guitar amps and guitars

[Fookums]

Im thinking about getting a new amp but not sure where to start, maybe a marshall, i like a cleaner sound with a good reverb, but also a really good distorted sound. Does any recomend Marshall? Please give me specific models to check out.

I'd say go for a fender (twin, hot rod, etc.) + overdrive / distortion pedal.

[mrpenguin354]

Wow! That SG and the ES-335 are AMAZING! I'm jealous!

[poly800rock]

when i was doing research on amps before i bought i've only heard good things about marshall JCM/TSLs... i personally have not played either so i can't specifically help you.

you may also wanna try a fender twin reverb... or perhaps orange rockerverb?

Marshall JCM's are pretty classic distortion. all three of those amps are pretty much the opposite ends of the spectrum.

FUCK........Guitar Center if having a HUGE sale this weekend...well they extended it from last week. But still, 43th aniversery sale. Check your locak GC's!!! And Musicansfriend is also having an Up to 85% off sale online for summers end..

those GC sales are such a fucking sham.

[Bona Drag]

Wow! That SG and the ES-335 are AMAZING! I'm jealous!

yes

altho that les paul thing is kind of fucked up looking

sweet pedal setup; i don't recognize half that stuff (not that i know my effects all that well anyway)

fwiw, fenders own good reverb, but they don't sound as good distorted as a lot of other stuff imo

i think you may have to compromise on one or the other; i would suggest you go with what handles distortion well and then compensate if the reverb isn't how you like it

have you thought about a vox ac15?

i love the way those distort

edit: poly's right - a 'really good distorted sound" can mean a lot of things

who are you trying to sound like?

[poly800rock]

it's a toss up really. fender owns clean tones. marshalls own classic distortion. you have the rest in between.

[beardcom]

thanks for the lovin'

i don't actually own a les paul. i think you're referring to the L6... entirely different guitar.

[Bona Drag]

yeah, i was

just cuz it ain't pretty don't mean it can't sound good

i'm not really familiar with those; the replacement headstock sort of threw me too

how does it play?

[beardcom]

yeah, i was

just cuz it ain't pretty don't mean it can't sound good

i'm not really familiar with those; the replacement headstock sort of threw me too

how does it play?

like a 70s gibson should... fucking amazing!

[edmond]

my share...

my 12 years old lespaul.. and my 10 year old marshall jcm900 50watt half stack...

[edmond]

my other guitar..

57 reissue from 1999 flamingo red

modified saddle to 1st gen graphtech and pickguard to a fendet american standard..

[omarion111]

when i was doing research on amps before i bought i've only heard good things about marshall JCM/TSLs... i personally have not played either so i can't specifically help you.

you may also wanna try a fender twin reverb... or perhaps orange rockerverb?

The twin reverb isnt bad, i personally found it a little too clean and prefer the hot rod over it. but ill try the rockverb and the marshall amps thanks.

[omarion111]

have you thought about a vox ac15?

i love the way those distort

edit: poly's right - a 'really good distorted sound" can mean a lot of things

who are you trying to sound like?

Havent tried the vox, im putting it on my list of amps to try... theres no sound in particualar i have in mind, and im not a person that likes to imitate other peoples sound anyways, so im just gonna go play a bunch of amps and see which 1 i really like. I currently have a hot rod deluxe, so ill probably go with something on the opposite end, like a marshall.

[Decades]

Gibson LP Studio

Traynor YBA-1 > Weber impedance matcher > Marshall 1960AX 4x12 (Greenbacks)

EHX Big Muff USA

Ibanez TS 808 Reissue

Ibanez CS 9 Reissue

Simple yet effective. The head is the same design as the Fender bassman with the exception of a 4 meg volume pot instead of a 1 meg (makes the tone a little "squishy" with less bite).

[haptronic]

this is my last working rig...

a guitar that i have had for ever...

[aziz]

^ Awesome, Hap. Love that cry baby eh?

[beardcom]

hap your shit is out of this world rad.

took some pics of my reconfigured rig today

my signal chain is like this right now:

Gibson L6-s or 70s tele deluxe>

boss tu-2 > zvex fuzz factory > boss ps-3 > ibanez pm7 (for ring mod) > ehx wiggler > ehx polychorus > digitech digiverb > digitech hyperflange > zoom ultrafuzz (analog) > zoom power drive (analog od) > digitech digidelay (for reverse delay) > digitech pds 20/20 delay > EB Volume pedal jr. > electra analog delay > akai headrush > ibanez dm1100 digital rack delay > yamaha e1005 analog rack delay > Kustom II Lead SC 2x12 combo

[Thorns]

I don't know how I missed this thread. I think it was my discussion with Serge about Mesa's that got this going...

I play nothing but Mesa amps... fucking swear by 'em.

standard shit pedal board (crybaby, delay, tuner, phase shifter, chorus, other stuff, fuck any distortion pedals... they never sound as good as a true tube)

A couple of frankenstein guitars

The only thing I play thats stock really is my 1st production Schecter c1 classic. Neck thru and all the hardwear that they got rid of in later productions.

[bencap]

this thread convinced me to finally sign up, haha. beardcom's ibanez tele is fucking awesome looking, i'd love to play it. I don't have any pictures of my full set up all together, but I do have a few shitty pictures:

my most recent buy, early 70's hiwatt cab (probably one of the first, it has a dallas arbiter badge on the back, might be a left-over soundcity cab. It's loaded with celestion hellatones (pretty much just v30's, but that have been broken in for ~15 hours so they don't sound brittle when you first get 'em.

there's my 1981 marshall model 2000 (relatively rare 200 watt jcm800/major hybrid amp, loud as HELL. Also pictured is my musicman hd130 and fender oversized 2x15.

I've also got a genz benz 4x12 that sounds great with 5150's and mesa's, but has too brittle mids to play a marshall through it.

I don't have any pictures of my guitar, so you'll have to see it like this I guess. mid 90's gibson les paul special double cutaway. Plays and sounds like a dream. The ones they sell now for twice as much because of the fancy finish sound the same.

I've also got a bunch of distortion pedals and a broken memory man (probably very easy to fix, but I'm useless with a soldering iron!).

[beardcom]

this thread convinced me to finally sign up, haha. beardcom's ibanez tele is fucking awesome looking, i'd love to play it. I don't have any pictures of my full set up all together, but I do have a few shitty pictures:

thanks for the love, im og from san jose too. what band/bands are/haveyoubeen in?

know worker bee, settler, sloe, the northeast, olympic year, the genues, any of those guys? friends from down there.

[retemeris]

picked up a chet atkins sst acoustic/electric about 4 weeks ago (no soundhole version) after selling a lot of my clothes..

plays [and looks] beautifully, its a shame gibson discontinued it.

also purchased a EHX memory man about 2 days ago. im thinking about picking up a noise suppressor. I've heard ISP decimator is the best... any second opinions?

[corter]

anybody paint guitars? i do a little bit, just finished painting a ccouple of these:

[haptronic]

Thorns

there are a whole world of uses for a distortion pedal/overdrive....

in the rig i posted the amp was built to take microphone level input so without the hotcake there was no way to hit the front end of the amp hard in order to tip it over the edge...the hotcake is point to point hand wired so it is not tinny at all...

having said that doesn't to take into account some of the incredible sounds from purely solid state gear... for a while i missed the old boss hm2 into a bass head with 1 15" from my teenage days...

try it...you may even like it...

bencap

that hiwatt cabinet is pretty...i am also a big fan of the sovtek... a ts9 on the floor...i always wanted to use one for a good sound never had enough gain for me...actually kinda cool with bass for something really dirty....

retemeris

dont know about the memory man..my favorite thing about the ehx pedals if have had was the shitty bypass...made the sound in off position just that much sweeter..

