Amplifier Mistake (Blackstar)

ThePrettyDamned

thomasross20 said:

I do think I'm coming back to the ID head & cab, to be honest (must check the weight of this vs the ID60). I do love the Blackstar sounds... I might just have to suck it up and put the boost in the FX loop for distorted solo boosts. 

Just set up another channel for lead, there is no need for a pedal boost really.  

Do you have the footswitch?

ICBM

thomasross20 said:

Prior to the gig tomorrow I'm going to activate the FX loop on the Blackstar and get it set up so I have the boost in the FX loop.

Just dug out the pedalboard and it's going to be a pain. My boost, delay & chorus lie at the end of the BCB60 board... right at the edge of the case and the angled (90 degree) lead I have is a little too big to fit in properly. Man, totally haven't got time to faff with this before a gig!!

EDIT - was just playing the amp in prep for tomorrow's gig and what a sound. Really does sound fantastic. Am I going to do a U-turn and keep it? I don't know. Still bloody heavy. I set up the 4th channel as lead boost as don't have the time to mess about with putting my boost pedal in the FX loop. One thing I was trying was just rolling the volume off on the guitar a little and that works well. In fact it emulates the back-off you get on valve amps really well... On the crunch channel I could go from a light Bryan Adams crunch to an all out ACDC crunch just by rolling the pot... might just try that throughout the gig... keep the pit at 6/7 and roll up for solo sections. So many options!

I'm sure it's still easier to set the amp up with the four channels to give you a boost than use the FX loop. Personally I'd probably go with two pairs - clean and dirty, and identical but boosted versions of the same - and do any other changes with the guitar or dirt pedals.

ThePrettyDamned

Just checked, it's a 4 button footswitch that has lots of power to do cool stuff with.

But I'd set it for 4 channels, probably clean, overdrive, distortion, boosted distortion. That should sort you easily. 

thomasross20

I've got the footswitch, yeah... 

The pedals I was thinking about putting in the loop: delay, chorus/flange, boost. I've currently set up the 4th channel on the bank I'm using to be a lead boost. 

Jalapeno

If you have a lead boost already what do you need another for ? - it's just another thing to f*ck up on stage.

ThePrettyDamned

thomasross20;450689" said:

I've got the footswitch, yeah... The pedals I was thinking about putting in the loop: delay, chorus/flange, boost. I've currently set up the 4th channel on the bank I'm using to be a lead boost. 

Sorted.

Though I like my chorus pre-distortion, you're in an 80s thing so maybe after is best.

No need for boost if you've already got a channel for it.

ICBM

thomasross20 said:

I've got the footswitch, yeah... 

The pedals I was thinking about putting in the loop: delay, chorus/flange, boost.

How are the delay, chorus etc on the amp? I admit I didn't try them very much on the ID60, I had a quick listen and thought they were functional rather than great. I didn't have the footswitch though, so I didn't have a chance to try the modulation tap tempo or anything.

thomasross20

To be fair the FX on the ID amp are pretty good (maybe not as good as the amazing pedals I have, but no punter is going to care)... I could just use those, though I'm not sure how easy it is to switch channels and FX at the same time (you have to hold a button down for ~1s to go from channel changing to FX options so it might be tricky - I should try... but not at tonight's gig lol).

I will go through all the FX at some point and do a comparison with what I've got, but honestly... I think they're pretty good. I don't need the *best* effects - just after a good set-up. 

thomasross20

Jalapeno said:

If you have a lead boost already what do you need another for ? - it's just another thing to f*ck up on stage.

Agree BUT if the volume on the boosted channel isn't quite enough on the amp, I'd have to turn it up live and try to save it, which takes 2-3s after pushing buttons. Tweaking the pedal on the fly is much easier. I guess though, that's where the guitar volume pot comes in. I'm really starting to see the benefits of that, I must admit (after years of keeping it at 10)

ICBM

thomasross20 said:

To be fair the FX on the ID amp are pretty good... I could just use those, though I'm not sure how easy it is to switch channels and FX at the same time (you have to hold a button down for ~1s to go from channel changing to FX options so it might be tricky - I should try... but not at tonight's gig lol).

