Guitar recommendations?

[yellowsnow]

i'm in the market for a new guitar. My $100 acoustic is starting to sound like shit, so i need something better :D It's a piece of shit. My friend and I left our guitars at our church for a week, and someone broke into the church and stole pretty much everything, EXCEPT my crappy acoustic... :confused: :confused: Stole my friends fender telecaster :thumbsdow , and even some USB cables.... but my acoustic was left unharmed

i don't understand thieves lol

Anyway, does anyone recommend a good electric/acoustic guitar? I'm only really good at chording right now, but I am trying to learn more licks. I'm not really into heavy metal music, except for a few songs.

So far I was looking at a fender stratocaster/telecaster, or an epiphone les paul... people keep telling me to buy an american fender or gibson, but I'm pretty indifferent. Japanese guitars sound just as good to me. I actually had a gibson SG a year ago, but sold it cuz I never played it much.. plus I didn't really like the sound. I'm looking for a more clear tone?

my budget is under $800 for just the guitar.

help a beginner out :D

[b_t]

What you need is a Jackson RX10D :D

http://www.jacksonguitars.com/products/prod_images/guitars/2911400528_xl.jpg

If you get the most expensive Epiphone Les Paul you can afford you will have a pretty nice guitar on your hands. You could also look around used and maybe get a Gibson Les Paul Studio for that much if you look on eBay and that.

[finboy]

what kind of music do you like? that will help with the decision.

if you want something that you can play unplugged, and plugged in, the epiphone dot and ibanez artcore series are nice, they are semi-acoustic and are both a great start point.

for $800 you can get a really nice guitar buy if you might want to consider spending less on the guitar and more on a decent amp.

a crappy guitar into a good amp can sound decent, anything into a crappy amp will sound like crap.

also check out ebay for...

squier '51
squier deluxe series
epiphone les paul
edwards les paul (niiiice guitars)
fender telecasters/stratocasters

agile/sx also make pretty nice guitars for the price as well.

hope that helps

[racin_jayson]

check out Schecter guitars, they are excellent

[BigBearWest]

I am very new to playing the guitar but i am slowly learning.

Do you an amp if not does the 800 include a purchase of it? Also if you didn't like how a SG sounded you may want to stay away from guitar that have hum bucker's.

[yellowsnow]

i play in a christian band, not the most exciting music to play. but in my spare time i like to learn how to play more guns n roses, lenny kravitz, type music.

yea sorry i can't get more specific. I already have a decent amp, but will probably sell that for something better later.. but it should be good enough for now.

[Lex350]

narrow it down to two brands and then go play as many samples of these guitars to find a nice one. Just because the lable says its good doesn't mean it is.

[finboy]

if it was a gibson sg, i'm suprised you didn't like the sound considering the music you want to play, could it have been the amp?

for clear sounds, you might want to look into single coil pickups. the telecaster and stratocaster have these (depending on the model) but you might also want to look into a guitar equiped with p-90's. they are basically really big single coils, their sound is somewhere between regular single coils and humbuckers, and they do great clean tones.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Agile-Electric-Guitar-Set-Neck-New-Harm-1-HC_W0QQitemZ220086282381QQihZ012QQcategoryZ2384QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or

http://cgi.ebay.com/Les-Paul-Standard-Epiphone-Gibson-P94-pickups-P90-ish_W0QQitemZ120091013066QQihZ002QQcategoryZ33037QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

might be a good start, but i will warn you that les pauls are NOT light (8-10 pounds), but that les paul is a REALLY good deal right now as those pickups are worth a pretty penny (actual GIBSON p94's (humbucker sized p90's))

[msommers]

Acoustic
I've had my 800 dollar Yamaha acoustic for awhile now and I love it. Everyone that has played it loves the sound too. Keeping a little humidifier in there helps a lot I find and they are cheap. Long and Mcwade seemed to have a nice selection, so does guitar works on 16th ave.

Things to consider:

Wide neck or normal
Nylon or steel
Electric acoustic or normal
Price

Go place any acoustic, despite the price. From what I found, I like the sound of some of the cheaper ones more than the expensive ones. Get the one that sounds good to you, not someone else!

