So who gigs with....

simonbeckwith

Agreed - i do need a volume boost and tuner, a bit of delay so the cleaner tones dont sound as dry (no onboard reverb) other than that, anything else is a luxury!

bluechargeboy

A Strat Plus into Marshall head has always done fine for me. I have occasionally used a clean boost when the other guitarist doesn't understand dynamics. I have never used modulation, delay, wah, distortion.... I used a ZVex Mastotron for one performance of one song about 7 years ago.

Although now I am in an acoustic band and would feel naked without me compressor!

ICBM

Depends. Anything between full-on pedalboard and rack case down to an unplugged acoustic guitar. I've done some electric gigs with no pedals, some with a pedal that's left on top of the amp and never turned off, and some with no pedals but the amp has built-in effects.

What's the difference between a two-channel amp with reverb and tremolo, and using an overdrive pedal, reverb pedal and tremolo pedal into an amp with none of those?

Hoof

Used to use a Marshall JCM900 SL-X which had all the gain I needed (and more) back in the day. I'd tune up before the gig and that would be it. I'd tune by ear if it was absolutely critical (sorry audience). 

We did an outdoor gig this summer where the stage/marquee/power arrangements weren't quite as expected so I left the pedalboard in the car and used a clip tuner in case we needed to quickly tear down the gear in case of rain. I don't think the audience cared one bit if I was using amp drive instead of fuzz on some parts or if the delay or phaser was missing elsewhere. 

The majority of effects we use are for our own satisfaction. Layman audiences neither know or care.

jpfamps

I don't use pedals either.

I generally use a Strat into either a Tweed Deluxe or SF Pro Reverb, although I do occasionally use other amps and guitars.

I've just got a Magnatone 213 which I'm aiming to gig at some stage.

Ossyrocks

I do.

Les Paul -> amp. Either my Gartone 5E3, Victoria 35210 or Marshall 1974X.

I run the tweeds on about 9, the Marshall is cranked to full. Control everything from the guitar volumes and tones.

I use a Planet Waves micro tuner on the headstock though.

I started doing this about 18 months ago and have not looked back.

Rob.

thecolourbox

The two gigs I did last year were just guitar and Princeton amp but that's because it was a solo cafe style gig so it warranted nothing more, it just needed to not be an acoustic

bluechargeboy

Ossyrocks said:

I run the tweeds on about 9, the Marshall is cranked to full.

Good God, fair play!

I SAID, FAIR PLAY!

Ossyrocks

bluechargeboy said:

Ossyrocks said:

I run the tweeds on about 9, the Marshall is cranked to full.

Good God, fair play!

I SAID, FAIR PLAY!

Only one amp at a time! I have a choice of the three. The 5E3 just about cuts it for smaller gigs, the Victoria for larger ones.

I actually don't think I play loud, but it does sound FAT.

Rob.

slacker

I personally dont see gear choices as absolutes. I will play out with pedals, without pedals and sometimes without an amp depending on the situation. I will use acoustics, archtops or electrics depending on the sounds I want or need. Most of what I play doesnt need  a range of sounds, just a good clean sound from whatever source. 

I like My ES125 into a clean Matchless, that's lovely that it is. When I played in a classic rock covers band I rehearsed with a LP and a ZVex Nano on full. If you need one kind of sound no pedals will do that. 

I'm currently trying to get a covers start up band going and I need a bunch of pedals to recreate the sounds (wah, pitchshifting etc) as well as cleans and dirt for the various genres. 

It's dependent on what you want to achieve if you need to play a number of required covers for a band then you need pedals. IMHO. 

Kebabkid

I haven't done it but if I had a funk gig and playing just rhythm and the occasional clean lines, I could get away with my Divided by 13 JRT 9/15 and a Strat. I wouldn't even need a compressor.

simonbeckwith

Im quite lucky that i can set up amp to a decent crunch and use my LP or Strat and with the volume control get 75% of what i need.  I do require a clean boost in the loop and like a bit of delay on my cleaner sounds. Sometimes a boost in front but not always necessary, depends on whether my fingers want to play ball!

i have a dejavibe which gets used on a few tracks but isnt a must, more of a luxury.

ragingben

I usually have a big old pedal board between my PRS Custom 22 and Orange Rocker 30, but in all honesty there have been gigs where I've only used tuner and the amps footswitch for switching amp channels. The big board is there for covers, but when we play all originals gigs I could very easily ditch the whole board (keeping the tuner though of course!), the only pedal I'd really miss is the bad monkey i use for solo boosts.

simonbeckwith

I've been in the same boat tbh, originals bands years ago was gtr straight in to the amp, now I play less originals and more covers so kinda need a few pedals at least for certain bits. My core sound will always be gtr in to crunchy valve amp

jackio

I did one gig with a start and a tweed champ, no pedals. I think I liked it. I also gig'd with a Mesa LSS and a load of pedals. I think I would advocate simpler. Though I was stuck with 1 basic tone with the start/champ combo. Performance anxiety to the max

fretfinder

Yep, for the second set of our last gig I played into a cranked Marshall 1974X and realised I didn't  need any OD pedals, just used the guitar's volume control. The guitar was a 335 and the sound that night was really great.

simonbeckwith

Ooooooo would love one of those amps....and a 335 for that matter!

vasselmeyer

I absolutely could do that, but where's the fun in not having a bunch of pedals that make cool noises?

Johnspreyer

I do. Guitar - lead - amp. Tuner on headstock. That's more than confusing enough for me. Can't do with any more knobs to fiddle with.

DLM

I do!

'91 RG550 (Evolution/stock/Distortion) > Klotz La Grange > Diezel Herbert TC Polytune runs from the amp's tuner out.

Channel switching courtesy of Diezel Columbus MIDI switcher.

I usually do:

0 = Mute

1 = Clean [channel 1]

2 = Rhythm ("chunk" metal tone) [channel 2 + mid-cut]

3 = Lead [channel 3 + vol. 2 so I can get a lead sound at a significantly higher level than my rhythm]

4 = Second rhythm sound, either louder or quieter than (2) above. Louder for featured rhythm parts (in a two guitar band). Quieter for ducking my rhythm tone under the other guitarist's levels when he plays lead/hiding how much I suck.

vasselmeyer said:

I absolutely could do that, but where's the fun in not having a bunch of pedals that make cool noises?

I get around that by making the cool noises with just the guitar and loads of gain. Oh, and of course, "This is my whammy bar!"

At my last show I actually took a bunch of plush animals with electronic voices to put through my pickups onstage, like Steve Stevens' raygun...