Is a 2203 and a 4x12 in today's gigging circumstances..... useless, depending, worth it?

[Slick George]

I gigged my 2203 last night in a medium sized venue and, although I thought about using the UAFX Lion or the ToneX One, which I did before with good results, I brought my half-stack. Soundcheck was quicker, I told the FOH guy to tell me if it was harsh or boomy and accordingly moved the mic a bit and all was good. When going direct, there was always some some FOH EQ-ing necessary that took longer than to give a 57 a little twist. And to get a decent monitoring was the same hassle with both the ToneX and the Lion. None of that with the real amp. What is your experience in smaller to middle sized venues?

 

[PelliX]

Serious?

 

[Slick George]

Wait, wanted to make a poll but to new (stupid) to know how to do it.

 

[Slick George]

Ok, as I see it, the main question is up so I won't bother with the settings for creating a real poll. I'm obviously to dumb to set that right. I'm not really interested in numbers but in different experiences from other gigging players. Sorry!

 

[thesunship]

Depends on the group.
In the group I play with it doesn't work, but it's not my group. If I had my own group, it would work fine

 

[PelliX]

Ok, as I see it, the main question is up so I won't bother with the settings for creating a real poll. I'm obviously to dumb to set that right. I'm not really interested in numbers but in different experiences from other gigging players. Sorry!

You could edit the poll, unless that option was not selected when you created it. I'd say a 2203 and a 4x12 are fine. It's about knowing how to use them. And lugging them around, of course.

 

[Kendall124]

Yes.
Didyou see the period?
End of poll.

But seriously, do what works for you.

 

[Russ Selzer]

Larger venues I can't go without my 800 2203 and 4x12. Turn the bass control down, and mic it right. Smaller venues I use my 79 Fender Super Reverb 4x10 and pedals, or my SV20 head and it's 2x12 slant cab. It gets close and is easier to tame in small places. I've gone direct to board with Kemper and all that shit, you can keep it. Junk. Set your whole band dry stage volume right, then mic and bring it up in the board. The inconvenience of hauling a large amp pays off ten-fold in tone and sound quality.

 

[79 2203]

Never had an issue doing a ton of gigs with a stock 2203. Mainly a 1980, but also a 79 and 82. Admittedly most were with a 2x12 but some with a quad.
Boost for solos, roll down the guitar for edge of breakup and low gain.
That said, I was quiet satisfied with the tone/feel with the MV on 2 and Preamp on 5 for the moderate volume gigs and MV on 3, Preamp 7 for the harder rocking gigs with a quad.
If you’re one of those guys who thinks a 2203 can only sound good with the MV over halfway, YMMV.

 

[Slick George]

Larger venues I can't go without my 800 2203 and 4x12. Turn the bass control down, and mic it right. Smaller venues I use my 79 Fender Super Reverb 4x10 and pedals, or my SV20 head and it's 2x12 slant cab. It gets close and is easier to tame in small places. I've gone direct to board with Kemper and all that shit, you can keep it. Junk. Set your whole band dry stage volume right, then mic and bring it up in the board. The inconvenience of hauling a large amp pays off ten-fold in tone and sound quality.

I bought a cheap eq pedal a while ago and put it in the loop (it's an '84, probably one of the last with vertical inputs. pre-owner put the loop in it) to push the amp for solos. After some experimenting I ended up using the pedal for reducing the volume and disengage it for parts that have to stand out. Better tone and less noise but sometimes not so easy to dial in.
Digital stuff hass come a long way, what I have gets the sound close enough for lots of applications but wherever the stage is big enough, I bring the 2203. Even when I can run it no more than on 1-2 I still feel more connected, get a fuller, more rounded out tone, if that makes any sense.
The lugging around thing. My amp is at our rehearsal place and when we gig, everybody helps everybody else with their stuff. So that's no problem in my case.
But sometimes the stage isn't big enough in the places we play every now and then. I've used a 50 w Katana, took hours to tweak on the laptop to get a decent sound out of it but it worked in a way.
Digital stuff worked well for me but it always was a PITA to get the monitor sound right. Once that was ok it sounded fine. But it always feels like playing to a record at home with some toy. Most of the time you forget about it when doing the show but sometimes I feel like it kills intensity and "electricity" when you like to play around with feedback and other noises to create a little Rock'N'Roll chaos.

 

[guitarbilly74]

I use my amps for most of my gigs but I played a few shows direct with a Friedman IR-D pedal. Both went equally well but if I have the choice I'll choose my amps every time.

 

[Up The Steen]

Larger venues I can't go without my 800 2203 and 4x12. Turn the bass control down, and mic it right. Smaller venues I use my 79 Fender Super Reverb 4x10 and pedals, or my SV20 head and it's 2x12 slant cab. It gets close and is easier to tame in small places. I've gone direct to board with Kemper and all that shit, you can keep it. Junk. Set your whole band dry stage volume right, then mic and bring it up in the board. The inconvenience of hauling a large amp pays off ten-fold in tone and sound quality.

10000% YES!

The P.A is there to supplement the stage volume. Mix yourselves on stage and the P.A has far less work to do. A million times better end product.

I also have a 79 super reverb. Absolutely wonderful amps.

 

[Brian Krashpad]

Smaller to midsize (and outdoors) is all I've played. I don't have any digital interface stuff, but at least in our local market, a halfstack does not produce a batted eye. Seems like it'd be way easier than going direct and having to rely on soundperson for all your stage volume. Ick.

I don't always use a halfstack, I've also used loud 1x12s (if amps are mic'd), and various 2x12s, a vintage 1x15 Kustom cab (with a Sovtek or Sunn head) and a '66 Super 4x10 (back in the day).

But real amps are all I know, so consider the source.

 

[Up The Steen]

Smaller to midsize (and outdoors) is all I've played. I don't have any digital interface stuff, but at least in our local market, a halfstack does not produce a batted eye. Seems like it'd be way easier than going direct and having to rely on soundperson for all your stage volume. Ick.

I don't always use a halfstack, I've also used loud 1x12s (if amps are mic'd), and various 2x12s, a vintage 1x15 Kustom cab (with a Sovtek or Sunn head) and a '66 Super 4x10 (back in the day).

But real amps are all I know, so consider the source.

I'm yet to see anyone use a digital rig live and have a decent tone and all the gigs I've been to where they had the quiet/silent stage sounded and felt absolutely awful.

Personally I don't trust sound guys at all. 90% of the time they are useless, so the less they can have control over the better. I'm certainly not going to trust them with my guitar tone that's for sure.

 

[Brian Krashpad]

I'm yet to see anyone use a digital rig live and have a decent tone and all the gigs I've been to where they had the quiet/silent stage sounded and felt absolutely awful.

Personally I don't trust sound guys at all. 90% of the time they are useless, so the less they can have control over the better. I'm certainly not going to trust them with my guitar tone that's for sure.

Even the concept of a "silent stage" is repulsive to me. Glad to say that they don't seem to exist where I am, at least not the places I go. Yuck. Antithetical to any kind of rock music that I'd want to hear or play.