Guitars/Amps
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Other music related lounges
Forum Name: Tech Talk
Forum Description: Discuss musical instruments, equipment, hi-fi, speakers, vinyl, gadgets,etc.
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=38763
Printed Date: November 25 2024 at 09:47
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Guitars/Amps
Posted By: Shwang_Shwinga
Subject: Guitars/Amps
Date Posted: June 07 2007 at 02:57
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Okay, awesome. I've been playing guitar for almost 5 years. I play progressive/experimental metal in a band which we currently are disputing the name of. Now, as far as gear, the drummer (of course) plays with a double kick-pedal, the bassist usually tunes down some, and my second guitarist plays an Ibanez with EMG pickups...they're basically prog-metal-cliche`d out. I, however, play a Schecter Omen 6 (black, what other colors are there?) and use a Behringer amp. I'd like to continue to use Behringer, but the guitar brand has to change. Its a sweet play and everything, but it doesn't look/sound the way I want it to, she doesn't really fit the band. I was thinking maybe an ESP LTD. What do you musicians think? Oh, P to the S, while we're here, what kind of bands do you guys play in, and what gear do you use? thanks, -SS ------------- 
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Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 07 2007 at 04:18
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I'm thinking about getting a Fender VG Strat ... it has this amazing variability. Especially the ability to switch to different tunings (standard, drop d, open G, baritone) is really, really nice ... not to mention the tone options ranging from classic Fender strat through humbucker strat to 12 string.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to: 
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Posted By: Trademark
Date Posted: June 07 2007 at 09:38
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I play what I build. I haven't owned a factory guitar in 15 years.
http://www.tryanhirst.citymax.com/page/page/3233247.htm |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 07 2007 at 10:09
^ impressive.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Trademark
Date Posted: June 07 2007 at 10:29
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Thanks Mike. It's just a small portion of my output over the years but I rarely have time to work on the site lately. I've been working more on the composition side of things for the past couple of years.
The Red & Natural "stratty" looking axe in the top row and the purplish one (second from left) in the second row are both now owned and played by Roye Albrighton of Nektar. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: June 07 2007 at 10:41
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^ the Reverseburst is pretty - is that a semi-acoustic or is the f hole an inlay? ------------- What? |
Posted By: Trademark
Date Posted: June 07 2007 at 10:57
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Thanks darq. I always liked that one. If you look closely everything is reversed on that gtr. In addition to the reverse-burst finish, the bridge pickup is slanted backwards (built for a lefty Tele) and the neck is also a lefty so the headstock is upside down.
The f-hole is real. The body has some "tone chambers" routed into it under the maple top to warm up the brittle Tele tone. |
Posted By: N Ellingworth
Date Posted: June 07 2007 at 13:27
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You've got a lot of talent, I tried building a guitar a few years ago, and it was a bit of a disaster, but I learnt a lot from it so it wasn't a total wasto of time. To the OP is you want a modern metal tone (active pickups) but want a guitar that looks a little different, I'd recommend a Steinberger, even the basic passive models sound decent and they are always eye catching. If I were you I'd get a different amp as in my experiecne behringer euipment breaks down a lot since it's so cheap, but if you get a tone you like from it keep it. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 07 2007 at 13:36
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As far as amps are concerned ... I really like my Vox Tonelab SE. It's a floor board with a built in amp simulation which uses a real tube and sounds really nice, and in a live situation you don't need microphones.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Shwang_Shwinga
Date Posted: June 07 2007 at 16:03
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Trademark, what re"mark"able work you've done. I really like the idea of constructing your own guitars, as opposed to purchasing them pre-made. How does one go about doing so? Is it expensive? What can you tell me about this process? Thanks, -SS -------------
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Posted By: Trademark
Date Posted: June 08 2007 at 11:29
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Oh dear. This is going to sound really cheesy but here goes:
The best place to find information about building your own guitar is in the book I wrote called "Electric Guitar Construction". You can get it at any online bookseller or at most any guitar parts supply site like Stewart-MacDonald or JK Lutherie. A quick Google search will turn up dozens of places to buy it. |
Posted By: SpaceTrucker
Date Posted: June 08 2007 at 16:42
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I tune down to A, and that really tests the quality of musical equipment. you would not imagine the amount of marshalls and vox's I've made fart out at less than half volume. And bass wise, my god, anything that is made past the 80s(Im talking cheap stuff here) is pretty useless. for guitar I would go with an ibanez, or a the one you mentioned, there very good guitars for the money. but I'm sorry, behringer in my experience is nothing but crap, I'm sure you like what you have but please try something else, I have an old solid state that I play and you wouldnt expect it to sound good but it does. oh yeah, and try your best to buy used things, from people who know what they are(NOT GUITAR CENTER!) its your best bet. All the new stuff out now is built koreans with no quality control(Atleast in your price range) or just overratted(Gibson, american made fender). So get out there and start looking! |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 09 2007 at 02:58
