Another great post from the old forums that was lost in the switch:
mrmxyzptlk
First, I'd like to say that I enjoy this site, and that in particular the posts pertaining to employment as a cruise ship musician are some of the best and most informative writing I've come across by people who are employed in the cruise industry.
I have a question: I'll soon be returning to work for a while as a cruise ship show band musician after a long hiatus. (My last contract was seven years ago.) All but one of my previous contracts were as a bass player. I did only one contract as a guitarist, and as it happens, the bandleader with whom I worked on that contract is now the entertainment director for the cruise line. He knows me solely as a guitarist, and seems eager to put me to work in that capacity.
Apparently the bands have changed a bit since I last worked on ships. Whereas in those days it was fairly rare to find ships in this particular cruise line on which guitarists were employed, today almost every ship has a guitarist. In fact, on the smaller ships it seems that horn players in the show bands have largely been replaced by guitar.
When I spoke on the phone with the entertainment director, he all but insisted that I bring effects pedals, stating that the guitar in the show bands is largely responsible for defining the tone colors of the various styles in which we have to play, and that effects are necessary for doing so. I'm not a big fan of guitar effects myself, but if that's what the gig requires, I'll certainly go along with it. I figure that some sort of programmable multi-effects unit would be the most efficient way to cram the maximum sonic capability into the minimum luggage space.
Is there any particular effects unit that guitarists on ships are gravitating toward these days? I've been looking around online for information. There are some cheap units like the Zoom G1X, but it looks like these might be more suitable for recording than for live performance, since you have to scroll through the patches to get to the one that you want. It looks like in order to buy something that works well for live gigs, you have to spend at least $300 or so. Devices like the DigiTech RP500 and the Zoom G7.1ut seem to provide about the minimum capability that one would need. There are also the Line 6 Pod XT Live and the Boss GT-10, but those are starting to get into a price range that I'd rather avoid if possible.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Am I on the right track? Is three bills the minimum one would have to spend for a halfway decent guitar effects unit for a cruise gig? Can anyone recommend a particular unit for this purpose? Thanks in advance!
Update: I think I've found what might be a good multi-effects unit for use on a cruise ship - the Boss ME-50. Given that I'm not enamored with guitar effects to begin with, I don't want to spend lots of time programming a device. It looks like I wouldn't have to do that with the ME-50. It seems to be designed basically to emulate Boss stomp boxes in terms of both sounds and simplicity of use. It has an expression pedal, which is something I'd want to have for wah-wah. It doesn't have features I wouldn't need, like amp and cabinet modeling or a USB output.
Anybody have any experience with the Boss ME-50? Any opinions? Would anyone recommend alternatives that are in the same general price range? Thanks!
Cameron
I've never been on a cruise contract, but have many guitarist friends that have. Several of them only take a distortion pedal on the ship. Others take a distortion pedal and a chorus pedal or maybe a wah-wah. I use a lot of effects, and when it comes to adding tonal color to the capacity of a show musician, you really don't need THAT many effects. A Boss DS-1, a basic Crybaby wah, and maybe an inexpensive chorus pedal.
And if you want, I'd recommend the Boss tuning pedal, which can then be used to power the DS-1, wah, and chorus pedal (if you get a Boss or something w/ the same power adapter requirement). I'm also a fan of volume pedals for hands free swells and easy adjustments behind soloists or singers.
You can probably get all this for under $300, and save money looking for some used gear. I'm not a fan of multi-effects processors that will definitely have more than you need (the amp will have reverb, doubt you'll need delay, you don't need a compressor, the EQ presets, etc.), and what you do need won't sound as good as having an independent pedals meant to do one thing.
mrmxyzptlk
Thanks, Cameron! You've given me some things to think about.
I suppose that for true tone connoisseurs, it's better to have a few boxes that each do one thing reasonably well than to have a multi-effects unit that can produce more sounds but perhaps the quality of those sounds isn't quite what you'd get from individual stomp boxes. However, on the other hand, I'm still thinking that for a cruise ship contract, it might be nice, if for no other reason than to help keep myself amused, to have a bigger palate of sounds from which to choose. I can imagine uses for such arcane effects as tremolo, ring modulator, phaser, flanger, and - yes - delay. Also, for ease of transportation and setup, it seems like a multi-effects unit would be so much simpler than a bunch of individual boxes and cables.
