What has been your best rig?

shaunm

Whats been your best sounding rig and do you still own that set up? 

Im at a point now where I believe what I am currently using is my best sounding set up. 

Guitars: Epi Sheraton (BKP Queens) 

Pedals: Analogman Sunlion, Xotic AC Booster, Juansolo Mestro Phaser, DD3 

Amp: MJW 5e3 Bantam 2x10 Combo.

All in all its not a glamorous set up in comparison to some of the rigs you guys use but to my ears it sounds amazing. Tonight I've come away from my practice extremely pleased that I am getting somewhere near to what I want. 

meltedbuzzbox

I dont drive a truck or work in oil...

sw67

Guitars - St Blues Juke Joint / Fender Strat

Pedals - Keeley mag echo , Kelley boss tr2 , ehx pitch fork , Juan solo fuzz , tc spark boost

Amp - MJW Roadster 18

octatonic

Guitar: Anderson Classic strat HSS, CAA PT50, Fractal FX8
Bass: Musicman Stingray 4, Markbass CMD121, Fractal FX8

shaunm

meltedbuzzbox said:

I dont drive a truck or work in oil...

Naturally, 

i did wonder if my terminology would be too American but then thought........ Whatever 

earwighoney

1969 Gibson SG Junior & 1968 Marshall JMP 50

Bucket

Strat or Tokai PRS-alike
Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25 or Fender Deluxe Reverb
Dunlop Crybaby 535Q - Mooer Yellow Comp - Nobels ODR-1 - Maxon OD808X - Rainger Son of Freakenstein - MXR Micro Chorus - TC Flashback

That's my current rig... definitely the best I've ever sounded. There's very little to choose between the two guitars, it just depends what sound I'm after, but those are my two go-tos. As for the amp... the Fender gets used for gigging more and is my main amp at home because it's easier to get a low volume out of... but the Mesa is definitely my favourite, when I can use it.

IvisonGuitars

A CS '59 Esquire and a Matchless HC30 head and 4x10 and a dual
amp set up of a Lazy J20 & Lazy J40 cranked with a '56 TV Special were two gigs where I remember stopping and thinking 'fuck me, what a sound'!

And in the next breath I thought "...but how much did it cost you, you dickhead??"....

richardhomer

1963 Fiesta Red Strat into a Music Man 65 watt 4x10 combo.

And sadly - no - I don't own them anymore.

impmann

Piper Alpha

Gassage

@Chalky will undoubtedly claim Brexit as his best rig.

Kebabkid

Current one (s):-

Guitar Rig:
Divided by 13 JRT 9/15 Head
Tone Tubby 2x12 cab with Tone Tubby Red & Green H-bomb combo (Alnico & Ceramic) speakers.
Fender customised Strat (Fralins, Callagham).
Pedals: Pedaltrain JR, GigRig Generator, Keeley comp, Keeley modded TS-808, Xotic EP, OCD V.4, Hermida Unimos, Catalinbread Serrano Picoso boost, Zoom CDR-70 and TC Flashback.

Acoustic Rig:
Taylor Big Baby with a Fishman Rare Earth Pickup
Roland Micro Cube (for Preamp and Reverb)
Orchid Electronics Micro DI Box

Bass Rig:
Sire S7 Marcus Miller Bass
Gallien Krueger MS200 Head
Gallien Krueger Neo cabs X2
Zoom B1Xon

I do miss my 90s stereo midi rack though (ADA MP1, Rocktron etc and that was a great-sounding and versatile rig but the Divided is the best!

Gassage

So difficult - but happy with the current behemoth set up.

However, I am gonna use this for a gig I actually have (yess!) soon.

The Benado multi fx, the Violetta delay and the Deluxe. What more can one want?

Sassafras

MatthewShreddery

Ibanez AF200 straight into a vox ac10

digitalscream

My best rig is my current one - 2 x Jaden Rose Teles, Victory Kraken, Matrix NL212 and an Eventide Timefactor, Boo Boost, Mooer Ninety Orange, mostly controlled by a Peak MIDI controller.

Sounds almost exactly right (although I still have a hankering for a Bogner Ecstasy Red-based build), easy to control and even easier to lug around.

In fact, I can't think of any rig I've had which wasn't my best up to that point, except once when I went backwards with the Eleven Rack based live rig from the Jet City stuff.

