Question What would you do ?

[lukather101]

Thanks guys for the advice .
I know I'm currently a bedroom player but I'll never give up hope of playing live again so if i was to sell up ideally it would be for something that would sound great at low level and if the unexpected happened would cope with a live situation too.

 

[lukather101]

One thing nobody has mentioned yet is the speakers / cab. Firstly, see if you can play your amp through a few different cabs, the differences in tone you will experience will be surprising. Speakers are generally much cheaper than new amps too and that might mean that you can keep all your gear if something floats your boat!

If I can recommend an amp for the bedroom/studio and that suits your rocky style, without hesitation I'd say pickup a Cornford Harlequin... Only 6w but tone to "live" for, boutique point to point construction, and they're now quite cheap on ebay if you want to buy used.

Hi Steve.
My mate bought a Harlequin a few months ago and your right it's an amazing sounding practice amp but it wouldn't cut it if i got the offer to play live "big IF i know "

Dar

 

[DrewH]

If you're looking in the AxeII price range, try a Mark V. It's Output volume control makes it sound great at any volume. A great amp is very inspiring. The Axe II has some hidden costs such as a midi controller and FRFR speakers, maybe some expression pedals as well depending on what you're going to do. I've got an AxeFx Ultra that's been relegated to effects only since I got my Mark V. Most of my dirt pedals were sold off as well.

I will disagree, respectfully. I owned the Mark V combo and recently sold it. I downsized to a little Blackstar HT5R combo. I couldn't be happier. For under $400, it's perfect and in ways it sounds better than the Mark V. I can already hear the gasps following that comment. The Mark V was an impulse purchase. The truth is that is was the wrong amp. It's not made to operate at volumes that don't require ear plugs, period. A good amp doesn't have cost 2 to 3 k and be made in the USA. The orange tiny/dual terrors, Egnaters, Blackstars, etc will give you boutique quality for under $1000. A lot has changed in 20 years and tech has gotten to the point where you can get a lot more for less.

 

[acwild]

I will disagree, respectfully. I owned the Mark V combo and recently sold it. I downsized to a little Blackstar HT5R combo. I couldn't be happier. For under $400, it's perfect and in ways it sounds better than the Mark V. I can already hear the gasps following that comment. The Mark V was an impulse purchase. The truth is that is was the wrong amp. It's not made to operate at volumes that don't require ear plugs, period. A good amp doesn't have cost 2 to 3 k and be made in the USA. The orange tiny/dual terrors, Egnaters, Blackstars, etc will give you boutique quality for under $1000. A lot has changed in 20 years and tech has gotten to the point where you can get a lot more for less.

I guess it depends on what you're going for in an amp sound. For the settings that I use, it sounds great at all volumes. I had a series of Egnaters and the Mark V has a wider frequency range and can go at lower volumes and still hold the sound together. The Mark V is fussy about how it's dialed in though. Sounding better is all subjective so no gasps here.

 

[lukather101]

One thing nobody has mentioned yet is the speakers / cab. Firstly, see if you can play your amp through a few different cabs, the differences in tone you will experience will be surprising. Speakers are generally much cheaper than new amps too and that might mean that you can keep all your gear if something floats your boat!

If I can recommend an amp for the bedroom/studio and that suits your rocky style, without hesitation I'd say pickup a Cornford Harlequin... Only 6w but tone to "live" for, boutique point to point construction, and they're now quite cheap on ebay if you want to buy used.

Can you remind me what amp you play through , i remember when we met up you had a great sound .I know the sound could have been coming from my fingers but i very much doubt it ..

Dar

 

[Jonny Dubai]

My turn!!!!! I play both bedroom and live so have 2 rigs. My home rig is set up for practice only. For practice i need access to decent tones, tuner, MP3 play back and metronome....so for me it was the Fender G-Dec. Great as you can put MP3's on an SD card that fits into the amp and jam along. And not expencive. Might get you through till you can afford your "tone quest" amp!

Sorted!

 

[guitarp77]

I would say an amp is just as important as your guitar. It is like bread and butter. If you put a great butter on an old bread, it will suck, and if you put crappy butter on a fresh bread, it will kill it.

