core guitar microphone, to add some air to my tone and again, no boom stand needed. In case the environment is to difficult for the 4099, I bring along an Audio Sprockets Tonedexter, with some wavemaps of my 914ce with the 4099, the Neumann KLM184 and the TLM102. I play through a Fishman SA330x with the Expander (I need three channels) and the Sub and I am very pleased with the amp. What I like the most about the SA330X, is that you can connect a footswitch and turn the reverb off when speaking. Add some Klotz cables and some gadgets like a Paige capo, a Bennett Slider capo, Fred Kelly Delrin Slick Picks and Freedom picks and a D'Addario tuner and a set of spare strings.

[Marshall]

My Eastman E1-SS-CLA-LTD with Fishman Sonotone, into ToneDexter., into house system. I use MusLady wireless tween the guitar and the pedal. I have a Boss delay pedal that I some times use, but I've taken it out of the chain for now for simplicity. It adds a nice subtle effect, but most plug-in places it's a small difference compared to the houses sound system itself. Most places add some reverb or something. And Fx on top of FX is not easy to control.

[4wheeljive]

I've been doing front-yard jams with some fellow musicians pretty much every weekend since the COVID breakout. (A wide mix of classic and post-classic rock, Americana, retro pop, 50s, blues, country...you name it, we can butcher it.) I generally play acoustic rhythm guitar, and trade off with others on lead and backing vocals.

My gear has evolved tremendously over the past year to what I've got currently listed in my signature below. We usually have keys, a bass, and at least one electric guitar. Lately we've been joined by a guy with a Roland AE-10 Aerophone Digital Sax, which is freakin' awesome! I've been programming custom BeatBuddy drum beats for most of what we play. We all plug into a Behringer X AIR XR18 that feeds some type of PA (not sure what it is, nothing special).

My acoustic holds up well in the mix, and I've never had any feedback issues, no matter how loud we crank up the mains.

[Andy Howell]

Adrian Lucas Pavillion Sweep guitar, Headway pickup, Tonedexter.

[MrDB]

Eastman E5SS with Baggs Anthem, into a Boss Acoustic Singer, out from there into the mixer. Simple.

[Thin Crust]

This last weekend was my Lowden Pierre Bensusan Signature with a Fishman Rare Earth mic blend sound hole pickup. I run through a Grace Design Alix preamp with a Strymon Blue Sky reverb. Finally it goes out an Acus Oneforstrings 8 Simon.

I’m anxiously awaiting a new Santa Cruz D with a K&K pre-installed. The Alix really makes a K&K sing.

[alohachris]

Aloha Friends, (A Good Thread to Revive!)

After 13-14,000 almost-nightly gigs, over 53 years, diabetic neuropathy (painful fingers) forced me to retire completely a few years back. I used hundreds of rigs all over the world, but mostly at home in the Islands. From 2002-2014, my last rig turned out to be my Dream live rig.

Note: I brought only the gear required for the gig/venue, not everything.

FWIW - My Last Live Rig!

Guitars, Instruments: Three self-made OO/OOO sized, 12-fret Koa guitars - all 30+ years old. I needed three for all the tunings I used. Small/deeper bodies eliminated feedback. I carved each neck wide- 2-1/8" at nut/ 2-3/8" @ saddle - to fit my huge hands perfectly, my main reason for getting into luthierie. Also brought along self-made uke's, banjo, mandolin, harp's, kalimba's for occasional set variety.

Dual Source Guitar Amplification Systems: K&K Mini Pickup/AKG 416 hyper internal mic dual-source combo in all three gigging guitars.

External mic: In quiet settings, in the best rooms, my first choice was always to use an external mic alone - either a JW-modded AKG 535 condenser or Heil PR 35 dynamic mic (choice depends on the room). Or, I added an external mic to my basic K&K P/U-AKG internal mic combo at around 4-8" away at the 18th fret. DR Pro low profile stand. Very balanced, natural sound.

Preamp: Pendulum SPS-1 w/ PU-Mic blending & volume controls on the plug-in, end-jack module. The best live acoustic guitar preamp of all time, IMO. Fully parametric EQ gave me total control over my sound & the venues, & prevented ALL feedback in the many settings I played, in fact, none.

