Guitar over Cat5 project 4

Sunday 17 July 2011 at 10:37 pm

Done some testing in a ‘real’ environment now, and it’s a qualified success.  It handles the FX send and return plus the channel control without a problem, even over 10m of cat5.  However the disappointment is that as soon as I add the input from the guitar it squeaks and feeds back like a bastard.  It just about copes over 1.5m but is unreliable over a longer run.  If I had any electronics knowledge at all there’d probably be an explanation.

So I will be using it live, as I hope it’ll reduce setup/breakdown times.  Pics of the final setup to follow

Actually there won't be any pics; I've had a radical rethink and gone all old-school, and I've got rid of the Vox Valvetronix and Boss pedalboard, in favour of a good old-fashioned valve (tube for American listeners) amplifier.  I've built up a nice selection - main gigging amp is a 15-watt Laney Cub 12R, perfectly loud enough for the small pub/club gigs we play, plus it now has a 1976 vintage Celestion speaker in it for lovely warm bluesiness.  I always carry a spare, which is a cheap Harley Benton GA15, although my friend and amp builder has tweaked it slightly, and it also has a Celestion speaker inside.  For bigger, posher venues I use my precious and brand new Trevinitone TT18 18-watt, hand built by my friend.  If I really want it loud, I also have a 1981 vintage Watkins (WEM) Dominator Mark4, which runs about 30 watts but has enough power to demolish small dwellings.

I just use a simple Ernie Ball volume pedal to switch between rhythm and lead sections, but otherwise plugged straight in.  It's a lot less bother!

That said, I was very happy with the Cat5 solution, and did use it for gigging for a good few months.  Gets some funny looks from those 'in the know', I can tell you.