Amps verses Processors

[Frank Parish]

I played in one spot for a long time and just left my equipment there all the time so I had everything I needed all the time, two amps, a processor (Profex II), and all the rest of the usual stuff. After leaving there and playing other places, every stage I played on couldn't accommodate all that stuff so I had to cut it back quite a bit. For a good while it was one amp and a stomp delay. It was tough to get used to setting the amp again and getting a respectable tone but I had to get familiar with it again. When using the processor before I bypassed the EQ on the amp. So which do you prefer, the tone your getting from an amp, processor with speaker cabinets, or any other combination you may use? To me it's the processor all the way and I don't have to tweek it when I go into a new room. It always seems to sound very respectable with one amp or two.

[Bobby Lee]

I've been using a stereo effects processor lately (the Lexicon MPX-100). I really like having some separation in my sound, especially on the rotary and ping-pong echo effects. Having a variety of effects available is great when you need to cover a lot of styles of music.

For classic country gigs, though, I usually just use one amp and no effects (other than the amp's reverb). That's what they want to hear, and I'm happy to oblige.

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<small><img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic) Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6)

[David Spires]

I've found that I have spent so much time working with the sound of my rack rig, that I don't want to use anything else. The trouble is, there are just some gigs where you don't have enough space.

My "normal" rig is:
Peavey TransTube Fex
Behringer Stereo - 31 Band EQ
Behringer SNR-2000 Denoiser
Peavey DPC 1000 Power Amp
2 - Nashville 112E Speaker Enclosures

I have had pretty good success with a "quick and dirty" setup of my Session 400, with Johnson J-Station in the FX loop. I guess for me, if I have to use a "smaller" FX, I don't have enough EQ control for me to get what I want, so I need the EQ section of a good steel amp with it.

However, if I am carrying my full rack rig, all I am looking for is a clean power amp.


David Spires