Adventures in stupid guitar rigs

[laxu]

So I was bored at home and had a bright idea.

What if I connect this BluGuitar Amp 1 Mercury Edition:

To this Marshall Acton 1 Bluetooth speaker:

So I plugged the Amp 1 recording out (with analog cab sim) to the aux input on the Marshall.

To my surprise, it actually sounded really good! I have never quite liked the Amp 1 recording out into headphones, but plugging it into something else like an audio interface or in this case, a freakin' Bluetooth speakers, it can actually sound good!

It was actually a really good home rig where it doesn't get very loud, but loud enough to be fun. I did pretty much crank both devices to do this tho. I spent probably 20 minutes messing around with it because it was fun.

Aside from the Marshall MS-4, this is probably the smallest "Marshall stack" you can have - and an actually good sounding one!

So you heard it here first, the ultimate ""FRFR" speaker" is a Marshall Acton. Step aside Atomic CLR and EV PXM, there's a new sheriff in town!

 

[PLX]

 

[Life Eats Life]

This reminds me of when you smell ACTUAL REAL White Widow…
Good lord NOT that microwaved pushed to the brink of chemical’ized gross’ness cannabis of today
Radiation rocks…
WW’s so loud..no need to ask anyone to partake..
They will come…HUNGRY.

 

[laxu]

Another epiphany: You know what else has a TRS output setup on my rig? The Strymon Iridium!

So today's rig is even smaller: Strymon Iridium -> Y-cable to TRS -> Marshall Acton.

And even that sounded really good! Like this would probably be on par with something like a Yamaha THR10 or Boss Katana Air, give or take.

I decided to also measure the output volume. Setup a driven Marshall type tone with my G&L Legacy Strat, then cranked the volume on both devices. My decibel meter measured about 90-92 dB @ 1m. That's not too bad for a little BT speaker running on a battery. I'd need to try if connecting it to power gives it more oomph.

I got to say the looks on the little Marshall are everything though. On a psychological level, I'm probably thinking I'm playing through a real amp just by seeing a Marshall looking thing on my desk.

 

[FuzzyAce]

You know what would be fun... record all of it then reamp it out into a real marshall full stack. Have a load box/IR loader off the Marshall piped back into your DAW. Repeat as necessary.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Marshall is not a speaker, it's a lifestyle™

 

[norminal]

This reminds me of when you smell ACTUAL REAL White Widow…
Good lord NOT that microwaved pushed to the brink of chemical’ized gross’ness cannabis of today
Radiation rocks…
WW’s so loud..no need to ask anyone to partake..
They will come…HUNGRY.

Yeah, the market is flooded with garbage cannabis. People need to learn that it’s not all about the percentage of THC. The entire spectrum of cannabinoids is more important. And don’t get me started on the overuse of chemicals and lack of proper flushing. Yuck.

 

[Desertdweller]

My prediction for where this thread is going:

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Meanwhile,

 

[Devin]

Playing guitar through headphones always sucks for me no matter the unit

I've done similar things to this using the aux in of my THR10's with good results

 

[JiveTurkey]

Playing guitar through headphones always sucks for me no matter the unit

I've done similar things to this using the aux in of my THR10's with good results

I see headphone threads where people are spending $100s of dollars on things and I am torn. I get it so much as "hey; this is all I can do so I need something that kicks the most a$$ as Possible" but I don't get it because, well; headphones

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

Slate‘s VSX completely changed my mind about playing guitar through headphones (as well as spending a lot of money for them).

 

[JiveTurkey]

Slate‘s VSX completely changed my mind about playing guitar through headphones (as well as spending a lot of money for them).

I've heard good things

 

[fretworn]

Slate‘s VSX completely changed my mind about playing guitar through headphones (as well as spending a lot of money for them).

Same for the Ollo Audio w/ unit specific Eq correction curves. Takes +/- 2 dB down to +/- 1 dB.

Now I use them all the time for recording

If I’m alone in the room, we’ll that’s what "FRFR" and big cabs are for.

 

[Life Eats Life]

Marshall is not a speaker, it's a lifestyle™

Marshall is not a speaker..it’s a condom.
A new level of protection for the on stage Maverick.

 

[Jarick]

Slate‘s VSX completely changed my mind about playing guitar through headphones (as well as spending a lot of money for them).

How useful are all the different room and speaker sims? They have a cheaper version without as many options.

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

How useful are all the different room and speaker sims? They have a cheaper version without as many options.

I mainly use Zuma Far and Archon Mid. Both are available in the more expensive Platinum Edition. However, the Steven Mix Room, which is included in the cheaper Essentials Edition, is also pretty great!

 

[laxu]

I see headphone threads where people are spending $100s of dollars on things and I am torn. I get it so much as "hey; this is all I can do so I need something that kicks the most a$$ as Possible" but I don't get it because, well; headphones

It's never as good as playing through some real speakers, but good headphones can still work pretty well. It's just really hard to figure out what works without trying some different ones.

 

[Bruce]

How useful are all the different room and speaker sims? They have a cheaper version without as many options.

Plenty useful if you’re at the point where you want to make mix comparisons. Otherwise, you already have plenty to get great results.

 

[Jarick]

Plenty useful if you’re at the point where you want to make mix comparisons. Otherwise, you already have plenty to get great results.

Yeah I'm more curious from the speaker modeler side. I don't like closed back headphones anymore due to the tinnitus. Super happy with the HD600's and 650's.