Official Guitar, Amp, Pedals, and Gear Thread

Originally Posted by Kid Nickels

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right SG's are standard... nothing tonal about it unless you're Angus Young..... a "vintage" plywood Epi... what about a mass-produced, assembly-line piece of plywood makes it so nice? and I noticed you didn't mention the Takamine... exactly. Let's not go there.

lastly... modded or not... Boss? That's like saying a customized Kia is a sweet ride. Please. Lexicon rack unit reverb is a contradiction in terms. The only way to get true reverb is with a spring... simple as that. We can't even have this conversation until you guys find some real gear & electronics.

What is your setup? Who has good tone? Ton's of people with great tone use SG's. Vintage Epiphones are high quality and well sought after. I've never played a Takamine but there are plenty of guys who get good tone from them. Boss makes great pedals, as well, and I'm not sure there is a guitarist that exists who hasn't had a Boss pedal in their lineup at some point in their career.

Originally Posted by kgmessier

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As for playing into two amps, I do that on occasion with the AC30 and my Super Reverb. I strongly suggest an Ebtech Hum Eliminator, particularly if you're planning on going stereo into both. I find it's good to have one amp on the brighter side and the other on the warmer side as well. What's the second amp you're considering going into?

- Keith

I tried it today, and it sounded amazing. I couldn't believe how thick it sounded, really great. I'm not sure how often I'll get to gig that way, as it is such a pain, but whoa, tone heaven. You're right, though, I did notice quite a bit of extra hum, particularly from the AC30. I'll definitely take a look at the Ebtech, thanks for the rec.

Originally Posted by poly800rock

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sounds like an amazing deal

Thanks, yeah, I couldn't be happier. Best amp deal I could've come across, really.

Originally Posted by origenesprit

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I tried it today, and it sounded amazing. I couldn't believe how thick it sounded, really great. I'm not sure how often I'll get to gig that way, as it is such a pain, but whoa, tone heaven. You're right, though, I did notice quite a bit of extra hum, particularly from the AC30. I'll definitely take a look at the Ebtech, thanks for the rec.
Yup, stereo has a funny way of doing that. Glad you like the sound. You probably noticed that the AC30 is causing additional hum in your Two-Rock as well. The Ebtech will take care of all that. One thing to be aware of is that some have experienced a bit of treble roll-off, so you may want to compensate a bit with the EQ, but it's nothing extreme. Check it out and see if it's to your liking. - Keith

Originally Posted by Kid Nickels

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right SG's are standard... nothing tonal about it unless you're Angus Young..... a "vintage" plywood Epi... what about a mass-produced, assembly-line piece of plywood makes it so nice? and I noticed you didn't mention the Takamine... exactly. Let's not go there.

lastly... modded or not... Boss? That's like saying a customized Kia is a sweet ride. Please. Lexicon rack unit reverb is a contradiction in terms. The only way to get true reverb is with a spring... simple as that. We can't even have this conversation until you guys find some real gear & electronics.


Wow. You are a trip. My SG definitely has some tone. Can you post a list of your gear so I know where you are coming from. And I do own "real gear".

Originally Posted by kgmessier

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Are you in this room just to pick a fight? A crappy guitar into a great amp will sound significantly better than a great guitar into a crappy amp every time.

As for an SG being "nothing tonal...unless you're Angus Young," that has as much to do with the amp and pickups as it does the chunk of mahogany.

You seem to have very tight borders around what makes acceptable tone.

easy there... no fights. Discussion... & posters may agree to disagree. No worries. But many of the previous posts in the thread coming from discussing playing this & that, etc., sounds great and all led to gear postings (of things that supposedly sounded great). Some of them were ok... many (my Exhibit A) were completely lacking in the tone department. And yes crappy guitar to great amp is better than great guitar into crappy amp (as I said I didn't see the amp mentioned)... but Vox wah, into endless chain-linked Boss pedals will always sound like ****. Sure I'm coming from the angle that reverb happens in a spring, distortion happens in an overdriven tube, delay comes from a tape, and tone come from an actual piece of carefully selected wood that a luthier has crafted into a fine instrument. Some old SG's do rock fo' sho but they certainly do not fall into the category of fine instument. And the bad ones far outnumber the good ones. It doesn't have to be a Triggs archtop (altho' they'll ******* slay practically anything mentioned here) but I don't think I've ever picked up a Heritage or a G&L, for example, and said "oh, this one sucks..." They're production, but very well made and they sound like it. That's all. Django was rumored to have played some of the most god-awful guitars with only his three fucked-up working fingers and killed it..... well, that's Django.

Originally Posted by Kid Nickels

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easy there... no fights. Discussion... & posters may agree to disagree. No worries. But many of the previous posts in the thread coming from discussing playing this & that, etc., sounds great and all led to gear postings (of things that supposedly sounded great). Some of them were ok... many (my Exhibit A) were completely lacking in the tone department. And yes crappy guitar to great amp is better than great guitar into crappy amp (as I said I didn't see the amp mentioned)... but Vox wah, into endless chain-linked Boss pedals will always sound like ****. Sure I'm coming from the angle that reverb happens in a spring, distortion happens in an overdriven tube, delay comes from a tape, and tone come from an actual piece of carefully selected wood that a luthier has crafted into a fine instrument. Some old SG's do rock fo' sho

but they certainly do not fall into the category of fine instument. And the bad ones far outnumber the good ones. It doesn't have to be a Triggs archtop (altho' they'll ******* slay practically anything mentioned here) but I don't think I've ever picked up a Heritage or a G&L, for example, and said "oh, this one sucks..." They're production, but very well made and they sound like it. That's all. Django was rumored to have played some of the most god-awful guitars with only his three fucked-up working fingers and killed it..... well, that's Django.
So... what do you play? P.S. Anybody have any Gretsch experience? I've never really played one but I'm dying for an Anniversary Jr (Jack White is becoming far too much of an influence).

