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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jul 27, 2006 22:36:37 GMT -7
We're playing two nights on the road this weekend, so I was thinking I need to take a backup, and I realized, just bring the Stingray AND the Flexi and my A/B/Y! The 'ray sounded great with the 6545 last weekend, so I'm going for it this weekend. The blues gig doesn't need as much clean guitar as the covers gig, but that amp sounds so, SO cool, you never know, maybe it'll transform my whole approach.
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Post by billyguitar on Jul 28, 2006 4:57:28 GMT -7
This ought to tell you a lot about the amp!
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Post by Bill on Jul 28, 2006 6:16:44 GMT -7
Three new Stangray's have landed in Richmond this week, all going to guys I know, and who play primarily rock/blues...so this amp is definitely not limited to only country. Like you say, maybe it'll open up some fresh new approaches & ideas. I have a blues shuffle bt that I plan on recording soon with the Stingray, and will post here. Anyway, have fun with the gigs and please let us know how it went.
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Post by Hohn on Jul 28, 2006 6:19:27 GMT -7
three more days until mine lands....
But who's counting???
ME ME ME
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Post by guitarman1 on Jul 28, 2006 6:29:45 GMT -7
My steady gig is all Blues and the Ray does a great job, although I do use pedals to get some dirt at low volume type gigs. Every time I plug into the Ray, I just smile and think that it doesn't get much better than this.
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Post by hdahs143 on Jul 28, 2006 6:30:22 GMT -7
It will definitely do more than country! It is the most versatile amp I've ever owned. With the right OD pedals, it sounds heavenly. It takes pedals very well, but it will also expose their weaknesses too. I was using the Keeley ts9/bd2 setup. It was great with the MAZ 38, but not as good a match with the Stingray. Then I picked up Lefty's yellow Fulldrive, and I'm happy again. Funny thing is I had a blue Fulldrive that I wasn't thrilled with running into the MAZ. Oh well . Now I know what Jayson Chance meant about his love/hate relationship with the Fulldrive. LIfe is funny....
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Post by billyguitar on Jul 28, 2006 7:08:15 GMT -7
I do jump blues and jazz standards with mine. My Maz 38 wasn't really clean enough and it has a 'rock' edge to it when it does overdrive. Lately I've had notions of selling it. Hard to do that though, it's such a great amp.
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jul 30, 2006 12:02:22 GMT -7
Well it was really an eye opener, I'll tell you... I'm so impressed with the Stingray. Friday night the room was a large hall with hardwood floor and hard walls. The band actually sounded great in there despite appearances. I had used my Flexi last with a lot of bass turned up and the cut turned down. This turned out to be a great complement to the crystal clean and bright top end on the Stingray. I had the most fun running both amps at once - oh man, talk about cutting through. But I tried several times using just the Stingray and it worked great. I was using the high input, volume at noon, cut at about 2 o'clock and tone at about 10 o'clock. Since I was using my Radial JX-2 to switch between amps, I set the boost and used it for a few solos. The Stingray likes that a lot - it sounded great. Of course that's preamp distortion, but as I said, it sounded great. I had the Airbrake on the Stingray set to -4 (two clicks down) and I was running the Hot Plate on my Flexi at -4 (first click) and both amps seemed about the same volume. The Stingray definitely holds its own with the Alnico Blues' efficiency. It was right LOUD! We had so much fun - we hadn't played for three weeks, the drummer had shoulder surgery only a week ago, and we all had to work on Friday before driving two hours to set up for this gig. So I had this sense of foreboding, which turned out to be totally unfounded. We played great, and the folks at the festival were very receptive (sold a load of CD's anyway). Saturday was a bit of a different deal - a new winery out in the middle of the state, and he's trying to get a steady following of wine customers by hosting music on the weekends. He's carved a bit of an amphitheater out of the side of the hill, and built a block stage in the dirt. But you can drive your car right onto the stage if that's what it takes, so setup wasn't bad. I reset the Flexi to my typical settings (less bass, more presence) and used it more on Saturday. I originally got the Stingray because there are a few tunes where I want a loud, clean guitar instead of the crunch I get with my typical Flexi settings. I had discovered that the Stingray gets to about half volume with my guitar volume on 6 rather that the way my Flexi responds (half volume at 5 on guitar volume). Interesting. Anyway, for those tunes where I craved the clean stuff, I just turned on both amps and set my guitar volume to about 7 or 8 - the extra amp adds a lot, and having the guitar volume down a bit cleans up the Flexi just enough - the Stingray is already clean enough for those parts. Worked like a charm and I had another load of fun there. At least, until the wind started - we ended up playing into 30 to 50 MPH wind for two sets... Bottom line: I could take the Stingray out for the blues gigs all by itself no problem. It sounds a bit different, but still an awesome world class tone, and I can get all the drive I need with a boost if I don't like any of the distortion boxes I have here. It's a versatile tool too, in that I can use it with my other amp for that top end sparkle if I want to do things that way (like I did on Friday), or I can use it for those nifty cleans like I did on Saturday night. The only issue I have is deciding how much gear I'm willing to schlep to the gigs - the amp sure is doing its part! I have a few pics that I took but haven't yet had time to glom them out of the camera. I'll post those later on...
