[Dragonfly88Member]

I don’t think that my way of playing the avalon paradis (’93 nylon) could serve as a good example (and for some days I was considering whether to post this or better not), but ok, this was my way (in the past):

Started singing Cohen, Dylan etc. in the bath and my computer room at home, accompanying myself on acoustic steelstrings, I once had to work for some months in an islamic state where I needed a “quiet” guitar in my bedroom, played through a tiny headphone amp. By accident, I purchased a nylon paradis from her previous owner, not knowing what kind of phantastic guitar would come into my hands.

This experience has been the starting point of later being a member of a bebop trio/quartett!

However, some blues playing came up within our combo that led me to steel string semihollows, as I felt not beeing able to bend the strings as needed.

The combo playing led to a further step in my “local career” and now I am a member of a bigband since 3 years.

But I am really longing to come back to my paradis, and maybe after another one or two years bigband I will return to solo performances, maybe bossa nova or such.

And here is my (old) signal path for the paradis nylon:
– paradis guitar through a special cable, combing the 6 individual stringsignals in a normal 6,3″ plug
– BOSS GT10, nearly without(!) any preamp settings, just a little bit of EQ for room-acoustic, volumepedal, tuner and a little bit of reverb
– first an AER Tramp Amp (predecessor of the AER Compact 60 mobile), later replaced by the Schertler Unico Amp
– when singing simultaneously, all signals went through a 16Ch-Mackie Mixer, later Edirol MDX16, and a stereo output (11:13 hours left/right) directly into the PA. (Unico remaining as monitor)

I felt (and still feel) totally comfortable with the overall capabilities of the “multi-FX” GT 10, which very little is utalized from, and my acoustic amp Schertler Unico (which is – among some well known tube amps – a very good amp for my archtops as well).

2008 Rolf built a subbass for me, and several times I tried VG99 sounds via a 13pin cable from my paradis, but honestly I have to admit, that Duo-/Trio-colleagues (Popsongs) by far preferred natural sounds of either the paradis or my acoustic steelstrings.

So, my VG99 rests back in the shed waiting for something in the future?

Bottomline of it all:
– The paradis is a marvellous guitar, sounds and playability not beeing surpassed by any other guitar I had held in my hands
– however, bending capabilities are limited on my nylon, thats why I am using steelstrunged archtops since years in a bebop combo and in a bigband
– I am awaiting coming back to the paradis doing more solo performances, when I feel it may be time to leave the bigband
– then the paradis, the GT10 (just for little bit of EQ and reverb, tunig and volumencontrol) and the Schertler Unico will be enough again.

best regards
Torsten

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