Special thanks to Mel from HF1

[lynch1]

If anyone has a chance to jam with this guy-----do it! He loves to jam and talk gear. I really appreciate his help over the last few weeks as I have been wrestling with what I actually want out of my tone. In my band we play a wide variety of styles of songs so need a setup that could do that with little fuss. I have always used processors because the ease of loading a sound patch into a preset and move on, whoever, I found that I was getting lost in the mix when playing live, and as others have mentioned in other forums its because of the processor. Mel has heard me go back and forth on this, that and the other thing, answered every text with the patience of Job ( I was waiting for him to tell me, "dude you're whacked! you figure it out on your own"). I respect his talent and his opinions a lot. We have jammed a couple of times, working on clarifying what I am looking for in tone. I still have yet to decide on anything and will continue to pick Mel's brain for info. If anyone has gear questions, this is the guy to talk to. He is knowledgable and loves talking equipment. Just wanted to say THANK YOU so much for all of your help so far.

[The Shadow]

Thank you for the kind words. Hopefully you end up where you'd like to be with your gear and tone.

[lynch1]

still torn between the 5150 iii 50 watt, the Blackstar HT20 and the Blackstar Club 50...like all 3, havent heard the Blackstars in person, a little leary of the 20 watts, but you said it was surprisingly loud for 20 watts. I may make a road trip to State College to try them out, but I will be making a decision here very soon (hallelujah,lol).

[Jasaoke]

One of the major drawbacks to a processor that I've encountered is that they can cover too wide a range of tone, which doesn't translate well in a live setting. Even if you had all of the gear that a processor models, you couldn't use it live, certainly not on a single PA channel.

Sounds like you're on the right track, though. Find the sound that you want, then trim it to fit into the mix.

[bassist_25]

Mel's a solid dude.

[lynch1]

Yes he is... Was willing to go out of his way to help me... Willing to help anyone who has a question...awesome player too!!

[StumbleFingers]

Save up for the 5150! That's your tone all the way. (Or steal Mel's Soldano.)

[lynch1]

He sold that awhile ago.... Has some awesome modded Plexi's that I hope he wills to me.. Lol