Tag Archives: Spamp

I wish I had a pedal-mobile.

Posted on by Standard Reply

I don’t have a pedal-mobile like the savagely sardonic Pat Finnerty, but I do have some weird mostly cheap pedals. You’ve seen my guitars, you may have heard some of my musical output, but I need to set up a spot to rock again after letting chaos accumulate in my jam space.

A bunch of guitar pedals on the dirty concrete floor.
Pedals-Schmeadals

I posited the following to social media, and AI:

How would you hook up the following components to maximize use/effectiveness of the given equipment for a guitar rig?

The Amps:

  • Gorilla TC-35 (Combo)
  • Fender Blues Jr. (Combo)
  • Positive Grid Spark (Combo)
  • Lil’ Smokey (Combo)
  • Orange Micro Terror (Head)
  • Laney 2×12 (Cab)
  • Yamaha MSR 100 (PA)

The Pedals:

  • D’Addario/Planet Waves PW-CT-04 Tuner
  • Ernie Ball 6185 Wah
  • Quinnamp Dirt & Ernie (Distortion/Boost)
  • The Spamp+ (Amp / Preamp)
  • Ammoon Pock Loop (Looper)
  • LiveWire Solutions ABY1 ABY Box
  • Joyo BAATSIN (Overdrive/Distortion)
  • Crazy Tube Circuits Unobtanium (Overdrive)
  • Mooer E7 Synth
  • DigiTech Trio Band Creator + FS3X Footswitch

Is there a good order to the pedals? Typically I have the Trio going out to the Yamaha PA, and the ABY going into the Micro Terror/Laney and the Blues Jr. Ignoring the Spark & (sadly) the TC-35. I’m not sure which way to order the pedals, though.

Also, do I split the signal early & put different effects to each amp? I have done that with the wah and it sounds neat.

I get that it’s all subjective, but I love to over-think things… so help me do that.

I did ask Perplexity, ChatGPT, & Gemini for advice, and they seem to provide pretty standard stuff that you may see in guitar forums.

From Perplexity:

๐ŸŽธ

To set up your guitar rig effectively, the goal is to optimize signal flow for tonal clarity while integrating the ABY box and DigiTech Trio Band Creator with your PA system. Here’s a structured approach:

Pedal Order Recommendations

  1. Tuner (D’Addario PW-CT-04):
    Place first to ensure a clean signal for accurate tuning136.
  2. Wah (Ernie Ball 6185):
    Follows the tuner, as wah pedals interact best with an unaltered guitar signal135.
  3. Distortion/Boost (Quinnamp Dirt & Ernie):
    Early gain staging preserves dynamic response. Stack with subsequent drives145.
  4. Overdrives (Joyo BAATSIN, Crazy Tube Circuits Unobtanium):
    Order these based on preference (e.g., lower-gain first into higher-gain)146.
  5. Preamp (The Spamp+):
    Acts as a tone-shaping buffer. Place after drives to avoid coloring their response34.
  6. Synth (Mooer E7):
    Position after drives for consistent tracking. Synths can behave unpredictably with distorted signals45.
  7. DigiTech Trio Band Creator:
    Place here to analyze your processed guitar signal. Route its output to the Yamaha PA for bass/drum separation24.
  8. Looper (Ammoon Pock Loop):
    Last in the chain to capture the entire signal, including the Trioโ€™s guitar input. This ensures loops include all effects34.
  9. ABY Box (LiveWire ABY1):
    Split the final signal to your Orange Micro Terror/Laney 2×12 and Fender Blues Jr.2.
    • Enable ground lift/isolation if using both amps simultaneously to avoid hum2.

Amplifier Configuration

  • Orange Micro Terror: Connect to the Laney 2×12 cab (ensure impedance matching).
  • Fender Blues Jr.: Use as a standalone combo.
  • Yamaha PA: Dedicated to the Trioโ€™s band mix for a full stereo/backing track experience24.

Key Considerations

  • Experiment with Drive Order: Test the Joyo BAATSIN and Unobtanium in different sequences (e.g., BAATSIN as a mid-boost into the Unobtaniumโ€™s higher gain)14.
  • Synth Placement: If tracking issues arise, try moving the Mooer E7 earlier (post-wah)5.
  • ABY Ground Noise: Use the LiveWire ABY1โ€™s ground-lift feature if humming occurs2.

This setup balances conventional signal-chain logic with your specific gear, ensuring the Trioโ€™s band tracks and dual-amp rig work cohesively. Always test and tweak to suit your playing style!

Citations:

  1. https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarpedals/comments/w23bgj/my_first_pedals_in_what_order_do_i_put_them/
  2. https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarpedals/comments/18q86t2/aby_with_pedal_boards_and_2_amps/
  3. https://spartanmusic.co.uk/blogs/smblog/12314153-the-essentials-of-setting-up-ordering-your-guitar-pedals
  4. https://www.strymon.net/setting-up-your-effect-signal-chain/
  5. https://www.earthquakerdevices.com/blog-posts/aarons-bass-hole-get-in-line-pedal-order-101
  6. https://articles.boss.info/is-there-a-perfect-pedal-order/
  7. https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/what-is-the-best-pedal-order/
  8. https://catalinbread.com/pages/pedal-order-101
  9. https://www.laney.co.uk/blog/an-easy-guide-to-ampless-guitar-rigs-explained/
  10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmSEigSiXXY
  11. https://articles.boss.info/the-ultimate-guide-to-guitar-effects-pedal-order-and-signal-chain/
  12. https://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.php?t=22000
  13. https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/news/141962/
  14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH9FO1EMIPQ
  15. https://www.radialeng.com/blog/understanding-aby-switchers
  16. https://thejhsshow.com/articles/understanding-pedal-order
  17. https://www.reddit.com/r/GuitarAmps/comments/lqs3c2/trading_orange_micro_terror_and_cab_for_a_blues/
  18. https://www.musiciansfriend.com/effects-pedals
  19. https://www.reddit.com/r/GuitarAmps/comments/11gnatf/how_do_people_setup_multiple_amps/
  20. https://forum.orangeamps.com/viewtopic.php?t=20110

