KevZep's Lounge system

Music is my life, and my job, its everywhere I go.........cant live without it.....

I dont have a very good camera but i tried to capture the vibe as best I could......

My lounge system at the moment is the Sansui G-9000 as the pre-amp, the G-9000 power-amp driving the L'acoustics SB-115 subs, then the AU-9500's power-amp drives the JBL4410A's....

The turntable is a Thorens TD125MK2 with a Shure M97XE cart...
...I like the sound of the little Sansui TU-5500 tuner, I think it sounds better than the tuner in the G-9000, so that why the 5500 is on top.........

I have a BSS FCS926 VARICURVE Stereo parametric equalizer with interface (FPC-900I) and remote (FPC-900R), so I can dial in any EQ necessary (usually very minimal) while relaxing on the couch, it has 24db of attenuation and muting so I can compensate for different mastering levels and mute the system when the phone rings......

The interface below......

The equalizer is an analogue eq (226 analogue filters) with digital control interface.....there are 6 filters available in stereo mode or 12 filters available in mono mode, adjustable Q between 0.1 octave and 2 octaves.......and +/- 15db and also a notch filter.
The remote below.....

I use a BSS FDS 360 active crossover for the subs, the 4410A's go down to 80hz, and the SB-115's go from 80hz down to 27hz.....

Sometimes I get the urge to noodle around on the guitar if I hear something inspiring so I have my Fender Telecaster Deluxe with my heavily modified Marshall JCM800 combo.....
The real guitar rig is upstairs in the music room, where my girlfriend and I record our songs (pro-tools setup, with the AU-999 as the monitoring amp) and jam, practice, and I also have my tech room up there too.....
Below is my Roland SRE-555 tape echo......

My customized Marshalls with the Classic series quads....

My favorite guitar........2008 Jimmy Page signature Les Paul Custom.....



The whole house is a man-cave!!!!!

nice! love the Roland chous/echo

What do think about the L'acoustics subs?

Nice setup BTW. I like the Pro-Sumer hybrid.

Beautiful custom lp. How do you like the bigsby on it. The tele is sweet too. Nothing beats the sound of a tele chuggin some rhythm and a les paul playin some slide.
Nice gear too.

I want to visit you.

:drool:

Very nice gear you have, all the way around. That parametric EQ is extremely cool. I tend towards a more minimalist approach to the signal path, but I'd love to experiment with an EQ like that. It might just change my mind.

I love the Telecaster.

What mods on the JMP?

Very nice modifiable on-the-fly system.
I used to use one of those Roland Chorus Echos back when I was a sound man. It replaced the echoplex and the Roland tape delay.

Jon_Logan said:

What do think about the L'acoustics subs?

Nice setup BTW. I like the Pro-Sumer hybrid.

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Our sound company uses all L'acoustic products, I really like what they produce.....The SB-115'S I have there are extremely smooth and even, you put something on with a nice thick bass guitar and it really penetrates, but without being peaky, all the notes are even....the bigger SB-218 (2 x 18") we use in our VDOSC system are like that too......
I like you name Pro-sumer hybrid....I guess thats what it is really......

Parnelly said:

Beautiful custom lp. How do you like the bigsby on it. The tele is sweet too. Nothing beats the sound of a tele chuggin some rhythm and a les paul playin some slide.
Nice gear too.

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I dont know why, but when I was about twelve years old I saw a picture of Keith Richards with a Black Beauty with three pickups and a Bigsby, and ever since then I have wanted one.....when I learned Jimmy Page had one too, we you can imagine, that was it for me, i was doomed.......I love that guitar, it has every possible sound you can imagine, and it is so so easy to play, your fingers just glide on that fretboard...Im not much if a bigsby user, but its good to have it, because there are times where you can slip a swell in there.......The guitar stays perfectly in tune too, surprisingly........
Gibsons Custom shop do such a wonderful job of these guitars......and to think people collect them to hang on a wall....screw that, I play mine!!!

JonL said:

I want to visit you.

:drool:

Very nice gear you have, all the way around. That parametric EQ is extremely cool. I tend towards a more minimalist approach to the signal path, but I'd love to experiment with an EQ like that. It might just change my mind.

I love the Telecaster.

