What's your backup amp ?

Japster

Japster

Inspired
My AxeFX II and MFC have gone back to G66 for repair :cry
Screen flickering, Fan noisy and MFC - AXE Cat5 connection dead

I chose this weekend to send it back because I had no gigs booked........ then the inevitable happened :nightmare: a gig came in for tonight

I've got a Mesa MKIV combo but I've never gigged it, or I've got the option of borrowing a Marshall head. Its been a long time since I've used the proverbial half stack :D

What would you do ?

Play mostly rock and hard rock
 
I'd use your Mesa; it's your amp, so you should be familiar with it, more predictable, etc for using tonight. I still have my Mark IV head and it's still a great sounding amp!
 
Don't have one.. would [unfortunately] have to gig with my GT10. :disgust:
 
I have a pod xt live that I have never gigged... It's not even setup in a favorable configuration for gigs. I also have a single channel Jet City 20w amp.

The one time the axe did go down, I used my wife's axe ultra (that still has my presets on it) and she used a DI box for bass. Didn't have a controller setup for it, but it was good enough to limp through the gig.
 
I still have my Mark IV (and likely always will), but I generally didn't use it for gigging, instead using my Mesa F-50. I went with a double-redundancy route:

- Axe-FX (Ultra at the time, now a II) - Out 1 to FOH, Out 2 to F-50
- Mesa F-50 head (Axe-FX into FX return) - Provided stage amplification and backup preamp if Axe failed
- G-Major - Backup for effects if needed

This way, if the Axe failed, I could run the F-50 & G-Major & mic my cab. If the F-50 failed, I could just have them pipe FOH louder in my monitor mix.

Obviously this setup wouldn't provide as much backup if only vocals were going through a P.A., but with a FOH setup it gave me peace of mind.

EDIT: I still have my Ultra, so if I were gigging currently I'd likely use that instead of the G-Major. Would be a bit more work to keep it in sync with the II, but would be more useful as a backup.
 
You're selling that, aren't you? The Character Series are surprisingly good. The speaker simulation is very real.

I'm hoping that an Axe FX Floor will eventually be my backup. (What a backup that would be, huh?!)

Scott Peterson said:
Currently I carry a Tech 21 "British" character pedal (have had it for years and years now) as my backup. I've used it once out of curiosity at a soundcheck. It'd work.
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pima1234 said:
You're selling that, aren't you? The Character Series are surprisingly good. The speaker simulation is very real.

I'm hoping that an Axe FX Floor will eventually be my backup. (What a backup that would be, huh?!)
Click to expand...

I've toyed with selling it (tried a Zoom G3, etc) but haven't ever done so.

We'll see what the future offers. One thing I'm not privy to is what Fractal has planned in terms of new products, etc.. Here's hoping they do make an AFX Floor!! Soon!
 
For me you can't beat the positive grid stuff as a backup. I always have my ipad and the dongle is tiny. Workable tones in a small package. Having said that, I hope I never have to go that route.
 
a second axe fx II.

being the lazy procrastinator that i am, i never got around to selling my axe fx ultra once i bought my II. someone had a II up for trade and was looking for an ultra plus cash; and the rest as they say, is history.

honestly, i hope that technology advances so fast that traditional rigs become impractical to gig with. it's still fun to own a power amp and 4 cabs, but the thought of a next-gen FAS box the size of a big-muff and about ten times more accurate at modeling... doesn't seem as far-fetched as it did 15 years ago.
 
I always bring a ZOOM G3 as a backup.. but my main backup lately is my keyboard players's AXE II!,probably never get to use it, but my patches are on it ready to go :)
 
I'm using a Fender Mustang Floor now. It pales drastically in comparison. But, it will get through the gig.

I've used the Mustang II amp for some pit shows, where it's typically very cramped. But I could have never gotten through a run of Jesus Christ Superstar without the Axe, and thankfully I was able to find room on the stage. I was the only guitarist, and had to cover a variety of electric sounds, acoustic, and synth.

I do still have a Tech 21 Leeds Character pedal and Hot Plexi, but I will sell them.
 
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