[Whodinihimself]

Some cool stuff on this thread...i've been neglecting the guitar

my current rig:

Guitars:

Jackson I Frankied with EMG 81's and a booster switch

Ibanez (crappy beater guitar)

Takamine acoustic...vintage...never bothered to look up what model it is

Amp:

Traynor Custom Valve 80Q 4X10 (mad heavy (weight wise)...but owns the show on clean tones so its worth the broken back)

...im currently saving up for a new head or a nice half stack...

Pedals:

MJM London Foxey Fuzz (my favourite...the perfect fuzz pedal for me)

TC Electronic Chorus/Pitch Mod/Flanger (mainly for chorus...so good)

Boss BF-3 (gets the job done i think)

Boss DD-3 (classic)

Korg 104DS Hyper Distortion (hands down the heaviest pedal ever made...very digital sounding tho..and has some major design flaws...like a stutter when you click into distortion...only really usable in the studio...but its like a wall of amps in a box)

Fuzz Factory (i you havent already, visit www.zvex.com for a video demo...he makes some cool pedals)

Total Sonic Annihilation (had him install a level knob on mine...if you ever get one be very careful...it can turn on you...very nice studio tool)

Digitech Synth Wah/Envelope Filter (its ok...got some cool sounds)

Recording gear:

Tascam 2488 Digital Portastudio (would NOT recommend this...spent over $600 in repairs alone...fucking CPU is mad touchy...its great when its working properly)

[mrpenguin354]

Corter - I've dabbled a bit with stencils but they're nothing spectacular. Have you done any other work besides Montery Pop clones?

I've got an unfinished LP Supreme copy on my workbench that I think I might goldtop and throw some black hardware on. I've been looking at some p-90s too. Does anyone here mod their own stuff? I've got an Epiphone Valve junior at home and I don't know what to do with it.

[bencap]

beardcom: i have seen a couple of those bands, but they were never really part of my scene. Most of those bands were around when I was like, a freshman in high school. I'm in a hardcore/metal band called mohoram atta, we played in portland last spring actually! Every other member is from santa cruz though, we're not really a san jose band. We've played in san jose only once in the last three years.

hap: the sovtek is my bandmate's, the natural overdrive on that thing is massive and creamy, I just use the ts-9 to completely push it over the top, it's not even necessary. I just can't live without the extra crunch it provides!

[poly800rock]

one of the most overlooked vintage heads are the old ampeg guitar heads from the 70's/80's. They sound really warm distorted. My buddy played the ampeg through a JCM800 cab i sold him, it sounded like a fucking dream

[beardcom]

one of the most overlooked vintage heads are the old ampeg guitar heads from the 70's/80's. They sound really warm distorted. My buddy played the ampeg through a JCM800 cab i sold him, it sounded like a fucking dream

my friend rocked 2 v4s for a while, fucking nutso. i'll probably get one at some point when i feel like i need a head/cab setup again, at the moment i am kind of obsessed with obscure 70s solid state amps though. i have these 2 old kustom 2x12 combos, a couple years apart. one sounds almost identical to a twin reverb and the other is a little more ballsy like a hiwatt or a v4 (and 130 watts!) everyone is obsessed with tubes right now so there are some great deals to be had in the land of solid state.

[beardcom]

beardcom: i have seen a couple of those bands, but they were never really part of my scene. Most of those bands were around when I was like, a freshman in high school. I'm in a hardcore/metal band called mohoram atta, we played in portland last spring actually! Every other member is from santa cruz though, we're not really a san jose band. We've played in san jose only once in the last three years.

how about maida? those were good bros when that band was around, especially their guitarist evan.

[corter]

Corter - I've dabbled a bit with stencils but they're nothing spectacular. Have you done any other work besides Montery Pop clones?

.

yea, i do a lot of random work when i can, mostly relics and such. the monterey i've only done a couple of, most of the graphics i do are custom stuff that customers want me to do. most recent was a pinup, but it's usually stuff like that.

[mizanation]

my current rig is pretty simple.

fender highway one stratocaster going into amplitube 2.0 on my macbook pro.

that's it and it gets the job done for recording.