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[Fusebox]

Surprisingly good! I had some initial qualms about the sound quality, with the Fender model amp master vol at 10, my guitar vol at 10 and the iPad vol at 10 the sound was rather brittle, a bit thin and a bit crackly. I spent some time trying to get the output right by balancing the iPad vol with the guitar and amp vols.

Eventually realised I was doing it wrong, I finally tried turning the Fender amp vol down to about 5, turned the iPad vol back up to 10 and all of a sudden I had a full frequency signal with a good strong output hitting my amp.

Guitar amp at standard volume (vol and gain both about 10 oclock), iPad at 10, guitar vol at 10 and I get a nice punchy, clean signal hitting the front of my amp.

Then I realised I can bypass the inbuilt amp/mic/cab and the signal got even cleaner.

I alternated between using Amplitube only between my guitar and amp, and putting Amplitube at different ends of my pedal chain to try the distortion and modulation effects in combination with my real pedals.

The modelled overdrive pedal is smooth, the phaser is nice and thick, the delay delays. There's some slight hiss introduced with the high-gain models, same as any VST I've used, but it's easily cleaned up with the Noise Filter pedal.

It all just works really well.

 

[monchi-kun]

sold!

 

[Stooo]

Hey guys, just stumbled upon this thread.

I don't get much time to play these days due to work and having a 6 month old daughter, but these are my babies:

Left to right:
Japanese Washburn N3 with XL-500 pup in the bridge
Mexican Fender Classic Player 60s Strat
Gibson Les Paul USA Std with EMG 81 & 85 pups

I recently sold my Peavey Wolfgang SE which started out as a battered £80 job,

and ended up like this netting me a tidy profit (once it was put back together!)

Current amp is a little Boogie (Boogies are silly prices in the UK, this one retailed at around £1200!)

 

[Mineshaft_Gap]

Surprisingly good! I had some initial qualms about the sound quality, with the Fender model amp master vol at 10, my guitar vol at 10 and the iPad vol at 10 the sound was rather brittle, a bit thin and a bit crackly. I spent some time trying to get the output right by balancing the iPad vol with the guitar and amp vols.

What type of Fender amp?

If you're running on almost any/every modern Fender tube amp they're often biased VERY cold right out of the box. This helps prolong tube life but really deadens the tone especially at higher volumes. This is particularly true of the Deville, Hot Rod, Blues Jr. type amps.

If the amp sounds thin and shitty at full volume get it biased before you try anything else.

 

[Fusebox]

Thanks for the tip Ducky, but I was actually talking about a modelled amp in Amplitube for iPad.

Nice N3 Stooo, I've always wanted one of those.

 

[monchi-kun]

i do wonder what a digital signal would sound like run through a tube compressor

 

[Angry Grimace]

i do wonder what a digital signal would sound like run through a tube compressor

I used to kind of like the sound of my PODxt when I ran it through my effects loop on my Mesa/Boogie, although it really just sounded like a slightly nutsyer version of a POD. :lol

 

[Fusebox]

i do wonder what a digital signal would sound like run through a tube compressor

It would probably sound compressed.

But having a tube-pre or a real valve amp at the end of Amplitube (or any digital effects) really adds a lot of warmth and character back into the tone, that's for sure.

 

[monchi-kun]

I'm looking for a nice tube pre interface for my setup, PreSonus makes some nice tube pres

 

[Fusebox]

They sure do, I use this Presonus Tube-pre in my recording chain:

http://www.presonus.com/products/Detail.aspx?ProductId=16

SM-57 -> Presonus Tube-pre -> Audio Kontrol 1 -> Ableton

 

[Cereal KiIIer]

My new baby

 

[monchi-kun]

Is that a mini lefty strat?

 

[Cereal KiIIer]

Stratocaster Standard 96 Left-Handed.

 

[Dilly]

I just went for it and purchased the Ibanez RGR321EX. Pics will be up when I have it.

 

[monchi-kun]

Stratocaster Standard 96 Left-Handed.

wow, i don't know if its the camera you used or the angle but that strat looked like a mini to me.

