Well, TV is evolving and I figured our live sound set-up should too. We started on this transition to digital a few months ago after my Boss RC-50 bit the dust before a gig. I ended up getting another one at the Guitar Center as a replacement. I knew after our trip to Russia though that digital was the way to go. If I could get all of my analog hardware in a software version, it certainly would make travel a lot easier. For Russia, we had to perform a sort of equipment triage, and ended up leaving a few pieces of gear behind. We fit the essentials into a suitcase and a rack case. It worked, but it was still heavy and hard to keep up with, especially for plane flights.

I have had my eye on Guitar Rig for a few years now. They started with modeling software. Amp sounds, effects and more that could live on your laptop. Recently they also came out with a version that featured a looper (which was the largest piece of analog gear that I had. I purchased Guitar Rig Kontrol edition and it worked great right out of the box. The only trouble is that the pedal is pretty noisy. it has the metal style buttons that make a loud click. Ok if your playing heavy metal, but not cool for music that uses instrument mics. The clicks were even picking up in the loops. After some more investigation I found the FCB 1010 (made by Behringer). The pedals are very quiet and the pedal is fully customize-able using the midi interface. There is also a sort of underground user community that has sprung up around this pedal. Reading the user groups and user videos on youtube really helped a lot as the Behringer manual sucks quite badly. Anyway, the pedal is amazingly functional.

Getting used to using software is the tricky part. The best part of analog gear is that you have a knob for everything you need. If something doesn't sound right or you aren't getting the sound you want, just reach for the appropriate knob. With software, it isn't always as intuitive. I have had a few times where the system was muted or a routing wasn't right and the result was no sound! Scrolling through menus can be frustrating if you aren't sure what is wrong, especially in a gig situation. This has happened to me twice so far. I think the only solution is to know the software inside and out!!

So that is the only "con" I have come across so far. The "pro's" certainly outweigh that. One, I have reduced the weight of our equipment from a 90 pound pedalboard case to one Behringer FCB 1010 midi pedal. Number two, the sound signal to the house system is MUCH cleaner. With the analog gear, of course, you have multiple power supplies, each of which can cause humm or buzz in the system. Also you have much more cable to deal with as it goes from one effect pedal to the next. The result is much more noise in the final signal. Even the cleanest analog setup can have quite a bit of noise. The cool thing about digital effects is that they are perfectly clean. No wires to deal with.

Recently Ableton Live also came out with a version that uses a looper. I have been using the LE version for composing and cataloging ideas. I downloaded version 8 last night and had a lot of fun working with the looper. The effects sound great too. I think this will open up a lot more possibilities and we'll be able to travel MUCH lighter. We're ready for you Europe!!

PICS BELOW: THE BIG PEDAL BOARD (in the case) and the Behringer FCB 1010 (which controls various software effects and loopers)