Rack for a busy musician?

[Phyrexo]

Hey dudes,


First of all:
Of course i know i shouldn't aks that here(you all silly mesa junkies ), but maybe you can give some good advices though...


The thing is... I got a rack(mesa studio preamp -> peavey 60/60 poweramp -> marshall 1936 loaded with 2x12" gt12 75 speakers)

but I also got 2 or sometimes even 3 bands(depends on the time the third band is practicing)... so it's impossible to let my stuff in one bands practice room.
So my idea was to sell my whole stuff and to buy a combo like an ENGL Screamer or something like that...
But otherwise i really like the sound of my rack very much, but not this f***** weight...., so i'm a bit confused...an dunno what i should do....

Maybe you have some good ideas...

thanks for helping me...

best whishes,
Jerry

 

[SixVeeSix]

Combo amps can be pretty heavy too but I like them. You can always run another 1-12 speaker if you need it but I never have so far. Good luck!

 

[jtb226]

maybe see if you can pick up a couple cheap 1x12 cabs and leave a cab in each of your practice spaces? that way the onlyl thing you have to carry around is your amp rack.

 

[disassembled]

Here's my recommendation:

Buy a Mesa 20/20 power amp and rack the Studio Pre and 20/20 together. This creates a 3 space rack that will be small and light.

Buy another rack case for the Peavey amp and keep that as a backup or use it for bigger shows.

Buy 2 Mesa cabs ( I suggest 2 thieles or atleast 1 thiele and maybe an open back cab)


If you want to go really compact rack:

Mesa Triaxis and Mesa 20/20 in a 2 space rack. You don't get reverb or effects but you have 90 channels Mark series tone. This is limited though because you cannot change the Graphic EQ settings. You will need a midi footswitch and the Boss FC50 works perfect with the TA as well as being very compact.

Same suggestion for the cabs (either 2 Thiele cabs or 1 Thiele and 1 open back)

If you want to go the head/cab route:

Mark IV short head and Thiele cab
DC-3/5 Short head and Thiele cab
Mark II/III short head and Thiele cab

I do not suggest getting a combo because they tend to be heavy. At least if you have a head and a cab you can lighten the load. Having a luggage carrier or hand cart always helps if you need to move a lot of equipment.


That should be enough for you to get started on your search.


Greg

 

[jdurso]

do you use the same tones in each band or does it vary from band to band?

If you tone stays the same i think disassembled has the right idea.... it may not be a Mesa head but i think finding the head that fits your needs and then getting an extra cab or two will do the trick..... maybe even look at some avatar cabs to keep the cost down..... i did that for a while.... kept my mesa 4x12 at my main practice space...... then i had an avatar 2x12 at another practice space..... for playing in my rrom i actually had a used L6 Vetta .... it was pretty cool because i could play all night through headphones and could record ideas right into my computer at all hours of the day..... BTW at that time i had a 12 space rack with a triaxis/2:90, and ADA MP1 and some rack fx..... the rack weighted over 100 lbs so i feel your pain


If your tone changes per band you might want to consider keeping your rack the way it is and using it for shows and your main band (if you have a main band).... for all those other projects getting something like an old vetta or the newer L6 Spider Valve is a great option.... they're pretty light in terms of lugging a rack and a cab...... to me they make great pratice amps or for guys that play in cover bands or need to cover a lot of ground with all their projects.... of course your current setup would be your main rig

 

[Phyrexo]

Hey guys.


I know, this thread is old already, but I still have this problem. That combo is just to heavy and I got back problems...


So... My thought was, to get a 20/20 with a Ada mp-1 (incl. mod 3.666) (Triaxis is too expensive and a studio pre too big, heavy and not too oldschool)
Maybe a thiele as cab... or any other 1x12".


what do you guys think about that?

all the best,
Jerry

 

[fbomb]

not to steer you away from Mesa,but you should check out the Fractal Audio AXE FX ,its a preamp/fx unit in a 2 rack space box.head over to RIG TALK forums alot of the guys there use it and love it.they will be glad to answer all your questions about it.pair that up with a solid state power amp,that should lighten your load abit.