'Scales Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Don't know if it could be said any better. RCT speakith the truth. Yes indeed. Ever since he swapped his Dumbles for a Firebird X. "Why, it's a tone thing dontcha know?!" (with Henry Miller accent) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I like the fact that cheese has done well in the poll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 A good amp is more important to your sound but they're less important to most guitar players. A cheap amp (All the major manufacturers make them) can be a dead end. They might sound pretty maybe o.k. good when they're new but you probably have to throw it away when it breaks. well, this is true, BUT,, when I buy a 249 dollar {MIC} amp, I buy it knowing it's disposable if after a few years it just falls apart. That said, I bought a Fender Mustang 3 in 2012 just to have as a decent practice amp to leave in my Den. not one single problem, and tbh, the amp has some excellent available sounds. I didn't sell my 3 tube amps, as it wasn't intended to replace those. I was curious how they were, and after 5 years, I haven't ever been sorry for the money spent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krock Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I went amp. The way the amp sounds affects the pedals I use and inadvertently the guitar I tend to pick up more. Currently the one I reach most to when playing out is a guitar with a p90 neck and tele bridge pickup because it fits best of all my guitars with what I try to do with those I play with at the moment I should also add that I use a wet/dry rig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I think once you've reached a certain quality of guitar because of diminishing returns the amp becomes more and more important. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I think once you've reached a certain quality of guitar because of diminishing returns the amp becomes more and more important... Not wishing to start a bunfight, Ian, but surely exactly the same - in terms of diminishing returns - can be said about the amp? Once you have gone from, say, a Blues Junior at £595 you'll need to pay more than twice as much to buy a '68 Twin Reverb. How much more would you need to spend to get something appreciably better than a Twin Reverb? Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krock Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 How much more would you need to spend to get something appreciably better than a Twin Reverb? Pip. Whats the going rate on a dumble these days? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Here's what these guys think, although, I'm not sure their budget was high enough to demonstrate the full range of possibilities: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu_plv2CTEM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelT Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I picked Cheese because the answer varies. If you're a gigging musician, you need a decent guitar and a decent reliable amp. If you're a bedroom musician, the amp isn't as important as the guitar. A better guitar usually helps someone be a better player. You can get a $120 Fender Mustang for playing at home and it works great. About half of the time at home, I don't even play through an amp at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I didn't own a tube amp for years as I was quite happy with my 90's Marshall Valvestate 8280 combo (I bought it second hand in 2001 if I remember correctly) I played (still have it in my basement) a Bichorus 200 head for a while. It is a surprisingly good amp for the $200 paid for it in like 2002. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 This is getting a bit off topic. Not to offend any purists, it's not really an amp, but for playing at home, this plus a good set of headphones is really nice: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Define a crap guitar though. These days a lot of budget guitars can be very good instruments. Obviously Squier and Epiphone make some great instruments in the lower price range and then you have companies like Revelation, Vintage, Danelectro and I guess Encore (I tried a few Encore Strats in the past which were awful - actually barely playable, but maybe their quality has improved). The only truly crap guitars I imagine are the ones that you can get off Amazon for £50 which probably won't intonate properly, have warped necks and fall apart pretty quickly. The best example I can give is the recent experience I had trying to get a cheap decent Jazzmaster. I went thru 4 Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmasters. Each one was a piece of crap for one reason of another. Twisted Neck on one, (Fender wouldn't Warranty a replacement Nevk), Wiring issues on another, inoperable Switches & Controls on another. Very poor QC. Returned them all.. I bought a new Danelectro 12 String a few years ago. During it's first Setup by my regular Luthier he called me & said he couldn't work on the Guitar any further as The cheap Pot Metal Screws literally broke while un screwing them. The Guitar could've been rebuilt at my expense with higher quality Parts but why should I have to do that? A Crap Guitar & it went back. Many cheap Guitars are built ok but the Pickups sound horrible. Same thing with Amps. Many are built ok but sound like crap unless you want to rebuild it with better Parts & Speakers. I don't have time nor do I have the interest to spend more money to Mod & rebuild New Guitars & Amps. I want to play them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I voted both (guitar & amp), but was sorely tempted by the cheese. I have not used a tube amp in decades. My amps only job is to reproduce the signal cleanly. Shropshire Blue is far more complex than guitars & amplifiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Gibson Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 1520213758[/url]' post='1921477']What kind of cheese are we talkin' about here? Expensive cheese or cheap cheese? Government cheese Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Drove through Tillamook listening to Black Sabbath keeping the windows up and the AC recirculating. Smells funky there but now I wish I stopped for lunch haha Mac 'n Cheez to die for, fresh ice cream, outSTANding coffee. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 I voted both (guitar & amp), but was sorely tempted by the cheese. I have not used a tube amp in decades. My amps only job is to reproduce the signal cleanly. Shropshire Blue is far more complex than guitars & amplifiers. Mmmm. that looks good.... that and maybe a nice triple cream Brillat Savarin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Mmmm. that looks good.... that and maybe a nice triple cream Brillat Savarin ahhh yes yes! ... and then bring on the Manchego Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Not wishing to start a bunfight, Ian, but surely exactly the same - in terms of diminishing returns - can be said about the amp? Once you have gone from, say, a Blues Junior at £595 you'll need to pay more than twice as much to buy a '68 Twin Reverb. How much more would you need to spend to get something appreciably better than a Twin Reverb? Pip. Yep Pippy, your right. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody78 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 I played (still have it in my basement) a Bichorus 200 head for a while. It is a surprisingly good amp for the $200 paid for it in like 2002. Yes, I actually really like the tone of my combo. They were a hybrid amp so have a preamp tube for added depth when overdriven apparently. I found a 1995 or 1996 Marshall pricelist the other week in my old product literature collection and noticed that at the time the 8280 was pretty expensive at £647. The best example I can give is the recent experience I had trying to get a cheap decent Jazzmaster. I went thru 4 Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmasters. Each one was a piece of crap for one reason of another. Twisted Neck on one, (Fender wouldn't Warranty a replacement Nevk), Wiring issues on another, inoperable Switches & Controls on another. Very poor QC. Returned them all.. I bought a new Danelectro 12 String a few years ago. During it's first Setup by my regular Luthier he called me & said he couldn't work on the Guitar any further as The cheap Pot Metal Screws literally broke while un screwing them. The Guitar could've been rebuilt at my expense with higher quality Parts but why should I have to do that? A Crap Guitar & it went back. Many cheap Guitars are built ok but the Pickups sound horrible. Same thing with Amps. Many are built ok but sound like crap unless you want to rebuild it with better Parts & Speakers. I don't have time nor do I have the interest to spend more money to Mod & rebuild New Guitars & Amps. I want to play them. Fair point and very unfortunate. Remember though, QC problems occur with high end instruments too. I think I've been pretty lucky with my guitar purchases as I've only had problems with 2 or 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 I woted guitar, probably because it's the closest link in the chain when playing. With guitars it's a funny thing. For example I can only feel a difference between my 500 euro MIM Strat and a friends Buddy Guy Sig. at the different neck profiles. And of course soundwise because I prefere how my pickups sound, his has active Lace Sensor. Almost the same thing with my MIM Tele, maybe it's just me but I really couldn't feel or hear (in this case I did upgrade the pickups) that much of a difference comparing it with high end US built Teles. A little at the neck and frets and most of the time less weight. I own a Traditional and an LPJ and both are excellent examples of what a Les Paul should do. Amps...couldn't be happier with my MIC Orange TH30 does what it should and I never had problems with it. And going to the extra über cheap Fender Vaporizer it was really surprising. First I was looking at the Blues Jr., but for just a little more you get a BDRI. After some research I thought it would be better to buy a kit and build me a tweed amp, or buy boutique stuff. But time and money were a bit of an issue. Found the Vaporizer at Thomann dirt cheap, and ordered it. To be honest I was a bit nervous. I expected every kind of problems you could think of. But to my surprise none of it happened. Beautiful warm cleans and very touch responsive overdrive sounds wich reflect perfectly the guitar you plug in. Pretty loud for 12 watts no rattling or noises. And wait until I put in the Jensens that arrived today.... I turned into a chap amp believer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 that and maybe a nice triple cream Brillat Savarin Never tried that one yet! Just read up on it and it sounds absolutely wonderful. Thanks for posting! Shame this thread wasn't posted three weeks ago when we were just about to go sous La Manche. Will have to hunt it down next time we head over to Wimereux for the day. Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Never tried that one yet! Just read up on it and it sounds absolutely wonderful. Thanks for posting! Shame this thread wasn't posted three weeks ago when we were just about to go sous La Manche. Will have to hunt it down next time we head over to Wimereux for the day. Pip. My hatred for your ilk has no words. Go ahead, motor on over in the chunnel or whatever you Euros are calling it these days. Go ahead. I will just go outside and SCREAM AT THE SKY AGGGGHHH AAAAGGGGGGHH AGGGGHHHHHHH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drog Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Always a good guitar first. I can play through any amp if needed but I am super picky when it comes to my guitars. The neck needs to be just right. I have a Kemper profiling amp and that gets me any amp sound I need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 A Kemper is like $2K+ I think that qualifies as caring about the amp unless you are filthy rich lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Never tried that one yet! Just read up on it and it sounds absolutely wonderful. Thanks for posting! Shame this thread wasn't posted three weeks ago when we were just about to go sous La Manche. Will have to hunt it down next time we head over to Wimereux for the day. Pip. I hope you enjoy it! Can't possibly imagine that you won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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