Amps & Other Guitar Gear

[Andy92]

Bad Cat makes some really underrated stuff (at least in the US I don’t see many around). That’s a nice grab.

[Crumbso]

Bad Cat makes some really underrated stuff (at least in the US I don’t see many around). That’s a nice grab.

They're even more rare in the UK. I almost never see them. This was still boxed and about 60% discount from the brand new price so I had to grab it. I got to use it for about 20 mins yesterday before the rest of my bandmates arrived and it's pretty brutal.

[Crumbso]

Andertons were doing a crazy good half-price deal (+ a PRS pedal ) for brand new PRS combo amps. I snagged me an Archon 50 - can't wait to try it in rehearsal.

[Dolo]

I love its simulation on Line 6 POD GO. Are you planning to run any pedals with it?

[Crumbso]

I love its simulation on Line 6 POD GO. Are you planning to run any pedals with it?

I usually run a Tone City Golden Plexi with the gain almost all the way off as an overdrive. I think that'll work really well with this as it's quite a thick tone . Should sharpen up nicely.

[Crumbso]

I didn't really budget for this possibility and now I have to sell a load of other stuff to afford it but.... a Black Sunburst Tremonti came up for sale near me and I managed to negotiate a good deal. Even if I had to drive all the way into central London to get it. This is literally dream guitar territory. I've wanted this guitar since I first saw AB in the London Astoria back in 2004!

Apparently these were a special run a few years ago and there were only 12 made in that run

[Dolo]

That looks wonderful. How much was it in the end?

I got this beauty back in March:

[Andy92]

I didn't really budget for this possibility and now I have to sell a load of other stuff to afford it but.... a Black Sunburst Tremonti came up for sale near me and I managed to negotiate a good deal. Even if I had to drive all the way into central London to get it. This is literally dream guitar territory. I've wanted this guitar since I first saw AB in the London Astoria back in 2004!

Apparently these were a special run a few years ago and there were only 12 made in that run

Dude that’s sick! Love that finish.

[Crumbso]

That looks wonderful. How much was it in the end?

I got this beauty back in March:

£2700

Original price was up in the 3000s but I just couldn't let it go.

[Dolo]

I can't possibly imagine justifying spending that much on a guitar unless I was selling millions of records and touring stadiums but yeah, have fun with this beast!

[Crumbso]

I can't possibly imagine justifying spending that much on a guitar unless I was selling millions of records and touring stadiums but yeah, have fun with this beast!

I have a lot of insured value in motorcycles and guitars. If you buy well and get stuff that won't lose value then it's easy to recover that money when you need. I used to trade motorcycles as a side hustle and it's not too difficult to make some money at it.

My reasoning with this is that the value sure as heck isn't going to go down and it's got all the case, hang tags and other stuff that lets it keep value, so why not go for it. There's probably a good few hundred quid profit in it if I need the money but am willing to be patient to sell.

[Addicted To Pain]

I didn't really budget for this possibility and now I have to sell a load of other stuff to afford it but.... a Black Sunburst Tremonti came up for sale near me and I managed to negotiate a good deal. Even if I had to drive all the way into central London to get it. This is literally dream guitar territory. I've wanted this guitar since I first saw AB in the London Astoria back in 2004!

Apparently these were a special run a few years ago and there were only 12 made in that run

That looks awesome! How does it play?

[Crumbso]

That looks awesome! How does it play?

It's really quite physically heavy, and it needed a setup. However, once I set it up it plays like a dream. The pickups are a little hotter than I'm used to but it's a really nice guitar. The bridge is great and the intonation is spot on.