Electric
When I had my old Mesa amp, I had an Epiphone Les Paul, and later bought a gibson. The built and sound is different between the two, Gibson usually a lot heavier. If you're on a budget and play hard rock, I'd say go with the Epiphone, it's a solid guitar. Since I sold my Gibson awhile back, I've bought an Epiphone again and a little practice amp. Along with a Bose Metal Zone pedal. It sounds pretty damn good through my shit amp. It's no substitute for a tube amp but it's damn close, I must say.

If you're not about crunchy, hard rock tones, go with the Fender Telecaster. Dialing the amp is half the battle but the different between a fender and a Gibson on the same amp is way different.

If you're looking for both, I like most Ibanez guitars.

If you can find a used Marshall combo amp, take it. A fender and a marshall amp sound really good to me. A Mesa triple rec. and a Gibson is killer!:drool:

Hope that helps! If you need any more help let me know

[rage2]

Originally posted by BigBearWest
Also if you didn't like how a SG sounded you may want to stay away from guitar that have hum bucker's.
Not true. I have a SG 61 Reissue here that I've been toying around with, and it sounds uniquely different than a Les Paul or a Strat. Basically...

The Les Paul has a really warm tone. Whatever pickup you use, it'll have a lot more bass response than SG's or Strats. When playing clean, it's not as "thin" sounding as a SG or Strat. Sustain on Les Pauls are nuts. My black LP sustains twice as long as any guitar I own.

The SG is a lot thinner than the Les Paul, and is a lot lighter. Because of this, less sustain, and thinner sound. It sounds like a strat with pickup set to bridge + middle. Very unique sound.

Strats sound super thin. If you wanna play it clean, it'll sound very bright and you can tell the high notes sound much better than the low notes. With distortion, it has a hard attack sound to it, unlike the SG or LP, which masks agressive picking quite a bit.

yellowsnow wants something that has a more clear tone, I'm going to guess that a Strat would be the best fit cuz you want a brighter sounding guitar. I have a mexican strat, korean strat and an american strat, it's all going to sound the same if you have the same pickups and gear.

I'd suggest getting a cheaper Squier Strat to learn on, don't be like me and waste $ on gear before you get good haha. A mexican made squire strat can be had for around $250 brand new. You can upgrade it later on to improve on it. My first guitar was a Korean made squier strat for $150. Since then I've upgraded the pickups, the nut, the saddles the tuners and it plays and sounds almost as good as my 60th anniversary strat. Sustain isn't as good, but that's because it was built with cheap wood. A good player and work around that no problems.

[msommers]

Originally posted by rage2
I'd suggest getting a cheaper Squier Strat to learn on, don't be like me and waste $ on gear before you get good haha. A mexican made squire strat can be had for around $250 brand new. You can upgrade it later on to improve on it. My first guitar was a Korean made squier strat for $150. Since then I've upgraded the pickups, the nut, the saddles the tuners and it plays and sounds almost as good as my 60th anniversary strat.

This is actually a really good idea. Squire sells a guitar/amp combo package (my first guitar) for about $250 I think and it works well, especially if you're not interested in distortion (it sucks ass).

Just remember your gear doesn't mean shit but it's more for bragging rights. I remember my first guitar teacher was helping me out with this one song right at the beginning. I said "something doesn't sound right, am I doing something wrong or what"
He picks up my guitar, shreds the shit out of this Squire guitar and my jaw dropped. Right then and there, having the most expensive guitar didn't mean anything.

If you can differentiate tones, it means you've progressed and I would say get what you think sounds best, especially if you plan on keeping it for awhile. But if you're just starting out, get a guitar and learn to love it.

[rage2]

Originally posted by yellowsnow
i play in a christian band, not the most exciting music to play. but in my spare time i like to learn how to play more guns n roses, lenny kravitz, type music.

yea sorry i can't get more specific. I already have a decent amp, but will probably sell that for something better later.. but it should be good enough for now.
Damn, posted before I saw this. OK if you wanna play GnR...

Epiphone Les Paul Standard. Upgrade the pickups to Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro pickups and you'll have the exact tone as Slash.

You're not going to get a really bright tone with this tho... it'll sound a bit darker/richer than the SG you played. It'll sound like Slash's tone tho... ask anyone that was at my Jam Sessions last year when I played some sweet child o' mine on that badboy haha.