^ or simply buy the Vox Tonelab SE.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: Philéas
Date Posted: June 09 2007 at 18:58
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Yesterday me and a friend of mine ran around in town visiting music stores. We discovered that Orange amps are really, really, really, really great sounding. Quite expensive though, and not very Metal perhaps. But they stick out (they're orange) and again, they sound so good. The Ibanez Thermion amp we tested was pretty good aswell, and more Metal-ish. Anyway, since I'm a bass player guitar amps isn't my speciality, definitely not good metal amps (I'm not much of a metalhead). But I can talk to guitarrist friends and see what they say. |
Posted By: debrewguy
Date Posted: June 09 2007 at 21:58
Or if you're looking for a pretty good tube amp , see if yo can find a Vox VR30 reverb. TUbe pre-amp through a clean solid state. THink a budget Vox AC30, but one that gives one a lot of bang for your buck, especially if you hook it up to a 2 X 12 or 4 X 12 cabinet. They stopped making them in 2005, but check the second hand shops. I got mine for $120CAD. I expect to be able to get a 2 X 12 speaker cabinet for $200 - 300 within the next year. I will then have an amp set-up that beats any tube amp combo in that price range. Oh, as for amp emulators, try the POD pedals. As in any comparison though, remember that the quality of your sound is most affected by the amp - therefore sh*tty amp, sh*tty sound. And whenever you can, see if you can take home the amp to try it out. If not, take your time in the store & play it as close to your usual or intended volume as you can. Don't just twiddle for a few minutes, play for half an hour or more. Indeed, as you're looking, it's not a bad idea to try out as many amps as you can. That way you can start building up some reference points that will help you decide what you really want. And who knows, sometimes you stumble upon that perfectly priced treasure that you weren't thinking of (like me & Vox) ------------- "Here I am talking to some of the smartest people in the world and I didn't even notice,” Lieutenant Columbo, episode The Bye-Bye Sky-High I.Q. Murder Case. |
MikeEnRegalia wrote:Posted By: madgo2
Date Posted: June 09 2007 at 22:21
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I am playing through a 1980 Marshall JCM 800 with a '71 Gibson SG and Les Paul Gold Top w/ the mini humbuckers. Gadgets include an old vox wah and the old puke green ibanez overdirve and for effects a digitech gnx3 when messing around. ------------- He whom life can no longer surprise |
Posted By: madgo2
Date Posted: June 09 2007 at 22:22
Very cool I will check it out! ------------- He whom life can no longer surprise |
Posted By: mystic fred
Date Posted: June 10 2007 at 04:15
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[QUOTE=Trademark]I play what I build. I haven't owned a factory guitar in 15 years. http://www.tryanhirst.citymax.com/page/page/3233247.htm%5b/QUOTE - http://www.tryanhirst.citymax.com/page/page/3233247.htm[/QUOTE ] some very interesting designs there Thomas!
 but aren't you using factory hardware?
 -------------  Prog Archives Tour Van 
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Posted By: Man Erg
Date Posted: June 10 2007 at 04:23
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All that I have left nowadays is My Fender Switcher amp.
Guitars- Musicman Stingray I ,Epiphone Wildcat (natural), Epiphone AJ - CE125(?) Pedals-MXR Compressor,Boss Analogue Delay,Boss Digital Delay,Jim Dunlop Wah-Wah,Clour-Tone Fuzzbox, Boss Chorus,Boss Flanger and a Boss Overdrive. ------------- 
Do 'The Stanley' otherwise I'll thrash you with some rhubarb. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 10 2007 at 04:40
Do you know what the Tonelab SE is? It offers authentic Vox sounds and then some ... no need for Line6 POD. Think of it as POD XT with a tube built in, used for more authentic amp simulation ...  ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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Posted By: asimplemistake
Date Posted: June 20 2007 at 20:31
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^ I used to own just a regular ToneLab, but I didn't love it too much, so I got a PODxt Live which I now love and just use constantly. I find it easier to make the exact sound I want, even if it doesn't have a tube in it. I run it through a tube amp though (through the effects loop) so I can still get warm tube cleans. As for Guitars, I play in a progressive metal band too, and I just play with a Fender Fat Strat, which I chose because I liked how it felt when I played it. I don't care too much about image, I care more about what guitar feels right for me and how it sounds. Maybe try PRS's or a Fender. I like those brands. |
Posted By: debrewguy
Date Posted: June 21 2007 at 16:54
Actually got rid of my POD 2.0 . Traded it for a Fender Strat Squier. A 1994 beast built while their mexican plants were suffering from excess capacity. The neck & body are the same as the Mexican strats (  ), the tuners are the same too, (although at the time the plants also used the Squier tuners, essentially whatever was on hand that they needed to use up), and the electronics are between mexican strat & Squier in quality, although my guitar tech tells me he doesn't see or hear much difference. While the POD was fun, I found that I used it for a few things mostly - 1) a tuner, actually took me two years to notice it was there, 2) the Marshall plexi sim., for that Zep & Ac/DC tone, 3) the compression effect. In the past spring, I did go through & use the presets & the various amp models, but I found that if I was playing at a jam, playing straight through my Peavey Studio Chorus 210, or Vox was less time consuming & yielded much the same results, but with less time wasted switching between presets or amp models. Now mind you , I always planned to use to record to my PC, but that's never happened, so why keep something while its value keeps going down. ------------- "Here I am talking to some of the smartest people in the world and I didn't even notice,” Lieutenant Columbo, episode The Bye-Bye Sky-High I.Q. Murder Case. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 22 2007 at 02:16
^ so ... you traded in your pod for a guitar ... how does that related to the ToneLab SE?
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/users/Mike" rel="nofollow">Recently listened to:
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