Guitar gear changes in 2023
I’ve made a major change to my guitar gear, lately. This is the first major change in several years, and I’m really stoked on it.
Over the past several years, I’ve been using modeling amps and going direct. I used Kemper for three years, until I switched to Helix, and I’ve been using it about two or three years. I like to keep things compact, so my pedalboard was just the Kemper Profiler Remote or, after the Helix switch, I gravitated toward the HX Stomp XL.
As for amp profiles or models, I used a Twin Reverb profile in Kemper, and the ‘Mail Order Twin’ model in Helix. These have worked out great for me. In real life, I like big clean Fender amps, too. I had a Fender Custom Shop Dual Professional that I seldom gigged because it was way too heavy.
I’ve sold the Dual Pro and the Kempers (I had the power rack and the lunchbox), and I’ve donated my HX Stomps to my church (I had the XL and two compacts—one on each pedalboard), so that our guitar players have access to all those incredible tones.
I may never use real amps again. If I do, though, I think I’ll get the Suhr Bella Reverb. It’s probably the best Twin Reverb-style amp I’ve played through recently. But for me, for where I’m playing, modeling amps are best.
My IRL pedalboard has really never changed. I am always trying to do the John Mayer/ Dead & Co./ Jerry thing. I used to have a real Klon, vintage Tube Screamer, and vintage analog delay. Now I have a JHS Klon Replica, a JHS Bonsai, and a Boss DD-5 Digital Delay with the JHS analog mode, and filter mods).
When I played using the Kemper, I set my effects foot-switches (I, II, III, IV) up like John Mayer’s pedalboard: Klon > Screamer > Aqua Puss > Spring Reverb. Using MBritt Profiles, I had a Twin Reverb amp in various gain-stages, and with a Klon added.
When I played through the HX Stomp XL, I had two extra foot-switches and smarter controls, like snapshots. I set my foot-switches up like this: Kinky Boost (EP Booster) > Minotaur (Klon) > Scream 808 (Tube Screamer) > Vintage Digital (delay) > time snapshot (which stretched my delay and reverb mixes and rates to be longer, for a more ‘ambient’ setting) > Dynamic Hall (short reverb).
These three rigs have worked really well for me, over the past several years. No matter what platform, there’s always a Twin-like amp, always a Klon, always a Tube Screamer, and always a short delay and short reverb. And then, I play a variety of guitars through these.
When I play at church, I’ve found that the John Mayer style setup works just as well. I stretch my delay and reverb times even further, and I set my Klon up as more clean boost than overdrive. Simple adjustments.
But I’m about to make a big, big change in 2023.
I’ll write more about this later, but I’ve been looking at what I call Tier 2 modelers. That’d mean going back to Kemper, or Axe-FX, or upgrading to the full Helix, or trying Quad Cortex.
A couple of days ago, thought, I thought, “Why buy an expensive modeler when I have a MacBook Pro? Why not try a plugin option?
I knew I wanted a standalone, performance-based option, and I knew it needed some smart features for guitarists, like tap tempo and a tuner. I also wanted a modeler that I could use on bass, if I needed to. So, not something that’s guitar-only. I tried Neural DSP’s Archetype Cory Wong app, and it fit the bill perfectly.
It sounds incredible. It’s easy to use. It’s not that expensive. It’s got a transparent drive, a Screamer, a delay that you can tweak the filter on like my modified Boss DD-5… it’s great.
I’m using Wong’s “Jerrry” preset as my starting point. From there, I dialed in all of the effects to my liking. I am using my personal favorite Ownhammer IR pack, which is of an 80s EV speaker in a Boogie-style cabinet. And then I tweaked the global EQ (wide -3dB cut at 400 Hz) to simulate the sag of a power amp. I raised the bass a bit and lowered the presence on the amp. I’m using the Amp Snob, which is a big clean modified Fender/ Dumble-style amp model.
On bass, I’m just using the the “Minneapolis D.I.” preset. I have a P-Bass.
I can’t emphasize it enough: it sounds seriously great. Through my inexpensive Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface, no less.
I’m enjoying the experience so much that I’ve decided to buy a Morningstar MC8 MIDI controller, and mapping it to the eight effects I’m using in Archetype: Cory Wong. My foot-switches will follow that John Mayer sort of lay-out:
A. Big Rig overdrive
B. Tuber overdrive
C. The 4th Position comp
D. Tuner
E. Tap Tempo
F. Delay-y-y in a vintage digital slightly-longer-than-slapback
G. The Wash reverb with a short, springy sound
H. The 80s chorus
Here are a bunch of pics of what I’m talking about! The Kempers and real amps have been sold, the HX Stomp XL which I love was donated to my church, and I’ll be one of the guitarists using it there. I’m keeping my analog pedals: the JHS Klone, Bonsai, DD-5. But I’m going to switch to using Neural DSP’s Archetype: Cory Wong full-time as my primary guitar rig.