 

[DeathbyVolcano]

Fellow guitarists:

I hate my amplifier and I want it to commit suicide. It's a terrible knock-off amp that sounds exactly like what it costs (shit). I'm looking to get a new combo amp (stacks and heads are beyond my desires at the moment), but I really don't want to get your standard Fender/Marshall amp. Does anybody have any sort of personal preference for any other brand names that maybe have a bit more quality to their name (no slight against Fender obviously, I just don't really want to buy the same amp everyone else has).

I want anywhere from a 50-150w combo. I was looking at Orange for a possible brand, but they seem to be a bit too expensive for me. What about Vox?

 

[owlbeak]

Could someone give me a yes or a no on this question: Should I buy a Fender Squire Jagmaster?

Obviously if I had $4,000 I'd buy a '63 Jazzmaster, but, I don't. Love the look and sounds of the Jazzmaster & Jaguar and I've played a Jagmaster and it's got quite a wide variety of tones and a very vintage sound, which is something I crave that my '99 Les Paul does not do.

It has stellar reviews all around the web, what say you, Gaf?

 

[Cereal KiIIer]

Fellow guitarists:

I hate my amplifier and I want it to commit suicide. It's a terrible knock-off amp that sounds exactly like what it costs (shit). I'm looking to get a new combo amp (stacks and heads are beyond my desires at the moment), but I really don't want to get your standard Fender/Marshall amp. Does anybody have any sort of personal preference for any other brand names that maybe have a bit more quality to their name (no slight against Fender obviously, I just don't really want to buy the same amp everyone else has).

I want anywhere from a 50-150w combo. I was looking at Orange for a possible brand, but they seem to be a bit too expensive for me. What about Vox?

Vox and Crate are quite good. I would go with Vox right after Marshall.

 

[monchi-kun]

Peavy makes some really nice tube amps at around $500. Vox just released some new combo tube amps as well.

I personally have my heart set on an Orange Tiny Terror combo. As for other brands:

Egnater
Bogner
Blackstar
Bugera
Randall


Check out some vids on these amps.

 

[owlbeak]

'99 Epiphone Les Paul 100 & Fender Frontman 25R 10", nothing fancy.

 

[Fusebox]

Vox and Crate are quite good. I would go with Vox right after Marshall.

Crate have been garbage since the late 90's sorry bud. Vox and Orange still make some great stuff, Marshall don't make any decent entry-level amps.

Fellow guitarists:

I hate my amplifier and I want it to commit suicide. It's a terrible knock-off amp that sounds exactly like what it costs (shit). I'm looking to get a new combo amp (stacks and heads are beyond my desires at the moment), but I really don't want to get your standard Fender/Marshall amp. Does anybody have any sort of personal preference for any other brand names that maybe have a bit more quality to their name (no slight against Fender obviously, I just don't really want to buy the same amp everyone else has).

I want anywhere from a 50-150w combo. I was looking at Orange for a possible brand, but they seem to be a bit too expensive for me. What about Vox?

Are you sure you need a 50w valve amp, and you aren't comparing it to your existing solid state amp? If you use your 50w valve amp at home it won't be getting much of a work-out.

First off all though, what styles do you play, and what is the biggest venue you'd be playing?

My new baby

That photo is weird, makes the guitar look like a fake. Maybe I'm not used to seeing it flipped lefty but even the headstock shape looks wrong.

 

[Cereal KiIIer]

Crate have been garbage since the late 90's sorry bud.

He never said he wanted a brand new amp.

 

[Fusebox]

Just felt I should clarify in case he goes out and wastes cash on one of the new Crates.

Still, the best amps they made were solid state metal beasts, hard to recommend when you consider the low watt valve amps you can buy these days.

 

[NGAMER9]

Anyone have any experience with the Line 6 Pod XT? It looks pretty sweet and someone near me is selling one for fifty bucks, but I dunno if it's actually any good.

 

[Fusebox]

It's a little dated but for $50 it's a bargain, I reckon you should snap it up.

 

[monchi-kun]

If you guys ever want to learn about gear check this place out

http://proguitarshop.com/

I pretty much buy all my pedals from these guys

 

[speculawyer]

Anyone have any experience with the Line 6 Pod XT? It looks pretty sweet and someone near me is selling one for fifty bucks, but I dunno if it's actually any good.

