What is the best rig you've ever heard? How good can it get?

[Eskimo_Joe]

I'd venture to say that we all probably have great sounding rigs that are somewhat dream-like when we really think about it. How much better can it possibly get? What's the best sounding rig you've ever heard? If you could make any changes/additions, what would you do?

[Eskimo_Joe]

OK, to answer my own question...

Best rig I've ever heard....

Hard to say. I love the old school Chicago blues and the best I've heard in that vein is a guy named Gordon Bonham. Victoria Double Deluxe through a Reverberato through a 50's strat, no pedals except and Zvex SHO. But is it the best I've ever heard, I can't really say. I saw a video on YouTube that Pete Thorn did demo-ing a Komet and that blew me away. The demo of the Mad Prof amp with the Dusenberg (sp?) guitar of You Tube is also mind blowing. The Trainwreck you tube vid is also sick. I guess the best rig I've ever heard in person was Ian Moore's back when he was still playing blues/rock. Unbelievable.

How much better can it get?

I really wonder. I really love what I have and am thankful to have it. I can't believe there are too many rigs out there that I would prefer, unless we're talking vintage, which I'll never be able to afford anyway.

Changes/additions?

I'd love to find a soul mate type Les Paul that is light, resonant, and versatile. If I could find an amp that would do everything, that would be great. I love the Vicky for blues and roots and the Germino for rock, but if there was one amp that could make me forget about both, then that would be great. I thought it was going to be the D13 FTR37, but while I love the clean, it didn't sound all that great with dirt pedals. Could be the pedals I tried. I'd love to hear a Mad Prof amp in person, maybe that is the ticket. In terms of pedals, if the is anything I'd love to get into more it would be delay. I'd like to try some of the delays out there and see what's possible. That's this week, it will change by next week.

[DocRock]

Cool thread.

The best rig I ever heard in person on a larger scale was at a Gov't. Mule show. Warren Haynes was playing a Gibson Custom Shop Firebird non-reverse with Burstbucker pickups through his Soldano SLO100 head and ENGL 4x12 cabinet. And it was L O U D . The tone was nothing short of a revelation.

I'm convinced that, in these bigger environments, the power and depth that the P.A. puts out is at least as important as whatever the guitarist is using.

As for the best rig I've ever heard in a small to mid-sized club? My own. (No kidding.)

That, or my best buddy's rig, which is a Collings City Limits Deluxe guitar, a Matchless DC-30 head and matching 1x12 cabinet, and some pedals including a BJF CAF, a D*A*M MkII, a ProAnalog Dual Drive, a Menatone Blue Collar, and an Area 51 wah. Freakin' amazing.

This same friend and I were actually just talking the the other day about how far we've both come in the tone / rig department. Gone are the days when I lust over other people's gear and tone. Same for him. It is indeed most comforting to have the knowledge that every time I plug in, at the very minimum, I will have a damn good sound. So every time I gig, my tone basically ranges from being damn good (at the very worst) ... all the way up through inspiring, earth-moving, mind-blowing, i.e., I am now that guy whose sound I used to lust over. (Still no kidding ... and I'm pretty proud of it, as it has taken me a very long time to get here.)

This is especially important because now there are no excuses. The proper guitar rig has been built, and the sounds I want are there. Now all I need to do is play good music and put on a good show. No more tweaking and knob twiddling. No more worrying about whether or not the tone is right, because it's always there. Now ... I get to focus all of my energy on just one thing: PLAYING my guitar. I have long maintained for myself that this is the purpose of gear in its essence: to provide the least amount of limitation to the user's self-expression. When you have the right rig and the right sounds, there are no excuses left. If you play a good show, you get all the credit ... same goes for a bad night.

Doc

[Eskimo_Joe]

Cool thread.

The best rig I ever heard in person on a larger scale was at a Gov't. Mule show. Warren Haynes was playing a Gibson Custom Shop Firebird non-reverse with Burstbucker pickups through his Soldano SLO100 head and ENGL 4x12 cabinet. And it was L O U D . The tone was nothing short of a revelation.

I'm convinced that, in these bigger environments, the power and depth that the P.A. puts out is at least as important as whatever the guitarist is using.

As for the best rig I've ever heard in a small to mid-sized club? My own. (No kidding.)

That, or my best buddy's rig, which is a Collings City Limits Deluxe guitar, a Matchless DC-30 head and matching 1x12 cabinet, and some pedals including a BJF CAF, a D*A*M MkII, a ProAnalog Dual Drive, a Menatone Blue Collar, and an Area 51 wah. Freakin' amazing.

This same friend and I were actually just talking the the other day about how far we've both come in the tone / rig department. Gone are the days when I lust over other people's gear and tone. Same for him. It is indeed most comforting to have the knowledge that every time I plug in, at the very minimum, I will have a damn good sound. So every time I gig, my tone basically ranges from being damn good (at the very worst) ... all the way up through inspiring, earth-moving, mind-blowing, i.e., I am now that guy whose sound I used to lust over. (Still no kidding ... and I'm pretty proud of it, as it has taken me a very long time to get here.)

This is especially important because now there are no excuses. The proper guitar rig has been built, and the sounds I want are there. Now all I need to do is play good music and put on a good show. No more tweaking and knob twiddling. No more worrying about whether or not the tone is right, because it's always there. Now ... I get to focus all of my energy on just one thing: PLAYING my guitar. I have long maintained for myself that this is the purpose of gear in its essence: to provide the least amount of limitation to the user's self-expression. When you have the right rig and the right sounds, there are no excuses left. If you play a good show, you get all the credit ... same goes for a bad night.

Doc

Great post Doc!

[Donner]

Well for me the best rig is the most appropriate rig...

everything is optional and context is everything.....

And Doc hit on something thats very true - once you are playing mic'd into the PA, your mic/soundman/PA becomes much more important than your guitar rig.... its what the audience hears that counts ....


that said one of the most memorable guitar rigs soundwise for me was Bruce Cockburns - he had a tall rack of everything behind him and sitting on top of it at head level was a little Supro amp with a mic on it - I think he was running variations of mic'd supro into digital reverbs and images..... and hes always had a killer sound guy.......


but yeah 'appropriate' is the word for me - the best sounding rig is the one that souds best

[DocRock]

Well for me the best rig is the most appropriate rig...

everything is optional and context is everything.....

And Doc hit on something thats very true - once you are playing mic'd into the PA, your mic/soundman/PA becomes much more important than your guitar rig.... its what the audience hears that counts ....


but yeah 'appropriate' is the word for me - the best sounding rig is the one that souds best

+100000000000

[mrpicard]

I was in a big hall in Melbourne, Australia. B.B. King stepped up on stage and played the first note, he held it and then vibrated it. I have never heard a more amazing note before or since. Simply unbelievable. Does B.B. King need a rig?

[DocRock]

Tone is in the hands for sure, but great gear can and does help.

As I think I read once from Donner, "It's the magician, not the wand." -- Or something to that effect.

[soli'd]

Well, Matt, you're obviously a Crowes fan...
I'd have to say best tone I've heard coming from the stage (small club) was Marc Ford, just playing a tele and an LP thru a Schreyer Audio 1x12, with a Sunlion and a Clyde wah.

[bjf-crazy]

The most unreal tone i ever heard was a Dutch boy playing a Marshall head & 4x12 cab,with a phaser,flanger,echoplex.........But after watching closely, in the end ..........it was his magical fingers...