Occam’s Razor, practice rigs, and the FM3

The NUX Mighty Air seemed like it would be a workable practice solution back in January, but, uh, yeah. No. I don’t know if its a battery issue or saturated wireless bands or what, but it kept cutting out, and even when it was reliably connecting to the guitar (i.e., via an instrument cable), there's just only so much you can get from two 2" speakers and "8 watts" (however measured). The presets were kind of fun to play with for a minute, but against the overall limitations of the system, I never loved it, frankly. I have the FM3, and my tone chasing is best left to that device.

The one (huge) downside: Dragging out the huge FRFR-112 for practice sessions is a drag. The more friction between me and practicing, the less I’ll practice ... Yeah. Anyway.

So for wireless I found a used Line 6 Relay G75 system for a good price, and I can patch that into the FM3. For lower volume practice sessions (apartment living, yay...), I was looking at getting a single powered studio monitor¹, but then a discussion on one of the Fractal forums or groups resonated; that user was patching the headphone output into the AUX input of the Mighty Air, which I wasn’t interested in doing, but then it occurred to me, I have a nice setup with Marantz amplification and KEF speakers just sitting there. $23 solution: This cable². Plugged in the FM3. Played some riffs. Sounds great. Is it a studio-accurate setup? No. Will it do just fine for what I need, without another box to find a home for, another $100+ spent? Absolutely.

At the office, I sold the NUX MG-101 (I still have the -300 MkII, at least for now; if I ever do have to do remote lessons or want to jam virtually, the TRRS headset support and built in audio interface are handy AF, and it fits in the backpack I’m using to collect all my instrument cables, foot switches, and other odds and ends), and the great price but very beat up Pignose I just wasn’t feeling anymore. Also, I kinda wanted to eliminate cords, both for visual clutter reasons and because: Dogs.

Line 6 Spyder V 60 Mk II

Solution: A very good price ($169) on a “Used - Good” Line 6 Spider V 60 MkII, with its built in wireless receiver (and it will charge the transmitter when “docked” in the input socket), tuner, amp modeling, etc. (I kinda wanted the Catalyst CX 60, which I found for not much more - it has a power dampener built in that limits the amp to half power (30W) or 0.5 watt, which seemed like it would be very useful in an office setting - but the other functionality of the Spyder won out (and apparently I can even set it up as an FRFR box, according to the Pilot’s Guide: “Spider V version 2.0 includes a Classic Speaker Mode in addition to the Full Range Speaker Mode. Presets created with Classic mode selected will provide a more traditional combo amplifier playing experience, whereas presets created with Full Range mode selected may result in more ‘produced’—sounding tones ...”).

I also got a “Used - Great” G10TII transmitter for half-price. (Guitar Center used stuff FTW.)

That kit should arrive this week, looking forward to playing with it.

My last lesson was great, my practice has really paid off. Gotta keep the momentum. I may have just found a great deal on my “Eleanor” guitar, too, so ... (Which, if it happens, I’d unload the MH-100QMNT and the S521...)

Which, I didn’t realize I was already looking at the neuroplasticity benefits of playing guitar, early last year ... Some more recent reading:

• Your brain shrinks after 40. Learning a musical instrument can reverse it. Experts say the more we challenge our brains as we age, the more resilient it becomes—and “learning a new instrument is a full-brain workout.”
•  The midlife habits that could make or break your brain health long-term (“Learning a language, mastering an instrument or taking up an unfamiliar hobby — especially one that’s creative — may help build resilience over decades. In fact, a study published in the March issue of Neurology found people who had the highest levels of what researchers called ‘cognitive enrichment’ — engaging in activities like reading and writing or visiting museums — developed Alzheimer’s five years later than those with lower scores.”)
• Listening to music most days could guard against dementia, study suggests A new study finds that regularly listening to music or playing a musical instrument may help older adults protect against cognitive decline

 ... Also, it’s just fun as hell.

¹ I was looking at the PreSonus Eris E5 ($90 for a single monitor, Used – Good), or the ADAM Audio T5V Studio Monitor ($175 Used – Like New)

² Monoprice RG6 RCA - RG6/U 75ohm, CL2 Rated, Digital Coaxial Audio Cable, for S/PDIF