Oh ya one final thought. Never sell guitars. I'd be pissed if I lost my black strat which was my first guitar. I still play that beast daily! The only guitar I sold was my american strat that I got as a wedding gift. Didn't play it much, and got divorced so ya that guitar HAD to go! :rofl:

[finboy]

Originally posted by rage2

Not true. I have a SG 61 Reissue here that I've been toying around with, and it sounds uniquely different than a Les Paul or a Strat. Basically...

The Les Paul has a really warm tone. Whatever pickup you use, it'll have a lot more bass response than SG's or Strats. When playing clean, it's not as "thin" sounding as a SG or Strat. Sustain on Les Pauls are nuts. My black LP sustains twice as long as any guitar I own.

The SG is a lot thinner than the Les Paul, and is a lot lighter. Because of this, less sustain, and thinner sound. It sounds like a strat with pickup set to bridge + middle. Very unique sound.

Strats sound super thin. If you wanna play it clean, it'll sound very bright and you can tell the high notes sound much better than the low notes. With distortion, it has a hard attack sound to it, unlike the SG or LP, which masks agressive picking quite a bit.

yellowsnow wants something that has a more clear tone, I'm going to guess that a Strat would be the best fit cuz you want a brighter sounding guitar. I have a mexican strat, korean strat and an american strat, it's all going to sound the same if you have the same pickups and gear.

I'd suggest getting a cheaper Squier Strat to learn on, don't be like me and waste $ on gear before you get good haha. A mexican made squire strat can be had for around $250 brand new. You can upgrade it later on to improve on it. My first guitar was a Korean made squier strat for $150. Since then I've upgraded the pickups, the nut, the saddles the tuners and it plays and sounds almost as good as my 60th anniversary strat. Sustain isn't as good, but that's because it was built with cheap wood. A good player and work around that no problems.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Squier-Deluxe-Guitar-Satin-Strat-Honey-Rswood_W0QQitemZ220085694466QQihZ012QQcategoryZ33039QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

cheap, and not made of basswood :thumbsup:

[BigMass]

first off go to a place like Long and Mcquade and try out different guitars. For example, Fender USA are awesome guitars but i hate how the feel. It's something you wont know until you pick one up and try it.

[BigBearWest]

I just bought a fat strat pak from L&M came out to 318 tax in. Wicked little setup to start learning

[finboy]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Squier-Master-Series-M80-Electric-Guitar-New_W0QQitemZ280085662673QQihZ018QQcategoryZ33039QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

there is one of those at l&m, had a decent set up, was under $400 and played pretty well unplugged.

[b_t]

Those strat packs are sweet, I started out with one of those too and I still have it. I am putting it back together with a set up of Seymour Duncan JB/Jazz humbuckers though, because I wanted an unassuming looking guitar that is actually a face melting metal machine.

And believe what rage2 says about his super upgraded Korean Strat, that thing plays reaaaal nice for a strat (I am more a Jackson kind of guy). His Les Pauls are also sick. All three, or four of them :D There is nothing else quite like a good LP sound.

[three.eighteen.]

buy a mexican strat, not as expensive as an american one, plays about as nice, very clean tone

[yellowsnow]

awesome guys, this is a lot of info to absorb :) i'll be going to guitarworks and try out some of these models.

any recommendations on amps? wattage? brand?

thanks again!

[msommers]

How big your church? How many other instruments are playing with you?

[yellowsnow]

it's a pretty small church. seats about 100 people.

right now, we have a fender stratocaster, bass guitarist, keyboard, and a piano.. sometimes a violinist joins us.

[finboy]

depends what you want to spend on an amp, and if you want solid state, modeler, or tube.

[yellowsnow]

what's the difference b/w solid state modeler and tube?

i probably want to spend less than $400 on an amp.

[msommers]

$400 on an amp isn't too bad for a smaller one. First thing that came to mind and would an excellent amp for you:

Line 6 Spider III 75 Modeling Combo Amplifier

http://line6.com/spideriii/75.html

Good sound, loud enough. I've played it before and it has lots of little effects to screw around with as well.

One thing I have noticed in the past, guys will give you a deal if you buy a guitar and amp together. Strongly suggest getting a hard case as well (usually ~80 bucks).