Answer from Perplexity: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/how-would-you-hook-up-the-foll-tU6VWW5dR1eQrF1her2o1g?utm_source=copy_output

๐ŸŽธ

Perplexity would not generate a schematic, but ChatGPT & Gemini did… or they tried. They look cool upon first glance, then get real weird when you zoom in… and they don’t even follow the advice of the chain setup. Clearly there is a disparity between the text generation & the image generation. Some of the pedal representations are really cool though, especially with GhatGPT. I can’t help but wonder where it is stolen from. Guitar mag/website rig rundowns?

Gemini generated pedal schematic.

I dunno when Fender started using orange tolex & separate heads… but the pedals look fancy.

ChatGPT generated pedal schematic.

It clearly used the Dirt & Ernie art for the Unobtanium, but it stole that gorgeous Micro Terror from somewhere… and WTF is a Crazy Tauloc? Sounds like an extra on Star Trek.

Granted, I am generally a plug-in, crank the gain, and keep the volume low kind of player. I don’t so effects much. I would like to monkey around with that I have.

Here is where I solicit your advice in the comments and on social media. ๐Ÿค˜

SPAMP+ :|. ยผ” Stereo to Mono Adapter Cable!

Posted on by Standard Reply

So, remember the SPAMP+? It was a ton of fun. I wrote to ask the SpampMAN if I could get a ยผ” stere-to-mono adapter for the headphone jack to make the headphone jack essentially an “out” for a guitar amp so I could use the Spamp+ as an effect or pre-amp.

Dude is solid, and sent me one! He may include it as an option with future builds! The grilled, chilled, & fried all work as you would expect and sound gorgeous coming through my Blues Jr.

Here I used my New York Pro StarGazer (with GFS Lil’ Killer Rails) into the SPAMP, then my Fender Blues Jr. The tones are still awesome! the volume differences are there, but if you pick one & go that rally shouldn’t be a problem. This is totally cool as a pre-amp effect! There’s no on-off, but I do have an A/B/Y switch that I could maybe use to put it in & out of the loop. At any rate, this is still super fun, and that’s what it’s all about!

I would say this cable is a resounding success!

Check out the Spamp page and Spamp Etsy Shop!

Jamming with the Spamp+ right out of the box.

Posted on by Standard 2

I always forget to post YouTube videos here. Here I am, reminded, and on a New Gear Day!

Got a new fun little toy, and ran it through some paces.

I ran a few of my guitars into the Spamp+ to see what’s up. Check them out: https://spamp.com & https://www.etsy.com/shop/SpampMusic

I dimed the SPICE and HEAT knobs, but left TASTE at 12:00. Why? I always dime all the knobs. I like gain and dirt and punk rock. I ran each guitar through the CHILLED, FRIED, and GRILLED settings.

I like FRIED and GRILLED, but there was a noticeable volume drop with Grilled with all the guitars/pickups. This is a super fun little amp. I may get the normal one to use as a distortion pedal… as I don’t think this headphone out is suitable to run to an amp.

I will eventually get to using a 9V & rocking the headphones. This was plugged into a 9v power supply for the video.

I did test a 9V in it, and it had the same volume drop to GRILLED. Of course I used the oil can guitar in the Spam can amp first.

The guitars…

โถ Bohemian Moonshine ๐ŸŽธ https://www.instagram.com/p/B_gCZ35Dz4_/

โท New York Pro Stargazer ๐ŸŽธ https://wp.me/pwqzc-1qP ๐Ÿค˜ https://www.instagram.com/p/B_OMXvwjDxa/

โธ Indy Custom FlyCaster ๐ŸŽธ https://wp.me/pwqzc-2z4

โน No Name LP Copy ๐ŸŽธ https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Vs6BtDLFv/

โบ Russ Lorenz Shitar ๐ŸŽธ https://wp.me/pwqzc-2AJ

โป BC Rich Dagger ๐ŸŽธ https://www.instagram.com/p/B_QfM3TDnZm/

You can see what kinds of pickups they have and if not just ask me in the comments. You get single coils, humbucker/single split, lipstick, humbuckers, hot rails, and P-90-ish ones. I think the SPAMP+ sounds absolutely killer with the P90’s.

I try not to ruin my guitar/gear videos with talking.

Should I explain things for the 3 of you that watch? Lemme know what you think. Do I need the one that acts as a pedal?

Send me a pedal and I will demo it with all the knobs or almost all the knobs dimed.

Spamp+ Mini Practice/Headphone guitar amplifier.
Spamp+

@ me on teh social medias: