hello all, well i am the ultimate gypsy and have spent my whole life ... travelling and performing around the world ..ok about half of it so far ....

so the challenge to me is to have gear that can stand up to travelling and perform the job...

oh i'm a "nylon acoustic world /jazz fingerstyle instrumental guitarist" hows that for a title...

guitar wise i have a yamaha cgx 111 csa nylon with solid spruce top and i retro fitted a studio grade condenser mic into the body to pick up the percussion i do on the top..... ( i play a lot of flamenco too)

guitar wise i would like to upgrade sometime but for a custom made instrument cos in reality this sub R5000 nylon from yamaha has an awesome feel and the sound (B band bridge pickup and condenser mic ) give me an awesome quite natural sounding ( anything plugged in will never sound 100% natural...i wish i wish i wish heheheh)
but this guitar i would recommend as value for money .... i have tried it against a R28000 taylor nylon and the taylor sounded cheap ... even the shop assistant agreed.... so yeah my yamaha is fab...and it takes abuse.... i play very percussively ...then the travel abuse ...and humidy i recently toured singapore and Thailand and the humidity was through roof... no probs...

so you say whats the big deal with travelling with gear ...you buy a guitar a case and an amp and off you go.....

the guitar part is easy.....

but cases are a mission cos the really good ones are way to heavy to make the standard 20 kg weight limit they allow you in economy class travel ...

remember i'm not a star and get gear shipped around i schlep my own stuff at my expense.... ( although some hotels ..i perform a lot in 5 star hotels ... around world do sometimes pay extra baggage) but mostly i pay my own way....

however recently i found a case which is not the best quality( it is strong but i can see it might have to be replaced after a few tours) but they dirt cheap and most importantly light weight only 3.2 kg's for a moulded case it's basically a rip off of the expensive SKB classical cases... they called TKL ... and cheap about R450 and they do travel well...

then microphones ..... i don't sing but i do speak and i sold my weighty sm 58 and bought an audio technica dynamic headset mic... awesome sounds great does not need phantom power and fits in the guitar case and weighs like under 100g and does not need a stand.... so for a traveller ...100% what i look for...not cheap they retail for about R1600 but with discount i got it for R1200

and lastly an AMP that can travel and sound good and be able to busk with ............recently i found a gem ... a crate taxi 30 w guitar amp.....runs off an adaptor or battery powered by a rechargeable battery...or even can run off a 12 V cigarette lighter input from a car or a 12V adaptor .... this was old stock i found in Marshall music in woodmead jhb .... apparantly been sitting there for 4 years ...and in truth i don't know why ??? since this is a great amp....

but SA musicians would never dream of busking on streets or in shopping malls.... so i guess battery power is never an SA musicians concern.... but for me it was perfect .... also with external adaptors if i play in states i just buy a 16V battery charger which will accept their 110V and i'm away... no mods to the amp ...and the battery life is an incredible 8 hours at moderate volume or about 4 hours at high and only a 6 hour full recharge time and also one does not need to wait for the battery to be completely empty to recharge ...designed to just be topped up when it can...

you can imagine this amp won design awards a few years back ... and really for once the factory got it right for the musician in the street(literally) btw the new roland street amps they pushing at almost R4000 are only 5 W total..into 2 6.5 inch speakers and they sound like it i A/B the crate with one of the rolands... no contest ... since the Crate is a solid 30W into an 8 inch speaker and a tweater so not even fair to compare but i did... thinking maybe technology would make it sound better and seeing the hype by Roland at the Nam guitar show...

and the most important thing is that the Crate amp sounds awesome with the nylon .... it is the most transparent natural sounding acoustic amp i have ever heard ... except for an AER of course but they all R16 000 -R20 000 i paid a ridiculous R1700 cos it was old stock basically got it at just above their cost ... and they replaced the rechargeable battery at their expense.... love that store ...they real nice to me there. tone for me is to get the sound the audience hear to sound as close to my natural acoustic sound produced by the guitar ....

i use no effects not even reverb...( since i did a concert a few years back and the sound engineer gave me the most awesome guitar sound...i later cornered him and pressed him for what compressors/effects/eq /reverb he had pushed my guitar through to make it sound so great and he just sniggered and showed me my channel .... no eq totally flat just a DI box before the desk... no compression no reverb NOTHING ... he said my guitar had a naturally good sound so he needed to do nothing... and then explained how we all put chorus and reverb and over compress acoustics...when if you want the natural sound you hear from the guitar then just let the rooms natural reverb do it's thing.... an eye opener for me...i was an effects junkie till then.... not anymore.



