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Help with Guitar Heads - Progressive Rock Music Forum
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Soulman View Drop Down
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Points: 290 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Help with Guitar Heads
    Posted: May 12 2006 at 00:55
Hey,

I was wondering if you guitar people could help me out with this. I'm thinking I might buy a Guitar Head in the next little while, so far I've just stuck with regular old solid-state amplifiers with my band. But I figure I would like to amplify myself a little more since I am the lead guitarist.

I have two questions:

What's the cheapest above average quality Guitar Head I could buy?

Is it an okay idea if I did gigs where I just put attached the guitar head to a regular stereo cabinet speaker? Would it have an okay effect on the sound?


Thanks so much guys. Smile
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N Ellingworth View Drop Down
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Points: 1324 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 12 2006 at 04:05
Plugging a guitar amp head into stereo speakers is a bad idea, if you're set on getting a head you will also need an appropriate speaker cabinet either 1x12, 2x12 or 4x12.

It may be better for you to get a powerful combo amp (amp + speaker(s) in one unit) because they are usually cheaper and a lot easier to move around.
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wolf0621 View Drop Down
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Points: 264 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 12 2006 at 17:41

Soulman,

not sure what you meant by"regular stereo cabinet speaker". Are you thinking of connecting your amp to a home stereo speaker? If so, DON'T...I guarantee that you'll blow it in no time, plus it won't sound good while it's still working...

Do you have your mind set on a head? I used to use combos, then graduated to amp heads (both tube & solid state). I now run through a stereo rackmount amp, the Rocktron Velocity 300 Professional Touring Edition (check out reviews here: http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Rocktron/Velocity_300-1.html ). Had it for approx 3 years, it's 150wx2 solid state & can be bridged to 300wx1, with a Reactance circuit that emulates a tube amp sound. Built like a tank, I believe I paid less than $300 for it used off eBay. It has a total of 4 speaker outs & can handle a variety of loads. You can still find these used for cheap $'s...Still, the same advice applies: You need to get yourself one (or more) guitar cabs to play through...
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Soulman View Drop Down
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Points: 290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 13 2006 at 04:49
Originally posted by wolf0621 wolf0621 wrote:

not sure what you meant by"regular stereo cabinet speaker". Are you thinking of connecting your amp to a home stereo speaker? If so, DON'T...I guarantee that you'll blow it in no time, plus it won't sound good while it's still working...




Well rest assured, I'm not talking about those little dinky stereo speakers on the new stereo sets. I'm talking like the larger speakers that you would've used for a vinyl player or maybe a home entertainment system. I know my friend using a Bass Head and has it connected to a regular stereo speaker and it sounds okay to me, although I'm not too sure about the long term damage to the speakers.

Although, I'm just curious, because I know in the past, just for jamming out at one of my friends place, I just attached my guitar to the mic input of his stereo receiver which was connected to 4 large stereo speakers and it worked out okay, it didn't sound the best though in comparison to a real stereo cabinet.
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mystic fred View Drop Down
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Points: 4252 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 13 2006 at 20:30
here's a good one which should suit you...
 
 
 
or one of these like mine.....!!Thumbs Up
 
 
 
 
if you must connect your guitar to a stereo system you'll need one of these...
 
 tascam414  4 track recorder....like mine!!


Edited by mystic fred - May 13 2006 at 20:35
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hawkbrock View Drop Down
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Points: 96 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 14 2006 at 12:49
Yeah. MG 100 HDFX, just be careful not to overload it.
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Soulman View Drop Down
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Points: 290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 14 2006 at 23:23
Yea I was perusing through internet for cheaper guitar heads and the Marshall DFX guitar head seems to be a pretty good deal in comparison to more expensive heads that are like over a thousand dollars. Though I'm sure I'll shell out that much for guitar stuff one day, but I just want to get enough to get me by anyhow. But the distortion and effects on the Marshall amplifiers aren't half bad, so it looks like a good deal for about 300$.


Originally posted by mystic fred mystic fred wrote:

 
if you must connect your guitar to a stereo system you'll need one of these...
 
 tascam414  4 track recorder....like mine!!



