Rig Rundown: Birmingham Guitar Show

February 23rd, 2023 |  John Dines

Origin Effects are exhibiting at The Guitar Show, Birmingham, UK this weekend – on Saturday the 25th and Sunday the 26th of February 2023. If you’re in the UK and are planning to come along, here’s a taste of what you can check out at our stand. If not, well… hopefully you like looking at pedalboards and racks! 

Guitar Demo Stations: 

 

Our two guitar demo stations each have a pedalboard that features pretty much the whole Origin range. You can compare a Cali76 Compact Deluxe and a Cali76 Stacked Edition, which run into our new M-EQ Driver and a Halcyon Green Overdrive. Then we have a RevivalDRIVE Compact and an RD Compact Hot Rod and, lastly, either a DELUXE61 or a MAGMA57 (depending on which station you’re sat in front of). Power comes from a Strymon Zuma and everything is mounted to a Temple Audio Duo 17 pedalboard.  

The racks underneath these board are where all the clever things happen, though. Because we’re keen to show off how our Amp Recreation pedal work either into or instead of and amp, we’ve set up a system that lets you A/B between running direct to a power amp or into a cranked amp on a reactive load! 

The amps in question are courtesy of another excellent UK based manufacturer, Victory Amps. We have a Fender-style V40 Duchess in one rig and a Marshall-flavoured V40 Sherriff in the other, so the majority of tastes are catered for when auditioning our pedals. Each of these is hooked up to its own Palmer PDI-03 Cabinet Simulator (we’re just using the reactive load part and the un-cabinet simulated output). This means you can crank your Victory of choice and listen at a more moderate level. 

So, the signal path runs like this: The output from the pedalboard runs into a JHS Switchback remote loop switcher. Contained in its loop is the V40 and Palmer PDI-03, which can be switched in and out of the signal path remotely, letting you A/B between “pedals into cranked amp” and “pedals direct to neutral power amp”. The output of the Switchback then feeds a Two Notes C.A.B M and a headphone amp so you (and your friends) can listen even during the infamous/beloved “quiet time”. The Thru output from the C.A.B also runs to a Palmer power amp and Victory 2×12 with Celestion Neo Creambacks, for the beloved/infamous “loud time”. 

It all sounds complicated but that’s what makes it easy to use. Now for the bass bits… 

 

Bass Demo Station: 

 

Our bass demo board gets your signal off to a good start with a Cali76 Stacked Edition and a Cali76 Compact Bass. We now have a few artists choosing the Stacked Edition for bass, so you can try both and see which floats your boat. If you play slap, we think you’ll dig the Stacked! 

Next in the chain is a Halcyon Green Overdrive. While this is in no way intended to be a bass pedal, we get a lot of questions about whether its DRY level control makes it bass-appropriate, so it would be rude not to let you all see for yourself. It’s actually quite effective. 

Lastly, the bit you’ve all been waiting for: both BASSRIG pedals. We’re running the DI outputs so you can hear the full Amp Recreation circuit and cabinet simulator in all their glory. A Radial Hot Shot ABi lets you select which BASSRIG you’re hearing and, despite the big dummy cab in the picture, we’re actually running the output into a full-range, flat-response QSC PA speaker! This way, you’ll hear the exact same signal that would run to the PA at a gig. And, of course, this also feeds headphones for the quiet bits. 

 

The People: 

 

John Dines – Product Manager

John Dines – Product Manager 

If you keep up to date with Origin’s YouTube, you might recognise John from such videos as Compressors Explained and Wet Dry Wet Rigs, the Sound Engineer’s Nightmare. A self-confessed rig nerd, John is the guy to go to with your pedalboard headaches or product suggestions (4 knob maximum). 

 

 

 

 

Jacob Holdsworth – Digital Content Creator & Product Specialist

Jacob Holdsworth – Digital Content Creator & Product Specialist 

Have you ever looked at an Origin Effects social media post and thought “what stunningly beautiful product photography”? Of course you have! Jacob is the man responsible. He’s also the mysterious face behind the cheery and helpful replies you get on forums or support emails. Be sure to compliment him on the giant pedal photo on our stand! 

 

 

 

 

 

Be sure to come and say hello at Booth 17. 

The Guitar Show will be open from 10am to 5pm, Saturday the 25th and Sunday the 26th of February, Cranmore Park, Birmingham.