I've had mine since it came out. I still love it and I paid $400!

 

[BladeoftheImmortal]

Wonderwall all up in this bitch!

 

[Pilgor]

No activity since August, so here's a bump.

I got my new iPhone 4, so I wanted to try the HDR camera with my guitars. Unfortunately the HDR ones turned out worse than the others, perhaps the lighting conditions were not ideal.

I want to buy a Suhr Modern next. Anyone have one or played one? I would get carved top with a set neck. Very exciting!

Anyway, here are some shots.

 

[BotoxAgent]

I want to buy a Suhr Modern next. Anyone have one or played one? I would get carved top with a set neck. Very exciting!

I've played a few. Definitely a quality axe...and every modern I tried sound consistently great...with very nice balance across the strings and fretboard. It's definitely more resonant and "alive" sounding than other shredder type of axes, and more versatile too.

 

[Pilgor]

I've played a few. Definitely a quality axe...and every modern I tried sound consistently great...with very nice balance across the strings and fretboard. It's definitely more resonant and "alive" sounding than other shredder type of axes, and more versatile too.

I've played a few too, but not the new set neck models. I don't think they are a level above the Music Man guitars, but they certainly have a different, and equally good feel.

They are just so expensive... Ugh.

 

[Xun]

I haven't really got anything good to contribute to this thread yet, since I only have a cheap Les Paul copy and a cheap but good acoustic.

But here's my soon to be new guitar (hopefully).

It's from Fenders new Blacktop series.

I'm probably going to end up going with this colour.

Here's a preview of it in action.

 

[adamsappel]

I love Telecasters. I like those amp knobs. The reversed control plate really works much better, I recommend that as a mod for any Tele player.

 

[Xun]

I love Telecasters. I like those amp knobs. The reversed control plate really works much better, I recommend that as a mod for any Tele player.

I was considering in getting just a standard Tele, but the new Blacktop range is great for the price (not much more than the standards).

And having both humbuckers and a cutout back is a nice touch as well!

 

[SpoonyBard]

I'll be getting a Les Paul Standard Double Cut + soon. I have bought and sold a shitton of stuff since my last post, maybe I should take some pics of the whole family...

 

[Mineshaft_Gap]

Three relatively recent acquisitions.

- Gibson Les Paul Historic R7

- Hamer Monaco Elite

- R. Taylor S1 Cedar/Flamed Mahogany

 

[Simon Belmont]

This thread is depressing for me. I'm in a professional band and my gear fucking blows. Within a year or so, I'll be back to this thread. Then we shall see.

I'm thinking of buying an SG in the relatively near future. Gear-head GAF - I've always been a Fender guy, so I don't really know shit about Gibson's. What pitfalls should I be looking out for as I make my decision?

 

[Mineshaft_Gap]

What sort of SG were you looking at? Special? Classic? Standard? '61 Reissue? Or are you looking at Historic and Custom Shops?

If the option is available play as many as you possibly can, side by side if possible. If you're going to buy a guitar new and you're serious then go into the store and ask them to bring down every SG of the type you're looking for.

If you're looking for an SG Standard and they have ten in stock ask to play all ten and cherry pick the best one. If none of them are up to snuff don't buy and go to another store. There are gems out there but there's also a lot of dogs where Gibson is concerned.

Pitfalls of SG guitars in general.

Neck heaviness. It's hard to avoid with such a small/thin bodied guitar. Some are worse than others. If you're in a band I think it's safe to assume you play standing up. Bring a strap with you and see which guitar balances best on a strap. If you wind up with an SG that's PARTICULARLY neck heavy you won't ever be able to take your hand off the neck between sets, lest you want it to take a dive towards the floor. This leads to my next point.

SGs are not robust guitars. They LOOK the part. Heck, they look like rawk personified. Alas... they are fragile beasts. The Reissues ('61 Reissue, Historic Custom Shops) that are made to reproduce how the guitars were built in the early-mid 60's have a very shallow neck tenon. There isn't much wood connecting the neck to the body.

If you drop an early 60's inspired SG on a hard surface there's a good chance it could break at the neck joint. This isn't a horribly expensive thing to fix a lot of the time depending on how clean the break is. Still, you can just about say goodbye to any resale value.