Bang for your buck, this is one hell of an amp.

Modeling vs. tube
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_amplifier

The difference that I know (which isn't technical by any means) tube amps sound better, fatter and louder. They are much heavier and usually a lot more expensive. The sound different between a tube vs. modeling is one that I can justify spending a lot of money on. Once you've had tube, you never go back :P

[finboy]

also check out the epiphone valve jr. combo, its a tube amp that is pretty cheap, and can be modded, good amp to learn on

[b_t]

I'm not a big fan of the Line 6 spider combos... I would sooner just save a bit if money and get a Fender solid state Princeton amp because they are passable at first and then when you think you can warrant the outlay of cash, pick up a Line 6 Pod XT Live.

The Spiders are pretty good on their own, but I would rather have the XT Live... those things are expensive but fuck do they ever sound good. When rage2 uses his he can get a very, very good imitation of almost any kind of setup... Marshalls, Mesa Boogie, VHT, Diezel, Bogner, whatever. And they are always updating the XT Live with new models so you can always get new tones, whereas the Spider just has what it came with.

That's a big benefit of modeling and solid state amps over tube amps. Tube amps can only really do one or maybe two things well, and even then, it can only do its own unique sound, while a modeler amp can do anything pretty well. The Spider isn't really a modeler, while the Pod XT Live is pretty much Line 6's flagship amp (the Vetta II) in stompbox form and it performs as such.

[Street_Soldier]

Originally posted by msommers
$400 on an amp isn't too bad for a smaller one. First thing that came to mind and would an excellent amp for you:

Line 6 Spider III 75 Modeling Combo Amplifier

http://line6.com/spideriii/75.html

Good sound, loud enough. I've played it before and it has lots of little effects to screw around with as well.

One thing I have noticed in the past, guys will give you a deal if you buy a guitar and amp together. Strongly suggest getting a hard case as well (usually ~80 bucks).

Bang for your buck, this is one hell of an amp.

Modeling vs. tube
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_amplifier

The difference that I know (which isn't technical by any means) tube amps sound better, fatter and louder. They are much heavier and usually a lot more expensive. The sound different between a tube vs. modeling is one that I can justify spending a lot of money on. Once you've had tube, you never go back :P

I picked up one of those Line6 amps a few weeks back. Sounds great superloud and has all these cool presets which I dont use but maybe you will.

[rage2]

Originally posted by yellowsnow
awesome guys, this is a lot of info to absorb :) i'll be going to guitarworks and try out some of these models.

any recommendations on amps? wattage? brand?

thanks again!
Buy an amp that's loud enough for whatever environment you're playing in. Don't worry about the sound at first, get good first. Volume first, tone second for beginners. Afterwards, upgrade... (see below).


Originally posted by b_t
The Spiders are pretty good on their own, but I would rather have the XT Live... those things are expensive but fuck do they ever sound good. When rage2 uses his he can get a very, very good imitation of almost any kind of setup... Marshalls, Mesa Boogie, VHT, Diezel, Bogner, whatever. And they are always updating the XT Live with new models so you can always get new tones, whereas the Spider just has what it came with.
I used to be a tube junkie (both my amps are tube amps) until I got the XT Live. Now I play both my amps in clean mode and model amp profiles with my XT Live. I can make the amps sound like anything... blues tone, metal tone, classic rock, new age shit... anything. With these modellers, you can use ANY amp in clean mode, so you'll end up choosing an amp purely based on volume and speaker type (ie more bassy amp for metal stuff).

Tube amps are cool and sound awesome, but like b_t says, you're really stuck with that one tone. You can change that with pedals, but that defeats the rich tone that tube amps offer. Most ppl can't tell the difference anyways between tube and modelling these days. I could only tell at the end of long sustained notes.

The Spider's are cool amps with a few defined tones, but you're stuck with those tones. I'd only buy it if you're really happy with 2 or 3 of the default tones.