I've read widely varying reports on the Boss ME-50, which I still have my eye on. Some love it, while others are very critical of some or all of the sounds it produces. I suppose the thing to do would be to try to get my hands on one and give it a spin before buying. It can do a wide variety of distortion, modulation, and delay effects, as well as compression, reverb, wah, and others. If even some of these sounds are useable, it might be just what I need. Besides, whatever effects I buy, I'll almost certainly be selling them after the contract is over. Smile
I'm still considering the individual pedal route, though…
Cameron
I hear ya when it comes to convenience. You can always make a simple pedal board, or buy something like this, which is what I've been using. Of course, that adds to your total cost!
Either way, let us know what you go with and how it works out for you. I'm sure there are many other readers with the same question!
mrmxyzptlk
Nice looking pedal board! If I had more time, and if money were no object, I might get something like this and take my time shopping around for the best stomp box for each effect. However, I tried out a Boss ME-50 yesterday, and thought it was just fine for my purposes. It has every possible effect that I could foresee having a need for, and then some. Furthermore, I thought the sound quality was very good. Again, true distortion mavens might find fault with some of the distortion sounds, or others might think the chorus or reverb sounds could be better, but for me, having such a huge variety of what I'd consider to be very good sounds in one convenient package is hard to beat.
I will probably buy an ME-50, and will report back later on, after I've been using it a while, to let everyone know how it's working out. Thanks again, Cameron!
EDIT: I just found on the Boss site that there's a brand new, upgraded version of the ME-50 called the ME-70. It doesn't ship until early next month, so if I have to get something in a hurry, I'll probably go with the ME-50 anyway. I just wanted readers to be aware of this development! It looks like an interesting upgrade, with a new preamp section, a more sophisticated compressor, and a 38-second phrase recorder. Hopefully Boss has also addressed the persistent complaint about the ME-50 regarding dropouts that occur when switching patches in memory mode.
The new model is the same price as the old one, so I'm hoping that with luck I can hold out and wait until the new one is available!
henry_the_horse
Why don't you get a Firewire or USB audio interface hooked to your laptop and use Guitar Rig or Amplitube? Just have the laptop by your hand to change presets with the cursor arrows. You need several presets for one song? Just put them one next to the following and click “down arrowâ€. Then you go direct from the laptop to the PA.
If you unavoidably must use physical effects devices: there are five ones that do it for session players:
compressor, chorus, delay, volume pedal, and distorsion device.
The problem comes with all the weigth. I would leave the volume pedal at home (indeed if it's one of those big shoe Boss or heavy iron cast Ernie Ball) and learn to use the volume control on your guitar. If you definitevely must use a wah for funky stuff, ok, but that's just for some colour.
Compressor is not really that necessary if you play in a small ensemble, but if the ensamble is a funk/latin/jazz group with horns, percussion and keyboards, the compressor may allow you to be heard at all times without setting the amp loud. You stop fighting for volume.
As for the delay, it may be good for solos but not for comping at the rhythm section. With all those brass players, I guess if you found the opportunity to use the delay, it really doesn't worth the weight. Unless, of course you have some Coldplay/U2 or rockabilly act where you need an echo.
Regards
mrmxyzptlk
Interesting suggestion, but at least in my case the area in which we set up for the shows is so cramped that finding space for a laptop would be a challenge. Anyway, I've been on the ship for almost two months now, and want to reiterate that I think the Boss ME-50 is a very good choice for a multi-effects unit for cruise ship guitarists. I use the chorus, distortion, wah, and acoustic guitar simulator effects, and find them all to be more than adequate. I also tend to use the “Fat†sound in the “Tone Modify†section as my default sound, although I sometimes switch to the “Enhance†sound and combine it with chorus when I want to revisit the '80s.
Boss has replaced the ME-50 with the ME-70, which sells for the same price. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to compare the two, and haven't yet found a detailed comparison anywhere online. Also, other companies such as DigiTech have similar multi-effects devices available, and I haven't compared these directly with the ME-50 either.
