The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    While I absolutely love my Fender Vibrolux (ri) and could use my Kemper Profiler (bought for recording in my townhouse since can’t crank up the Vibrolux). But I’m looking at doing curb side concerts which have become a thing here. Pull up, do a set, drive away - with a bit of money. I’m downsizing my pa and considering a Bose S1 which I’ve used before and works quite nice. But I’d like to minimize gear and have a pedal preamp that actually sounds good for jazz and blues. I’ve used the FlyRig, Boss, and Line 6 and none gave me a sound I particularly like for the music I’m doing. I do run a looper pedal as backing for some solos and do some chord melody style.

    Any ideas - especially if around the $200 mark?

    I though something like the JHS Colorbox which is kind of a Neve preamp clone in a pedal - but that’s a bit more than I’m likely able to throw at this idea.

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  3. #2

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    I'm not familiar with the power sources discussed on the "busking" thread, but a rechargeable battery pack could be a power option. Or your car! The SviSound Overzoid amp weighs about 200 grams, puts out 50W @ 4ohm and runs on 12-20V DC, even 9V provided there's more amps than from a typical pedal adaptor. A Mooer Baby Bomb (30W) and Quilter Interblock (45W) eat 24V DC. Again, doable with batteries. Amp manufacturers are cautioning against using power units other than their own, and I accept no responsibility if something blows up. But DC is DC, right?

    Disclaimer: I manufacture and sell TOOB ultra-light speaker cabinets for guitar and bass (Home New). Weighing 4-5 lbs and handling up to 130W, they are equally at home in every venue, including the curbside.

  4. #3
    Thanks for the comment.

    The Bose S1 is a small but very usable powered PA speaker with a rechargeable battery built in. Very loud for what it is.

    I could just run the guitar into that and it would get me by but I’m a little particular on the sound and I don’t think it would be quite there. Hence, thinking of a preamp or similar pedal that would sound less digital than running a Boss or Line 6. I also have a couple of good lithium battery packs designed for studio style photo flashes (my ‘day job’ is photography.)

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Gitterbug

    Disclaimer: I manufacture and sell TOOB ultra-light speaker cabinets for guitar and bass (Home New). Weighing 4-5 lbs and handling up to 130W, they are equally at home in every venue, including the curbside.

    BTW I’ve heard of the Toob before from some reviews and comments in the forum. They seem like a wonderful product - when I make real money again I’ll certainly consider getting one.

  6. #5

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    Hi Neil,
    The new(ish) Mad Professor 'Super Black' preamp pedal would be up your street, as you like a Vibrolux sound. It also has a built in boost/overdrive if you want some cranked sounds.

    Are you in the States? I see that Prymaxe have it for $212 and there's currently another 15% off with the code FIREWORKS15: Mad Professor Super Black PreAmp, OverDrive, Boost Pedal - Demo


    - Prymaxe

  7. #6
    I’m in Canada - but I’ll check that out, I’ll see if there is a Canadian distributor. Thanks for the tip.

  8. #7

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    If you like Fender amp tones, Tech 21 Blonde or the cheaper alternative Joyo American Sound are designed exactly for what you're looking for. I've been eyeing them for a while now. Blonde might be out of production but they can be found used. Joyo American is like 40 bucks.

    Here is the current Tech 21 SansAmp line:
    Sansamp – Tech 21 NYC

  9. #8
    Thank you, I’ve tried the FlyRig by Tech 21 and it isn’t bad but not great (for my uses) either. I just checked out the Blond and find it - like the flyrig and other pedals I’ve tried - have that ‘too brittle’ sound I find unpleasant. But thank you for the suggestion - it was worth looking at and if I stop by the music store I might see if I could dial it in for a better jazz sound.

  10. #9

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    Have you thought about an eq pedal? An acoustic one or something with parametric mids or maybe something a little flavored could help. I used a fishman Platinum pro eq into a PA and that was a great help. It occasionally falls into your price range used.

    Maybe something as simple as an eqd tone job or as common as the standard boss and mxr graphic eq pedals. The tech 21 qstrip is based on a Neve console and has a host of neat features, too.

    As a last ditch cheapo solution, the zoom ms70 CDR has parametric and graphic eq, as well as a butt load of other effects. They have a version with preamp sounds built in, too. Will take a little time to program but it's still a cool little box.

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by neilspeers
    While I absolutely love my Fender Vibrolux (ri) and could use my Kemper Profiler (bought for recording in my townhouse since can’t crank up the Vibrolux). But I’m looking at doing curb side concerts which have become a thing here. Pull up, do a set, drive away - with a bit of money. I’m downsizing my pa and considering a Bose S1 which I’ve used before and works quite nice. But I’d like to minimize gear and have a pedal preamp that actually sounds good for jazz and blues. I’ve used the FlyRig, Boss, and Line 6 and none gave me a sound I particularly like for the music I’m doing. I do run a looper pedal as backing for some solos and do some chord melody style.

    Any ideas - especially if around the $200 mark?

