OT: Amplifiers!

[fogman]

Does anybody here not have one or use one?

In my tone quest, the thought of not having an amp at all has risen.
I don't gog, nor play in any other rooms of the house.
I was just wondering if anyone was running their sounds through a modeller into their computer and that's it!
My initial quest was to go tubes, but I do know some people are quite happy without.

 

[Roxy]

To me, nothing responds like a tube amp. Plus, I'm at the computer enough as it is. I have the Line 6 Guitar Port and it's cool to record or practice with late at night, but give me a MESA anyday.

 

[Spudmurphy]

I can't imagine there won't be many on here that don't have an amp, but plenty that do have modellers.

You can get away with not having an amp for a while but you'd be mad not to get one, bearing in mind that it's an electric guitar you have.

I think the search for the Holy Grail of tone can be never ending but ya gonna have to bite the bullet at some stage and get yourself an amp that can cover most bases.

So my recommendation would be (based on my current gear) something like a Pod XT to tide you over, connect you to your computer and stop the neighbours from hammering on your walls. Then something like a Mesa F50 Combo (go search for the Mesa F50 on the Petrucci forum and see the great things people have to say). Even the F50 can then be improved with the use of Pedals like an xotic BB or a Seymour Duncan Pick up booster.

So sorry if I've turned this into a "what amp should I get thread" but I think you need an amp that will cover all bases and a proven modeller like a Pod (which IMO is better and easier to use than the Boss products)

 

[58super]

Fogman you have a great guitar
You need a great amp to go with it. There are tube amps now that sound great at volumes the rest of the family won't complain about.

Ask Scott would say DO IT!!

 

[roburado]

I was just discussing this with kneeoh a week or two ago. Without a good tube amp, you're never going to hear everything that your guitar has to offer in terms of all the great tones that it can give you. You'll be seriously missing out. Think of how much money you paid for the guitar. To me, without having a good tube amp--I mean a really good one--is like getting only a fraction of what I paid for when I bought the guitar. The amp is really as much an instrument as the guitar itself. Without a good tube amp reacting and interacting with the guitar, you miss out on the whole thing of controlling your amp with your pick attack, your muting, your left hand technique, etc. It's like not getting what you paid for when you bought the guitar, but that's just one way of looking at it.

Just because some people are happy going without a good tube amp, does that mean that you have to be only that happy? Why not be happier?

 

[fogman]

Thanks guys.
I just like considering all the possibilities.
You've pretty much confirmed what I expected to hear.

 

[lumberjack]

Fogman you have a great guitar
You need a great amp to go with it. There are tube amps now that sound great at volumes the rest of the family won't complain about.

Ask Scott would say DO IT!!

Thanks Dave.

Ohh My........here we go again. As you know foggy I use a Pod XT into my computer. But it doesn't replace a nice amp. GO TUBES

Mesa Lonestar........DO IT................DO IT

 

[www.lamusic.ca]

And who told you NOT to go with the XT? Hmmm?

 

[lumberjack]

And who told you NOT to go with the XT? Hmmm?

Wasn't me Sweet Pea.

 

[GuitarHack]

Which would sound better: a great guitar through a mediocre amp, or a mediocre guitar through a great amp?

I think the amp is more important than the guitar. A great amp will make all of your guitars come to life. A crummy amp will make all of your guitars disappointing. Why have a magic guitar and no amp, or an amp you're less than happy with?

My $0.02,
GH

 

[JMB27]

Fogman,

I think you know where I stand on the tube amp vs modern/modelling/everything else ....

If you are ever in the neighbourhood - let me know, and I'll let you crank up a couple of my ampZ .... heck, you're more than welcome to borrow one for a little while and see what you think.

cheerZ, eh

Joel

 

[lumberjack]

Fogman,

I think you know where I stand on the tube amp vs modern/modelling/everything else ....

