Time to upgrade my gear - what should I do?

A place for our musicians to talk about equipment, technique, theory, etc.
Post Reply
User avatar
HellRazor1281
TABN.com Citizen
Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 4:51 pm
Location: Floral Park, NY
Contact:

Time to upgrade my gear - what should I do?

Post by HellRazor1281 »

Ok, so my bandmates think my tone is good enough for what we play. I'm not 100% happy with it. But it brings up the question, do I need a new amp? New cab? Upgrades/modifications to my guitars? Brand new guitar(s)? Obviously I want to eventually do all of the above but don't have $6000 to spend on a PRS USA Tremonti guitar and a new amp/cab......YET.

My primary guitar is a Gibson LP Classic Goldtop that I bought in '06. Still have the original pups in the guitar, no modifications to electronics. Pickups are sometimes too hot for the type of music I play, sometimes it sounds too muddy. Distinct volume dropoff when I switch to the neck pickup. I have two other electrics, an Epiphone LP Standard and a Tremonti SE stoptail. The SE I plan to sell/upgrade to the SE Custom bc I want a guitar with a trem that ISN'T a Floyd Rose. Obviously I would upgrade the pups to the USA Tremonti pups on the Custom and switch out the nut and possibly volume pots as well. After talking to a friend in another band who swapped out the stock pups in his Gibson for PRS pups and him swearing up and down they improved his tone drastically, I'm considering doing the same with my Goldtop as well as my Epiphone. But I'm kinda wondering what I would do first. I'm thinking of seeing how my amp sounds on my singer's cab before deciding whether or not I need a new cab. But should it be:

cab > modify guitars > new amp > new guitar, or:
cab > modify > new guitar > new amp?

My singer also plays guitar and we had a discussion about cabs and the fact that I really need to get a new one. Bass player told me the same thing. Currently own a Peavey XXX with a B-52 4x12 slant cab. Bought both used from Guitar Center about 8 or 9 years ago. Replaced the tubes last fall when I joined my band after a 5 year hiatus of not playing at all. Anyway, my singer runs a Dual Rec through a Randall 4x12 cab, and he read that Randall cabs are kind of a hybrid of your Boogie cabs and Marshalls as well, where there's a diagonal cross section of the Celestions and V-30s (I'm not very well-versed in speakers so please correct me if I'm wrong) and it supposedly handles a nice balance of the low and high ends without it sounding too metallic. For the kind of tone I really want to get out of my XXX, I've seen a lot of ppl recommend a Boogie cab because of its ability to boost the bottom end ridiculously. When we get our drummer's basement studio redone, I'm gonna try my XXX on his Randall cab and see how it sounds.

I still would love to eventually get my hands on a PRS Archon, Bogner Uberschall or maybe a Mesa, because I'm not loving the Peavey's clean tone. Too tinny sounding, very little warmth. I've been so impressed with the Archon's tone and the power switch to go from 50w to 100w, but I'm still not sure if the distortion tones are enough for me. Local Guitar Center started carrying them back on the 1st so I plan to check one out this weekend. I'm also not sure if I want to go to a two channel amp from a 3 channel one.

with the money I have set aside I can do the first two steps within the next couple of weeks. The last two obviously would take more time and a lot more $$$. Thoughts?
Image

PiggySmallz
TABN.com Citizen
Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:40 pm

Re: Time to upgrade my gear - what should I do?

Post by PiggySmallz »

I think you should first try different cabs. I never liked Peavey Cabs, but that's personal preference. I find Mesa cabs much tighter. Those are pretty accessible, I'd try one of those.

If you're going to change amps, I'd probably avoid a Mesa Recto if the other guitar player has one. You want to have different tones from each other and stand out. I'd go more with an Archon or Uberschall to balance it out.

Lastly if you decide you want a new guitar, find one you love and you won't mind getting a few dings on while playing live. I think of the 3, the amp will have the biggest change in tone for you. Amps are all about feel, and I'm seriously debating selling my Recto now that I have an Archon. The Archon is only a two channel amp, but with some delay and an overdrive I can use my rhythm channel as a lead channel. I could never get a decent lead tone I liked out of the recto.

If I could record worth a damn, I'd have better clips of the Archon on the internet already haha

Andy92
You Waste Your Time
Posts: 14001
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:52 pm

Re: Time to upgrade my gear - what should I do?

Post by Andy92 »

I'd agree that a cab might be your best bet right now. It'll upgrade your tone, and you'll always have something nice if you upgrade the amp head down the road. V30 speakers are kind of the standard in rock, so they're a safe bet. You could also check out Avatar Speakers and have a custom cab made with 2 V30s and 2 speakers of a different type. Or you could look for a Mesa cab with 4 V30s. I see used Mesa cabs online a lot that could save you a nice bit of money by not buying new. I think the Triple XXX is a strong enough amp that you could justify upgrading the cab first.

