What do your guitarists use onstage?

[Dankology]

I've been demoted to guitar duties in one of my bands and there might be a handful of gigs before a proper tour in the new year so I want to get my house in order.

 

My only guitar amp is a little 4 watt Vox all-valve thing that sounds great but just has single volume and tone controls (plus a 4w, 1w, 1/4w selector!) and, aside from a handful of idle Ebay purchases, my fx is just a Korg multifx thing that I've had for 23 years.

 

I think I will be very much rhythm and the odd fill/FX. I am still a traditional amp person but the band seems to be increasing in size so an amp-less solution may well be the way forward. I don't really want to drop a significant amount of money on what I suspect is a very polite and gradual way of me exiting the group so was hoping to get some ideas as to what I might be looking at for about £200 that gives me distortion, chorus, delay & reverb and something approaching a useable amp sim. I'm a keen secondhand buyer and time isn't a particular issue so I can hold out for Ebay or Marketplace bargains.

 

Bit sad to be being bumped from bass but I've got a couple of nice six-strings so it'll be good to dust the cobwebs off them.

[BassAdder60]

Boss Katana 🤟

[BigRedX]

One of the reasons why I got rid of all my big traditional guitar and bass rigs and got a Helix plus FRFR is that the same single setup is suitable for both guitar and bass duties.

 

I'd be looking whatever Line6 unit with amp and cab sims fits within your price range.

 

One thing to watch though is if you use feedback or speaker-driven sustain you will need a traditional amp on stage. Your little Vox might be just the thing - run from a separate output on whatever multi-effects you get and NOT mic'd up - if you can find somewhere suitable;le to put it where it won't mess up the on-stage or FoH sound.

[cheddatom]

Our guitarist uses a NUX MG30. No in-ears or amp, he just uses whatever monitors are provided at the gigs. It works really well for us and has done for at least 100 gigs

[Franticsmurf]

I'm in a similar situation - in the new three piece I'm involved in, I may be playing rhythm guitar for three or four songs when we break down the set a little. I have a nice little electro-acoustic 6 string and I'm wondering what to use for amplification. Fortunately, my current board has several pedals originally intended for guitar (the Plethora X3, a clean boost and a Behringer T800 Tube Screamer clone) and I'm wondering whether my Digbeth pre-amp and Peavey Minimax 600 will do the job into a pair of TE 1x10s. We're still developing the set so it's a bit 'what if' at the moment which I hope will be resolved during our rehearsals. I have an old Roland Jazz Chorus combo but it would be nice to just have the one signal path.

 

FRFR would be the way to go for me but I've invested in the amp and cabs and can't really justify selling up at the moment.  

[Lozz196]

When I was briefly playing guitar I used a BluGuitar Amp1 - size & weight of a lap-top, sounded just like a Marshall JCM900. Not cheap (£600+ second hand) but worth every penny imo. And a good advantage is that it can be connected straight to FOH without a speaker so monitors can do on-stage sound.

[BigRedX]

In my other band both guitarists use multi-effects pedals going into amps, and IMO are constantly fighting against the sound of the amp imposing self on the patches they have carefully set up at home on their multi-effects. Plus every time we do an equipment share gig and they have to use someone else's amp the relative volumes of the patches can be all over the place if the amp they are using doesn't replicate the same clean valve saturation of their usual combos. I've been trying for ages to get them to ditch the amps as it would result in a more consistent sound and would be less gear to have to carry to gigs, but they seem too stuck in their ways plus I get the impression they don't fancy having the tweak all their patches to make up for the lack of amp.

[chris_b]

Most of the guys I play with use Fender tube combos, although last weekend the guitarist was deafening everyone with a Vox AC30.

 

Also I see a lot of Session combos around.

