From dave@daveoakley.plus.com Wed Dec 22 05:04:31 2010
Subject:Re: Count me in

I've just come off the back of 3 gigs using my PortaB and 145. I normally gig with a Nord C1 and Vent. Here's my experience.
Thursdays gig i had insufficient monitoring, i had the Leslie flat out and overdriving like crazy and i couldnt hear a damn thing, which really effected my playing and probably didnt do a great deal of good to the Leslie either. I hated the entire gig.
Fridays gig was better as i was sat right next to the 145, but it was still a struggle at times. There were points in the evening when i heard nuances in my sound where i thought, hey my Nord/Vent doesnt have THAT sound but this was countered by the fact that the PortaB/145 combination didnt have the screaming top octave that i'm used to. The overall sound was much darker in the low/mids but it didnt cut through the band well in the top octave. The Nord/Vent combo absolutely carves through the band, even when they are at full tilt.
Saturdays gig was on a large stage with a big old PA rig and full stage monitoring and was the best of the 3 nights in terms of hearing myself over the band. That said, the screaming top octave was still missing. This is of course more a factor of the PortaB, than the Leslie as it doesnt have foldback, but it adds to my point.

So in conclusion, the PortaB/145 looked the nuts on stage compared to the Nord, naturally, and it really felt so much better to play, it's probably just psychological, but that really matters i think. I also found the 145 a bit more lush (when i could actually hear it) than the Vent and it didnt have that ever so slightly off key tremulant that i sometimes hear in the vent when on tremelo.
On the flipside, the PortaB/Leslie was mostly a struggle to hear even with proper monitoring and a very experienced sound guy at side of stage with an independant stage mix, it still didnt cut through the band in the high's in the same way that the Nord/vent combo does.

What it has taught me is this, there is always some trade off, even when you use the real deal equipment. As much as i love the tone of the 145 (especially at home), I think the most practical gigging combination might be to use the PortaB with the vent through a Mackie, because end of the day, no matter how good it sounds, it's of no use if you can't hear yourself.
UKDave