this crate amp is loud enough that i have played pro gigs with it and nothing else ... in small intimate venues.... and i play at a casino lounge every sunday i just add another powered 8" speaker (150W) and link it from the line out from the amp and myself and a singer play the 60 seater gig at a comfortable level and with awesome tone....

i so recommend this amp ...

and if i can find another 30 W i would snap it up.... ( Crate has replaced the 30 W which was the award winning original with a 15W and a 50 W into a 10 inch speaker which would be great for the extra power but way too heavy to travel with ..i have read the manual and seen the specs....)

so i got gear that gets on a plane with my bag of clothes ( ok i gotta watch what i take ) but all for just on 20 kg's (clothes/guitar/amp/mic/cables)

have guitar will travel ........ and NOT pay extra baggage !!!

i am looking for someone to rebuild the amp into a moulded casing ...if it is possible to save on some weight since the amp box is made of wood... and thick wood too...and i'm sure if i can do that i can reduce enough weight so i can squeeze in that favourite pair of boots i have had to leave behind on previous trips ..

so any other idea's on travel gear .... that of course is pro standard or how to lighten what i already have somehow????

peace and light
Keira WitherKay

i am looking for someone to rebuild the amp into a moulded casing ...if it is possible to save on some weight since the amp box is made of wood... and thick wood too...

Wood is used as it's not only fairly cheap but is pretty stiff too, which is needed to stop the cabinet from resonating. You do get moulded PA cabinets, but it's a special type of moulding AFAIK - not like the guitar cases. I've only ever seen it used on factory manufactured cabs though.

so any other idea's on travel gear .... that of course is pro standard or how to lighten what i already have somehow?Huh?

Most pro travelling players have a rider that specifies that amplification will be supplied by the venue. Amps are just too restrictive to travel with these days...

hey alan ... yeah i was thinking of buying an 8 molded cab and trying to get someone to strip it and then build the amp into the casing... i want to sound good though


and as for the venues supplying amps... lol i travel on my own very often and just arrive in say amsterdam and then get gigs when i'm there... so not always hotel gigs ...cos then they do normally pay the gear shipping.... this rig is for purposes of my personal globe trotting .... what can i say i'm a gypsy... my 2 passions are music and travel.....but i think i got it sorted... just that amp in a molded case and i think i'll be at 10/11 kg gear and rest clothes... cheaper to buy clothes when you travelling than amps... especially battery powered ones...which i prefer so i can busk if needed , thats paid for many a hotel room ...
in the past ...

great site this ....

chat soon
peace and light
Keira

OK, I get where you are coming from now. You're on the right track in looking for a lighter enclosure for the amp.

Something else that might be well worth looking into is changing the speaker for a model with a neodymium magnet - that can shave 1.5 - 2 kgs off the weight of the amp (depending on how big and heavy the existing speaker's magnet is).

Keira WitherKay wrote:
guitar wise i would like to upgrade sometime but for a custom made instrument cos in reality this sub R5000 nylon from yamaha has an awesome feel and the sound (B band bridge pickup and condenser mic ) give me an awesome quite natural sounding ( anything plugged in will never sound 100% natural...i wish i wish i wish heheheh)
but this guitar i would recommend as value for money .... i have tried it against a R28000 taylor nylon and the taylor sounded cheap ... even the shop assistant agreed.... so yeah my yamaha is fab...and it takes abuse.... i play very percussively ...then the travel abuse ...and humidy i recently toured singapore and Thailand and the humidity was through roof... no probs...

If it works then it works. My take on Taylors is that they often sound better plugged in than not. I think they are built to sound good plugged in. Though, as with most things to do with sound, that's subjective. I also think the older ones sound better plugged and unplugged. I wonder if they started using a different electronics manufacturer along the line somewhere.

If you want to upgrade then it might be worth considering a local maker who can do some customising for you. Mervyn Davis does a nylon-string version of his smoothtalker. Ian Corr (who has built guitars for Tony Cox and Syd Kitchen) is quoting a ball park figure of R12500 for a nylon-string guitar. That includes case and under-saddle pickup, but prices will vary according to wood choices, special in-lays etc. Those are, of course, not the only luthiers in the country - so there are options to explore there, especially if you want something customised.

But again, if it works...