Quest for tone is always hard and difficult, since it is like chasing the end of the rainbow. Tastes change, preferences evolve, and our music background / influences are always going back and forth.

In my case, I am a huge Paul Gilbert fan. I owned an Ibanez PGM, so the logical choice of an amp was the Laney GH100L. It is a great amp, sounding amazing, but it left out all of my other styles of playing, since it has only 1 channel and it made all the changes between clean/dist/drive very hard. Either you have tons of pedals (which makes it useless, IMHO, to have a tube distortion) or you play with the volume knob of the guitar to "clean the sound"...it is a bit difficult to get all the sounds I want from that setup.

So, I sold the amp and bought a Mark V head. Research of that amp put it as a "monster" in ways of versatility and reliability. Also, the wtts. selection of each channel added a lot to it, since I´ll be able to play it in my room or live. Right now, at this point in my "playing", I think that head will be exactly what I need, but who knows what will come next...

The quest is never ending.

Anyway, good luck!

 

[roburado]

I think that the amp is maybe more important than the guitar. I've never heard a great guitar sound great through a crappy amp. I have heard a crappy guitar sound great through a great amp.

Like beej, I say sell what you don't play or aren't attached to.

Good luck finding an amp. I'm a bedroom player too...well...basement actually. Luckily, my Egnater Mod 50 sounds good to me at low-enough volumes using the low-power setting.

 

[roburado]

My turn!!!!! I play both bedroom and live so have 2 rigs. My home rig is set up for practice only. For practice i need access to decent tones, tuner, MP3 play back and metronome....so for me it was the Fender G-Dec. Great as you can put MP3's on an SD card that fits into the amp and jam along. And not expencive. Might get you through till you can afford your "tone quest" amp!

Sorted!

G-Dec looks great. I might get one of those in the future.

 

[spkirby]

Can you remind me what amp you play through , i remember when we met up you had a great sound .I know the sound could have been coming from my fingers but i very much doubt it ..

Dar

Hey Dar, if it was the head & cab then you were playing through a Dr Z Maz 18 Junior on a THD 2x12, the gain coming from pedals. If it was the combo then it's a Cornford Hurricane.

On the cheaper end of the spectrum I was recently impressed by a Hughes & Kettner Statesmen Quad EL84 at a local music shop...

 

[lessthanone]

Even at low volume my h&k duotone combo sounds like the business. Depends on what sound youre going for and how much you really want to spend

 

[aleclee]

I'm a big fan of the AxeFx and an even bigger fan of selling off gear that I don't use for gear that I will use.

Three years ago, I parted with a Two Rock Emerald 50 (an amazing amp) to fund an AxeFx Ultra (pictured below). I had a small child and was very limited in volume and time. I hadn't cranked up the Two Rock in 2+ years and didn't really know when I'd get to do so again. In contrast with the Two Rock, I was able to use the AxeFx on a daily basis. Not only was it fun, it made me improve as a player.

Last year, I sold off a PRS to fund an AxeFx II. Even more fun, and my chops continue to improve. I'd do either deal again in a heartbeat. Those were two of the more productive transactions in my musical life.

As a confirmed AxeFx fanboy, I'd be happy to answer questions via PM or share my experience.

 

[tommydude]

I'm a big fan of the AxeFx and an even bigger fan of selling off gear that I don't use for gear that I will use.

Three years ago, I parted with a Two Rock Emerald 50 (an amazing amp) to fund an AxeFx Ultra (pictured below). I had a small child and was very limited in volume and time. I hadn't cranked up the Two Rock in 2+ years and didn't really know when I'd get to do so again. In contrast with the Two Rock, I was able to use the AxeFx on a daily basis. Not only was it fun, it made me improve as a player.

Last year, I sold off a PRS to fund an AxeFx II. Even more fun, and my chops continue to improve. I'd do either deal again in a heartbeat. Those were two of the more productive transactions in my musical life.

As a confirmed AxeFx fanboy, I'd be happy to answer questions via PM or share my experience.

View attachment 19456

So, how do you run this live, with band situation? Do you have the powered cabinet?