Originally Posted by guitarpkr76

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Wow. You are a trip. My SG definitely has some tone. Can you post a list of your gear so I know where you are coming from. And I do own "real gear".

I'm a trip... ok... no worries. And I'm not being argumentative. If everyone here is truly into guitars and tone then it's the same as old baseball guys saying who was better Mantle or Maris. You know it's part of it.... and please see previous post... yes some old SG's do rock ... but look.... the tone of the posts (no pun intended) began as posting the goodies. It started off with with some great stuff... and old Fender Esquire, the Gibson, there's a bad-ass old Tweed in there... and then it went all to hell. Posting a pic of five series-linked Boss pedals in your "pedalboard"? Shall we go over to men's clothing and post a pic a my new polyester suit from G2000 and see if it doesn't get flamed nuclear?? well that's what I was saying.... I love it when dudes rock a Jackson into a solid-state Crate amp and think it's the ****... I trust your real gear & we can nit-pick but I have tons of stuff. A few examples: Some of the guitars: Taylor 614 GA(pre-2000 before they cheaped out!), Pawar Prestige TOTC one-off, vintage & rare model G&L tele.... some amps: Miller Audio Design custom Tweed, Dr. Z Carmen Ghia... Effects: Teese, ZVex, Moog, Fulltone, Lovetone,... etc.

Originally Posted by origenesprit

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So... what do you play?


P.S. Anybody have any Gretsch experience? I've never really played one but I'm dying for an Anniversary Jr (Jack White is becoming far too much of an influence).

Jack White is a cRaZy mutha fucka!!! Ya... (p.s. some of what I play above)

Originally Posted by origenesprit

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So... what do you play?


P.S. Anybody have any Gretsch experience? I've never really played one but I'm dying for an Anniversary Jr (Jack White is becoming far too much of an influence).

I have a 5120 but don't play it very much. I can get an equivalent tone out of my tele and don't like the feel of the Gretsch body. You should go play one.

Originally Posted by Kid Nickels

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I'm a trip... ok... no worries. And I'm not being argumentative. If everyone here is truly into guitars and tone then it's the same as old baseball guys saying who was better Mantle or Maris. You know it's part of it.... and please see previous post... yes some old SG's do rock

... but look.... the tone of the posts (no pun intended) began as posting the goodies. It started off with with some great stuff... and old Fender Esquire, the Gibson, there's a bad-ass old Tweed in there... and then it went all to hell. Posting a pic of five series-linked Boss pedals in your "pedalboard"? Shall we go over to men's clothing and post a pic a my new polyester suit from G2000 and see if it doesn't get flamed nuclear?? well that's what I was saying.... I love it when dudes rock a Jackson into a solid-state Crate amp and think it's the ****... I trust your real gear & we can nit-pick but I have tons of stuff. A few examples: Some of the guitars: Taylor 614 GA(pre-2000 before they cheaped out!), Pawar Prestige TOTC one-off, vintage & rare model G&L tele.... some amps: Miller Audio Design custom Tweed, Dr. Z Carmen Ghia... Effects: Teese, ZVex, Moog, Fulltone, Lovetone,... etc.
I'm just not sure I agree re: pedals. Yes, a Crate solid state amp with a Jackson guitar is not a good sound, but some of the most interesting guitarists mix and match their effects to get some truly unique and awesome tones. I mean, look at Jonny Greenwood, who, yes, uses Lovetone and Demeter pedals, but also Boss (quite a few, for overdrive and reverb, etc.) and Electro Harmonix. Just because a pedal isn't boutique doesn't mean it can't get you good tone. SRV used an Ibanez TS10! EDIT: Also, about Crate Solid State amps, they aren't as bad as I thought. A friend of mine has one, and if you're really picky, no, it doesn't hold up to my Two Rock, but live, it does its job very well.

Is this the thread where we evaluate people's tones without having heard them play?

Originally Posted by CunningSmeagol

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Is this the thread where we evaluate people's tones without having heard them play?

Come on, this is styleforum, where each pedal you own must cost at least $400 and must have a waiting list for at least a year in order to be respected.

Originally Posted by origenesprit

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I'm just not sure I agree re: pedals. Yes, a Crate solid state amp with a Jackson guitar is not a good sound, but some of the most interesting guitarists mix and match their effects to get some truly unique and awesome tones. I mean, look at Jonny Greenwood, who, yes, uses Lovetone and Demeter pedals, but also Boss (quite a few, for overdrive and reverb, etc.) and Electro Harmonix. Just because a pedal isn't boutique doesn't mean it can't get you good tone. SRV used an Ibanez TS10!

EDIT: Also, about Crate Solid State amps, they aren't as bad as I thought. A friend of mine has one, and if you're really picky, no, it doesn't hold up to my Two Rock, but live, it does its job very well.

well I hear ya... I have an EH pedal that's pretty cool. It's some whack harmonizer spazz thing. but my soundman isn't as good as Jonny's! wait ... ya I don't have soundman.....

and SRV could rock a Jackson thru a Crate! ha ha....

I really don't think anybody makes weird effects better than EHX, except maybe Zvex but his weird stuff is too much cash for something I'd never use.

That having been said I want a tremolo probe badly.