2 Days of Digital - A Short Story - plus new OX day

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dindudedindude Frets: 8534
Day 1 (last night) - get home from an exhausting 12 hour day at work and in the 15 minutes when wife is putting the boy to bed think I’d like to play a bit of bass. Plug my apogee Jam into iPad and fire up ToneStack app. Haven’t got a bass amp so go to the in App Store to buy one. For some reason the store won’t load, after a few attempts it does load but won’t now let me process a purchase. Give up. Then remember that GarageBand has built in bass amps so fire it up, Apogee Jam that worked fine with with ToneStack a minute ago, just can’t get a signal out of GarageBand. Faff around for a bit. No joy. 15 minutes up, bass hung back on the wall, back to real life. No play.

Day 2 (tonight) - get home from an exhausting 12 hour day at work, want to play guitar for 15 minutes. Unpack the UA OX that was waiting for me, plug one cable in the back, one in the front plus headphones, and away within 2 minutes with some stunning sounds. Inspired bit of quick play time.

Moral of story, I don’t hate digital, I hate the faff factor that comes with digital. All user error in Day 1 I’m sure, and I’m not stupid, but once my brain capacity is up for the day, just want an easy a ride. I think me and the OX will get along just fine. Rather extravagant headphone rig though......

https://i.imgur.com/6UuZ2hu.jpg




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Comments

  • Very cool! Love the Carr head, did you have that custom made?

    I get that some of these load boxes and stuff aren't cheap, but they make it possible to use amps in a way that just couldn't be done at home without them...expensive but worth it IMHO.
    Link to my trading feedback: http://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/58787/
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  • dindudedindude Frets: 8534
    Very cool! Love the Carr head, did you have that custom made?

    I get that some of these load boxes and stuff aren't cheap, but they make it possible to use amps in a way that just couldn't be done at home without them...expensive but worth it IMHO.
    The Carr is stock, but have never seen another Sportsman head like it! 
    And yes indeed, I sold two guitars to pay for the OX, but two guitars I didn’t play because I didn’t have the “loud” time, if this thing gets me playing another few hours a week through being a decent silence option then it’s worth every penny.
    Just had a very sweet half hour with this rig and my Jaguar. 
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  • TA22GTTA22GT Frets: 362
    Envious of everything in that picture!!    Enjoy it and have fun!!
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  • RandallFlaggRandallFlagg Frets: 13929
    edited July 2018
    I like the idea of the OX but it's just so ugly and cumbersome looking. It looks like something British Leyland would have made in the early 1970s


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  • I like the idea of the OX but it's just so ugly and cumbersome looking. It looks like something British Leyland would have made in the early 1970s
    I agree that it’s rather utilitarian, but that’s why I love it!

    To the OP. I feel exactly the same when it comes to digital. It’s too much like work. For practice I now use a Joyo American Sound (plus a Broadcast) into a Zoom R8, with headphones or monitors depending on time of day.

    It sounds amazing, it never crashes, everything has real knobs to play with, and I never get an email alert thundering through my cranked speakers ;)

    On the other hand, I like digital amp sims for recording. I record direct into GarageBand and then tweak amp sounds afterwards. Recording is 90% futzing anyway, so it feels right here. 
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  • Digital isn't a faff once you get your head around it. Takes a bit of getting used to but it pays off in the end, IMO. I'm fully Kemper now and have never been happier. I've written loads about my journey from being a tube amp only guy to a full on digital convert here - https://medium.com/fretboard/dream-rig/.
    Read my guitar/gear blog at medium.com/redchairriffs

    View my feedback at www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/1201922
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31367
    The real moral of the story is that you need a new job. :)
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  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    Cool, at the end of the day you use what works.

    I use digital. I just switch my setup on and I’ve got all my home patches ready to use (guitar and bass), and I’ve got a DAW project set up so I can use a bunch of plug-ins and practice against the backing tracks of my band stuff. It’s way more efficient for me and didn’t even take long to set up.
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  • StrangefanStrangefan Frets: 5845
    £1200.....jesus 
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  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    I like the idea of the OX but it's just so ugly and cumbersome looking. It looks like something British Leyland would have made in the early 1970s
    I agree that it’s rather utilitarian, but that’s why I love it!

    To the OP. I feel exactly the same when it comes to digital. It’s too much like work. For practice I now use a Joyo American Sound (plus a Broadcast) into a Zoom R8, with headphones or monitors depending on time of day.