[Dolo]

My rig is:

Electrics:
2008 PRS Tremonti SE

Acoustics:
T-Burton Riverside
Samick GD-100SCE VS (with a Fisherman piezo pickup)

Basses:
Sterling Sub Ray 5 RRBS

Amps:
BOSS Katana MK II 50W

Pedals:
Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion
NUX Time Force Multi Digital Delay
Dunlop Crybaby

Recording/Interfaces:
Behringer U-Phoria UMC22
MOZOS MKIT-900PRO microphone
M-Station MIDI Keyboard

A little update:

Electrics:
2008 PRS Tremonti SE
2023 PRS SE McCarty 594 Singlecut Standard Vintage Cherry
Harley Benton SC-Custom II SPAF
Fender Stratocaster


Acoustics:
T-Burton Riverside
Samick GD-100SCE VS (with a Fisherman piezo pickup)

Basses:
Sterling Sub Ray 5 RRBS

Amps:
BOSS Katana MK II 50W

Multi effects pedals:
Line 6 POD Go

Pedals:
Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion
NUX Time Force Multi Digital Delay
Dunlop Crybaby

Recording/Interfaces:
Behringer U-Phoria UMC22
MOZOS MKIT-900PRO microphone
M-Station MIDI Keyboard

[Crumbso]

A little update:

Electrics:
2008 PRS Tremonti SE
2023 PRS SE McCarty 594 Singlecut Standard Vintage Cherry
Harley Benton SC-Custom II SPAF
Fender Stratocaster


Acoustics:
T-Burton Riverside
Samick GD-100SCE VS (with a Fisherman piezo pickup)

Basses:
Sterling Sub Ray 5 RRBS

Amps:
BOSS Katana MK II 50W

Multi effects pedals:
Line 6 POD Go

Pedals:
Boss DS-2 Turbo Distortion
NUX Time Force Multi Digital Delay
Dunlop Crybaby

Recording/Interfaces:
Behringer U-Phoria UMC22
MOZOS MKIT-900PRO microphone
M-Station MIDI Keyboard

How are you getting on with the McCarty? I took one in a trade and couldn't quite get on with the pickups. That wine colour is pretty cool. Reminds me of Jerry Cantrell signature Les Paul.

[Crumbso]

USA Tremonti update:
Turns out after all these years of lusting after them that I absolutely hated the Tremonti pickups. The bridge pickup has enormous bass and almost no top end... which explains Mark's live tone. Works for him but it's just not for me. I love the rest of the guitar so I whacked some 57/08 pickups in to tide me over until I can find a HFS or 59/09 bridge pickup in to restore the mismatched look.

[Dolo]

How are you getting on with the McCarty? I took one in a trade and couldn't quite get on with the pickups. That wine colour is pretty cool. Reminds me of Jerry Cantrell signature Les Paul.

It feels and plays really well in Drop C# with 10-52's after I had some setup done to it but yeah, the pickups are quite 'dodgy'. They are very low output so I need to drive the amp quite hard to get them to the kind of distortion I normally use, the neck pickup sounds a bit too boomy on the clean channel and the coil split does not sound that good either. I might wanna switch them out for something better in the future.

[Crumbso]

How are you getting on with the McCarty? I took one in a trade and couldn't quite get on with the pickups. That wine colour is pretty cool. Reminds me of Jerry Cantrell signature Les Paul.

It feels and plays really well in Drop C# with 10-52's after I had some setup done to it but yeah, the pickups are quite 'dodgy'. They are very low output so I need to drive the amp quite hard to get them to the kind of distortion I normally use, the neck pickup sounds a bit too boomy on the clean channel and the coil split does not sound that good either. I might wanna switch them out for something better in the future.

SEs benefit a lot from USA pickup upgrades. You can sometimes find good deals on second hand pickups. I got the 57/08 pickups I mention above for £160.

[Andy92]

USA Tremonti update:
Turns out after all these years of lusting after them that I absolutely hated the Tremonti pickups. The bridge pickup has enormous bass and almost no top end... which explains Mark's live tone. Works for him but it's just not for me. I love the rest of the guitar so I whacked some 57/08 pickups in to tide me over until I can find a HFS or 59/09 bridge pickup in to restore the mismatched look.

Yeah it’s a super bass heavy bridge pickup.

Could also toss in something from Bare Knuckle or Seymour Duncan. Those are usually my go-to brands.

[Dolo]

I got the 57/08 pickups I mention above for £160.

How are they different from 85/15 LT 'S'? Are they higher output?