    I though something like the JHS Colorbox which is kind of a Neve preamp clone in a pedal - but that’s a bit more than I’m likely able to throw at this idea.
    Small stuff I have:

    - RolandMicrocube - 3 watts; battery powered; I used it once to accompany a singer (she was unamplified) on a rooftop/terrace gig. It was loud enough for that
    - TC Helicon Voice Solo -- Sounds OK-ish for clean guitar sounds [I use it just for vocals but have tried a guitar through it]. Around $250, quite light, and can hang off a mic stand.
    - Fender Champion 20 -- a legit guitar amp that is loud enough for playing with small groups, has a several usable sounds, weighs 12 lbs and cost me $89 (it's usually a bit more expensive, but GC puts them on sale frequently) . There's a 40 watt version that's a little bigger and heavier, but way lighter than a Vibrolux, and well under $200.
    - I've got the Joyo American Sound pedal, but haven't tried it as a front end to a PA yet (maybe I'll break out the TC and the Joyo and experiment).

    John

    If were just playing guitar and didn't need to amplify my voice, and electric power were available, I'd use just the Champion20,

  12. #11

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    I've transitioned from Kemper to Amplifire 3 to Amplifirebox and now sometimes Strymon Iridium.

  13. #12
    I would love to try the Iridium - the online samples I’ve heard have been awesome.

  14. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by John A.
    Small stuff I have:

    - RolandMicrocube - 3 watts; battery powered; I used it once to accompany a singer (she was unamplified) on a rooftop/terrace gig. It was loud enough for that
    - TC Helicon Voice Solo -- Sounds OK-ish for clean guitar sounds [I use it just for vocals but have tried a guitar through it]. Around $250, quite light, and can hang off a mic stand.
    - Fender Champion 20 -- a legit guitar amp that is loud enough for playing with small groups, has a several usable sounds, weighs 12 lbs and cost me $89 (it's usually a bit more expensive, but GC puts them on sale frequently) . There's a 40 watt version that's a little bigger and heavier, but way lighter than a Vibrolux, and well under $200.
    - I've got the Joyo American Sound pedal, but haven't tried it as a front end to a PA yet (maybe I'll break out the TC and the Joyo and experiment).

    John

    If were just playing guitar and didn't need to amplify my voice, and electric power were available, I'd use just the Champion20,
    I had a Champion and awesome amp for the money, but eventually sold it a while back. I do have a little Marshal solid state around 15 watts that I really like the clean sound of but not loud enough for anything more than a living room.

  15. #14

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    I've done a few classroom performances with this pedal, plugged into the schools' sound reinforcement systems, and been very happy with the sound - very creamy:

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  16. #15

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    I have a Zoom MS100bt that has some amp modeling, speaker sim choices, reverbs, effects, and etc., in a standard pedal size. I used it as a preamp into a powered speaker and as a DI to a PA with very good results.

    There are a lot of other medium sized devices people use with good results. Our own JD does direct recordings with a Zoom device, IIRC, and sounds excellent. Dutchbopper records direct using just a cheap ART microphone tube preamp and gets a marvelous sound; that would be another option for use with something like the Bose system. I have one of those and it is quite effective at warming up the tone. Some will complain that it is a starved plate design but who cares if it sounds good?

  17. #16

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    Haven’t tried it myself, but the Mooer Radar gets a lot of love.


  18. #17

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    I just landed a Boss FDR-1 Fender Deluxe Reverb pedal off EBay. It will run into my EHX Magnum 44 amp-in-a-pedal, which is my emergency finish-the-gig amp.

    All the stuff you'd want (for $120 shipped). No doubt more sophisticated units have come along since 2008 but for my intended usage and that price I'm in.


  19. #18

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    Recommend on the deluxe omnicabsim by DSM noisemakers. Great pedal.

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

  20. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Sam Sherry
    I just landed a Boss FDR-1 Fender Deluxe Reverb pedal off EBay. It will run into my EHX Magnum 44 amp-in-a-pedal, which is my emergency finish-the-gig amp.

    All the stuff you'd want (for $120 shipped). No doubt more sophisticated units have come along since 2008 but for my intended usage and that price I'm in.

    Had one of those and sold it a while back. Guess I should have tried it direct into a paSmall amp sim pedal for very small gigs?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  21. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Shay
    Recommend on the deluxe omnicabsim by DSM noisemakers. Great pedal.

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
    That looks really cool.

  22. #21
    Just picked up a Bose S1 (battery powered pa speaker) now to start testing solutions.

  23. #22

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    Quilter Interblock 45 is a versatile unit that covers a lot of ground.

  24. #23

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    Here’s me using the Bose S1 last weekend-I’m the only guitar player among literally hundreds of string players (violin-cello-viola-double bass), in the Violin Vigil for Elijah McClain. I’m also the only person using amplification. Even in a large park with hundreds of players, you can still kind of hear the Bose S1. Hopefully, “just enough”, LOL.

    Going to be using for 2 outdoor gigs at this restaurant on the Northside of Chicago, this weekend. It’s a GREAT PA. Decent electric sound, too.


  25. #24

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    I am setting my hopes on the new AMT Pangaea Ultima U-2. I hope they'll add a tuner in the next firmware releases.
    #2020: AMT Pangaea ULTIMA U-2 | AMT Electronics official website

  26. #25
    So I took the S1 to our band’s outdoor socially distanced practice last night. With the S1 channels both set to the Vocals setting both the guitar (heritage hollowbody) and my electric bass sounded great. No amp sim or anything. The bass wasn’t as deep as could be but most of the fundamentals and harmonica came out lovely. Had to stay above the low G to come through but I play higher on the neck as a rule anyways.