[meterman]

I used to take a little 1970s Fender Vibro-Champ out for smaller gigs, plus my pedalboard. But that was usually for smaller volume situations or maybe where the PA might only be for vocals. I have used little amps for biggish gigs a few times (Jazz Cafe, 100 Club, Sage Gateshead, etc) and the engineer just takes a line out from the amp into the desk. So small amps definitely can work, depending on your band. But usually for larger gigs or festivals or anything away from home there would be backline already provided, some good, some awful 😂 

 

Worth trying to work with what you’ve already got I’d say. Unless GAS is part of it...
 

 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

One uses a great big Marshall Half Stack that weighs a ton, and the other uses a Fender Combo about the size of my Fender Mustang GTX100 guitar combo but weighs about ten times as much.

[MacDaddy]

 

Digitech BP355. Lots of options and ways to use it. Bass and guitar amp sims, can go direct into PA, or can be used as fx pedals with no amp sims. Plus a looper and a drum machine. They tend to go for around £100 s/h now.

 

 

[Dankology]

Thank you for all the suggestions thus far.

 

I mean, GAS is always part of the deal but I am conscious that stage room is likely to be at a premium and that the old Korg thing probably sounds not spectacular nowadays, especially in terms of amp sims. 

 

The bandleader has a spare little Positive Grid amp he's offered me the use of - a lunchbox shaped thing with tiny speakers that you control from a phone app but I have to say I'd be happier going ampless and not having to fiddle with a mobile phone to change sounds. I suspect it is comparable to the Katana amp mentioned above but I will check those out properly tonight.

 

I really like the idea of having the Vox onstage as a monitor and portal for feedback and it may be small enough to perch somewhere on stage. The NUX MG30 looks very interesting - will definitely check out some samples and see if I can demo one somewhere.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I have some nice guitars and a great modelling amp, but If I was demoted from bass to guitar in a band I'd push so hard against it, any metaphorical bridges would be in cinders.

[cheddatom]

6 minutes ago, Dankology said:

...The NUX MG30 looks very interesting - will definitely check out some samples and see if I can demo one somewhere.

 

Our guy had ordered a few different ones, each time he returned it underwhelmed (helix was one, some sort of Hotone was another) until he go the Nux. I imagine they're all capable of the same thing it's just he found the Nux more intuitive. Anyway, point is you can order online and trial it pretty much risk free as lonng as you return within a couple of weeks. 

[Kiwi]

If your budget can stretch - Kemper Stage profile plus one or two QSC K12.2 active PA cabs.  It will slay (nearly) everything else out there for cover band requirements - unless you need some extremely specific effects and then you can insert a Line 6 M5 or something to fill the gap. Failing that, if you have less specific requirements then a Zoom G3X into an active PA cab may be enough.  But it can be noisy on the high gain patches and there's no external effects loop.

I love the sound of Fender amps and have two at home.  The Fender Deluxe Reverb is pretty much a benchmark for Fender flavoured amps and their current tone master version is getting great reviews.  However I've played with guitarists using just a Blues Jr and getting fantastic and thick sounds alongside a drummer. So maybe consider pairing one with a preamp pedal like a Joyo JF14 if Fender is your thing.  Plus whatever extra effects you might need, e.g. delay, compression, wah, modulation and reverb. 

[Dankology]

8 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

I have some nice guitars and a great modelling amp, but If I was demoted from bass to guitar in a band I'd push so hard against it, any metaphorical bridges would be in cinders.

I completely get that but the band has been going since before I was born so I'm very much a junior employee here. In truth I think the move reflects a kindness that hasn't been afforded the other members of the line-up so I'm taking it in the spirit it was offered. While also anticipating a further sideways move out of the band in the none too distant future - hence not wanting to splurge on a Helix.

[Jakester]

One guy I play with uses a Helix FX with a Marshall Origin 20 - nice valve amp, not too loud/heavy but fine for backline in smaller places, and mics well for larger gigs. 

 

Another has a full Kemper modelling setup which does go through FOH and he has a monitor if needed. 

 

Both sound great. 

