At 6:39 PM +0300 8/25/08, Erdem Helvacioglu wrote:
i have been looking at boss gt10, vox tonelab for getting decent amp tones with very good speaker simulation. then maybe i can get rid of marshall and some of the mxr pedals.
Okay, since we're talking about weight here, I'd throw in a recommendation for the Yamaha MagicStomp. Yeah, it's not as good at amp emulation as the Tonelab, but it's lacking is mainly "genuine tube" tones, and you don't seem to have those now. The quality of it's modulation/delay capabilities are fantastic, though, and it's not nearly 1/3 the size of the Vox or the GT. You could conceivably get rid of most of your distortion and MXR pedals right there.
Oh, and since Yamaha blew them out at ~$100, you can still find them used in the $50-150 range. Super cheap for a multi-effect like that.
also the cables and adapters weigh sometimes more than the weight of the units! is there anything like very light cables and adapters? :)
Oh boy, I started becoming obsessive about this a couple of years ago when I was rebuilding a rack and noticed the same thing -- the cables alone weighed more than the gear + rack. So, here are a few tips I've tried:
First: short, short, short. Get the absolute shortest size of every cable you can get away with. Every extra inch is more weight that you don't need. Just make sure it's not so short that it's putting stress on your gear's jacks.
Next, for racks and otherwise "protected" areas, do you *really* need those heavy-duty stomp-proof cable plugs? Sure, they're rugged and will never break. But they also add weight, and for an area (like the inside of a rack) that is going to be wired up and otherwise sheltered, this could be overkill. MIDI cables, in particular, are subject to this clause. As long as you're going to be using them in a protected "set & forget" system (i.e. not plugging and unplugging them a lot) the cheap/light plastic-ended things work fine.
As far as "light" cables go, I picked up a few sets of Roland manufactured patch cables a couple years back. They're about 3 inches with plastic elbow-shaped ends, but they're actually pretty good quality, all things considered. They're about the lightest I've come across, too, but not so easy to find anymore. Additionally, the configuration for "George L's" cables is actually pretty light. The advantage here too is that not only are the cables relatively weight-free and high-quality, but you can cut them to the exact length you need. Disadvantages are that they're pretty expensive, and getting the @#$%! ends properly attached can be a craft all unto itself.
And I mentioned MIDI, but don't forget your power cables too. You can find replacement power cables for most standard cord types, in a variety of lengths and configurations. I'll often replace all my two or three meter power cables with six- or twelve- inch power patch cables run into a three or four jack mult. If you go scope out the electrical section of your local hardware emporium, you're likely to find one of these that's designed to pop onto the end of an industrial extension cord (i.e. it's got no cable, or only a short section of one). If you terminate your power into one of these, you can probably do away with packing a central power cable altogether, and pick up one for ten bucks at a hardware store at your final destination.
Finally, wall warts. See if you can get a central power system for your stomps. Both the Godlyke and One-Spot systems are cheap and light. But you may find that a more versatile, yet heavier, box -- like the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power series, or similar -- is worth the extra cash but still lighter than a box of wall warts. I just got a little Guyatone power brick that works well (six jacks, plus sag capability for interesting "power-starved" distortions) and is pretty light, but I don't know if it's available outside Japan yet. If worse comes to worse (and I'll get flamed for this -- deservedly -- because it's environmentally irresponsible) go back to battery power. But leave your batteries at your house, buy new ones at your destination, then chuck those before you get back on the plane home (you won't believe how much batteries weigh en masse).
Anyway, hope some of that helps, and good luck. :)
--m.
--
_____
"we're no longer sure where home is; homesickness is our only guide"
