Post by Deleted on Jul 21, 2013 10:38:25 GMT
Here is a run down of my new live rig, still very much getting to know it all, but used in anger a few time over the last couple of months, mainly for church gigs.
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So we have,
The Rivera is a two channel amp, with simple EQ, feedback fighting facilities, spring reverb and an effects loop round the back. It was bought brand new but at half price from The Guitar Store Online, in Southampton. I'd been eyeing this one up for about 18 months, and I think the manager was trying to get rid of it. This is a fairly esoteric amp. I think its fair to say most acoustic guitarists are not that bothered by amplification, and if they are there are some phenomenal solid state models that are easier to carry around than this one (the Rivera is about 45Lbs I believe!) So the market for this kind of thing is going to be small anyway. Also, most people will tell you that valves colour the sound of an acoustic, the implication being that 'this is bad'! Yes, I think its fair to say that one can detect a certain colouration to the sound of my k&k equipped guitars, but the sound in warmed up in a most beautiful way. When I was into electric guitars for a little while, the accepted view was that you can 'play' the valves in a good guitar amp. And that is what I certainly feel with the Rivera. The sound is organic, 3 dimensional, syrupy, and responds quite superbly to techniques such as harmonics, as well as being dynamically very fast and responsive- the sound of the guitar gains a more orchestral timbre, that also projects wonderfully.
It is, however, not without its quirks! I've already mentioned the weight, and in many ways this amp is totally impractical for me. I'm not going to be carrying this any great distance on the train. It is also fragile. Carry around all that glass in the back of the amp is a sobering thought, and you need to be very careful when chucking into boots and minibuses. I haven't quite worked out the best way to use the EQ yet. I believe the EQ is passive, so does that mean having it on 10 is in effect 'neutral'? It also hums- this is inevitable for a valve amp, but silent it isn't.
I have just bought a cheap (end of the line) EDB 1 preamp so as to be able to run my guitars trough the balanced channel n the amp, and this does make a significant difference.
This is a nice equipped preamp, with some of the most comprehensive EQ controls I've seen on any preamp or amplifier. In many ways this makes it very complicated to use, but the book gives some advice, not least of which is to use your ears to make the final judgements. I was surprised by how small it was when it arrived- those knobs and switches are tiny! As soon as I got it (picking it up at the post office at 7 in the morning) it was immediately used for a big school function when I got to work. I had been having problems with the headway pickup in the Tobin Octave Mandola (ironic that the passive k&k pickups in my guitars are significantly louder than thew active headway). However, immediately on plugging the Tobin into the preamp and then on in to a Tanglewood acoustic amp, the sound was much more dynamic, and much louder (more pleasant even). In my haste I don't think I had set all the gain controls optimally. I did find there was a lot of noise, and at the moment I'm not sure if it is because the preamp is naturally hissy or whether there is a fault. Even with no signal there is noticeable hiss. I need to experiment a little more with the Rivera, and maybe even try running the preamp from batteries rather than the 18V power supply. Its a nice little unit though, with all the functions I could possible want, save perhaps separate EQ for the two channels.
Next up is my Sonic Research Tuner:
This was a bit of an extravagant purchase, made at the same time as buying my amp. However, it is simply one of the best bits of kit I've ever bought. I had, for a long time, wondered whether to get one of the Peterson clip on strobe tuners, but wasn't entirely convinced by some of the criticisms of it. This Sonic Research is as accurate as the Peterson (0.02%), and has some similar features. You can store separate temperaments (not something I've investigated yet). I have, however, taken the opportunity to use the presets on it to store all the tunings that I use. And this tuner really is extremely responsive and very accurate. I have noticed a huge difference in 'intuneness' when using it, especially on the instrument I've always hated tuning, the Tobin Mandola.
So there you have it, and for what its worth. Like I say, not everything about the rig is perfect, so I can't yet say this is my ultimate setup, but as amplification is a necessary evil (even in church these days!) it does do the job reasonably well at the moment, and I look forward to trying it out more and more and getting to know how best to use each part of the signal chain.
Robbie
[/URL]So we have,
- a new Rivera Sedona Lite, 50 watt all valve (EL34) amplifier, with 12 inch speaker and additional tweeter
- a ex demo Headway EDB preamp
- a sonic research strobe tuner
- one of my Brook Tavys
The Rivera is a two channel amp, with simple EQ, feedback fighting facilities, spring reverb and an effects loop round the back. It was bought brand new but at half price from The Guitar Store Online, in Southampton. I'd been eyeing this one up for about 18 months, and I think the manager was trying to get rid of it. This is a fairly esoteric amp. I think its fair to say most acoustic guitarists are not that bothered by amplification, and if they are there are some phenomenal solid state models that are easier to carry around than this one (the Rivera is about 45Lbs I believe!) So the market for this kind of thing is going to be small anyway. Also, most people will tell you that valves colour the sound of an acoustic, the implication being that 'this is bad'! Yes, I think its fair to say that one can detect a certain colouration to the sound of my k&k equipped guitars, but the sound in warmed up in a most beautiful way. When I was into electric guitars for a little while, the accepted view was that you can 'play' the valves in a good guitar amp. And that is what I certainly feel with the Rivera. The sound is organic, 3 dimensional, syrupy, and responds quite superbly to techniques such as harmonics, as well as being dynamically very fast and responsive- the sound of the guitar gains a more orchestral timbre, that also projects wonderfully.
It is, however, not without its quirks! I've already mentioned the weight, and in many ways this amp is totally impractical for me. I'm not going to be carrying this any great distance on the train. It is also fragile. Carry around all that glass in the back of the amp is a sobering thought, and you need to be very careful when chucking into boots and minibuses. I haven't quite worked out the best way to use the EQ yet. I believe the EQ is passive, so does that mean having it on 10 is in effect 'neutral'? It also hums- this is inevitable for a valve amp, but silent it isn't.
I have just bought a cheap (end of the line) EDB 1 preamp so as to be able to run my guitars trough the balanced channel n the amp, and this does make a significant difference.
Next up is my Sonic Research Tuner:
This was a bit of an extravagant purchase, made at the same time as buying my amp. However, it is simply one of the best bits of kit I've ever bought. I had, for a long time, wondered whether to get one of the Peterson clip on strobe tuners, but wasn't entirely convinced by some of the criticisms of it. This Sonic Research is as accurate as the Peterson (0.02%), and has some similar features. You can store separate temperaments (not something I've investigated yet). I have, however, taken the opportunity to use the presets on it to store all the tunings that I use. And this tuner really is extremely responsive and very accurate. I have noticed a huge difference in 'intuneness' when using it, especially on the instrument I've always hated tuning, the Tobin Mandola.
So there you have it, and for what its worth. Like I say, not everything about the rig is perfect, so I can't yet say this is my ultimate setup, but as amplification is a necessary evil (even in church these days!) it does do the job reasonably well at the moment, and I look forward to trying it out more and more and getting to know how best to use each part of the signal chain.
Robbie
Jo whoever he is.