[uk_lefty]

1 hour ago, Dankology said:

The bandleader has a spare little Positive Grid amp he's offered me the use of - a lunchbox shaped thing with tiny speakers that you control from a phone app but I have to say I'd be happier going ampless and not having to fiddle with a mobile phone to change sounds

I've got one of these as a practice amp. It's great for home use, probably ok for recording too, but no way would I gig it.

[asingardenof]

2 hours ago, BassAdder60 said:

Boss Katana 🤟

This. Our guitarist uses the 100W version (usually in 50W mode) and she has tons of tonal options available - too many, she might say.

[snorkie635]

3 hours ago, Dankology said:

I've been demoted to guitar duties in one of my bands and there might be a handful of gigs before a proper tour in the new year so I want to get my house in order.

 

My only guitar amp is a little 4 watt Vox all-valve thing that sounds great but just has single volume and tone controls (plus a 4w, 1w, 1/4w selector!) and, aside from a handful of idle Ebay purchases, my fx is just a Korg multifx thing that I've had for 23 years.

 

I think I will be very much rhythm and the odd fill/FX. I am still a traditional amp person but the band seems to be increasing in size so an amp-less solution may well be the way forward. I don't really want to drop a significant amount of money on what I suspect is a very polite and gradual way of me exiting the group so was hoping to get some ideas as to what I might be looking at for about £200 that gives me distortion, chorus, delay & reverb and something approaching a useable amp sim. I'm a keen secondhand buyer and time isn't a particular issue so I can hold out for Ebay or Marketplace bargains.

 

Bit sad to be being bumped from bass but I've got a couple of nice six-strings so it'll be good to dust the cobwebs off them.

Based purely on the title of this thread, I'd have to say, suppositories and economy-sized tins of Germolene.

[Tokalo]

3 hours ago, Franticsmurf said:

… I'm wondering whether my Digbeth pre-amp and Peavey Minimax 600 will do the job into a pair of TE 1x10s.

Would that be using the “tilt” control on the Digbeth between bass and treble?

It seemed like a possible bonus feature of the pedal when I bought mine, but I’ve never had a chance to test it with guitar in a live situation. Would be interesting to hear how you get on.

[Norris]

My guitarist uses a Mesa Boogie combo and about half a dozen pedals. That's not really going to be much help to your situation though 

[Franticsmurf]

 

 

2 hours ago, Tokalo said:

Would that be using the “tilt” control on the Digbeth between bass and treble?

It seemed like a possible bonus feature of the pedal when I bought mine, but I’ve never had a chance to test it with guitar in a live situation. Would be interesting to hear how you get on.

My Digbeth is set up for a mix of tube and FET channels for some grit on bass. I was initially thinking of switching to the FET only as a starting point - the idea being minimal adjustments as I'll also be swapping instruments on stage. I hadn't thought of the Tilt, although i use it a lot to adjust for venues, so thanks for that.  It's all theory at the moment. I'll keep you posted. 

Edited May 31, 2023 by Franticsmurf

[Roger2611]

We played with Midge Ure a few years back, he went on stage with a single speaker Vox Valvetronix amp and a battered Marshall blues breaker pedal and used an "out of the box" Vintage Midge Ure signature guitar and sounded every bit as awesome as you would expect an ex Thin Lizzy guitarist to sound, all in all he had about £600.00 worth of gear and about a million quids worth of talent...I was hugely impressed!

[MichaelDean]

8 hours ago, Dankology said:

my fx is just a Korg multifx thing that I've had for 23 years.

Don't suppose it was a silver Korg Toneworks pedal? One of our guitarists uses a multi when his back is playing up (otherwise he has a pedalboard that is heavier than some amps, but that's for another thread!). He recently replaced it with a Valeton GP200 (the red one is cheaper at £265 on Amazon at the moment). It was a real step up in sound quality. You could probably find one second hand in budget and pass it on for the same if it doesn't suit you.