[Crazy 9.5 Fingers]

Greetings all,

I have played in numerous bands over the years and have been considering reducing the size of my current rig as I am getting a little tired of carrying the stuff around. I run a Boogie Mark IV combo in a flight case, and a pedal board. It isn't too much stuff but I am no longer the strapping young buck I was. Still strapping mind you, but at 33, I have grown tired of carrying my amp to gigs for it weighs a friggin ton. I have been toying with the idea of getting the VOX TOnelab SE and running it into a powered monitor or two which I have heard sounds great. I know some people posted on the Tonelab here before so if anyone has one, can you tell me if I will be pleased? Granted I know nothing can duplicate the tones of my boogie but my boogie, but I will sacrifice a little of that tonal magic for a properly functioning and pain free spinal chord. Thoughts?

[strumminsix]

Been there, done that, back to tubes...

You can get the tone very close but the feel is not there.

They don't have the same sensitivity that a tube amp has.


Keep in mind that the Vox TLSE focuses on British amp modelling.
I could better than okay tones from it and is great for recording.
But I can't see myself using it in leiu of a real tube amp again.

[LazyLightnin]

i agree with strummin'. save a few more bucks and go with the Vox ac30 tube. my first "big amp" was a digital vox ac rip off, no tube. the effects were fun to play with, and it did get loud, but didnt come close to the voice and body that the tube amp offered. youll be able to rock any club, and have a great authentic classic sound with the tube model.

[LazyLightnin]

i see the VOX ac30 2x12 for $999.99 at guitar center(tm) and no payments for a year...i should go down there.

[grateful4booze]

I have a Fender Twin 2x12 that sounds great. It is 100 watts with a 25 watt reducer switch for practice, small clubs, etc. I played with guys with riduculous Marshall stacks and mine kept up with them no problem. I don't think they cost that much new, I bought mine used. Oh, it has casters for your back!

[tigerstrat]

I don't know the specific weights here, but I believe the idea was to save weight and is it being suggested he go from a 1x12 combo to a 2x12 combo? I can't see that being lighter.

What about losing the flight case? That's gotta add significant weight. Still a double-anvil of an amp to carry though...

What about taking the speaker out of the IV (removing like 15-20lb for a JBL or EV) and running it thru a seperate 1x12? That would drop the IV into the 50lb range. Or better yet get a lighter weight amp head.... like a Bandmaster Reverb or another Mesa head? Technically MORE stuff to bring, more trips to make, but lighter pieces. Instead of a 80-85lb amp/case, a 30lb cab and a 35-40lb head?

[Crazy 9.5 Fingers]

I have a 65 reissue Twin that is definitely much lighter than the Boogie, but if I am going to bring an amp, it is going to be the boogie. I keep it in the flight case because it is the wood and wicker version, hate to see it lose its beauty. It has casters which is great, but doesn't have a magic button to lift itself out of my truck unfortunately. Anyone know of any hydraulic lift attahcments for SUV's? Kidding. The idea of getting rid of the speaker and using a cabinet, if I can find a light one seems like a nice option.

Not wild about the idea of playing live with just the tonelab, especially becuase there is no way I'll play without my Fulltone Wah, or my analog man Tube screamer and compressor. Thanks for the input fellas, maybe I will get the tonelab for home and rehearsals, and gig with the Boogie. Considering it took about 5 years to get the Boogie's setting where I like, it would be a shame to shelve it.

[grateful4booze]

Sounds like what you need is a teenage son to roadie for you.

[strumminsix]

Nah, sounds like what you need is a head/cab setup with skins that you don't care about.