Something else I just thought of: If your amp's cabinet is made from chipboard or superwood, it will be very dense and heavy. Plywood has a better stiffness to weight ratio, so the cabinet can be made thinner, lighter and probably stronger than one made of chipboard.

yeah alan thats a fabulous idea...on the wood type...and the speaker magnet ....i will definitely look into that ......

cos i really love the tone of the amp and if it were just 1.5 to 3 kg lighter it would be the dream travel amp......

i guess having it built into a moulded case would be 1st prize or what you thinK???? and then trying for a lighter speaker...

thanks for the advice and keep it coming...hehehh im quite obsessed with good sound at low (airline travel allowance) weight so i will pursue any angle to shed even 500g ...they all add up ...

another question Alan

i also have a battery/ mains powered "Peavey solo amp" ...which is way light only about 5.5 kg but only 10 W but i find the inputs it has a great input setup offering 2 x 1/4 inch jacks and a Cannon mic input ... but the inputs are all way too sensitive.... and for some reason my condenser mic picks up a buzz .... is there an affordable way to reduce this i have tried DI box's but wierdly enough i tried 2 and the amp does not like it and gets a wierd earth loop /buzz and added hiss/noise even when i add in a 4 input line mixer.... so this puzzles me...

the crate kicks the Peavey's butt but you can't compare a 30W amp to a 10W but the peavey is still good for what it is .... but if i could just get rid of those over sensitive inputs... ( this 10 W is loud but the tone is not as good as the crate )

so any suggestions on this amp alan or anybody else...

peace and light
Keira

hey bob, yeah i tried that taylor nylon plugged in too.... and it was way dissapointing...the bass strings E/A/D were great almost flamenco"ish" which i love that bright clear bass with punch .... but the treble strings is where the dissapointment came in .... they souned like the cheapest of cheapest piezo pickups a horrid fizzy twangy sound... lol sounded more steel than the warm rounded nylon top sound ... so there i was willing to spend a 'packet " and greatly dissapointed.... but i guess they famous for their steel string models...and by the way i love their steel strings.... guess like going to a speciality seafood restaurant and complaining about the below average steak you ordered...horses for courses...it seems....

and yes i am talking to a luthier right now... just very initial stages...of i have proposed my idea and still waiting for a reply of if he can do it for me....

i am looking for a nylon string in body shape to look like the 1840's louis Panorma guitars ..he's an english luthier that built spanish style guitars but they were in fact the forerunners to Torres building and designing the 1st classical guitars which we still use the same designs today... these guitars had a shorter scale..628mm basically same as a les paul .... and a smaller narrower body... ( like a parlour guitar almost) but they still had great bass responce and tone just not as much volume....

so i want a 1840's shape with a shorter scale but want a low action and modern bracing techniques ( those designs could not take normal tension strings) and of course modern electronics...(prob LR baggs 2 way classicaL pickup that picks up the bridge and the top and blends them...and most importantly is discrete ....

and of course i need it to be playable with a low action so not an easy job .... cos my demands are quite set... heheh i would love it to be aged too... i hate shiny guitars ...love em when they used and abused and the varnish is coming off...so if the luthier could age it to look like it's a vintage guitar and well played ...but be totally playable with accurate natural sounding electronics ... that would be 1st prize and until i find a luthier to do just that my trust yamaha will do just fine thank you .... i have new respect for yamaha acoustics especially the nylons...

so yeah i'm a fussy musician a luthiers nigtmare i guess hehehehh

peace and light
Keira

Keira WitherKay wrote:
and of course i need it to be playable with a low action so not an easy job .... cos my demands are quite set... heheh i would love it to be aged too... i hate shiny guitars ...love em when they used and abused and the varnish is coming off...so if the luthier could age it to look like it's a vintage guitar and well played ...but be totally playable with accurate natural sounding electronics ... that would be 1st prize and until i find a luthier to do just that my trust yamaha will do just fine thank you .... i have new respect for yamaha acoustics especially the nylons...

so yeah i'm a fussy musician a luthiers nigtmare i guess hehehehh

You and that luthier will know more about this than I do, but I gather that it is quite hard to get a nylon string guitar that plays fast and low and still sounds good. Apparently flamenco guitars are more "playable" for us unenlightened types, but then you get the flamenco sound as well - not optimal for all repertoires.

As regards electronics I note that LR Baggs have a version of their "active element" which is optimised for nylon string. That can even be included into the Baggs dual-source kit.

Nothing wrong with being fussy as long as the fussiness is motivated by knowing what you want.

You could save money by having a hand-rubbed satin type finish rather a gloss finish.

This is an interesting problem, BTW - the kind of thing I can really have fun problem solving with ?

Keira WitherKay wrote: i guess having it built into a moulded case would be 1st prize or what you thinK???? and then trying for a lighter speaker...

I have a sneaking suspicion that the speaker swap will make the most difference. The Eminence Acoustinator NH2008 speaker is only 1,5 kgs, while it's ceramic magnet version (the CX2008) is 3 KG - so if your speaker compares to the CX2008, you'll shave off 1.5kg right there. An added bonus is it's a speaker designed specifically for acoustic instruments! ?

