Acoustic guy needing to play electric - help with rig / set up

[EuroAussie]

Hi Folks,

 

It looks like I might be playing with a covers band where i will play primarily acoustic rhythm, but on some songs I will need to play electric. Mainly rhythm with some lead. (classic and modern rock / pop)

 

Now ... I have never really taken electric particularly seriously and dont have much of set up. I have a Les Paul which i fiddle around with sometimes, plugged into a Vox practice amp..

 

So, my question is what is the basic 'rack' or 'set up' that I will need to be able to play rhythm in covers band.

 

I imagine a floor effects unit would be the main thing, an of course an amp. Any recommendations given that we would be also plugging into the house PA ?

 

thanks in advance !

[albertjohn]

Sounds like a lot of fun. Good luck with it.

 

FWIW, I do occasionally play my strat live, direct into an Epiphone Valve Special (just loud enough for a small pub).

 

I have a Digitech multi effect pedal which has a 1,000,001 settings and completely confuses me. But with some tutoring it would be a useful tool. There are dozens of different pedals around so go and try a few. You don't have to spend much money either to get a good basic pedal. Mine is about 3 yrs old and out of date but I think I paid about £70 for it.

 

You might want to post this over on the Lounge as well as there are dozens of regular electric giggers over there who will give you some front line advice on a good amp and pedals.

 

Cheers

[Danner]

Tag for personal interest.

 

Personally, I like a Telecaster and a good sounding small amp I can practice with and plug into or mic into the PA to get the exact sound. My amp is the little Vox AC4TV, but I think you'd be better with an amp that has a DI output. Pedals, hell, who knows, there are a million of them?

[Buc McMaster]

For simplicity and pretty darn good tones from an electric plugged into a house PA system I'd recommend a multi-fx floor pedal. Need not be a fancy one at all, nor expensive. The trick is to dial in a handful of useable tones that suit the covers you're doing. A guitar, couple of cords and a small multi-fx pedal makes a pretty good sounding rig for your needs, won't break the bank nor your back!

[larryp58]

For simplicity and pretty darn good tones from an electric plugged into a house PA system I'd recommend a multi-fx floor pedal. Need not be a fancy one at all, nor expensive. The trick is to dial in a handful of useable tones that suit the covers you're doing. A guitar, couple of cords and a small multi-fx pedal makes a pretty good sounding rig for your needs, won't break the bank nor your back!

 

+1 Buc!

[milod]

I'd agree with buc also.

 

You didn't say what style you're doing...

 

But an LP or semi and a half decent multi-effect pedal should handle most stuff.

 

m

[DonCarlos]

+1

Everyone's comment are dead on.

 

 

 

There are a lot of FX pedals out there.

 

A small decent sounding amp can usually be miked and the FX can run to it, or as said before you can actually show up with just an FX and send that through the house board.

 

Line6 make pretty usuable ones. For under 200 you could get a Podplus floor and it would work very well on stage, and you can have your tones already saved for whatever backing you are doing on specific songs in advance, and then "click" ........it is there. Lot of presets that should cover most sounds from country to pop to metal.

Having that added pedal for volume control is pretty essential at times to "push or pull back" your rhythm part at different points in the song. And too, you can visually tune your guitar, instead of subjecting the public to the tuning song all the time.

 

I have used POD's for direct recording and they are great way to DI into a recording/mix board or to an amp that is miked. They are as expensive as you want to go, but many guitarist out there view them with respect for their reliability and sound modeling.

 

You can see and hear some, here http://line6.com/floorpodplus/

 

Keep us all updated and good luck.

[EuroAussie]

Hi, thank you very much for all your feedback.

 

My current thinking after doing some research is basically what you suggested below, in getting a POD option. It seems to be an ideal 'quick fix' which is what i was looking for.

 

Folks on the AFG recommended the Line 6 POD X3 Live. However this Floor POD plus seems like it should be enough to do the job, and it is significantly cheaper than the X3 Live.

 

Do you see any major advantage of the X3 live compared to Floor POD, and which of the two would you recommend given my needs of trying to basically model sounds of Oasis, U2, AC/DC ... without having to be absolutely spot on ?

 

cheers,

Mark

 

+1

Everyone's comment are dead on.

 

 

 

There are a lot of FX pedals out there.

 

A small decent sounding amp can usually be miked and the FX can run to it, or as said before you can actually show up with just an FX and send that through the house board.

 

Line6 make pretty usuable ones. For under 200 you could get a Podplus floor and it would work very well on stage, and you can have your tones already saved for whatever backing you are doing on specific songs in advance, and then "click" ........it is there. Lot of presets that should cover most sounds from country to pop to metal.

Having that added pedal for volume control is pretty essential at times to "push or pull back" your rhythm part at different points in the song. And too, you can visually tune your guitar, instead of subjecting the public to the tuning song all the time.

 

I have used POD's for direct recording and they are great way to DI into a recording/mix board or to an amp that is miked. They are as expensive as you want to go, but many guitarist out there view them with respect for their reliability and sound modeling.

 

You can see and hear some, here http://line6.com/floorpodplus/

 

Keep us all updated and good luck.

[milod]

Actually I have an old Zoom 707II that works fine for a number of purposes ranging from tuning to adding noise or just a bit of thickness - which is mostly what I use it for plus the tuning when it's noisy where I am.

 

I'm not sure that spending bundles is necessarily the answer, especially if you're running through a PA anyway.

 

m

[beard]

the floor pod should be good

[DonCarlos]

You should try some pedals out if possible.........I think the floor PodPlus should be sufficient for your needs.

 

The X3Live is just too darn expensive for normal people LOL, it's nice particularly you can do duel tone and a lot more, but it costs. That would pretty much be the top model if you so desire.

 

I actually used to get by with the original pod bean version 1.0 and a seperate full size floorboard controller attached. Used that old red kidney bean for over 10 years without a problem. I handed it off to a young-in few years back. Still working.

 

But nowadays, in dollars and cents and in features, PodPlus floor model does it all (and a bit more). Hopefully they are as reliable.

[DonCarlos]

......sorry double post .....

How do you remove a double post other than just deleting the sentences and writing sorry double post?