 :: Around the beginning of 2005, I was wondering about doing solo gigs, but it got pushed to one side with other projects that I was working on..
Solo ? Me ? oh-My-Oh!.. :: However, two years on in 2007 I felt I was ready to get started on this solo project. It looked fun and other musicians were doing it real well, notably Mick West. :: So I worked towards shaping a new rig.. its taken me months of serious planning and getting things custom made, to get the best sound possible.. It's quite a simple set-up that consists of a custom made mixing system, and a split treble/bass configuration. Dont Cross the Streams.. I'm using a crossover system to split the treble and bass separately, and I'm running in Mono. It means that wherever anyone stands, no matter if the'yre right close to a treble speaker on the left side, for example, they'll hear a full bass/treble mix. It works well because no matter where I place the bass speaker in the room it sounds the same.. bass is bass, its the treble that humans are sensitive to I guess ! Humming Along...  :: Backing wise, I use Mp3 backing tracks, put into the key thats suitable for my voice ( yes I sing now ! ) this then goes into an isolating transformer to get rid of any hum/ground loops. Special thanks goes to Richard Clayton - www.nextec.co.uk - for his invaluable assistance on tech stuff..
::A regular headphone out to the hum reducer then goes into the mixer. I've tried USB sound cards but they give off too much noise.. It's an ongoing thing but for now the headphones out works just fine.. In It All Goes...  :: Then My Jmp-1/Jfx-1 goes from the speaker emulated outs ( Left side - Mono again ) to another input on the digital mixer..
:: The Mixer is an Alesis MultiFx 6. A low noise, Digital Mixer thats one of the best I've found. This mixes the Vocals, Shure 'SM58 mic, Guitar, and Backing.. :: Because I run an electro-acoustic into one channel, and the electric rig into another I did try using one of my (in)-famous "A/B boxes" but instead got hold of a Boss tuner pedal.. this runs from the headphones out of the mixer, so whatever im playing itll tune it. Complicated Stuff...  :: Next, a LEFT OUT of the Mixers MAIN MIX OUTPUTS splits into one side for treble ( high pass filter capacitor ) and another that just does the BASS ( again using a Cap. to bleed only bass )..
:: Each of these then goes to a separate power amp, studio quality speakers handle the treble, and a 300W 12" Sub-woofer for the BASS.. :: Speaker wise, I'm using a Sub-Woofer cabinet for the Bass, and two 100Watt Behringer Monitors for the treble. As they dont handle bass very well, these get used for just the treble... :: I'm very happy with this set-up and as afore-mentioned have recently added an Electro-Acoustic to the party. But that may take some getting used to !! Great fun though... :: To watch some videos of this set-up in action click HERE :: Full Videos and Images coming soon.. if you go to the gig guide you can find out when I'm playing! now theres a thought. Copy cat.. :: Its really not rocket science getting a rig like this together and it keeps getting smaller all the time, but I've always been keen to stress that you need to know your gear inside out and back-ways.. ::Heres a list of the Equipment I use, you can find most of it on eBay or using google... :: Alesis MultiMix6 FX Digital Mixer - :: Laptop / Apple iPod - any laptop or iPod that can play MP3's and is reliable. :: Laptop Audio Cleaner - :: Warrior 300 Power amp - :: Behringer 1C Studio monitors - :: Proel PA stands - :: Shure Sm58 Beta Mic's - :: Marshall Jmp-1 + DRP-1 Pre-amps - The DRP-1 is a new addition and its awesome. :: Boss Dt-2 Tuner :: Jim Dunlop Wah
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