 

[ily]

So, how do you run this live, with band situation? Do you have the powered cabinet?

is THE BIG problem with axe fx you never obtain the same sound if you use studio monitor,powered cabinet, direct in a PA+mixing desk,with power amp and FRFR cabinet,and with tube PA and guitar cabinet
i've tried all these solutions you must have a different patch for each solution (for the same sound )
for me axe fx is very good for home studio or with tube power amp + guitar cabinet the resul is very expensive
i'll buy another "old" standard or ultra to use like a multi effects

 

[Jack FFR1846]

Dar,

I'm "sort of" in your situation, you might say. I do play out, but only in our church and they have a full sound board and house amp system, so the only time I would need an amp is if we're unable to use the system for rehersal (which has happened maybe twice in 3 years). So I have amps for my living room.......where 99% of the time, I use headphones and no amp and the 1%, I use my rehersal amp, which is a 50W Crate tube amp that's way too big for the room. I have a 15W Line 6 that's now in my son's room (he plays) and it's cool because it has all the effects. I got it before my FX pedal. Then I have a tiny 10W squier in my guitar shop. And of course, I have over a dozen guitars.....but I use all of them at one time or another.

I would really recommend not just taking our advice. Personally, I like a few amps I've played.....Mesa Mk V, Marshall 15WFX solid state. I think I'd try some of the esoteric 5W single tube things and some smaller Orange amps. Get into something like a Guitar Center premium room.......unplug the amp you want and drag it in there. It's far smaller there than in a big hall type area.

 

[lukather101]

Hi Guys.
Just a quick update.
Still in the process of deciding which guitar I would sell , as I said previous all my guitars get play time over the course of a week which means I’m really struggling to let any of them go.
Over the week I’ve been reading all the replies and a few have said that my gear perhaps just needs some fine tuning so I’ve been making a few tweaks here and there and my sound has improved .

I did alter my settings when I got my Wolfy because I was having an EVH moment plus the fact that it’s a lot brighter than all my other guitars , only thing was when I picked up my PRS or EBMM both sounded a little flat until I changed my settings back to how they were before..
Until I come to the decision on whether I’m prepared to let any of them go I’m pretty much stuck with my setup, I’ve never been very good at letting guitars go and I can’t afford to change anything unless I sell
Anyway big thanks again for all your input and if anything changes I will let you know.

Out of interest would you sell a PRS or a ball

 

[aleclee]

So, how do you run this live, with band situation? Do you have the powered cabinet?

I run a couple of QSC powered cabs. It easily gets as loud as a 1/2 stack but without the weight.

is THE BIG problem with axe fx you never obtain the same sound if you use studio monitor,powered cabinet, direct in a PA+mixing desk,with power amp and FRFR cabinet,and with tube PA and guitar cabinet
i've tried all these solutions you must have a different patch for each solution (for the same sound )
for me axe fx is very good for home studio or with tube power amp + guitar cabinet the resul is very expensive

Totally not my experience. My stuff sounds pretty much the same through (expensive) headphones, near field monitors, or my QSC PA speakers. Not only that, I don't need to worry about line voltage, tube wear, or humidity affecting my tone from day to day or venue to venue.

Plenty of folks playing out using an AxeFx through FRFR. If might not suit your needs but there's no shortage of folks using it live who are pleased as a pig in slop.

 

[lukather101]

I run a couple of QSC powered cabs. It easily gets as loud as a 1/2 stack but without the weight.

Totally not my experience. My stuff sounds pretty much the same through (expensive) headphones, near field monitors, or my QSC PA speakers. Not only that, I don't need to worry about line voltage, tube wear, or humidity affecting my tone from day to day or venue to venue.

Plenty of folks playing out using an AxeFx through FRFR. If might not suit your needs but there's no shortage of folks using it live who are pleased as a pig in slop.

There's a guy selling one fairly local to me but i'm a little nervous about buying second hand , are there any issues with reliability ?

 

[lukather101]

Could always buy a Kemper.

Awesome bit of kit.

Kemper Profiling Amp- Can it sound as good as an AxeFx? - YouTube!

 

[aleclee]

There's a guy selling one fairly local to me but i'm a little nervous about buying second hand , are there any issues with reliability ?

Nothing systemic. If you do go that route, make sure you can try it at volume prior to cash changing hands. Just to make sure there's nothing funky rattling around.