    It sounds amazing, it never crashes, everything has real knobs to play with, and I never get an email alert thundering through my cranked speakers ;)

    On the other hand, I like digital amp sims for recording. I record direct into GarageBand and then tweak amp sounds afterwards. Recording is 90% futzing anyway, so it feels right here. 

    I find the opposite.

    If there are physical dials in front of me I'm likely to keep fiddling with my tone.

    If I close an edit window on a computer I tend to leave it alone.
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  • I guess what happens is that I can tweak a knob without thinking about it, whereas if I change settings on an iPad, then my brain enters "computer" mode" and before I know it I'm googling new guitars. 
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  • impmannimpmann Frets: 12641
    p90fool said:
    The real moral of the story is that you need a new job. :)
    Easier said than done, my friend... and having been in a similar position for quite some time as the OP I totally sympathise.

    Anything computer based (Mac or PC - they are both as bad) can be massively frustrating - especially if you only have a tiny window of opportunity to use them, and the fucking thing decides thats the moment it wants to install an "update". Or for a random reason (that is not controlled by you) it decides to not work properly - either it doesn't start up right, load the software right or just be a beligerant bastard.

    Stand alone stuff is always going to be quicker to get going with - and the more complicated it is, the more chance it has to fuck up. Therefore, in the 20 mins or so I have before my lad goes to bed of an evening, I'll use a 1970s practice amp and a couple of pedals - or a Pod with headphones after that time.
    Never Ever Bloody Anything Ever.

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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31367
    I think the efficiency of your workflow when it comes to digital is how often you use it and how much time you have to set it up. 

    When I was using my home studio to earn money I could be up and running with a track armed to record less than three minutes after walking into the house. I was never stalled by untimely updates either, my studio Mac is never connected to the outside world unless I want it to be. 

    Nowadays I have less time for recording, so I have to clear boxes and a stepladder out of the studio and a load of broken amps out of the vocal booth before I can even think about finding my mics. 
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  • WazmeisterWazmeister Frets: 9445
    Dan,

    I do like the look of the OX, but I share your digital frustration at times...

    The BIG problem with all digital/modelling IMHO is that

    i.) I have to learn a completely new  language, which I cant understand, but everyone else seems to understand. They then speak to me ( a newbie) in this language, and the frustration continues...
    after months of learning and understanding more, I then start to use this weird language too !!!

    ii.) The costs/ rabbit hole begins to increase. Ive just bought a passive £600 speaker to use with my Kemper. Both brilliant and matched, but...

    This morning I simply plugged my Strat into the Rambler. Job done.

    Yep, I'm having a bad digital day !!!!!
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  • WazmeisterWazmeister Frets: 9445
    PS... LOVE your Carr head ! :)
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  • dindudedindude Frets: 8534
    I like the idea of the OX but it's just so ugly and cumbersome looking. It looks like something British Leyland would have made in the early 1970s
    It’s not a handbag dear, you don’t have to wear it. I think it looks great, much better than your typical black box or rack mount unit. Def has a 70’s hi fi vibe and def better built than a British Layland product!
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  • dindudedindude Frets: 8534
    p90fool said:
    The real moral of the story is that you need a new job. :)
    Ah but if I didn’t work so hard then I wouldn’t be able to spend £1200 on a headphone amp! 
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  • KebabkidKebabkid Frets: 3301
    Nice one Dan and glad the OX works
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  • randellarandella Frets: 4086
    dindude said:
    I like the idea of the OX but it's just so ugly and cumbersome looking. It looks like something British Leyland would have made in the early 1970s
    It’s not a handbag dear, you don’t have to wear it. I think it looks great, much better than your typical black box or rack mount unit. Def has a 70’s hi fi vibe and def better built than a British Layland product!
    I like the look of it too.  Oddly I was reading the review of it in Guitarist a few days ago - it's not a bit of gear I'd use myself but I like to keep up with these things for geek points if nothing else.

    The mag thought the OX a very nice bit of kit, but one of the things it had a pop about was the lack of a rackmount conversion which I thought was a bit odd - it looks like it'd survive the apocalypse.
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31367
    dindude said:
    p90fool said:
    The real moral of the story is that you need a new job. :)
    Ah but if I didn’t work so hard then I wouldn’t be able to spend £1200 on a headphone amp! 
    haha fair enough, I bet it's a lovely bit of kit too, and anyone familiar with UA will love the looks!
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