Line6 has a few really cool modelling amps... The Flextone is basically a PodXT/XT Live + Amp + Speaker + Enclosure. The VettaII is even cooler, you can have it model 2 separate amps as a single output. It allows you to do cool effects with a single amp like so:

http://www.line6.com/vetta_ii/US/whatcanitdo.htm

Keith Richards has one of the most powerful “dirty rhythm” sounds known to man. The fact that his sound is clean and punchy, as well as being slightly distorted, gives songs like “Brown Sugar” and “Start Me Up” their classic tone. The secret to Richards’ sound isn’t a pedal or a studio effect. It’s as simple as taking two amps and running one of them clean, and the other one just a little dirty. Stevie Ray Vaughan also used this same type of setup to cut songs like “Pride and Joy.”

Definately opens up a whole new world of tone with the VettaII. Now, if you're bling, I'd get a nice Marshall cab, JCM2000 head, with a XT Live. That way you can turn off amp modelling with the XT Live and get true tube tone, lots of volume and have your variety of pedal models with the XT Live. Then for other tones, switch the amp to clean and model different amps with XT Live.

[msommers]

Let us know what you end up with!

[Hoey]

would completely depend on what kind of music you play but
IBANEZ RG FTW!

[kerry]

Line 6 and Ibanez FTW.........

[b_t]

Originally posted by Hoey
would completely depend on what kind of music you play but
IBANEZ RG FTW!

Ibanez wizard necks are so thin and flat I can only play them for like two minutes at a time, they are mad uncomfortable... B16EM1s was pretty good but I've played a couple other RG and a Prestige and fuck those things are barely there. Crazy fast playing though.

[kerry]

My guitar's not even a prestige =)

I got it before they introduced that stupid shit.

I will always vouch for Ibanez.... always. =)

EDIT:

I never really noted this, but the Wizard II necks are only okay if you've never
played really anything else except for Ibanez. I couldn't play Les Pauls before
either because the necks were too thick. I really really recommend Ibanez
for a first guitar, mainly because of affordability for quality.

I even bought my best friend an Ibanez RG321 for an Xmas present one year.
Great guitar and it wasn't very expensive.

[Inzane]

Since I see there are some Ibanez fans in this thread, I just wanted to ask again, what are the thoughts on the GAX 30 as a starter guitar? Or a GRG170DX? (AFAIK GAX = budget AX, GRG = budget RG series).

PS - anyone ever have a chance to play around with one of Satriani or Vai's signature guitars (Ibanez JS and JEM series respectively)?

[rage2]

B16EM1 has a JEM and he loves it. He's an Ibanez whore.

[msommers]

Hey Yellowsnow, if you havn't already, PM me when you're go for your purchases. I'm considering picking up a Mesa and when buying three things we might get a sweet deal if bought all at once.

[kerry]

As rage said above, I'm infact an Ibanez whore. =)

My JEM is the shit... I love that guitar.

JEM7DBK if you want to know btw. It's now been disco'd

[dave101]

i would reccomend both of my guitars....just because i'm biased;)


acoustic Ovation. model: Celebrity

just a damn good acoustic for a decent price

and my electric: Schecter C1-Classic.

good for pretty much anything. from heavy metal to blues to soft shit, it gets the job done. very well rounded guitar

[b_t]

Originally posted by msommers
Hey Yellowsnow, if you havn't already, PM me when you're go for your purchases. I'm considering picking up a Mesa and when buying three things we might get a sweet deal if bought all at once.

Mesa prices are completely not negotiable so you aren't going to save anymore. its kind of nice though, because a brand new Mesa costs the exactly the same no matter where you order it from.
although I was choked when I had to pay sticker for my dual rectifier and cabinet. It sounds like you've wasted money when you pay full retail for something ahaha

[mo_money2supe]

Originally posted by dave101
i would reccomend both of my guitars....just because i'm biased;)

acoustic Ovation. model: Celebrity

just a damn good acoustic for a decent price


I've personally never really enjoyed the sounds on Ovations as a soul acoustic-only guitar that much. It sounds great plugged in, but unplugged, it just doesn't have the full sound I think a good acoustic should have.

As for the OG, yellowsnow, have you ever considered any of the acoustics Godin offers? For the price, you can get their middle of the line Simon & Patrick guitars with a fairly nice pickup. As aforementioned, I personally like a fuller sound more (vs. the tangy strat-like sounds, but coming from an acoustic), and Godin's guitars made with Canadian woods definitely give off my ideal sound.

