LEFT: A Line 6 James
Tyler Variax and two
Mesa/Boogie Dual
Rectifiers going
through
a pair of
2x12 Mesa Rectifier
cabs loaded with Celestion
Vintage 30s.
RIGHT: A travelfriendly
Line 6 M9
rests against a Mesa/
Boogie Big Foot
footswitch
that provides
channel switching
and solo boosts.
“I didn’t play well because
my guitar setup felt
weird.” “I was having an off
night because the rental amp
didn’t sound good.” I hear these
excuses far too often. As a player,
it’s your responsibility to be
on top of your gear, and in the
professional world, it’s
crucial
to know how to deal with such
issues. Like it or not, it is up
to you to know how to get the
most out of any guitar or amp
you come across. The two most
common brands of amps I find
on stages full of backline gear
are Fenders and Mesa/Boogies.
Lets begin with some tips on
settings for these amps.
The first thing I do on a
Dual Rectifier is turn off the
bass on my rhythm channel.
The majority of the gigs I do
require a crunch sound that has
a little bit of dirt on the attack
and a clean bloom. Removing
the bass allows this to happen
on a Dual Rectifier because
the low-end rumble is dialed
out. Next, I dedicate a separate
channel on the Dual Rectifier
for solos. Unlike the rhythm
channel, I add a considerable
amount of bass for lead sounds.
Solos involve a lot of single-note
phrases, so the bass adds
support and body to the tone.
On Fender amps, especially
blackface and silverface models,
the first thing I do is turn
off the treble and the bright
switch. From there, I will add
treble back in, little by little as
needed. Taking the treble out of
the equation and pushing the
volume makes blackfaces break
up in an organic way. Blackface
and silverface Fenders can be
bright to begin with, so turning
off the treble is not as radical a
move as you might think.
With other amps I’m less
familiar with, I’ll start with
everything at 9 o’clock, except
the master volume, which I usually
run pretty hot. From there,
I’ll give each knob a full sweep
and listen for the evenness of
the tone pots. I look for the
spot where the knob really kicks
in and evaluate where it stops
making a difference. A lot of
tone pots don’t sound very different
beyond a certain point. If
an amp is still lacking a needed
frequency, I’ll turn to my Line 6
M9 to beef up the tone.
Because it has every sound I
would ever need on a commercial
gig, the M9 is great for “fly dates”
and situations where I don’t have
my own amp. Plus it easily fits
in my backpack—a real benefit.
Sometimes I’ll use the M9’s EQ
in the amp’s effects loop if an
amp is missing a vital frequency.
Using the effects loop puts the
M9’s EQ after the preamp tubes
in the signal path, so you can
make tonal tweaks before you hit
the amp’s power section.
Another Line 6 product that
makes fly dates much easier is the
James Tyler Variax. If you’re in a
band that uses a lot of different
tunings and sounds, you need to
check out this guitar. The Variax
comes in handy because pretty
much everything I’d ever need
sonically is loaded in the guitar. A
few years ago, I used to fly with
two electrics, a banjo, an acoustic,
and a pedalboard. One electric
would be dedicated for standard
tuning and the other would be
tuned a half-step lower to Eb. I
only had to play banjo on one
song and acoustic on a couple
songs. Now, I just take the Variax
and I can make all of those
sounds happen with one instrument
instead of dragging four
cases through the airport.
Another reason I use the
Variax is for its tuning abilities.
The guitar has a rotary wheel
that gives me immediate access
to standard tuning, drop D,
E% standard, open G, baritone
tuning, and several others with
the flick of a switch. The strings
themselves are not changing
tension, but the DSP in the guitar’s
electronics instantly converts
the strings’ amplified pitch
based on the setting I choose.
Because the guitar always
remains in standard tuning, I
don’t have to worry about the
neck flexing and the intonation
getting out of whack. Great!
Many modern electric guitars,
like the Variax and the
PRS Hollowbody series, are
outfitted with piezo pickups
and other forms of acoustic
simulators. Whenever I use an
electric guitar’s piezo pickup or
the Variax’s acoustic settings,
I run the guitar into an A/B
box. This allows me to split
the “acoustic” sounds into a DI
that goes straight through the
PA, and run the electric output
into my amp. Acoustic modeling
typically doesn’t sound very
good through an amp that’s
dialed in for electric tones, so
using an A/B box is a good way
to have the acoustic tones run
down a separate line.
Several companies are making
compact amp heads and direct
digital modelers that sound fantastic.
I recommend a great deal
of research on different types of
gear so you have a couple key
pieces of equipment to help you
get “your sound” in any situation.
Once you have those items
squared away, you can have
peace of mind about your gear
and get back to focusing what’s
most important ... playing!
Paul “TFO” Allen
is a multi-instrumentalist
who has worked with
Big & Rich, Sebastian
Bach, 112, Jake Owen,
Montgomery Gentry,
Larry the Cable Guy,
and many others. He also has his
own project called Ten Finger
Orchestra, and can be reached at
tenfingerorchestra@yahoo.com.