FX: TC Electronics M-2000 Dual Engine Stereo FX Processor. I only used very light doses of FX in most cases, with few exceptions.

Power amp: Parasound 2125.

Speakers: Custom Koa Daedalus W803's. Best I've ever heard & most efficient 8" three-ways ever. FANTASTIC IN EVERY VENUE OR GIG SETTING from intimate rooms on through to larger Auditorium or Hall venues. Proel stands & heavy covers. Great for singing or combo's too. I provided the curly Koa.

Portable Rack: Odyssey BR-418 4-space portable rack with built-in HD handle and wheels. The preamp, FX unit & power amp were easily transported & controlled in this rack.

Cables: Canare/Neutrik, Mogami, Planet Waves.

Vocal Mics: AKG 535 condenser (often). Heil PR 35 dynamic (often). K&H stands.

Loud/Band Gig Pickup: If it got exceptionally loud at a gig, I'd slap in a Duncan Magmic SA-6 magnetic soundhole pickup & either used alone or blended w/ the K&K. I have an extra jack in one guitar w/ mini connectors @ the soundhole to facilitate easier connection when I put the SA-6 in. I turned off all instrument mic's. Nice full sound. No feedback. Not as natural sounding as my regular dual-source pickup system. But Great for loud settings, tight stages & slide blues. My motto? Be prepared for gigs to change. They will.

Accessories: Shubb Capos, self-made glass slides, Fred Kelly thumbpicks, acrylic fingernails, large Fender medium flatpicks, mixed light/medium D'Addario's, CMC music stand w/ Mighty Bright flexible stand lights.

Final Note: The sum of these great compatible parts in a planned, signal chain is why I loved my dream live rig. It offered a quality of sound, control and flexibility that I'd never fully realized before. Committing to studio-quality, rack units instead of noisy stomp boxes helped fully maximize my sound & keep ALL noise away. This compatible signal chain provided the best live amplification for my live acoustic/vocal music that I've ever played through in over 50+ years of gigging round the world. I REALLY miss gigging!

alohachris

[takamineGD93]

Lol, you guys have a lot of nice stuff.

I got an outside gig in july and now I wonder if my 15 yo Trainor TVM will do the job or if I should by something else like a mini charge or s1 pro? It has led acid batteries. It weights 13 kg (26 pounds).

Portable, battery powered amps must be where there has been the biggest development in the last 10 years.

[Chriscom]

Originally Posted by alohachris

Aloha Friends,

After 13-14,000 almost-nightly gigs, over 53 years, diabetic neuropathy (painful fingers) forced me to retire completely a few years back. I used hundreds of rigs all over the world, but mostly at home in the Islands. From 2002-2014, my last rig turned out to be my Dream live rig....

Aloha Chris, I just have to say, you're in a class of your own!

[Chriscom]

Solo act. I was just ramping up into playing out a lot before the pandemic. Most of that was through house systems at open mics, and in early days that included the Fishman Aura VT Enhance pickup on my higher-end Martin, which sounded surprisingly good through even modest PA setups. Other events included using that same guitar through a Bose L1 Compact, though I forget if I ran that through a pedal for reverb and such.

Finally wised up and stopped lugging my expensive Martin to gigs. Later this summer I'll do a farmer's market with this: A Martin GPRS1 cutaway with a Sonitone pickup, ToneDexter pedal, Boss VE-8, Bose ToneMatch T1, Bose L1 M2.

A bit overkill; I could toss the Tonematch and get reverb through the VE-8. But the stage is an actual stage with tons of space, so I'll have the L1 M2 far enough away that I want easy tweaking ability right in front of me. Plus I hate not having a master volume after guitar/vocal balance is set.

Other than that, the VE-8 can handle all output if necessary, and I'll ocasionally use its harmony and chorus, plus I want the looper to test audience levels before I start.

[lucky]

This may be my simplest setup ever, but that makes me so very happy!

2020 Gibson J45 50’s
K&K Pure Mini
Sunnaudio Stage 2 DI

This preamp is far & away the most complete & pure sounding DI solution I’ve ever used - it’s amazing!

Cheers!