Behind The Curtain will be an ongoing feature of this blog detailing the technical solutions we invest in and the advantages these solutions offer our clients for their events. This--our first installment--deals with our guitar rigs.
LOOK MOM, NO AMPS!
One of the first things people notice about our stage setup is how clean it is. Sometimes they notice that we don't have on-stage monitors; sometimes they notice that we don't use any wobbly tripod stands for speakers or lights; but generally the first thing musically savvy people notice is that we don't have amps on stage. The advantage are clear: a more controllable stage volume, and a cleaner stage. But what's the secret?
GOING DIRECT
We'll first examine Topper Dandy's solution for playing without an amp. He actually uses an amp--just not the kind you're used to seeing:
LOOK MOM, NO AMPS!
One of the first things people notice about our stage setup is how clean it is. Sometimes they notice that we don't have on-stage monitors; sometimes they notice that we don't use any wobbly tripod stands for speakers or lights; but generally the first thing musically savvy people notice is that we don't have amps on stage. The advantage are clear: a more controllable stage volume, and a cleaner stage. But what's the secret?
GOING DIRECT
We'll first examine Topper Dandy's solution for playing without an amp. He actually uses an amp--just not the kind you're used to seeing:
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The two pictures above show Topper's pedalboard and amp. The top left image shows the pedalboard from above, while the top right image flips the board to show the routing underneath. The large black pedal that says ETHOS Overdrive is the amp, and the proverbial straw that stirs the drink. Like any more conventional combo amp or head, it can drive an 8 ohm speaker cabinet, has a speaker simulator output (which Topper sends directly into the sound board in most cases), and an effects loop in which Topper has routed several essential '70s and '80s time-based effects (Phaser, Chorus/Flanger, Reverb, and Analog Delay). Going into the front end of the amp are other pedals including a wah, clean boost (The EP Booster is always on, and can be seen in the upper right image mounted underneath the board), and a dual drive box for light to moderate gain. The pedals and settings were chosen to approximate the various guitar tones you hear from Steely Dan, Toto, Hall & Oates, and others in the yacht rock genre.
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EXPANDABILITY
Choosing pedals, locking your pedal board plan down, and then changing your mind later is an inevitability for a guitarist. Thankfully, Temple Pedal boards has provided a great solution for expanding the board through their optional side-panel-integrated patch bays. By adding a turnaround "loop" in the effects loop chain, Topper can add a pedal (or more) into the chain without committing to it permanently. In the two pictures above you see two options: a Boss CE2-w Chorus on the left, and a mini Volume Pedal on the right. For a Hall & Oates heavy set, Topper prefers having the Boss Chorus in the chain, but on another night, he might leave it out and. The patch bay allows him to adapt his sound as needed for the set without tearing apart his core setup.
Choosing pedals, locking your pedal board plan down, and then changing your mind later is an inevitability for a guitarist. Thankfully, Temple Pedal boards has provided a great solution for expanding the board through their optional side-panel-integrated patch bays. By adding a turnaround "loop" in the effects loop chain, Topper can add a pedal (or more) into the chain without committing to it permanently. In the two pictures above you see two options: a Boss CE2-w Chorus on the left, and a mini Volume Pedal on the right. For a Hall & Oates heavy set, Topper prefers having the Boss Chorus in the chain, but on another night, he might leave it out and. The patch bay allows him to adapt his sound as needed for the set without tearing apart his core setup.
I/O CLARITY / CABLE MANAGEMENT
This paragraph, and the accompanying picture at left is added perspective for guitarists interested in the side panel patch bay I was describing above. (Look for the four red hex nuts.) You can see the IEC cable input (which powers the entire rig with one cable) at the top of the board in the bottom left of the picture. The 90 degree Monster cable is plugged in to 1/4" patch routed from the ETHOS speaker sim output. That routing keeps the cabling neat and out from underfoot. The next output is unused in this rig, while the final two outputs closest to the foot of the board are routed as a "send" and "return" inside the effects loop chain. The entire chain starts with the Line6 wireless receiver (the pedal with the antennas), and ends in the patch bay output. The wireless unit allows the guitarist to really "explore the space," in the parlance of our times, and to, once again, ensure a clean stage.
ONE MORE ASIDE
Just one IEC cable routes power to the pedals PLUS a USB charger on the other side of the board as a convenient iPhone charger. Good on ya, Temple Boards!
This paragraph, and the accompanying picture at left is added perspective for guitarists interested in the side panel patch bay I was describing above. (Look for the four red hex nuts.) You can see the IEC cable input (which powers the entire rig with one cable) at the top of the board in the bottom left of the picture. The 90 degree Monster cable is plugged in to 1/4" patch routed from the ETHOS speaker sim output. That routing keeps the cabling neat and out from underfoot. The next output is unused in this rig, while the final two outputs closest to the foot of the board are routed as a "send" and "return" inside the effects loop chain. The entire chain starts with the Line6 wireless receiver (the pedal with the antennas), and ends in the patch bay output. The wireless unit allows the guitarist to really "explore the space," in the parlance of our times, and to, once again, ensure a clean stage.
ONE MORE ASIDE
Just one IEC cable routes power to the pedals PLUS a USB charger on the other side of the board as a convenient iPhone charger. Good on ya, Temple Boards!
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