Good backup situation if your amp dies?!

ash96

As I'm out a couple of times a week gigging for functions bands, I feel like I should have a backup incase something goes wrong!

Not a spare amp, as its just takes up too much space for what will hopefully not be needed.

Was thinking maybe something like a POD-esque although I was never overly impressed with them in the past. Those 5W Hughes and Kettner heads look pretty tempting as they've got an XLR out.

I DI'd my guitar / pedalboard the other day and it sounded surprisingly good! but would like something a bit better in the long run.

ash96

Also seen the bad monkey pedals have a 'to mixer' output. is that any good?

p90fool

ash96;298979" said:

Also seen the bad monkey pedals have a 'to mixer' output. is that any good?

Not particularly to be honest, you'd be better off with something like a Joyo AC tone as the last pedal in your chain, if that's the route you want to take.

Lew

Acoustic? No, really hah spose thats not as endeering at a function gig. I'd just get a cheap Tiny Terror or something.

Grunfeld

ash96 said:

As I'm out a couple of times a week gigging for functions bands, I feel like I should have a backup in case something goes wrong!

Not a spare amp, as its just takes up too much space for what will hopefully not be needed.

EDIT:  I like the spare amp approach.  For me it has the advantage of simplicity in a stressful, (if not quite "panic", situation).   Just unplug one amp and plug in another; there's no, "what exactly do I do to get up and running?".  

I carry a Micro Terror.  And check it regularly to make sure it still works.  There's not much clean head room but sounding a bit odd is better than not sounding at all.

ecc83

If you have a pedal/line/EM out and need to get an XLR feed to a house mixer a jack to pseudo balanced XLR is beer into water to make. Even better use a cheap transformer.

Dave.

Danny1969

iRig into iPhone if it comes to it. I have GT10 but think I prefer the phone

FreddieVanHalen

Another option for bolting something onto the end of your pedal chain or pre-amp might be the Torpedo Cab?

Maybe a bit expensive/overkill just as a backup though...I quite like Danny's iPhone idea too, could probably get bearable backup tones into the PA from there.

If I'm travelling I often use an iPad or iPhone as a practice amp....

David5150

I always have a POD v2 in the bag just in case, that can be plumbed into the PA if my Kemper dies.

Touch wood it hasn't yet but I have had to use the backup POD once or twice in the past when my JVM gave up the ghost.

Quick tip - it's well worth practicing setting up and switching to the backup rig in rehearsals as the panic factor really sets in when you're up on stage and all you hear is a muted fizzle from your amp. Hitting the singer with a silent mouthed 'my amp is fecked-tell some jokes or talk to the audience' is a classic moment that you don't want spoiled by having to rout through your brain trying to work out how your backup actually works.

Whilst it wasn't full on backup recovery mode yesterday we did an outdoor gig at a football club open day and a bloke dressed up as a screwfix direct catalogue kicked the cables out of my wah pedal so a quick on the fly re-wire was needed. Keeps gigging interesting

ESBlonde

I have one of those Blackstar HTdrive pedals which has a 'simulated speaker' output jack. I tested it into a decent PA once and it was acceptable as a get you through the night option. Monitoring though would be a must (as with all these line out things). If you already have one as a pedal, Bob is your fathers brother as it were.

Jalapeno

ZT Lunchbox, end of !

JohnPerry

Tech 21 character pedals/DI boxes are a perfect backup and reasonably cheap

MDKV

Go for a POD.  Gives you a good range of tones and doesn't take up space.  Worth rehearsing with it once or twice to get used to the different feel and monitoring. 

koneguitarist

I have the Zoom G3X which I am sure I can get a good amp sound out in an emergency!

xSkarloey

Others have already made better suggestions than me, but a lot of the practice amps out there have line outs that are okay. Microcubes for instance. Even the old model which I have sounds okay in an emergency. I'm sure the current model's even better.

vasselmeyer

There are several good answers here. The Joyo AC Tone which does a really good amp simulation is UNBELIEVABLY good value for money at £25 new. A Zoom G3, carefully set up with the right patches and an amp simulator at the end of the chain will get you through almost any kind of gig you care to mention. The little Roland Microcubes can also do a reasonable amp simulation when they're DI'd out.

Trotter

Grunfeld said:

ash96 said:

As I'm out a couple of times a week gigging for functions bands, I feel like I should have a backup in case something goes wrong!

Not a spare amp, as its just takes up too much space for what will hopefully not be needed.

EDIT:  I like the spare amp approach.  For me it has the advantage of simplicity in a stressful, (if not quite "panic", situation).   Just unplug one amp and plug in another; there's no, "what exactly do I do to get up and running?".  

I carry a Micro Terror.  And check it regularly to make sure it still works.  There's not much clean head room but sounding a bit odd is better than not sounding at all.

This all day. For the bigger shows I have an A & B rig incase the worst happens but if travelling light, I always take my micro terror (in it's own little flightcase  ) They sound killer & can be had for next to nothing secondhand, to be fair they were £99 new when I bought mine(!) & it sounds unreal through a good quality cab. 

ash96

Yeah I'm thinking I'll get a micro terror and maybe even an AC Tone as well as they're so super cheap. They're all so small It's not a pain to take around anyway

photek

I currently have one of these as a backup:

http://www.taurus-amp.pl/guitar/stomp-head/classic/sh-1-bl.html

Blooming brilliant thing as it simply replaces my amp head. I had a couple of crate powerblocks but they seem to break too easily.

I liked the emulated out of the Blackstar HT Dual pedal and they are pretty cheap to pick up and seem to work well with the rest of my pedals.

midlifecrisis

I have a micro terror in a video camera case stuffed into the back of my laney vc30. in emergency just plug the combos speakers into the micro, loud enough for me.

Kebabkid

My back up is a Roland Micro Cube. I stick it on the clean Black Panel setting (modelled Fender amp), plug my board in and take a line out to the PA. The  2W speaker cannot put out any sound when connected liked this so I'm reliant on the PA and monitoring.

In fact last Sunday I played a function doing this very thing as I normally plumb in the Micro Cube and use it as a glorified acoustic preamp and fx in addition to my main amp. As I knew most of my playing was going to be rhythm and only required a clean sound, plus stage space was a bit of a premium, I just went with the scaled down version instead and bolstered the EQ at the desk and it worked a treat. This shows I'm getting lazy carrying stuff around but the sound wasn't compromised at all.

Whilst we're here, and OP I don't wish to hijack your thread, but what about having a H&K Red Box or Behringer equivalent handy so you can just plug your board into it and go out to the PA. Does anyone do this? I have a Red Box inbuilt to my H&K TM36 but I've never used it. Or, there's those AMT amp pedals that have speaker simulation. Any good?