Port City/Axe Fx rig= awesomeness!

jb70

jb70

Experienced
Hey guys,
I’m pretty psyched about my new rig! I’m using the axe fx (for effects) in front of a Port City “Pearl” head and a 1x12 OS Wave cabinet. I’ve had my axe fx for almost 2 years and I’ve tried a bunch of setups (FR enclosures, in front of my old Tone King Meteor II, through the power amp section of a Mesa Boogie Mk 4, etc….) and nothing has come close to the Port City/Axe Fx combo.

My friend Ede Wright gave me the heads up on Daniel’s new head called the “Pearl”. It’s a 50 watt, 6L6, 20 lb. head and sounds big and beautiful on it’s own. It’s a perfect mate for the Axe Fx since it’s made to be loud and clean. It only has 1 channel (volume, treble, mid, bass, and a bright switch) and it sounds amazing paired with the Axe Fx. The 1x12 OS Wave combo sounds HUGE. It really sounds closer to a 2x12 and has a very balanced sound with amazing bass response. I had it loaded with a Jensen Jet Tornado neo speaker and it only weighs about 26 lbs.

I’ve been trying to find a lightweight, versatile, portable rig for a while now- something I can take on any gig (jazz, Motown, funk, hip hop, experimental, etc…) and have it work and I finally found it.

Here are some pics:

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Just to let everyone know that the Pearl will be officially released next week. The website should be updated tomorrow.

Daniel
Port City Amps
 
I have to agree. I heard jb's rig sounds amazing. The port city is like the perfect canvas for the axe to be used as effect unit. Its clean punchy and receives external effects better than any tube head I ever tried and the cab is awesome fills the room with tone.
 
I received a Port City OS1x12 loaded with a V30 from Daniel on Friday and it absolutely smokes. I had been using a FRFR setup but wanted to try something different. I'm running an Ultra and the SLA-2. As the OP said, it really sounds huge, it makes me smile every time I play. The bass response is as good (if not better) than advertised.

I still have some tweaking to do since my patches had been based on having cab sims on, but even then it's not real difficult to tweak for this cab.

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Awesome. I'm about to order a PC 1x12 OS or 2x12 standard. Which would you recommend for low volume practice and occasional smallish gigs?

I'm planning on running my Axe through a VHT 2/50/2. Would you recommend this type of setup or do you much prefer the Port City AMP?

Also, I was thinking of getting the Scumback M75's, have you heard these and do you have any input? How do those Jensen Jet Tornado's sound compared to V30's?

Thx for any input! :D
 
hey quad,
well, the port city 1x12 os sounds as big as a standard 2x12 so i went that direction. the cool thing about the jensen jet tornado is that it's 100 watts and only weighs 4 lbs. it makes the 1x12 os wave so light and portable and would be perfect for smallish gigs (as well as bigger gigs). another cool thing about getting a 1x12 is that you can always get another one for your bigger gigs and spread them out for a HUGE sound. maybe daniel from port city can chime in about the speakers that you were asking about. i'm thinking that if you're mainly going to be playing at home then the v30's should be fine.

i never tried the vht power amp but i did try the axe fx through the power amp section of a mesa boogie mark IV and i much prefer the pearl head. it really depends how you want to use the axe fx. if you want to use the amp sims then i would go with a power amp of some kind. if you want to use the axe fx in front of an amp for effects then i would go with the port city head. i was programming my axe fx today with the port city setup and was getting some amazing tones- everything from totally clean modern jazz sounds to slightly broken up tones a la srv and wayne krantz to all out heavy, distorted sounds a la van halen and metallica.
 
Do you think is really much better than the power amp section of a Mark IV? ... I am using my Axe with a Mark Iv and a FR Beyma speaker ported cab from Boogafunk cabs, and I really doubt I can get it sound better... Maybe the change of speaker has more to do with it than just the power amp.
If it sounds better ooh god.. must be amazing.... cause the way the Mesa sounds with the Axe and the FR I think is perfect plus I have an extra GEQ on the Mark for fine tuning the final mix, I hardly use it cause the patches almost sound cool the way they are on the Axe, but if changing guitars it helps specially when playing live... And I don't switch the power amp sims off, it really sounds better when I leave them on...
 
hey joey,
don't get me wrong- the axe with the power amp section of the mk IV sounded really, really good. i'm sure it sounds even better with your boogafunk cab, but yeah, the port city rig sounds better. there is a depth and clarity that i'm getting with the port city rig that i wasn't hearing with the mk IV setup. i agree with you though- i think it sounds better with the mk IV when you leave the power amp sims on.
 
FYI- Website updated with the Pearl. Also I should mention that I have been successful using amp sims and pedal sims in front of the Pearl. Also if you deemed it necessary you could always run the amp sims into the return of the FX loop. Just a thought.

Daniel
Port City Amps
 
QuadAllegory said:
Awesome. I'm about to order a PC 1x12 OS or 2x12 standard. Which would you recommend for low volume practice and occasional smallish gigs?

I'm planning on running my Axe through a VHT 2/50/2. Would you recommend this type of setup or do you much prefer the Port City AMP?

Also, I was thinking of getting the Scumback M75's, have you heard these and do you have any input? How do those Jensen Jet Tornado's sound compared to V30's?

Thx for any input! :D
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The Scumback speakers sound great in the Wave cabs. To my ears the Jensen Jet's are in a totally different ballbark. The Jet is a much more dynamic speaker..much quicker. It almost reacts like a 10 in speaker. Weird...in a good way though.

Daniel
Port City Amps
 
Hew rig day! Ok....a little background. I used to be the guy with a 12 space rack, multiple amps and cabs. Over the years I have tried to streamline my setup. Here it is. (I am still not sold on the white piping and logo....I just wanted something different.) What you see is:

Port City Pearl Head

3 Space Gator padded rack with Furman power conditioner and Axe Fx Ultra

1x12 OS Wave cabinet loaded with 8 ohm Jensen Blackbird

Auralex Gramma

Pedalboard: Guitar signal to Boss FV-500 Volume Pedal - Vox V847 (True bypass and treble mod.) - Axe Fx - Front of Pearl. Boss tuner fed from volume pedal. (Not in signal.) RJM Mastermind controlling the Axe Fx.

I have not had a set up so small and simple since I was 17. This puts to shame all the other rigs I have ever owned. (And costs a third of the other large rigs!) Also you will notice my new John Mayer sig. Strat. I would love to type more but I feel the need to play. Feel free to ask any questions.

Daniel
Port City Amps

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