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Thanks Jon, yes the Parametric is very good, and it is perfect for minimalist applications of EQ, for example those 4410A's have a little peak around 2.4khz, its shallow, but goes from about 1.3-3.5khz (used my analysis gear), and what I have is one filter which is quite wide, about 1.8octaves, with the center frequency at 2.4khz, and I cut it by about 2db.....now to do the same thing with a graphic, you have to use multiple filters, so you get that phased horrible sound where you fix one problem and create another.......
But with this, its just the right amount, and because its right, you can really hear what its doing, and it just cleans everything up nicely........
Like if I put on an album where the mastering engineer decides they are going for detail rather than punch, I just dial up a nice wide filter around 60-80hz, make it a minimum of 1octve wide and just apply a small amount....and it just brings the bass drum and bass guitar more forward, adds some punch and a more solid sound from the bass, its the best way to do it, graphics can be so archaic and brutal, and they change the sound too much, even the good ones.......
I love the BSS Varicurve, its a great tool, we have only recently retired these from our main PA system drive, now we use the extremely powerful Dolby Lake processors, which have the crossovers, limiting, and eq in the one package........they are digital, but its fairly new technology so they do sound nice, and its allowed me to put the BSS Varicurve into my system at home......
Even with the best system, a little eq in the right place, tastefully applied, can add some excitement, and pull the best out of whatever song you are listening to....
Its easy for me, because i have spent so much of my adult life mixing bands, and tuning sound systems, so I know what it is Im trying to achieve, and thats the key to using something like this effectively.....

Thanks for the kind comments guys......

tomsdubs said:

What mods on the JMP?

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I changed it to run on 6550 output tubes rather than the EL34's, I like the linear top end, and the tight bottom end which they seem to do well....I find 34's too brittle for my taste....
I went into the pre-amp, changed it to a master volume, and changed the tone-stack, it has the perfect balance of treble boost and gain, so I have a really nice semi-clean sound (or completely clean if I want it) when I back the volume off on the guitar, and when I dig in she pushes just the right amount into the non-linear zone......
I spent a few months rolling different value caps in and out...
Then I use my over-drive (double Hotcake, my friend makes them) to do solos.....Its a really old school approach, but thats the way I like to do it, simple and raw....
In the lounge, Im just straight into the combo for noodling

audiodon said:

Very nice modifiable on-the-fly system.
I used to use one of those Roland Chorus Echos back when I was a sound man. It replaced the echoplex and the Roland tape delay.

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Yeah, the 555 was the best tape echo I believe, they are very reliable and they sound great, the chorus is to die for (and im not even big on chorus).....That particular 555 belonged to the first sound company I ever worked for, and they gave it to me because otherwise they were going to throw it out!!!!They were buying digital delays for the effects racks.......still got it 21 years later.....it runs like a dream....
Ive tried using digital delays...fine on vocals when mixing etc.....but not for guitar....I still drag this thing around to gigs with me.....its part of my sound.....

how do you like the Thorens? Have a shot of getting one

An outstanding musical setup...

Rome

Axcel said:

how do you like the Thorens? Have a shot of getting one

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I really like it, shes a solid runner....the SME3009 is a good match too.....
You cant go wrong with one, I think they are a top performing and sounding turntable......

Super Nice!

Rome said:

An outstanding musical setup...

Rome

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1newbe said:

Super Nice!

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Thanks guys, I like this thread, its really cool to see how other members are putting their systems together and see what they have.......

Ive got a day off today......what am I doing? No surpises there....

Nice setup! I dig those mid range Sansui tuners, I freshened up a TU-7500 for a friend. It was a great performer.

I like your Tele too. An instrument is a nice visual addition to a stereo system. :yes:

Jailtime said:

Nice setup! I dig those mid range Sansui tuners, I freshened up a TU-7500 for a friend. It was a great performer.

I like your Tele too. An instrument is a nice visual addition to a stereo system. :yes:

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They are very good those tuners indeed......oh yes I have to have a guitar in the lounge having been a player for 35 years I like to have something at hand to noodle around on when I have a moment of inspiration......which is often.....

That telecaster is a looker though.....

Nice stuff, Kev- thanks for the glimpse into your system. Nice setup with the remote on the EQ, too.

je

Fred Sanford said:

Nice stuff, Kev- thanks for the glimpse into your system. Nice setup with the remote on the EQ, too.

je

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Thanks man, it good to share..... Yeah the varicurve remote is really handy.......it just sits next to me on the couch........ready for a tweak if necessary.......

WOW! Nice equipment! The fact that you use a Shure M97xE reinforces my choice to use one!

Very cool Kev... verrrry cool!