Btw yellowsnow, I'm assuming you're Chinese judging by your username. Do you go a Chinese Church as well? If so, which one? I might actually know you. I go to SCCEFC in Calgary.

[msommers]

Originally posted by b_t
It sounds like you've wasted money when you pay full retail for something ahaha

Truth be told, I got a deal on mine. One because I took lessons there and two a friend bought a bass at the same time.

Plus I'm looking at getting an F-50, which just got discontinued so stores will be looking to get rid of it.

[yellowsnow]

Originally posted by msommers
Hey Yellowsnow, if you havn't already, PM me when you're go for your purchases. I'm considering picking up a Mesa and when buying three things we might get a sweet deal if bought all at once.

sure i'll pm you once i make a decision. it might not be for a month though, as i'm going out of town soon.


Originally posted by mo_money2supe
Btw yellowsnow, I'm assuming you're Chinese judging by your username. Do you go a Chinese Church as well? If so, which one? I might actually know you. I go to SCCEFC in Calgary.

yeah i'm chinese, but i don't go to a chinese church :)

[msommers]

Originally posted by yellowsnow

sure i'll pm you once i make a decision. it might not be for a month though, as i'm going out of town soon.



Totally works for me as I'm waiting for my tax return.

[b_t]

I've bought two guitars, a Mesa half stack and a 2x12 cabinet from them and I still can't get a deal on new Mesa stuff, so I got my Mark IV from eBay and saved like $900. F-50s or Nomads you might be able to negotiate on, Rectifiers and Mark IVs are fixed price by Mesa.. the only time they can sell them for a different price is to sell them as used.

edit: wait, I did get a deal :D 6% off - no GST ahaha


Originally posted by msommers


Truth be told, I got a deal on mine. One because I took lessons there and two a friend bought a bass at the same time.

Plus I'm looking at getting an F-50, which just got discontinued so stores will be looking to get rid of it.

[finboy]

Originally posted by msommers


Truth be told, I got a deal on mine. One because I took lessons there and two a friend bought a bass at the same time.

Plus I'm looking at getting an F-50, which just got discontinued so stores will be looking to get rid of it.

the new version of the f50 is out, apperantly they only added one feature to it and changed the name. i still have my f-50 but right now its just being used as a cab for my orange :D

[msommers]

Originally posted by finboy


the new version of the f50 is out, apperantly they only added one feature to it and changed the name. i still have my f-50 but right now its just being used as a cab for my orange :D

how do you like the f-50? I've read A LOT of really good reviews on the amp. I had a Nomad 100 before and it rocked!!

F-50 is definitely loud enough as I don't have time to gig anymore and will be most likely stuck in my room. Have you considered letting it ago at all? If you are, I'd be definitely interested in taking a looksy at her!

My impression was the Express series was replacing all the F series. Is this not true?

[finboy]

i like it, but its a newer sounding distortion, it can do blues type sound but its more oriented to a more neutral style of distortion. I'll keep it around for the sound and to have a back up, but i'm also looking at a vox ac-30, 4X12 cab, and a/b box to use both heads into the cab.

i like gear :D

[msommers]

I'm not familiar with that Vox amp. I've always liked Vox's clean sound.

But my offer still stands if you change your mind!:)

[finboy]

Originally posted by msommers
I'm not familiar with that Vox amp. I've always liked Vox's clean sound.

But my offer still stands if you change your mind!:)

i'll be using the vox for cleans and the orange for the distortion, but if i decide to get rid of it, i'll let you know, om me a price you are considering :thumbsup:

[yellowsnow]

what do you guys think of the fender princeston 65 amp?

[b_t]

I don't know what the princeton 65 is, but I had a princeton 112 for a long time. It was a wicked practice amp and I am trying to get it back from the guy I sold it to right now so I can run a PodXT into it.

[yellowsnow]

is the princeton 112 a tube amp or SS? 112 watts i'm guessing?

[b_t]

solid state, and definitely not 112 watts :D i think it just means princeton with one 12" speaker

[Inzane]

Originally posted by msommers
$400 on an amp isn't too bad for a smaller one. First thing that came to mind and would an excellent amp for you:

Line 6 Spider III 75 Modeling Combo Amplifier

http://line6.com/spideriii/75.html

Good sound, loud enough. I've played it before and it has lots of little effects to screw around with as well.