I wondered that about the footswitch. Not very good design from a gigging point of view. I know they probably did it like that to keep the size and cost of the footswitch down even as far as they have, but when you can't access functions with a single tap or at worst a quick double-tap it becomes a bit tricky to use on the fly.

ThePrettyDamned

What are your pedals?

Also, what sounds do you *need* in terms of volume and gain levels? If you only need clean, crunch, lead (3 main sounds) and the only time you'll use, for example, delay and chorus on the clean sound, you could probably set the clean sound to have all that, and leave the others dry. Though I don't know how the footswitch works.

Can you switch the effects loop in and out? Something really great about the bandit is I can have a dry sound (clean or dirty) and with one button push, engage the effects loop - which potentially gives me delay, reverb and modulation, all in one press. And a boost, if there is one in the loop.

Otherwise, you'll need to change channel, then hit the effects you want in and out - which is fine, but it sounds like you want things as simple as possible.

thomasross20

Yeah, it'd have been better if the footswitch had two rows of buttons - one to switch channels and the other for FX. But it may be alright - yet to really experiment. 

My pedals (in order):

Wah, distortion, Chorus/flange/phaser, delay, boost. 

Technically all I'd need to use is the wah...

That sounds like a good feature on the bandit! Yeah, I want things as simple as possible so I can focus on the playing. 

thomasross20

FYI I'd never sell the FX. That'd be kept for going into the clean amp at practice - much more versatile and no need to haul my amp around! I've heard people say the low-gain crunch ain't so hot on the ID series but I got a great sound by using one of their default settings and rolling the volume back a bit!

ThePrettyDamned

thomasross20;450714" said:

Yeah, it'd have been better if the footswitch had two rows of buttons - one to switch channels and the other for FX. But it may be alright - yet to really experiment. 

My pedals (in order):Wah, distortion, Chorus/flange/phaser, delay, boost. 

Technically all I'd need to use is the wah...

That sounds like a good feature on the bandit! Yeah, I want things as simple as possible so I can focus on the playing. 

If you only need the wah, maybe just use that until you've figured (and practised) an effective switching method for the rest.

Also, without knowing what the modulation, delay etc are, it's hard to say if they'll be any better than the ones inside the amp. Which are, as @icbm said, usable - not the best, but genuinely usable and I have definitely heard worse! I rather like the in built delay tones in particular, they were really rather good.

The boost is something that is either necessary for solo volume (in the loop) or completely unnecessary because the amp is capable of having a dedicated channel to accomplish the same task.

thomasross20

Have to say the boost is my most important pedal - I'd probably always keep it as I might also want a clean boost. 

In future I think I will just use the FX loop for this. It'd be a shame not to use the in-built FX though. 

I'll run through the effects and compare for sure. 

shaunm

It's already been suggested but the Victory V40 Dutchess amp looks like it is exactly what you want.

It's a loud clean lunchbox sized head that is built as a pedal platform.

Granted it's not cheap but then it ticks every box that you seem to need so it's value could be justified.

thomasross20

Bummer is I don't think there's one in the vicinity to try out. Will check..

steamabacus

thomasross20 said:

Bummer is I don't think there's one in the vicinity to try out. Will check..

I'm not sure they've actually reached the shops yet. Maybe in the New Year?

thomasross20

OK thanks - will keep an eye out!

I just lifted the Blackstar from my car boot back up the stairs to the flat... and there's no doubting it, the throbbing pain in my lower back from before has resurfaced a little. It's not about "being a man" any more - it's actually hurting my back. As much as I love it (and I really do) it can't be a long-term solution. Just like I bought the ASC Pro 17s to protect my hearing, I have to get lighter gear to protect my back.

ThePrettyDamned

Head and a 1x12. The cab is going to be the bulkiest and heaviest bit, so I'd take that route.