Snags
Roadie
- Messages
- 101
I've been gigging a DSL40CR (+ 1x12 cab), which sounds great and works briliantly, and this side of the pond seems close to becoming Marshall's HRD equivalent. However, a combination of age-related issues (carpal tunnel, fucked knees, fucked back etc.) plus a healthy dose of "I want a new shiny" resulted in me deciding that once I'd recovered from the carpal tunnel operations I'd get a pedalboard amp.
So two months before the first op date and two days before a gig, the Ironheart MM Loudpedal arrived.
And I promised I'd be sensible and try it at home, then at rehearsal, before committing it to the board.
So 12 hours later it was on the board, and ultimately off to the gig (spurious justification: it was a tiny venue and it saved on floor space).
[Disclaimer: the board at the time had a CE5 where the SF300 is currently]
It's now done two gigs and a rehearsal, and a bit of home play (volume in photo is home volume, gig volume is roughly 5-6 on each volume dial).
Verdict: it's very good. It's a "proper" analogue amp, not modelling, albeit solid state. It doesn't have quite the visceral joy of the DSL on the gain side, but it's very servicable. And having all the kit and kabooble on one board, with just a speaker and/or DI out is way more convenient, and cuts down on floor space; previously I had the Marshall 6-button switch as well as the Classic Jr.
There's lots of flexibility on board, most of which I haven't explored yet. Two channel, shared EQ, reverb, boost. Channel 1 has toggle options for clipping to switch between genuinely clean to different styles of crunchy. Channel 2 has a bright/normal/dark toggle. FX loop if you want it (I've got the delays/reverbs in it, everything else in the front); XLR DI out with optional cab sims (off, or choice of 2 slots, and you can load your own IRs if you don't like the stock ones). Headphone out and Aux in on the back, as well as USB-C link to a computer. Nominal 60W into 8 ohm. Whole lot is midi controllable, which I could see being super-useful, but I'm looking for a simple life so not going down that rabbit hole. At this point.
Adjustments to the board to accomodate it were: remove volume pedal I never used anyway; remove MojoMojo as it didn't play nice and is redundant given Ch2 sounds; remove Spark Mini boost as redundant anyway.
Only real cons to date are that it seems to lack a little bit of top-end sparkle and easily gets quite bassy, but I'm putting that down to the speakers in the Jet City 2x12 I'm using as much as the amp (although it is a Laney ...), and the fact that Laney already have an Ironheart Loudpedal, so to differentiate this one you have to use a massively long and unweildy name.
I have become an un-person, and put my valves out to pasture. At least temporarily.
So two months before the first op date and two days before a gig, the Ironheart MM Loudpedal arrived.
And I promised I'd be sensible and try it at home, then at rehearsal, before committing it to the board.
So 12 hours later it was on the board, and ultimately off to the gig (spurious justification: it was a tiny venue and it saved on floor space).
[Disclaimer: the board at the time had a CE5 where the SF300 is currently]
It's now done two gigs and a rehearsal, and a bit of home play (volume in photo is home volume, gig volume is roughly 5-6 on each volume dial).
Verdict: it's very good. It's a "proper" analogue amp, not modelling, albeit solid state. It doesn't have quite the visceral joy of the DSL on the gain side, but it's very servicable. And having all the kit and kabooble on one board, with just a speaker and/or DI out is way more convenient, and cuts down on floor space; previously I had the Marshall 6-button switch as well as the Classic Jr.
There's lots of flexibility on board, most of which I haven't explored yet. Two channel, shared EQ, reverb, boost. Channel 1 has toggle options for clipping to switch between genuinely clean to different styles of crunchy. Channel 2 has a bright/normal/dark toggle. FX loop if you want it (I've got the delays/reverbs in it, everything else in the front); XLR DI out with optional cab sims (off, or choice of 2 slots, and you can load your own IRs if you don't like the stock ones). Headphone out and Aux in on the back, as well as USB-C link to a computer. Nominal 60W into 8 ohm. Whole lot is midi controllable, which I could see being super-useful, but I'm looking for a simple life so not going down that rabbit hole. At this point.
Adjustments to the board to accomodate it were: remove volume pedal I never used anyway; remove MojoMojo as it didn't play nice and is redundant given Ch2 sounds; remove Spark Mini boost as redundant anyway.
Only real cons to date are that it seems to lack a little bit of top-end sparkle and easily gets quite bassy, but I'm putting that down to the speakers in the Jet City 2x12 I'm using as much as the amp (although it is a Laney ...), and the fact that Laney already have an Ironheart Loudpedal, so to differentiate this one you have to use a massively long and unweildy name.
I have become an un-person, and put my valves out to pasture. At least temporarily.