To revive this old thread...

I'm in a position now where I'm considering this amp (or the 30W version) for my first amp to mate with my Ibanez RG550.

What else should I consider in the $250-400 price range?

If I stick with Line 6 is it worth spending that extra money for the extra effects, etc. that the 75W includes?

[Mckenzie]

Consider a used Traynor tube amp for that price range...they are excellent amps made in Canada and can be had for under $500.

You can find them all day long at Long and McQuade.

[Inzane]

Are all of these somewhat flexible in terms of being able to ADD effects devices to them later (like a PODxt Live, etc.)?

Line 6 Spider III combo (30 or 75)
Peavey Classic 30
Roland Cube 60
Crate Palomino 15W
Vox Valvetronix
Fender Princeton 112

[b_t]

I would go with a Roland Cube 60... those things kick a lot of ass. The Spider II combos were never that great, the head and cab verison was a great entry level half stack. The Spider III might be a bit of an improvement, but the Cube has great tone.

[Mckenzie]

I have the microcube as a little practice amp and that thing kicks ass!

If I were looking for a modelling amp I would probably buy a Roland product like the cube/microcube. I took the fender princeton back as I could not stand the tone...now I'm into a Rivera (mid-upper range tube amp).

[Inzane]

Originally posted by b_t
I would go with a Roland Cube 60... those things kick a lot of ass.


Originally posted by Mckenzie
I have the microcube as a little practice amp and that thing kicks ass!

If I were looking for a modelling amp I would probably buy a Roland product like the cube/microcube.

How about the Cube 60's little brother, the Cube 30X? (which is ~$300, vs. the 60 which is ~$500)

[Mckenzie]

Originally posted by Inzane




How about the Cube 60's little brother, the Cube 30X? (which is ~$300, vs. the 60 which is ~$500)

I would imagine they are all VERY similar....just different sizes/wattages for different uses. Great product IMO.

[Inzane]

I think I might have to give strong consideration to the Roland Cube 30X. (Not sure I'd need the extra power of the Cube 60 yet.)

Will the Roland Cube amps work nicely with external effects added on later like pedals, and effects boards like the PodXT Live, etc.?

[b_t]

The Cube has its own built in amp models. If you were planning on picking up an XT, I would save the money you spend for the Roland's built in modelers and tone controls and all that and get a bigger amp like the Princeton 112 that is more bare bones on its own, is a little louder in the end, and doesn't have extra features that would become unnecessary when you get the XT.

[Inzane]

Peavey Valveking 112 (50w, tube, no effects really) + a PodXT Live... How would that combo work?

[b_t]

If you're going to get a PodXT then just get a normal solidstate amp and save the money on that. You could probably get a solid state 2x12 for the same amount of money as that tube 1x12.. a Princeton 212 would be alright, or there is a Crate 2x12 that works great just so long as you don't use the built in gain sound haha :D

[rage2]

^^^ :thumbsup:.

I think I mentioned it earlier in this thread, get a podxt live and just the loudest amp u can find within your budget. The podxt will deliver tones of thousands of different amps no problems.

I haven't bought any pedals at all since I got the podxt live. It seriously does everything.

[Inzane]

I'm flip-flopping again, thinking I might just settle for a Roland Cube 30/30X initially (about ~$300 CDN). With its built-in models and effects at least I could get a feel for what kind of sounds I'll like, without too much initial cash outlay.

I can always go whole-hog later on my next amp.

I'd love to go crazy and get a JSX head w/ a cab, but I have to be practical. Just like you mentioned earlier Rage, its kinda silly to go gear-crazy with expensive gear before you've learned to play half-decently.
:rofl:

[rage2]

