Other ADA Gear > Combo Amps

Viper in it's natural habitat

(1/3) > >>

Dante:
So, I brought the little Viper to rehearsal last night. It was the first time using the amp in a band environment. This is where the rubber hits the road....I don't care what your gear sounds like at home, the test is going to be whether or not you fit in the mix...or, whether or not you're just punching a hole straight through it.

My singer (also a guitarist) uses a Blackstar and, while it sounds good, it ain't all that and a bag of chips. The selling point with that amp is, he only uses the pedal for that amp and the FX within it, which is easy for him to set up & tear down. Every now and then, he gets a good tone out of that thing, mostly his cleans. He's constantly saying...."I have a Blackstar" as in statements like "Other people use a ton of pedals and a big pedal board, I have a Blackstar". He sees my rack gear as complicated, which confuses him, so he says "That's why I keep things simple, I have a Blackstar".

I'd heard enough. I texted him about the Viper...an amp he'd understand...a combo. I told him "I have an ADA and it's gonna make your Blackstar it's bitch". I was sure to include the other band members in the text, and both the drummer and bass player were cracking up. FFWD a week later and it's rehearsal time.

1) As soon as we get through the first song (Working for the Weekend, yes, Loverboy...don't judge me), he turns around and says "that thing sounds big".

2) Second song (Surrender, Cheap Trick); he turns himself down a bit and starts playing less guitar during the vocal parts. He's never done either of those things before, it was pretty cool to have the extra dynamics in that song. The Viper is very responsive to picking attack, something I LOVE. I can just pick softer to play during the verses and bang on the strings during louder choruses - the sustained big chords with this thing are amazing.

3) Third song (My Own Worst Enemy, LIT); this is where the Viper shines. I have the amp's Boost set as my solo - it's about 6-7db of volume for solos. I have the Nova System's boost as a 'half' boost, or a way to emphasize particular recognizable riffs that the crowd expects to hear. The intro and main riff use the 'half' boost and the solo gets the full monty. Setting it up this way is a convenient little feature (plus, I had two boosts to use anyway). After that song, he was completely sold. "You've always had great tone, but that thing is knocking it out of the park"

I totally agree.

Kim:
Awesome Dante!

Hmmm....maybe we should somehow see if the new ADA company can reissue the Viper combo amp.   :thumb-up: 

Dante:

--- Quote from: Kim on February 10, 2018, 04:15:43 PM ---Hmmm....maybe we should somehow see if the new ADA company can reissue the Viper combo amp.   :thumb-up:

--- End quote ---

Maybe we could. They seem to cater to the stomp box crowd now, so a combo amp seems logical. Plus, it's got their speaker cab sims in it, which is one of their more popular pedals right now (as far as I know).

Last night was the first gig with the Viper. It did not disappoint, if anything, it exceeded expectations. The whole band sounded great last night, and we had a good crowd with lots of energy. That helps everyone play better, and somehow, makes everything sound better. Like John Madden said; 'winning is the best deodorant' and we were winning all night.

The Viper is so fun, it inspires me to play more, like a guitar that's too easy to play.

StanSki:
Huzzah! Glad to hear it's the tits!

I have to open mine up and chase the Red Channel's problem after I get this power amp I'm working on off the bench. Parts should be in for that tomorrow from Mouser.

GuitarBuilder:
Awesome!

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page