Back in the day, in the peak of my playing in a heavy rock band, my rig was a Hughes & Kettner Triamp with matching 4x12 cabinet, A rack case that held a power supply, and acted as a holder for small items like T shirts, set lists. I had 2 guitars in hardshell cases, and a guitar stand as well. Whew! just typing that makes me tired! I managed to cram all of that into a 2 door Honda Civic.
Back then, Alot of the clubs we played had stages large enough to accommodate my 4x12, My singer's amp, a Bass rig, and a Drumset (sometimes on it's own riser). Since then, alot of clubs have closed, and the new places that have opened don't really have a committed space for a band. In most cases, they just move a few tables off to the side, and have a semi portable PA system set up. Although I have downsized slowly over the years, my old school rig would take up too much real estate in most current venues, never mind, deafen the people within 30 feet of my 4x12.
A few years back I retired my Honda, and got a Mini Cooper Coupe. It has just 2 seats, a small shelf behind the seats, and a trunk. I can fit my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, pedalboard (in a road case) 2 Guitars (in gig bags), a Backpack, and my amp stand in there. Its a slightly difficult game of tetris, but it works.
Yes, it all fits in there, with space for a passenger!
I'm trying to make that game easier. I picked up the Fender HRD because of it's power. In most cases it has TOO much power. I have JHS's lil Black Box in the effects loop to lower the volume. If you have an amp that sounds great, but have to keep the volume hyper low, and not sacrfice the overall tone for volume, this is an easy solution.
Check it out HERE
I've been debating getting one of Seymour Duncan's powerstage amps. It's a pedal sized power amp with a 3 band EQ and volume level. It's around $399 and would fit on my pedalboard easily. Alot of guys are using these for fly dates where the venue has a backline already and uses their cabinets. I could easily forgo my Fender and use a 1x12 cabinet, which is alot smaller. I've heard some great things about these sound wise.
I've been using a pedaltrain pedalboard since 2010, and I purchased the ATA case with it. I kind of realized that the ATA case is a bit overkill, bulky and kind of a pain to move around. Especially considering 90% of it's movement is from my house to my car, my car to practice/studio/gig, and doesn't need that much protection. It also takes up alot of space in my trunk. Insert "junk in the trunk" jokes here, I dont mind. I have asked Pedaltrain for years if they would sell just the gig bag, and I always got a no from them. Their reasoning they sell it as a complete set, and don't have spares.
Recently pedaltrain announced that they will sell separate cases and bags for their pedalboards, finally. But after looking at the prices the bag for my board will be $129, and that's just the bag. A NEW Pedaltrain board (and gig bag) that's a similar size is $149. In theory I could buy a new board and bag combo, and I could sell my old board and case for $100 and basically get a new pedalboard for under $50.
Mono makes a gig bag that fits, but again, for what I would spend on it, the smarter move would be get a new board and bag combo. They do make excellent bags, especially their guitar gig bags. but considering what I really need, it's still alot of dough to cough up. I've thought of getting their dual guitar gig bag, and that could also make packing gear to fit in my MINI even easier, and be less junk in the trunk. Again, insert second "junk in the trunk" joke here, seriously, do it.
Smaller is better when it comes to unexpected bills, zits, and guitar rigs (when they sound good). I'm hoping I can get small real soon.
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