Guitar and amp purchase

Piobaire · Feb 25, 2010

Originally Posted by grundletaint

this thread is breaking my goddamn brain.

go to a store, find a guitar you like and buy the ******* thing. do the same with the amp. get a tube amp and stay in the 30 watt or under range unless you're gonna be somewhere you can crank the ******. a twin reverb is a great amp but it's loud and heavy. look into a deluxe reverb.

pedals are a whole different story. yeah, you like rock, but what kind? whose tone do you like and want to emulate?

That's been asked and answered already.

And no, I won't just go to a store and buy the ******* thing. The process of choosing and anticipation is part of the enjoyment. The act of buying is actually the least enjoyable part of the process, IMO.

milosz · Feb 25, 2010

Amp: Marshall Class 5 (5 watt tube amp) or Orange Tiny Terror (7 watts) - I think these'll check in ~$400 , sound good with gain turned up a bit for the grunge/rock thing.

Guitar: whatever feels good to you, the original Les Paul you posted is ugly, IMO but that's a taste issue. If you want quality but wish to save a few bucks, you can get a Made in Japan Tokai or Edwards Les Paul for $1000-1500 - available via Ebay or Rakuten, but you'll have to put in some leg work figuring out model numbers and what you want.

milosz · Feb 25, 2010

You're old and playing just for fun, so I'd ignore recommendations for larger tube amps - big-ass Marshalls are relatively inexpensive (even semi-vintage ones), but playing in your house you'll never be able to turn it up past 2.

5-watt tube amps will get extremely loud when cranked, but you get to turn it up a bit more before the wifey or neighbors starts throwing a fit.

As an alternative to a tube amp, the Vox Valvetronix line sound good across a wide spectrum, and aside from the modeling/master volume tricks that let you get a good overdriven/distorted sound at lower volumes, there's a built-in attenuator on the back so you can turn it way down if you want.

Piobaire · Feb 25, 2010

Yeah, I do not need a stage quality amp. The odds of me ever playing for someone other than my wife's cats are slim to none.

gomestar · Feb 25, 2010

a 10 watt tube amp isn't significantly quieter than a 100 watt tube amp. The biggest difference I've noticed is gain. A 10 watt amp will break up and show gain very early on while a 100 watt amp will hold its clean tones as you turn the volume up. There can be great advantages to both. You'd have to work the volume dial on the guitar to hold back on the gain with a smaller powered amp.

I still like the Vox Valvetronix and would seek one out. I use the 30 watt in the apartment and the diversity of tones and the ability to alter the output has been a tremendous help.

milosz · Feb 25, 2010

There are also affordable, very cool vintage amps out there as well. But they aren't exactly ideal for AiC/Bush/etc. alt-rock.

I've got a Gibson GA-18T from 1960 that I paid $600 for a couple of years ago. Sounds amazing, similar to vintage Fender tweed amps of the '50s. Turned up it fuzzes way out (think Neil Young, he uses a '50s Fender Deluxe).

There are a number of Fender amps of the '60s you can get for under a grand - like the Champ or Vibrochamp (5W, ~$400 in good condition) that will sound great clean. You could throw a fuzz or distortion pedal in front of them rather than relying solely on amp distortion. Jack White runs pedals into a clean Fender amp for his sound.

idlewild · Feb 25, 2010

+1 on the Tiny Terror and Vox AC 30.

I play an AC 30 but its loud. If you are looking for something you can crank up to hear the gain and not worry about it being loud I'd recommend this:

http://www.g-spot-music.com/spirit.htm

Its only 4 watts and has a built in attenuator. I tried it out a couple of weeks back, it sounds pretty awesome.

gomestar · Feb 25, 2010

I have a Fender Princeton (I believe that's what it is) from sometime in the 60's, but it's somewhat finicky. Idle it sounds of some static and I had to replace the tubes a few times to find ones that really made it sound great. I forget what the final combination was.

a good advantage of solid state ... you can plug in headphones.

origenesprit · Feb 25, 2010

This thread makes me want to start a guitar gear thread

gomestar · Feb 25, 2010

Originally Posted by origenesprit

This thread makes me want to start a guitar gear thread

I'd list a few gems from the collection. I don't have any pics on me, efff

Piobaire · Feb 25, 2010

Originally Posted by origenesprit

This thread makes me want to start a guitar gear thread

Done

retronotmetro · Feb 25, 2010

I guess I'm in the "old and playing for fun" category as well. Most of my playing is going to be through phones or at low volume, so an amp is a waste for me (I loaned my Fender Super Twin to a friend years ago, and don't have space to take it back now). I just ordered a Vox Jamvox system to use with my computer. The amp modeling on these is pretty good for what it is.

grundletaint · Feb 25, 2010

Originally Posted by Piobaire

And no, I won't just go to a store and buy the ******* thing. The process of choosing and anticipation is part of the enjoyment. The act of buying is actually the least enjoyable part of the process, IMO.
so you'd rather just buy something off the internet and you don't really care how it feels to play and how it sounds, etc? i'd venture to say that going and trying different guitars out is pretty damn enjoyable and i'll go one step further and add that it is a process of choosing and anticipation.

origenesprit · Feb 25, 2010

Originally Posted by grundletaint

so you'd rather just buy something off the internet and you don't really care how it feels to play and how it sounds, etc?

i'd venture to say that going and trying different guitars out is pretty damn enjoyable and i'll go one step further and add that it is a process of choosing and anticipation.

I think Pio thought you were suggesting to go to a store and just buy the first LP Studio he sees, but I could be wrong.

milosz · Feb 25, 2010

davesguitar.com - for all your mail-order Gibson needs

Guitar and amp purchase

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