Stereo love

I've had a stereo rig ever since I got my first ADA MP-1 in early 93. The first chance I got to hook it up in stereo was when we were rehearsing at my house, and I found myself looking at 3 Marshall half stacks in the living room, my JCM 900, a Plexi Super Lead, & a JCM 800. All 3 combinations were HEAVENLY! Went to Mesa Boogie rack gear shortly after that. Nothing like stereo.
 
I've had a stereo rig ever since I got my first ADA MP-1 in early 93. The first chance I got to hook it up in stereo was when we were rehearsing at my house, and I found myself looking at 3 Marshall half stacks in the living room, my JCM 900, a Plexi Super Lead, & a JCM 800. All 3 combinations were HEAVENLY! Went to Mesa Boogie rack gear shortly after that. Nothing like stereo.
In the late 80s my rig was an MP-1 -> Digitech DSP 128+ -> QSC Poweramp (300W stereo I think) -> Two ADA 2x12 split cabs. It was SOOOO good. I loved having MIDI control, but playing leads with stereo delay (and also using that chorus) was life changing.
 
In the late 80s my rig was an MP-1 -> Digitech DSP 128+ -> QSC Poweramp (300W stereo I think) -> Two ADA 2x12 split cabs. It was SOOOO good. I loved having MIDI control, but playing leads with stereo delay (and also using that chorus) was life changing.

I swear I tried jamming with you a few times, and eventually had to bail. ;)

Seriously, I recall that era when everyone with enough disposable income
went "stereo." OMG the overkill!!! :)

My buddy with a better day job than I at the time did the entire MosValve/ADA/Split stack
thing and already had a penchant for playing loud. It made me feel murderous intent at the
time. For real! I was like "All I hear is your EGO blaring out your speakers, dude!"

I never played with him again. True story. :)
 
I swear I tried jamming with you a few times, and eventually had to bail. ;)

Seriously, I recall that era when everyone with enough disposable income
went "stereo." OMG the overkill!!! :)

My buddy with a better day job than I at the time did the entire MosValve/ADA/Split stack
thing and already had a penchant for playing loud. It made me feel murderous intent at the
time. For real! I was like "All I hear is your EGO blaring out your speakers, dude!"

I never played with him again. True story. :)
I wouldn't blame you one bit. As you say, the overkill was very real. I used to play a club that had a fucking huge flight of stairs at the entrance. It didn't take me long to get tired of that shit and it was WAY overpowered for what most situations needed.

Actually, ended up ditching the power amp and cabs, running directly into the effects return of a Peavey Bandit (yeah, I know). I had finallyu discovered the power of a mic'd amp through a PA. I did miss the stereo though.

For the record, I am one of those few guitarists who will constantly think I am too loud and usually have other people tell me I need to come up. It drives me crazy playing with guitarists who bump their volume knob after every song. I recently bailed on a band where I was the lead guitarist and the rhythm player was one of these guys. If I wanted to hear what I was doing, we'd end up at ear splitting levels.
 
I wouldn't blame you one bit. As you say, the overkill was very real. I used to play a club that had a fucking huge flight of stairs at the entrance. It didn't take me long to get tired of that shit and it was WAY overpowered for what most situations needed.

Actually, ended up ditching the power amp and cabs, running directly into the effects return of a Peavey Bandit (yeah, I know). I had finallyu discovered the power of a mic'd amp through a PA. I did miss the stereo though.

For the record, I am one of those few guitarists who will constantly think I am too loud and usually have other people tell me I need to come up. It drives me crazy playing with guitarists who bump their volume knob after every song. I recently bailed on a band where I was the lead guitarist and the rhythm player was one of these guys. If I wanted to hear what I was doing, we'd end up at ear splitting levels.

Oh man, I am glad that we can feel each other's pain. ;)

I made a thread here about essentially dealing with the same exact scenario.

I play guitar, and enjoy volume and want to "feel" it, but the song comes first. For me it
always has and always will. I feel like some of the problem stems from those who play, but
when they do they are only listening to their own sound, and are unable to listen to how their
sound fits into the song. Is it making the entire band sound better, or is the band is just a means for
them to wank loudly over.
 
Oh man, I am glad that we can feel each other's pain. ;)

I made a thread here about essentially dealing with the same exact scenario.

I play guitar, and enjoy volume and want to "feel" it, but the song comes first. For me it
always has and always will. I feel like some of the problem stems from those who play, but
when they do they are only listening to their own sound, and are unable to listen to how their
sound fits into the song. Is it making the entire band sound better, or is the band is just a means for
them to wank loudly over.
My HS band director used to pound that concept in our heads! We used to joke about how much of a nerd he was, but I took that advice with me into everything I did musically thereafter. It's so important!
 
Freakin' volume wars, y'all.

I reached a point, playing and auditioning and being auditioned, where I started caring more about my hearing than decorum or anyone's ego. If I felt volume was getting out of hand I'd halt everything. I'd give a quick explanation of what it means to jam without monitors. It means you will not get your own "me me me" mix, so everyone must compromise. I'd ask the drummer to play as loud as he will when the adrenaline is rushing, add in each instrument and make everybody agree they could hear them until we had a tolerable level. Suprisingly, that usually worked. If it didn't I was done anyway.

This topic, playing in stereo live, is one of my favoritves due to my own personal journey from an amp, to a stereo rack rig, to two-amp rigs, to today. It's also very germane to the FM3 "vs." FXIII topic for the obvious reason. I had to go back into the bedroom closet and hunt for pictures to scan. I found the stuff I needed, so I'm gonna come back to this thread and drop a big, old-fashioned effort-post about the subject. It will be way too long! :tongueout:
 
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