Originally posted by Inzane
I'd love to go crazy and get a JSX head w/ a cab, but I have to be practical. Just like you mentioned earlier Rage, its kinda silly to go gear-crazy with expensive gear before you've learned to play half-decently.
:rofl:
haha it's true... but I think everyone goes thru that phase. It goes something like this:[list=1]
Want to learn guitar
hoard as much retarded and random gear as possible while only able to play the intro for "Smoke on the Water"
suddenly become a tone expert complaining that the setup sounds nothing like Ritchie Blackmore
buy tons of magazines and follow guitar world's gear setup
buy more gear to get that tone (which don't work), go into debt
spend a year or 2 paying off all that gear
start to learn how to play for real
10 years pass, have tons of cool gear but still not good enough to take advantage of it all
[/list=1]haha that's basically what I went thru, except replace smoke on the water with sweet child o' mine :rofl:. I have like 9 guitars, and I'm only now getting comfortable playing consistently on every single one lol. Hell, I just started figuring out how to shape my tone using the volume and tone knobs like 3 months ago hahaha.

But on a positive note, 10 yrs of practice playing sweet child o' mine, I'm pretty friggin' good at it now!

[Inzane]

Originally posted by rage2

haha it's true... but I think everyone goes thru that phase. It goes something like this:

haha that's basically what I went thru,

ROFL!!!



[list=1]
buy more gear to get that tone (which don't work), go into debt
spend a year or 2 paying off all that gear

I have to be careful here. Don't want to compete with my car hobby budget too much. D'oh! (wife's already giving me that look... knowing full well how I tend to obsess on my hobbies).


I was at one point wanting to buy an Ibanez JS1200 as my first guitar, which as you probably know is ~$1500 USD. I instead decided to get that 20th anniversary RG, which is a ~$900 USD guitar. Probably still insane for a person's first axe, but at least I've started with a true made-in-japan Ibanez (as opposed to some of the entry-levels).

[b_t]

Originally posted by rage2


buy more gear to get that tone (which don't work), go into debt
spend a year or 2 paying off all that gear


Haha YES I am well acquainted with these two steps... at least now I like my tone, but I still just want more gear. I've been through seven guitars since August and none of them have been under $1k (what a waste!)

Inzane you could also just get the XT Live and use the headphone output, or get an adapter so that you plug your computer speakers straight into it. It has built in cabinet and microphone simulation so it will still sound great. You could also save money and not get the Live and just get the red "bean" shaped PodXT that I think is roughly $100 less. Then you need to hit a button on it to change tones, though.

http://www.soundclick.com/bulb

I am almost certain you will not like his style of music at all, but his recordings are amazingly clear and professional sounding and all he is using is a drum machine for the PC, PodXT straight into his computer, and some software plug-ins to get that tone and people go crazy for his shit over all the metal forums. If you don't mind rocking through the set of PC speakers you already own (you could also use a cable to convert the headphone out to RCA outs and hook it up to your home stereo) or headphones, save the money you were going to spend on a Cube and Get The Pod.

[rage2]

Originally posted by b_t
PodXT straight into his computer, and some software plug-ins to get that tone
There's like a billion tones for the Pod's, and it's all free. You can even make your own and upload and share them.

http://line6.com/customtone/library/

There's no software plugins for tone management, just a program where u can choose your amps/effects in a GUI instead of the LCD screen. There are model packs though, and some of the free tones use the amp models from the model packs.

http://line6.com/modelPacks/podxtlive.html

The XT Live already comes with the pedal model pack.

[Inzane]

Well, I finally made my decision and settled for a Roland Cube 30X. (I know that'll probably disappoint some of you. ;) )

But the price was decent and its features and power level should be enough to keep me happy for at least a year... (6 months?). Or whenever this gear-whore bug nags at me again.

Here's some specs:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Roland-Cube-30X-Amp-with-COSM?sku=487032

Got it at a local mom & pop music shop for $300 CDN.

Even if I end up buying something bigger/badder/better down the road I would probably keep this Cube anyway because of its portability.

One of the new features the 30X has over the '30' it replaced is the "Power Squeezer" function which limits the output to 2W. If you ask me they should've named it the "Wife Pleaser".

[Roger Moore]

why not try an OVATION GUITAR. there very comftorable with a composite back=durable. anits it is ELECTRIC AND ACOUSTIC.:thumbsup: http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ukuleleworld2.com/files/t_510_01.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ukuleleworld2.com/home.php%3Fcat%3D137&h=250&w=250&sz=6&hl=en&start=13&tbnid=iam4Fp1kPTuS4M:&tbnh=111&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dovation%2Bguitar%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den