SG Classics, Standards, Specials. Anything with the "batwing" pickguard usually has a modern neck tenon which is longer and more robust. Same about headstocks. The #1 repair you see on most Gibson guitars is a broken/reglued headstock. That's an issue regardless of which SG you choose. Kinda shitty when you have a guitar that wants to take a dive for the floor every time you take your hand off the neck, eh?

Long story short. Invest in a good strap and a good case. You can't treat an SG like you can treat a Strat or Tele. If you drop it you might break it.

 

[Mineshaft_Gap]

Always try to go for something as light weight a possible. Lighter wood is better wood. Period. It'll make the guitar more comfortable to play, it'll probably sound better, and it'll help with resale value.

SGs are supposed to be pretty light. Sorta defeats the purpose if you end up with a 8-9 lbs beast. An SG shouldn't weigh as much as a Les Paul.

Play the guitars unplugged before you even bother to plug them in. In a quiet room if possible. Something I notice with a lot of Gibsons is... well... they go *thunk* on the wound strings. I hate using adjectives to describe tone but that's the best I can come up with. A thunky, dead feel and sound ISN'T how a quality instrument should be. This is something you need to have some measure of experience to determine. Rest assured, it's real. I'm not talking about some bullshit *mojo*.

Imagine there are two SGs in front of you. Both are set-up exactly the same. Except one is meh and one is great. You should be able to tell by how the guitar sounds and feels when you play it - unplugged.

SGs are sort of notorious for going out of tune because when you wiggle the neck back and forth it's almost like using a tremolo. Depends on if yours has the long or short tenon but still. Invest in some nice tuners if you don't know how to properly string your guitar.

SG Classics bring the rawk. They're also the best bargain Gibson has right now at $1000. 2 P90 single coils and all the features of an SG Standard except no HSC and dot inlays. The awesomeness of P90 pickups far outweighs some lame trap inlays. Case is important though.

 

[Simon Belmont]

That makes me significantly more nervous about picking one up. My sitch is as such - I recorded through a Les Paul running into a Bogner head. My real stage setup is a tele and a Vox ac-15. I need something with a lot of balls, but I've never played a Les Paul I liked. I have had a bit of fondness for some SG's I've played over the years, though. I should probably just sack up and buy a Les Paul. I'm sure if I had one around long enough I'd get better with it. I just find them so unforgiving.

In either case, I should probably just try a bunch out, like you suggested. :lol

Edit: Where are my manners? Thanks a tonne for taking the time to give that information.

 

[Mineshaft_Gap]

They can be great guitars. Les Pauls have issues all their own.

A really great SG or Les Paul is magical! You just gotta find it! Don't buy sight unseen if you can avoid it!

If a Les Paul is what you REALLY want then buy one. Incidentally there are more Les Paul inspired guitars than SG inspired guitars. Many of which range from as good to vastly superior. Your options are really open if you're in the market for a Les Paul.

The Hamer Monaco Elite is every bit as good if not better than the R7 in my same post. Brand new they cost almost the same. On the used market the Hamer is several hundred dollars cheaper because it doesn't say Gibson on the headstock. The deal I got on the Hamer would make you puke. $1200.

There's a guy on the Hamer forums selling a Custom Studio for under $1000. That's fucking insane. Double cut. More like a PRS than an SG but it may be something you should check out.

One last thing. The sticker price is not the actual selling price. I'm not talking about the list price, everybody knows THAT'S bullshit. The MAP or minimum ADVERTISED price is what music stores are forced to adhere to by their vendors (Gibson in this example). This is so retailers aren't in competition to undersell one another. Everyone has to put the MAP on the sticker.

Places like Guitar Center won't budge on the MAP. Why? Because they suck. Fuck them.

There's a place called Huber and Breeze in Michigan. Look up their number and call them. Just as an example say "I'm looking at a Les Paul '57 Reissue goldtop VOS, I see the MAP is $3700. Could you tell me what the actual selling price is?"

What they tell you WON'T be $3700. More like $3000. Guitar Center would try to have you buy the same guitar for $3700. Again... NOT TALKING ABOUT LIST. The list is much higher.

