Thinking of redoing my big rig - thoughts?

[Agileguy]

So my big rig is pretty big. So big that it's just a PITA to take anywhere. My pedalboard is gigantic and weighs 46 pounds:



And my amp is even bigger and weighs I don't even want to know how much:



It is kind of funny that my small rig is a 50W Plexi and a 4x12 though. But this amp is actually bigger than that.

Anyway, I was thinking of selling off some pedals (hence my for sale thread) to downsize the board and trim the excess pedals. Here's what I'm thinking:



This would be my basic board. I'd have a wah pedal, a tuner, a univibe (represented by the Phase 90), three fuzzes (represented by the three fuzzes), my Mesa Flux Five (the empty space in the middle row) and my Timeline and Mobius. They would all be controlled by a midi controller represented by the space on the bottom row. It would control the Strymons as well as the analog pedals except the wah, so I could have presets that turn off or on any combo of pedals I want, as long with activating or deactivating any presets on the Timeline/Mobius that I want.

The switcher I'm looking at (Disaster Area DPC-5) also has an option to control the channel switching of your amp, which gave me another idea. With the profit I make from selling my unused pedals, I could by a channel switching combo amp. I'm looking at a Mesa Stiletto Ace, which is one of my dream amps. It's got a nice clean channel along with a Plexi style dirt channel. So with this amp I could have mesa cleans, Mesa dirt (Mesa flux five into the clean channel), Marshall-esque drive (just the dirt channel) along with fuzz into either channel, and all the delay and modulation I could ever want. I think the midi controller can even control the boost function of the amp as well, so I don't even need a boost pedal. I wouldn't sell the Fender until I had the Mesa and I could compare them back to back to make sure I'm making the right decision in getting rid of the Fender.

I know it looks a bit cramped in the mock up, but I'd get NYC to build me a board with similar dimensions but with just an inch or two of extra length and maybe a bit more width. I love their stuff.

Thoughts?

[Oinkus]

I had a Bassman in the 70s and once ran down the road with it to avoid the police when they raided a party in a house we didn't belong in. Of course I was only carrying the cab and I didn't run very far since I weighed about a buck 20 soaking wet then.Why 3 fuzz pedals? I would keep the Fender and use it for cleans over a Mesa any day of any week. I do like using 2 amps though and don't give a crap about toting way too much shit either. Last jam day it took me almost an hour to pack up and load the car , saw I had 4 freaking guitars in the stack before I went WTF am I doing? I like the plan for the midi control of everything , you aren't doing anything wrong sizing down either. You should just follow your plan and you will be OK.

[Agileguy]

Why three fuzz pedals?

Why NOT three fuzz pedals?

I have four on my board now and I love it. I can stand to get rid of one but not more than one.

[lreese]

He needs a rack...

I'll bet my little 6 space is 70 pounds. That will build up the 'ol back.. Or was it make the back old?

It will split ears with 2 1X12's... Helps that they are EV loaded Thieles.

[Agileguy]

ORRRRR I could get this. Same price as the Mesa... Anybody played a Bober-era Superdrive?

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/msg/5000468326.html

[lreese]

Barney's about to pop out from the back of that amp.

Heard good things about the pre-Peavey Buddas.

[Big Flannel]

Lee misspelled "great".

Great things about pre-peavey Budda amps. The consensus is that they lost a lot of punch after peavey stepped in.

...go figure, right?

[Agileguy]

lol

Yeah that's what I've heard. I'm just not sure I'd like the clean channel as much as the Mesa, and if I want an amp to replace my fender it better have pretty good cleans.

[Big Flannel]

Cleans are only as clean as your mind, daddy-o.

...or something like that. Subtle modulation and compression will make any clean channel great.

[lreese]

If that clean's important to you, then why not use the Fender and get a THD spec 2X12?

You would want a Toob screamer-ish OD behind those fuzz peddles, tho.