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I could probably solve about 99% of my amp needs and wants with a nice Princeton but what would be the fun in that. So here's the latest twist in my endless journey...
It's a SansAmp Para Driver as the preamp going to a JHS reverb pedal which in turn goes to a Hotone Loudster power amp. All that fronts a small (and very funky) open back 1x12 cab. The whole thing has a very Silver Face/Black Face kind of sound but with a lot more control over the brightness and the mid range dip. I'll probably add a delay at some point (and it definitely needs to be organized in some fashion) but it's now basically functional and gives me something like a warmer version of an old Princeton that I can dial in for virtually unlimited amounts of clean headroom. (Now whether I can find anywhere to use this rig might be a different issue).
A few random comments:
Full points to Hotone for the Loudster. It's simple, very guitar specific, lots of power, drop dead quiet, no fan, and doesn't seem to color the sound at all. The amp only weighs 590 grams (about 1.4 lbs) but It runs off an external power supply which adds both to the weight, the size, and the inconvenience. On the other hand, I suspect it's why they are able to do 75 watts with no fan.
The cab is ridiculously funky and made from old barn boards. It's very small and light weight for a 1x12 cab. It's loaded with an Eminence Tonespotter, which I really like and it does the basic Fender thing really well.
The Para Diver is a conceptual marvel and I never would have thought of it if I hadn't read about it here. The midrange shift is remarkably powerful and basically re-voices the entire sound of the rig from a mid heavy, very solid state sound to a very scooped Fender Blackface sound. It's getting to be an old design and it's not quite as quiet as I'd like. I'll probably keep looking for something else to fill the preamp function but but for now, the ability to shape the tone so specifically without having to get into menus and submenus will probably keep me using it for quite a while.
The JHS Reverb is exactly as advertised: a clean traditional reverb pedal that gets a lot of different sounds (most of which I will never use) out a very simple control setup. I think I like it but I'm still messing with the controls a bit.
And finally, I had forgotten how much having all these components turns a rig like this into a game of Tetris, especially with everything being different sizes and layouts. I'm sure I'll figure out something but right now it feels like chaos and an invitation for the dog to misbehave.
Last edited by Jim Soloway; 05-13-2022 at 01:11 PM.
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05-13-2022 12:54 PM
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What you need for that is a pedalboard.
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I got an HX Stomp recently and the Princeton model is remarkable.
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I'm looking but whatever I do is going to wait until my Weir guitar arrives. With no volume or tone controls, it's prime motivator for this rig.
Originally Posted by sgosnell
What you need for that is a pedalboard.
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I used modeling for several years and liked it but when I tried going back to it I never seemed to be able to get comfortable again. Plus I really like to be able to see what I'm doing as I change controls in real time. Originally Posted by blille
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Jim,
That's quite an unusual looking Fender Champion 20.
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...and the Redstone?
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Jim, the cab isn't funky – it's Wabi Sabi. :-)
Did you ever try a fender blues junior? That may work for you ...
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i will almost certainly be moving it along. It's a great cab at what it does but as has so often been the case, I realized fairly quickly that what it does is simply not me. Clearly the sounds that attract me have by now been pretty much carved in stone and that traditional jazz guitar focus is not part of the stone. Originally Posted by Hammertone
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I have. They could work but I've really lost interest in tubes. Too much maintenance, too much noise and for what I like, it's really easy to get there without having to put up with the hassle. Originally Posted by guavajelly
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Keep building up a board like that and you are going to be exiled to tgp!
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If that’s true, Jim, what’s the driver for your self-described “endless journey”? Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
I separate education and experimentation from routine. So I’ve owned and used some guitars and amps for decades because they delivered my personal preference and/or filled a professional need. I also bought and subsequently sold (often within days) dozens upon dozens just to find out what they could do and if they offered me an opportunity to up my game. But I always had my keepers.
Except for my most recent leaps into the 21st century, my keepers have been with me for decades. When I switched exclusively to a 7 in the ‘90s, I bought the ESP, Epi LP 7, and the Ibanez AF207 I still use. For slide, I still use and love the Kubicki Express that Phil made for me in 1981. My Rich-built RE 10 is still my “good” cab, although now lightened with a neo Tornado. Etc etc. So I’m a bit surprised that you don’t seem to have a core of equipment that provides you with your carved-in-stone sounds.
I know you’ve moved around a lot in the last several years, which led to a lot of shedding and reacquiring of instruments. But if you have a strong personal preference for a given sound / feel / etc, I think it’s essential to have one or two guitars and amps on which you can rely to deliver that carved-in-stone package with no hair pulling, knob twiddling, or switch throwing. What’s your take on that?
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Boredom, curiosity, and poor impulse control, especially in amps. The guitars come and go but one has now stayed with me for about 11 or 12 years and it always seems to be the one I keep coming back to. What has been coming and going in the last couple of years has mostly been within a very narrow band but even then I've sold at least one guitar that I never should have let go of (the Vola Vasti) and all because I bought a guitar on impulse that was more expensive and filled the exact same need. That was just foolish and now they're both gone (mostly because I like the Vasti better so I was never happy with the more expensive one). The incoming Weir was also something of an impulse but it's based on a belief that it's going to fit well in my strange little world. My ony other guitar these days is my Mustang and that's just to have a guitar with a short scale that I can keep in standard pitch Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
BTW, part of the amp journey had to do with not quite understanding for a long time how much my playing idiosyncrasies impact the noise level of an amplifier. Because I play so softly I need to really crank the output level of the amp and that pushes a lot of amps to the level where the their noise level increases to the point where it's annoying to me, especially when I'm recording. It probably sounds foolish but it never occurred to me until recently that the noise was self inflicted. Now that I'm recording direct with with a plugin, I feel a bit freed from that since my live rig is never going to be used for serious recording.
EDIT FOR CLARITY: I should probably add that the component rig I'm assembled so far is about as close to being right down the center of the plate as I've ever played. I don't really have a great way to capture it live right now but the Para Driver gives me an feel of an 60's Fender with better control over the low mids while this cab gives me the kind of open back ambient sound that I associate with a Princeton but with better control of the lows from the 12" speaker for my lowered tuning. The power amp eliminates the risk of breakup should I ever need more volume. And all of that in a package that is extremely portable.Last edited by Jim Soloway; 05-14-2022 at 12:53 PM.
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That is one cool-looking cabinet!
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I appreciate and have learned a lot from the members here who have shared their "tone journey." Jim, Jack, etc., continually experiment with equipment which has at times given me ideas for things to try or ideas for things to not try.
This has also moved me away from my "gotta sound like Jim Hall" phase that I went through for a couple of decades; The Jim Hall sound, as much as I love it, is just not my natural sound based on how my thinking and my nervous system interact with guitars through my hands. There is a lot less sense of struggle now.
so, Jim, thanks for sharing your endless journey.
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It seems Jim is an inveterate tinkerer: someone who enjoys experimenting, particularly with amplification. And from what I've seen over the years he does this with a few conflicting restraints to make things interesting. It must be small, light, quiet, and not too expensive. Now he's got something broken down into 3 or 4 parts. All the better for tinkering!
I've enjoyed and learned a lot from Jim's (and others) gear posts. He always sounds great, and not quite like anyone else I know of.
Hotone Loudster?!! I dig that he doesn't care what the gear is called :-)
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