John Hendow

My existing live performance setup is very good. I use a combination of great instruments, boutique pedals, a central multi-effect unit and a fabulous tube amp. I’ve been very satisfied with the tone and versatility of my rig, but it has some factors that make it challenging:

• No presets for my boutique pedals. The only device in my system with any notion of “remembering” an effect setting is my Line6 M9. It does a great job of being the central nervous system of my pedalboard. Nothing else of my board has a preset mechanism, so making significant changes on the fly is limited.
• No computer-based editor for anything. I would love to have an editor / librarian system for my effects and preset management. Back when I had the Line6 Pod Pro, I used its GUI software on my laptop to manage presets. I sure miss that!
• Size and weight. My system is just about as small as I can make it, given my current requirements.

I have been considering the possibility of going to a fully modeled system, based around a central effect / amp modeling unit such as the Line6 Pod Pro HD X or the Fractal Audio Axe FXII. This would feed into a full-range flat response amplified speaker that would replace my tube amp. This type of setup would certainly address the issues I’ve outlined above, and it also gives me a single highly flexible system for guitar, bass and Warr guitar.

The challenge in this type of setup is selecting the appropriate modeler and foot controller, then completely recreating all of my tones. I have used Line6 equipment for over a decade and their newest lineup of gear is impressive; I’d say they have the front runner position based on my historic level of satisfaction with the company and their products. I have read a lot of testimonials from Axe FXII users and I’m impressed by what I’ve heard, but at 4x the price I’m uncertain of the value proposition. The next step in my investigation will involve some A/B testing. Stay tuned for details…

On Saturday 10/26 the Dudley Manlove Quartet performed at the Sunset Tavern for our annual Halloween Ball. As customary, we performed a tribute to a well-known band as part of the show. This year’s tribute band was Journey. I have always enjoyed Neal Schon’s playing and it required substantial effort to transcribe his solos. For the first set I decided to use my Gibson Les Paul with P90 pickups. This produced a very accurate representation of the tonal signature in the songs. During rehearsals I had been using the Wampler Sovereign plus my Boogie Lonestar to emulate the rock tone, but during final tech prep I dialed in a much more accurate patch on the Line6 M9, using a clean setting on the Lonestar. I’ll say it again: the Line6 M9 is the nerve center of my pedalboard.

For the second set I switched back to the trusty black stratocaster. The one major regret I had during this show was toward the end of the second set when I decided to remove my in-ear monitors and go with the stage mix… argh! It was great to hear my amp in such a direct manner but the overall sound on stage was pretty muddy and my vocals were lost. Chalk that one up to a lesson learned.

The night was very satisfying. I was delighted to see so many friends and fellow musicians at the show. My bandmates from “The Preons” made an appearance, and I haven’t seen them in far too long. Overall, a great show and one that makes me proud of how tight the band plays this wide variety of music. Definitely looking forward to our next show!

Set List

SET 1
Stone In Love
Any Way You Want It
Open Arms
Oh Sherrie
Separate Ways
Don’t Stop Believin’
Werewolves Of London
Evil Woman
Copacabana
It’s Not Unusual
Right Back Where We Started From
My Life
Sweet Caroline
I Wish
Suspicious Minds

SET 2
Let’s Go
Centerfold
China Girl
Let’s Dance
Power Of Love
Rio
The Promise
Call Me
American Girl
Little Red Corvette
Final Countdown
Melt With You
Video Killed The Radio Star
Take On Me

ENCORE
Don’t You Forget About Me