Amps & Other Guitar Gear

A place for our musicians to talk about equipment, technique, theory, etc.
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HellRazor1281
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by HellRazor1281 »

PiggySmallz wrote:
HellRazor1281 wrote: I did the same one in NYC, he said the same thing. I think it was called Pandora's Box, but I forget the maker's name. Tried looking it up though, no luck. The 'assistant' guitarist played through a Roland Cube.
I was in the same room as you lol I was at the NYC show also
ok, small damn world lol!

this is me with Mark:
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PiggySmallz
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by PiggySmallz »

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That's me with Mark. You actually gave me one of your band's cds and it was pretty damn good. Definitely enjoyed it!

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HellRazor1281
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by HellRazor1281 »

Ah I remember now! Was good to meet and talk with you, glad you liked the cd! We got our new EP out on iTunes as well! Back to the gear:

I might eventually grab a Cube at some point, maybe when I move into my new apartment next month. Gonna check prices on eBay before I pull the trigger though.
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itaughttremonti
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by itaughttremonti »

Need more gear posts...
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Andy92
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by Andy92 »

I just need more gear. :P
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

itaughttremonti
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by itaughttremonti »

Andy...buy all my stuff I'm selling so I can build me a new strat
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Andy92
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by Andy92 »

I'll give ya like $50. ;)
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

itaughttremonti
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by itaughttremonti »

If you woulda said $55 we woulda had a deal...

I guess I will get us back on topic....




Guitars:
1976 Gibson L6-S
1975 Fender Strat
Squier Classic Vibe 50s Tele (w upgraded electronics) [<<<incredible value guitars for the price]
Epiphone Dot [<<<<not nearly as incredible of a value as the squier lol]

Amps:
Swart 6v6se
Peavey Classic 30
Jet City 20

Effects Chain:

Bass Big Muff Pi > modded Crybaby > T1M Buffer > Fulltone OCD > EHX Soul Food > EB VP > EHX Micro Pog > EHX Deluxe Memory Boy TT > Mojo Hand FX Dewdrop

Effects Not in the chain right now:

Tubescreamer | DOD 250 OD
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Andy92
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by Andy92 »

Haven't seen many people with a Swart...they look like nice little amps.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

itaughttremonti
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by itaughttremonti »

Was set out to buy a Dr Z Carmen Ghia but came accross the swart and it was a heck of a deal. I figured I would try it and if I didn't like i could easily get my money back. In the world of boutiques, they are definite sleepers.

The 6v6se is Michael Swart's take on the Fender Champ. The cleans are glorious and sound full/multi-dimensional. Haven't had a chance to crank it without hurting the ears...it's a LOUD 5w.
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Andy92
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by Andy92 »

Those old Champs could get loud too. I remembered you had a Classic 30 and one of the Jet City amps. Jet City is kind of a dark horse imo. Their high gain models sound just like a hot-rodded Marshall.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

willy5150
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by willy5150 »


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AHart96
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by AHart96 »

So, I would consider myself a beginning intermediate-level player, I can do a lot of AB/Tremonti stuff, but still haven't developed a great ear for writing my own stuff. I'm about to step into playing covers at small events and possibly in my churches band, so it's time for me to upgrade my amp setup. Currently all I have just a Line 6 Spider IV 15W combo amp with a Morley Wah and the DigiTech RP500. I'm looking to get a decent amp head/cabinet for my skill levels/needs within a $600-$650 budget. I have my eye on a Marshall MG100HCFX along with an MG4x12 120 Watt Cabinet that I can get new for a little over $600. I'm new to the amp side of things, so don't grill me too hard about the solid-state vs. tube head argument please.

My questions are:
1. What are your thoughts on my choice?
2. Is the MG a noticeable upgrade from what I currently have?
3. Are there noticeably better options based on my needs/budget, and if so what are they?

Thanks for the advice TABN!
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Thanks for the sig Don Harry!

Andy92
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by Andy92 »

You can get a lot more for your money. I'll give some suggestions in a bit, getting ready to leave for work. As a short answer, Jet City comes to mind.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

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AHart96
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by AHart96 »

Andy92 wrote:You can get a lot more for your money. I'll give some suggestions in a bit, getting ready to leave for work. As a short answer, Jet City comes to mind.
Cool man, I'll definately be taking a serious look at the suggestions
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by Andy92 »

I've got a little down time in my office, so let's get started shall we lol.

Ideally since you'd be using this to play some at church or out at other places, it'd be nice to have at least a 2x12 cabinet to go with it (meaning two 12 inch speakers in one cab). You're in a tricky price range though because for the value you can get some great gear if you're willing to buy used. If you're strictly looking at new items, you have a few options:
  • Buy a sub-par half stack
  • Buy a good head with a quality 1x12 cabinet (one 12 inch speaker)
  • Buy a good combo amp (amp and speaker all built into one unit)
I'd be inclined to go with option 2, and here's my reasoning. Get a quality amp head now with a good speaker to match up with it. Even though it's only one speaker, it can still get plenty loud. If you're playing at your church, I'm guessing they have mics and some PA equipment? If they do, no problem, just put a mic in front of the speaker and run it through the PA. If they don't, then my guess is the church is small enough that you don't need to worry about getting extremely loud. You can also get a larger speaker cabinet down the road if you ever wanted to.