I'm more of an amp junkie than a guitar one. My only criteria with guitars is making sure the neck feels comfortable enough for me to play. I can upgrade pickups, so I only care that it feels right. If you record a track using an Archon and mix it up in Pro Tools, there won't be a vast difference between a $3,000 PRS and a $400 Epiphone with decent pickups.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

User avatar
SchwiizVT12
TABN.com Citizen
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2012 4:19 pm
Location: Switzerland

Re: Time to upgrade my gear - what should I do?

Post by SchwiizVT12 »

Not really pertaining to the main topic, but if you noticed a significant drop off in volume between pups, check to see if one is closer to the strings than the other. I had the same issue with my SC250 and I had no idea what was going on until the local guitar tech told me.
Image

PiggySmallz
TABN.com Citizen
Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:40 pm

Re: Time to upgrade my gear - what should I do?

Post by PiggySmallz »

SchwiizVT12 wrote:Not really pertaining to the main topic, but if you noticed a significant drop off in volume between pups, check to see if one is closer to the strings than the other. I had the same issue with my SC250 and I had no idea what was going on until the local guitar tech told me.
I had the same issue with my neck pickup being too quiet on my SC250, I dropped the bridge pickup a little and raised the neck pickup. Sorry...back on topic!

User avatar
HellRazor1281
TABN.com Citizen
Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 4:51 pm
Location: Floral Park, NY
Contact:

Re: Time to upgrade my gear - what should I do?

Post by HellRazor1281 »

I do need to readjust the neck pickup. The tech who set up my guitar last readjusted the height of the pickups. Bridge pickup is higher, but not by much. Far as a brand spankin' new guitar is concerned, I eventually want at least one PRS Tremonti model. I wouldn't care if it got dinged up unless I got one of 2-3 finishes I REALLY want. But I think that's way further down the line.

I'm hopefully getting back into the home studio within the next week or so, and my singer is cool with me trying out his Randall cab. If I like the way it sounds I'll look up a used Mesa cabinet on eBay, or see if Guitar Center's used site has one or two available that I can have shipped to my local store to try it out. Will also try the Archon this weekend.

Would trading the Tremonti SE for an SE custom be considered an upgrade to y'all? Either way I'm swapping out the pups, and may do so on all three electric guitars.
Image

PiggySmallz
TABN.com Citizen
Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:40 pm

Re: Time to upgrade my gear - what should I do?

Post by PiggySmallz »

I'd say trading a Tremonti SE for a Custom SE would be the same as swapping the Tremonti USA for a Custom USA. One isn't better than the other unless you prefer the tone and feel of it. It's not really an upgrade or down grade. I find the Tremonti models/Singlecuts to be a little fatter and chunkier sounding. My custom 24 is a little brighter and cuts through a mix a little more. I'd always make sure you play both for awhile before you decide if you like one over the other.

User avatar
HellRazor1281
TABN.com Citizen
Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 4:51 pm
Location: Floral Park, NY
Contact:

Re: Time to upgrade my gear - what should I do?

Post by HellRazor1281 »

Sorry Piggy, I'm referring to trading in the Tremonti SE stop tail for the Tremonti SE Custom for the tremolo.
Image

PiggySmallz
TABN.com Citizen
Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2013 11:40 pm

Re: Time to upgrade my gear - what should I do?

Post by PiggySmallz »

My mistake, haven't played both of those. In my experience though, the trem tends to be a little brighter and I get a bit of reverb from the trem springs. You can always dampen the trem springs though

User avatar
HellRazor1281
TABN.com Citizen
Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 4:51 pm
Location: Floral Park, NY
Contact:

Re: Time to upgrade my gear - what should I do?

Post by HellRazor1281 »

PRS Archon won't be available in Guitar Center stores until August 15th......I'm gonna have to wait anyway to get the money saved up, but I can't wait to try the damn thing out! Sooo frustrating.....

Cost wise, does anybody think it's worth it to build your own cabinet? My bass player offered to experiment with building one if I paid for the materials.
Image

Andy92
You Waste Your Time
Posts: 14001
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:52 pm

Re: Time to upgrade my gear - what should I do?

Post by Andy92 »

I've roughed out the cost before, and the speakers are what really get you. Let's say for example you buy V30 speakers. They cost $145 per speaker. By the time you add on the cost of wood, tolex, the grill cloth, etc...it's not really a big difference in cost. What would save you money is going with speakers that aren't Celestions. I'd suggest WGS and Eminence for some cheaper options. But if you want a typical closed back, V30 cab made with birch wood, I'd just get one made by Avatar Speakers or buy a used Mesa cab.
anguyen92 wrote:Oh well. Deal with it.

User avatar
HellRazor1281
TABN.com Citizen
Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 4:51 pm
Location: Floral Park, NY
Contact:

Re: Time to upgrade my gear - what should I do?

Post by HellRazor1281 »

Wow, too much hassle. Guitar Center's used website has Mesa cabs for about $449. Will make a determination once I try out the Randall cab, hopefully this week/weekend.
Image

Post Reply