I'm guessing, but swapping out a chipboard cabinet for a ply one would probably save you under a kilo. Building another cab might have other benefits though - your Taxi has a steel grille (according to the pics I've seen on the Net), that could be swapped for a plastic one, saving a few hundred grammes too. I'm sure a cabinet builder could come up with more ways to shave off weight, but not really my area of expertise.

Another random idea: Recently I saw an electric guitar case with the amp and speaker built in. It was designed with portability in mind - an all-in-one solution, so weight wasn't really the issue. I suspect that that may work out heavier than a lightweight amp and guitar case, because the whole case would need to be more robust and rigid.

i also have a battery/ mains powered "Peavey solo amp" ...which is way light only about 5.5 kg but only 10 W but i find the inputs it has a great input setup  offering 2 x 1/4 inch jacks and a Cannon mic input ... but the inputs are all way too sensitive.... and for some reason my condenser mic picks up a buzz .... is there an affordable way to reduce this i have tried DI box's but wierdly enough i tried 2 and the amp does not like it and gets a wierd earth loop /buzz and added hiss/noise even when i add in a 4 input line mixer.... so this puzzles me...

I have seen the Solos. Peaveys have a tendency to hum if you don't replace the Euro style two pin mains plug for a local three pin - they end up being unearthed if you use a two pin adaptor socket. I'm not sure if this applies to the solo, which IIRC uses a mains power supply adaptor... It may be that it's not earthed at all which can be a problem with some gear. Does it hum when run on batteries or only on mains?

As far as the gain issue - make sure you use the channel 2 input - the channel 1 inputs are mic only and you will overload them with something like a preamplified acoustic. If you overload channel 2, try turning the guitar down and the amp up.

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: This is an interesting problem, BTW - the kind of thing I can really have fun problem solving with ?

To have some fun together, let's summarize what has been posted and add a few ideas for a redesign:
- speaker: Eminence Acoustinator NH2008 in ported cab down to 200Hz. Is there a way for Keira to test this thing?
- tweeter: does it need one? I'll have a look at the specs later...
- cab: built out of sandwich panels >35mm made up of 5mm birch plywood and slabs of balsa - with the grain perpendicular to the birch of course! Between the balsa and in important spots, we put upright bits of the plywood to make a stiff, strong and light unit. To improve impact resistance we cover the outside with thin woven glass in epoxy.
- preamp: 3 channel (2 for guitar and 1 for mic) blending, no tone, master volume
- power amp: Class D, 30W for minimum power use and very good sound. I've sent Hypex an email requesting directions for lower power (they start at 100W....).
- power supply: modern battery used in electrically powered model airplanes, 5Ah for 600g! Charge with 12VDC so standard car solutions are available.
- design: all knobs, jack sockets at the same side as the speaker. No grille or grille cloth, add a separate protection panel that clicks on when travelling.

Are we having fun yet? I am!

oh wow... Gearhead.... that sounds like you got it sussed... was a great meeting you in person and the chat about speaker design ... yeah and you got to see and hear my current crate 30 W amp and hope you agree why i like it so much....that sound is pretty transparent for acoustic use...... heheeh and you really taught me a thing or too about cab design....

peace and light
Keira

Update:
- the Acoustinator checks out on paper as a bit of a nasty bugger. Admittedly, even in a closed cab it does 100Hz easily (which is fine even for Keira's top hammering rhythm technique ? ) so I'd say we had better not use a ported setup to reap the reward of smaller cab dimensions and faster response.
The main complaint is that the frequency response shows a dramatic 10dB drop just below 2KHz followed by a peak at less than 3KHz, making it almost impossible to filter smoothly into the tweeter (which BTW it really really needs). Let's now say that you use a Linkwitz-Riley 4th order filter and do sort of manage the funny 2-3KHz zone of the woofer, you will still need a tweeter with a -3dB frequency of below 2KHz... I'll go have a look but please wish us luck (or help!).

- the Hypex people have come back to me and said they will be releasing a 2x30W module in two to three weeks. Timing eh? Wait and see what the minimum rail voltage is... It would even be tempting to go for a bi-amping system with filter before the poweramp....

PS it occurred to me the drastic dip might be a chamber resonance but it can't be - the wavelength of 2400Hz is 2400/343=7m which would require a 3m5 or maybe a 1m75 chamber..... but no 9 litre chamber will be that long eh? Besides, those guys at Eminence should know better. It most probably is a nice 1st order cone breakup of that 'woody hemp'.

PS 1975Hz = b and 2794Hz = f so that's half an octave of 2x to 3x less sound....