If you are ever in the neighbourhood - let me know, and I'll let you crank up a couple of my ampZ .... heck, you're more than welcome to borrow one for a little while and see what you think.

cheerZ, eh

Joel

Now, there's an offer you can't refuse.

 

[chrisglancy]

It all depends what you are using it for and in what context. The Tube Vs Solid state debate is a long runnign thing. You cant beat tubes for a love and organic overdrive, too me none of the emulators have succeeded to well in obtaining a good high gain sound.

I use a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier for Rhythms and Marshall JVM 4 ch for all the leads.

Another amp which I cant reccomend highly enough is the new Orange Tiny Terror.

15-7 watts, miced up with an sm57 and some good verb it sounds as fat as any marshall i have recorded with

When i interviewed Joe Satriani he said that a lot of the biggest tones are gotten from the smallest amps.

Led Zepplin etc

Anyhow you really cant go wring with Marshall or Mesa Boogie.

Recording wise Amplitube is amazing for clean tones.

Also if you dont want to spend the cash on a mesa. Buy a good Marshall Plexi reissue like the 1987x and get a Sanamp GT2= amazing pedal which with a marshall will give you a mazzive pallet of tones.

take a look at the Palmer PGA-04 which is a load box/ cab simulator, i plug my head straight into my mixer through this magic box and u get a magic lead tone. (another Satch tip)

GOOD LUCK

 

[JMB27]

Now, there's an offer you can't refuse.

especially when there may be another one of those ampZ joining my collection soon ...

 

[pjc812]

I personally have a Marshall 8080 for home use. Sounds pretty decent, I like the master volume feature which the 8040 didn't have ( used to have that one). If the Krank Rev. JR had a footswitch, the Marshall would be hitting Ebay in 5 seconds.

 

[Tone Dog]

Which would sound better: a great guitar through a mediocre amp, or a mediocre guitar through a great amp?

I think the amp is more important than the guitar. A great amp will make all of your guitars come to life. A crummy amp will make all of your guitars disappointing. Why have a magic guitar and no amp, or an amp you're less than happy with?

My $0.02,
GH

This is the absolute truth.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Ha! I don't think anybody could have got a good tone with my first guitar even if you put it through a wall built of Marshalls/Fenders/Mesas/Engles ... ... ...

I'm a firm believer in getting the right instrument rather than the amplifier - we've had this discussion here before so I won't divert this thread.

I think it's safe to say from reading Foggys posts over the years that he is a home player.
The Pod xt is a great bit of kit and would be perfect for Foggys situation. Two people on the forum have PM'd me over the years about getting an XT and they were both glad that they did.
The XT will never be better than say a Mesa/Marshall and a 4 x 12 combo, but they do a job very well - Foggy will love using it with his computer too!!

I saw lots of PRO's using them at the Birmingham NEC the other week in the "Music Live" exhibition - Stuart Bull for one (from Lick Library Fame) and I think they had one on the Strings n Things stand (and I say "I think").
So for a home player (and Pros) a Pod xt is a good investment which is tumbling in price now the X3 is out.

Why some people say "don't get one" beggars belief - but I guess they have a passion for their own bit of kit?

 

[beej]

Foggy, not playing with a band makes it much easier to decide. Not having to cut through the mix means you can pretty much play anything at home and be happy.

There's no easy answer here, everybody likes something different and tastes change.

Here's my two cents: my suggestion is to get familiar with different amps and see what you like the sound of. You probably can't go wrong with a modeler like the Vox or Pod- they'll give you a flavour for different sounds and you'll eventually find the tones you really love. When that happens you're ready to buy a quality amp and you'll know the sounds you want. Also, the modelers are relatively cheap (by a used one and you can sell it later for what you paid) so you won't have to break the bank.

 

[fogman]

Thanks Jay.
I'm pretty certain I know what I'm going after. I'm just questioning if the amps that I like might be overkill for my purposes.
I'm sure it'll all be fine. I'm just overeducating myself as you all know that I do!

 

[Dizzy]

ummm, what have you been using since you got the Dargie Foggy ?