Some good amplifier heads to look at:
Some good 1x12 cabs:
The other route is to get a nice combo amp. I'll link a few suggestions for those.
If you're looking for a clean machine for mainly church music, the Fender Blues Junior and Vox AC15 are both worth a look. I just figured you'd like a more all around amp that can handle hard rock tones.

Hopefully that gives you some stuff to look over. I didn't go into specifics on any of the amps, so if you think any of those look like they'd fit what you're looking for, I'd be happy to elaborate on why I think they're good choices for your budget.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

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AHart96
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by AHart96 »

Thanks Andy! So, I'm definitely considering taking a different approach then what I would've a couple days ago. I've heard good things about Blackstar, but I was very impressed by the Jet City 20-watt head. The only thing that scares me is I've never had a tube amp before, and I have almst no knowledge about them like how to replace them, damaged tubes, etc. I'm afraid something will happen to it and I won't know what to do. Still really considering the JCA22H, I was loving that overdriven tone.

My church is more of a "rock" type so I could get away with the heavy, overdriven sound. My main concern with a new amp is getting great hard rock lead/rhythm tones. Based off videos I watched, you can still get a decent clean on the JCA head by dialing back the gain and your guitar volume, which isn't a problem for me. My next question is, which amp do you believe is better for the harder rock type of stuff?

I'm also not opposed to buying used cabs, why are some good options within my price range for a 2x12 cab?

Thanks a bunch for all the help?
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Andy92
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by Andy92 »

I think if you're wanting a good hard rock/lead tone, the 22H is the way to go. Just make sure to not confuse that one with their other 20W head which is called the 20H lol. It's a lower gain amp overall (and I think it's just one channel). But the 22H is based off the 100H head which Zacky Vengeance from Avenged Sevenfold has used in his rig, so it can get heavy modern tones.

Do you live around any music shops that have amp techs? They could change tubes for you if you're nervous about doing it. It isn't terribly difficult to do, you might just have to unscrew a lot of stuff before being able to reach them depending on the design of the amp. It's not exactly like changing a light bulb (you have to kind of rotate the tube and pull up at the same time to get the tube pins out of the sockets), but you can loosely think of it that way.

As far as a cab, anything by Mesa or Orange is usually top quality. Vintage 30 speakers are pretty consistent for rock sounds. I've seen both the 2x12 Mesa Rectifier cab and the Orange PPC212 cab drop to around $400 on Guitar Center's used site. One of those would stretch your budget a bit, but they are top notch.

This is the site I usually go to scour for used gear because they have a 30 day return policy.

http://used.guitarcenter.com/usedGear/index.cfm

But I did run across a Jet City 212 cab on their used site just now. Could always call the store and ask what speakers are in it. That's something I'd always call and ask about before buying a used cab.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Jet-City-Am ... 4054990.gc
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

itaughttremonti
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by itaughttremonti »

Might be able to find a Dr. Z Carmen Ghia for 600 if you look hard enough.

I understand you want to have the ability to go 'heavy' if need be, but I want to give some advice about playing in church. If you do a lot of covers and the worship leader likes the playing to be somewhat similar to the actual recording, an AC15 will go a good ways farther as far as usability than a jet city or blackstar. You could probably grab one used and have enough money to buy an "amp in a box" pedal that will get you those higher gain tones.

The reason the AC15 will suit better for playing in your church is, well, almost all those christian guitarist nashville guys are using an AC style amp on the recordings. They also sound fantastic when using effects with (delay, reverb) to get that ambient sound or U2 edge rip-off. (I love that sound myself :D )

The jet city I have sits at church and the other guitarist uses it to contrast my Swart, but we can't ever really get it dialed in for modern PnW style music. It's definitely built more for rock n roll. I put an OCD pedal with my swart and it gives me all the breakup I personally need. Granted, I can't do Alter Bridge tones on it, but I really don't play much in that style anymore.

YMMV, just some food for thought.
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Andy92
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Re: Amps & Other Guitar Gear

Post by Andy92 »

I do agree with that, I just didn't know if he primarily wanted an amp for his church band or if he wanted a hard rock amp that could still pull off decent tones for his church band.

There is the option like you mentioned of getting something like an AC15 alongside a pedal like a Wampler Triple Wreck, Mesa Throttle Box, etc. I've heard that the clean channel of the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe takes pedals well, so there's another possibility.

At the end of the day, I'd go with whatever tone I was most interested in.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

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