Sassafras

The "rig" I've settled on after years of experimentation is:
Orange Squeezer-Boss OD2-Pork Loin-Fat Sandwich-Tech 21 Reverb-Hardwire DL8 (rarely used)-AMT F1 preamp. Sometimes I'll stick a Fuzz Face or a Fuzz Factory in front if I need it.
I'm not too bothered about the amp as long as I can get a good clean sound from it (that's what the AMT's for in case the amp's too dark).

RandallFlagg

My current rig:

2016 Gibson Custom Shop R8
Victory V40 & 1x12 cab
J Rockett Archer

daveyh

Ibanez RG560 with EMG SA/SA/85 pups into Marshall 2555 black Jubilee with Marshall 4x12,  only pedal was a RAT and occasional Boss Reverb and MXR Phase 90.

Voxman

That's actually a difficult one to answer, because I'm an oldie and half the problem is remembering all the gear I used to have and use, and trusting my memory as to how it sounded.

When I had amps like a Vox AC30, Marshall JCM800, Plexi, JTM45, Fender Blackface/Silverface etc etc I was less knowledge and experienced of gear (i.e. how to get the best from it), there were lesser pedal options available, reverb tended to be from the amp only (if fitted), many amps had no master volume so weren't 'friendly' at lower volumes, and (only having one or at most two guitars back in those days), means its hard to compare with current experience.  

For example if I remember a set-up sounding great 40 years ago, would I still think so today?  We all have a tendency to have rose-tinted memories.  Years ago, the amps I listed were 'the norm' whereas today they are viewed as 'vintage' and the holy grail - so that 'shift' could 'affect' what I remember too!  Also, the music (and volume) I played changed considerably over time (hence why I changed rigs a lot!).  

So, I'll probably stick with more recent gear over the last 10 years or so when mostly I've played in covers bands where I need a wide range of different tones.  Currently I have 5 amps, 6 electric guitars (that I regularly gig with - couple of other guitars are kept at home re collectible, rarity etc), a conventional pedal board, and 3 MFX units.  Nowadays, I use a Vox Tonelab SE or LE either straight into the PA or through the clean channel (front end) of an amp.    Prior to obtaining these, depending on size of venue/music type I'd sometimes use a 'straight' valve/hybrid amp with a conventional pedal board.  Current amps: Laney VC30-210 plus 1x12 extn cab, Laney Cub12R (with Vintage 30 speaker), Marshall JCM2000 DSL401, Marshall Valvestate 8080 Mk1.

But my main, best gigging rig from 12+ years ago (which I still have) is my Vox Valvetronix AD120VTX (stereo hybrid, digital modelling plus valves) with 2x12 AD212 extn cab, VC12 floor controller, and mini-pedalboard in the FX loop comprising 7-band EQ, and BBE Sonic Maximiser and Boosta Grande.  Without doubt this rig was the most versatile and (overall) one of the best sounding rigs I've ever had.  The only reason I switched over to the Tonelabs was because of weight 9I now have a bad back) and set-up/dismantling time.  

I know (especially on this forum) that this sounds like sacrilege/heresy to nominate a modelling rig, but it's the rig I most enjoyed using because I could pretty much get all the tones I wanted from one amp & I needed no external effects.  I'm not suggesting that the modelling matches the real thing (and remember, I owned many of the amps modelled at one time or another), but its damned good and close enough.  One of the reasons I kept selling amps was because I was never totally happy with my older rigs.  They could be great at a specific sound (mostly it had to be at high volume) but lacking at another.  E.g. I loved the Fender clean tones, but they couldn't give a Marshall crunch & vice-a versa.  The AC30 (original 6-input, no Master Volume) was quite idiosyncratic, with great cleans but only over-drove when maxed out to ridiculous volumes that for the most part wasn't usable. And back then, as I mentioned earlier, you didn't have the pedals (eg Marshall in a box) that you have now.  

So, my Valvetronix rig is the one that did it for me, either with my Strats or Les Paul, and that's all I can tell you. 

strtdv

Best was 52 Hot Rod Tele into my Laney Lionheart head & cab, with a Soul Food as a clean boost, EMMA Stinkbug as a light drive and OCD as more drive if needed, and my EHX DMM.
Still using the same setup, the EMMA is pretty recent but the basic sound hasn't really changed in nearly 10 years.
I'm waiting see if the MJW I have on order will topple the Laney from its position