Nope, I'm not suffering from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) at all. Everything I get is exactly what I need to address a real problem. If it doesn't do enough for me, I don't want it. That's kind of my unwritten rule: The board is the limit. If it doesn't fit, it's out. The board/case is a custom build made from aluminum reinforced with some poly.
For vocals and guitar, I use a Line 6 POD X3 Live, which was released in 2007. That's pretty old for a digital processor, but it took me years to fully understand its possibilities (and pitfalls). I still haven't exhausted it, despite indulging in 45+ guitar and 15+ vocal sounds. It requires careful tweaking, and you can easily shipwreck your sound. But I guess that's a no-brainer for most versatile guitar effects processors. It has two separate effect chains that can be switched synchronously, or I can lock the vocals and still switch the guitar sound. It includes several monophonic synths that can be controlled with some rudimentary single-note pitch detection. To make it work, you have to play very cleanly and stay within the typical guitar range. Otherwise, it glitches and makes some funny noises - which, to me, is actually a cool feature.
The signal is then fed into a modified DigiTech JamMan Stereo looping station. For its size, this thing is the holy grail of loopers, due to its versatility. However, it originally has some weaknesses:
1. It employs momentary two-way switches that click like gun triggers and wear out all the time, getting you into maintenance hell. I have no idea what DigiTech was thinking since only one switch status is read by the device. It's easy to fix, though, by replacing them with silent, long-lasting momentary switches.
2. If you need a viable undo/redo function, DigiTech wants you to buy a footswitch extension with three switches, two of which do nonsensical garbage. It doesn't fit on my board, and I don't want it. I just drilled a hole in the housing and installed an undo/redo switch by connecting it to the circuit board.
3. It doesn't offer a footswitch to save your recorded phrases. It would've made sense to at least put that function on the external footswitch, but no... Easy to fix, just like with point 2.
With that done, I load the JamMan with short beat loops that I pre-produce in a DAW, mostly using TR-808 samples as a base. I live-record vocal and guitar phrases over those, sometimes overdubbing several layers. I can de- and reactivate the most recent overdub with my fancy undo/redo switch. For some songs, I leave an empty slot where I can save a recorded phrase to reuse later in the piece. I don't want to overwrite the original slot, after all. By the way, the JamMan PC software is as clunky as a brick.
From the JamMan, the signal goes straight into an FMR Audio RNC1773 compressor set to about 4 dB of dynamics reduction. I use the "Super Nice" mode, setting the attack to the max and the release to the min, with a 4:1 ratio. This gels the components together in a very transparent way, making it sound more like a finished recording. The output is routed into a Palmer PAN 04 DI box, from which it can be directly reproduced over a PA system. The untransformed signal is connected to two Rolls PM50se headphone monitoring amps, where it is merged with the dry microphone signal - one for myself and one for a guest singer. I have a headphone cable bundled with my guitar cable, so I can just plug in IEMs.
For miking, I use Audix OM7s with a hypercardioid pattern. If you're not kissing the grill, the signal drops right off, which is exactly what you want for live looping, when using lots of reverb, or on loud stages in general. My mic has an OptoGate PB-05 M attached, which mutes the mic when I'm not standing in front of it. This prevents mic spillage when recording guitar phrases on the looping station. The mics first go into the personal monitoring amps to mix in the dry vocals, and the signals are then combined in a merge box. Small detail: When not connecting a second mic, I plug in a little self-made terminator to keep the volume the same. From there, the signal reaches a Behringer Shark DSP110, which does a tiny bit of automatic feedback suppression (just in case), but I mostly use it for the preamp (which is slightly better than what the POD offers) and for the phantom power required by the OptoGate. The output is finally routed into the POD's aux input.
One more thing that really helps a lot is custom-made switch toppers with phosphorescent stickers. In combination with a little LED UV lamp, this allows me to comfortably see where to stomp barefoot in the dark.
I play a 2018 Ibanez RGIM8MH multi-scale guitar with a set of EMG 909 pickups. It's a plain and unadorned instrument that has everything I need - nothing more, nothing less (apart from locking tuners, maybe). It plays and sounds great.
That's about it. It took me a while to put everything together, and I had to learn the hard way with some catastrophic gigs under my belt. But it works just fine now, with very little to add. It takes me around 10 minutes to set up, including sound check - a clear advantage in terms of transportation, expenditure, consistency, and nerves.
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