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Post by billyguitar on Jul 30, 2006 15:32:22 GMT -7
Cool! I don't do any heavier kind of stuff but I think the Ray sounds great cranked. Too me it could do all I would need! The Rays are just really good amps. I'm going to have to get some better tubes and see if it can get better. We played in a wind recently like that. On breaks it blew over the cymbals twice and even blew the snare dum over once. I've never see that before! I had to weigh down my Manhassett or that would've been a real disaster!
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jul 30, 2006 15:45:21 GMT -7
Our drummer had scouted up some boulders to sit on the leading edge legs of all his stands - looked funny, the whole kit anchored with boulders, but none of that blew over. We did have a speaker stand blow over, but it was just one of the EON's and it came through fine. We use those for monitors (don't ask me why they have them on the stands - keyboardist is daft.. )
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jul 30, 2006 22:37:32 GMT -7
Here are those images I mentioned. First, this one from eye level in front of the stage: This one from above the stage up on the hillside: Kind of embarrasing - they had said they had lights, but when we got there they turned out to be some colored bulbs on a stick... Oh yeah, to keep this on subject, please note the Stingray on the right end of the line of amps there. That '59 bassman sitting there is wasted on harmonica...
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Post by billyguitar on Jul 31, 2006 5:54:12 GMT -7
What a COOL venue!!!!!!! A real '59 for harp? That's a serious harp player. On of the few amps that sounds great for everything. Bulbs on a stick would be adequate but not too hip. Man, I wouldn't dig those monitors in the air. Drilled right in the ear! Also looks bad.
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Post by kc on Jul 31, 2006 10:54:25 GMT -7
Steve,
I don't see any stomp boxes in front of your amps ... are they hidden from view or are you going straight guitar to amp(s)? Scenic place .........
kc
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jul 31, 2006 21:22:51 GMT -7
Steve, I don't see any stomp boxes in front of your amps ... are they hidden from view or are you going straight guitar to amp(s)? Scenic place ......... kc I don't need no stinking stomp boxes... I have a Flexi-50 for the crunchy stuff, and a Stingray for the clean stuff - what would a stomp box add to all that great tone? Truely, I did have one pedal on the floor - the Radial JX-2 A/B/Y so I could switch between and combine the two amps. You want tone heaven - switch on a Flexi and a Stingray, both wide open. YEAH BABY!
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Jul 31, 2006 22:50:43 GMT -7
Cool, a buddy sent this over tonight. Taken Saturday night by John Jacobson at White Heron Cellars near Quincy WA. Note the Stingray right behind me...
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Post by sonicgator on Aug 1, 2006 4:30:04 GMT -7
Steve, is that a PRS sitting next to the Ray?
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Aug 1, 2006 5:31:14 GMT -7
Steve, is that a PRS sitting next to the Ray? Yeah, one of two I own. That one is one of the bolt-neck models, and I had fully intended to yank the pups when I got it. But I tuned it for slide, played out with it one time, and EVERYONE went nutz over it. So I figure, who am I to argue with that? So that's my slide machine now, and it works very well for that.
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Post by Bill on Aug 1, 2006 6:35:09 GMT -7
That is one awesome pic!...should find a place on your website for it. All my band pictures are in some smokey a**, dark & grungy bar.
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tuna
New Member
"Ain't Nothin to it"
Posts: 23
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Post by tuna on Aug 1, 2006 16:36:12 GMT -7
Man , that is on hellava cool looking place to play
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