What is it about the SG that attracts you? Upper fret access? Weight? I don't want to make it seem as if SG guitars are made of glass. They can still be rocked out on. They just aren't built to spill like a Telecaster or a Stratocaster. Buy what you want. If you get a Les Paul but you REALLY wanted an SG then the Les Paul won't make you happy.

 

[SpoonyBard]

The stock picups in Gibson SG Standard weren't to my liking, I replaced them with Bare Knuckle Black Dog set, and they sounds a lot better. I quite like my SG now, it's really easy to play on the higher frets and it sounds great. I still like the sound my Les Paul Standard makes more, but if I have to play fast solos, then SG or Les Paul Standard Double Cut fit the job much better. Another bad thing about the double cut Gibsons, is that the neck pickup is too far away from the neck, you can't get the same kind of nice and fat tone you get with Les Paul...

http://i43.tinypic.com/bfrvb5.jpg

 

[Tashi]

OH MY GOD DUCKY. That R7 is stunning. Can we get some more pics of it please?

 

[Simon Belmont]

What is it about the SG that attracts you? Upper fret access? Weight? I don't want to make it seem as if SG guitars are made of glass. They can still be rocked out on. They just aren't built to spill like a Telecaster or a Stratocaster. Buy what you want. If you get a Les Paul but you REALLY wanted an SG then the Les Paul won't make you happy.

It's all about the neck to me. When I play, I tend to really man-handle the guitar. I find Fenders, and in particular Teles, to be very forgiving in that department. I tend to press really hard on the strings with my left hand, and as a result find that I'm always fighting to keep a Les Paul in tune. I don't know what it is with SGs, but I find I have an easier time maintaining my tone when I play on one of them.

I don't necessarily want either guitar, I just need something that has a huge sound. My Tele does everything I need except 'big'. Maybe I should swallow my pride and look into an Ibanez or something that isn't the 'big two'.

Funny you mention Hamer, my first guitar was a 'Slammer' by Hamer. I'm sure yours is a lot better though :lol :lol :lol

 

[Xun]

Despite hopefully getting that Blacktop guitar soon I have a weird urge to make my own guitar, am I mad?

I'd love to create something like a guitar, even if it's a bit shitty. :lol

I wouldn't invest too much into it, especially since I have a lot of work to do so I'd just casually build it.

Any tips would be great.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Crate have been garbage since the late 90's sorry bud. Vox and Orange still make some great stuff, Marshall don't make any decent entry-level amps.



Are you sure you need a 50w valve amp, and you aren't comparing it to your existing solid state amp? If you use your 50w valve amp at home it won't be getting much of a work-out.

First off all though, what styles do you play, and what is the biggest venue you'd be playing?



That photo is weird, makes the guitar look like a fake. Maybe I'm not used to seeing it flipped lefty but even the headstock shape looks wrong.

I sold my Marshall 50w because I couldn't play it at any volume without my wife getting pissed off.

 

[BotoxAgent]

Ducky - that Les Paul Goldtop is drool-worthy


love Les Pauls.....love love love

 

[Mineshaft_Gap]

OH MY GOD DUCKY. That R7 is stunning. Can we get some more pics of it please?

 

[Fusebox]

I love Telecasters. I like those amp knobs. The reversed control plate really works much better, I recommend that as a mod for any Tele player.

My J5 Tele has an interesting switch config. The pup selector is in the LP position and there is two volumes instead of volume and tone. Oh, and the volumes are reversed so the front one is the bridge and the back one is the neck. :lol

Sounds weird, but works great in practice. The bridge pup gets used most and so its volume knob is closest to my hand, also I can turn down the volume on one pup and toggle the pup selector like a kill-switch.

 

[Red Blaster]

Anyone have experience playing Jazzmasters? How do they handle compared to Strats/Teles and how do they differ from Jaguars? I'm also curious to know of any huge disparities between the Japanese and the USA models, I'd like to go with a Japanese model as they're way cheaper.

I was eyeing an SG Standard but Ducky's post scared me away :lol . Was primarily interested in them because of their perceived lightness and the access to the upper registers but durability is a factor. I play an American Deluxe Fat Strat, it's got some nagging issues (heavy as fuck and noisy-ass pickups) but it's a true workhorse guitar.