Though with regards to track recorder mystic fred

Is that entirely necessarily that I purchase the 4 track recorder? because most of older stereo receivers EQ and volume control set up right on them.
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"Don't Kill the Whale, Dig it Dig it" - Jon Anderson

I shall live by those words all my life Jon
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wolf0621 View Drop Down
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Points: 264 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2006 at 11:46
Originally posted by Soulman Soulman wrote:

Originally posted by wolf0621 wolf0621 wrote:

not sure what you meant by"regular stereo cabinet speaker". Are you thinking of connecting your amp to a home stereo speaker? If so, DON'T...I guarantee that you'll blow it in no time, plus it won't sound good while it's still working...




Well rest assured, I'm not talking about those little dinky stereo speakers on the new stereo sets. I'm talking like the larger speakers that you would've used for a vinyl player or maybe a home entertainment system. I know my friend using a Bass Head and has it connected to a regular stereo speaker and it sounds okay to me, although I'm not too sure about the long term damage to the speakers.

Although, I'm just curious, because I know in the past, just for jamming out at one of my friends place, I just attached my guitar to the mic input of his stereo receiver which was connected to 4 large stereo speakers and it worked out okay, it didn't sound the best though in comparison to a real stereo cabinet.
 
As far as connecting directly to a mic input goes, these are usually meant for low impedance input while an electric guitar (or bass) needs a high impedance input. In order to get full bang for your buck, you'd need to "convert" the impedance to the proper level. The 4-track deck mentioned in this thread will do that (has an "instrument" in & a "line-level" out to connect to other gear & speaker outs). You start having issues at high volumes where the signal can overload/clip, and this is not necessarily a function of the size of your speakers but rather the specific frequencies that you're playing & how those speakers handle them. Home stereo speakers are not meant to handle loud signals focused at specific frequencies...See here for some good basic advice regarding amps & effects: http://www.amptone.com/homestereoasamp.htm ...
 
As far as amps & heads are concerned, power is no longer a primary determining factor as to price. Your first decision is tube vs solid state. Some tube amps cost thousands, others are reasonable priced. Because of the way tubes naturally overdrive, less power is required to produce the same output level as solid state amps. There are also "hybrid" heads that simulate tube overdrive, breakup & "warmth", using special processing circuits. Personally I used to use tube heads exclusively but found them somewhat unreliable, plus the maintenance hassle of letting them warm up & cool down and periodically replacing tubes...Maybe I just didn't spend enough to get a high-enough quality head. I'm somewhat skeptical of finding a good reliable tube head in the price range that you seem to have in mind...
 
Another consideration is "speaker emulation"...This is circuitry that emulates certain types & sizes of speakers via a direct output (into a PA, sound board, mixer or recorder) without actually having to play through those speakers. This comes in handy for recording & some amps have this processing included...
 
You also need to decide what "onboard" effects you want to have built into your head. Many come with Reverb & Tremolo, plus basic tone controls. Others, like the Line 6 (HD147 & Vetta) modelling amps or the Vox AD120 digital modelling amp contain a slew of built-in effects. Some of these are better than others. I personally find the Line 6 effects too "digital", meaning not warm & natural sounding like analog effects, although I really like their "metal" amp setting. Best thing to do if you're interested in on-board effects is to go to a store & audition the amps. Cost-wise, remember that whichever effects are built-in don't need to be added separately so there are some cost savings there...
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mystic fred View Drop Down
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Points: 4252 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 15 2006 at 12:16
Originally posted by Soulman Soulman wrote:

Yea I was perusing through internet for cheaper guitar heads and the Marshall DFX guitar head seems to be a pretty good deal in comparison to more expensive heads that are like over a thousand dollars. Though I'm sure I'll shell out that much for guitar stuff one day, but I just want to get enough to get me by anyhow. But the distortion and effects on the Marshall amplifiers aren't half bad, so it looks like a good deal for about 300$.


Originally posted by mystic fred mystic fred wrote:

 
if you must connect your guitar to a stereo system you'll need one of these...
 
 tascam414  4 track recorder....like mine!!



Though with regards to track recorder mystic fred

Is that entirely necessarily that I purchase the 4 track recorder? because most of older stereo receivers EQ and volume control set up right on them.
 
 
this machine has a built-in guitar signal converter, just plug the guitar lead in round the backThumbs Up
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