Noob's impression of the 2020 slash goldtop, 2020 50s standard goldtop with p-90s

[HomicidalVegan]

     So, the last time I played guitar on a regular basis was when I was 15 and 16 in 2000 - 2001. I never got into it enough to learn much about guitars. I played a used Mexican Olympic white coloured fender stratocaster plugged into a cheap looking Traynor (sp?) amp. That's my reference point for electric guitars. I also used to play a classical guitar in a high school guitar class. 

     To get an idea of how much of a noob I was, I could never understand why I couldn't get my guitar to sound like Rammstein. Didn't know anything about pickups and amps back then. I still know very little but I've learned a few things from doing some reading on the internet. I read people talking about things like mids, highs, creaminess etc. when describing the sound of pickups. I probably know what these mean but just do not know them using the above terms, if that makes sense. I do understand what muddy sounding means however. For example, EMG 81s on high distortion are not even remotely muddy. You can hear all the notes clearly. I've heard some people say the Gibson SlashBuckers sound muddy compared to his signature SD pickups.

     Anyways, 20 years later, I've decided to get back into playing guitars. A promising business venture that I'm about to embark on has me thinking of buying some premium guitars in the future. For some odd reason I never bothered listening to guns and roses until 2016 and I decided I like them and want to buy a Slash guitar. I am aware of those who think it is a money grab, not worth it, doesn't have the original SD pickups, neck is too chunky etc. That's all fine, I still want to grab it. 

     I thought I'd head to a local music store to check these 2020 slash and 2020 50s p-90 guitars out. 

     Disclaimer: I am not a big guy. I'm 5'6 1/2, my weight seems to hover between 160 and 170 now that I've switched to a vegan diet and I have small hands. 

     The first thing I thought when I saw these guitars was "These are the guitars who's weight everyone complains about?" The guitars looked smaller than I'd imagined as well. I didn't find them to be prohibitively heavy, although I was sitting when I was playing them and only played them for about 20 minutes max. 

     The neck of the supposedly chunkier (didn't really feel a noticeable difference between the two) 50s p90 guitar was not too chunky for me at all (I know that the slash guitar is supposed to be in between the 50s and 60s in terms of chunkiness) and I have small hands. Also, the access to the higher frets didn't seem to be as much of an issue for me (at least for the treble strings) as much as people on the internet seem to make it out to be, even with my small hands. 

     I requested a Fender super champ x2 amp go try them both on as this is the amp I'm thinking of getting (I am moving into a condo in the near future, I don't want neighbours and police harassing me due to noise complaints).

     They both sounded the same to me on this amp, tbh. Even though they have different pickups. I asked one of the clerks if it is because of the amp and he said yes. He also said that it is difficult to tell the difference in high distortion, you need to lower it or play it on a clean setting to really tell. This matches my experience watching pickup comparisons on YouTube. They always sound the same with distortion, I can only hear a difference when they are clean.

     My reference point for amps was my little Traynor amp. It was very simple, just two or three knobs. This Fender amp had 16 different settings on one of their knobs for the distortion effect. It also had an FX setting knob with settings for reverb, tremolo, chorus, delay etc. I thought that was nice. From what I understand though about the distortion knob, these settings "tell" your guitar how to sound. This is not something I want, I want an amp that let's the guitar sound how it wants to. 

     The guitars didn't sound bad but I want an amp that will let them show their "true" sound. Preferably not more than $2,500 and not too loud for a condo. Does anyone have any recommendations? As of right now, they sound so similar on the super champ x2 that I'm thinking of just getting the 2020 slash guitar and forgetting about the 50s p90 guitar. 

 

 

Edited March 15, 2021 by HomicidalVegan

[SteveFord]

Look at a Marshall Origin 20, my Gold Top w/ P90s really sounds good through that.

The cord makes a difference,  too.  A recommendation from this site was one of the upper end Rolands and I'm very happy with them.

[HomicidalVegan]

20 minutes ago, SteveFord said:

Look at a Marshall Origin 20, my Gold Top w/ P90s really sounds good through that.

The cord makes a difference,  too.  A recommendation from this site was one of the upper end Rolands and I'm very happy with them.

Thank you for reading and for the recommendation! I'll definitely try out what you've suggested. 

[Rabs]

I have a Slash SL5 combo amp.. Its awesome but I doubt you will find any about...

If not you want whatever the modern equivalent of a Marshall JCM 800 is..

According to this though hes using a Marshall Silver Jubilee these days.

 

[HomicidalVegan]

50 minutes ago, Rabs said:

I have a Slash SL5 combo amp.. Its awesome but I doubt you will find any about...

If not you want whatever the modern equivalent of a Marshall JCM 800 is..

According to this though hes using a Marshall Silver Jubilee these days.

 

Thank you for your recommendation!

Question, I've noticed some amp models come in an amp and head version. What is the difference between the two other than the size?

[Rabs]

8 minutes ago, HomicidalVegan said:

Thank you for your recommendation!

Question, I've noticed some amp models come in an amp and head version. What is the difference between the two other than the size?

Yes you get Amps which are just the top bit and have the tubes in them and all the electronics and then a speaker "Cab" (cabinet) connected to it called a stack amp... Or in some cases several cabs...

Or you get a Combo amp where is all in one and obviously easier to carry about and stuff.

As for differences. Im no real expert in amps but I dont think theres much difference in sound..  It comes down to the circuit types and valves in the amp and the different types of speakers you can get.. And theres just as many too choose from as there are guitars to play  🙂 

[HomicidalVegan]

6 minutes ago, Rabs said:

Yes you get Amps which are just the top bit and have the tubes in them and all the electronics and then a speaker "Cab" (cabinet) connected to it called a stack amp... Or in some cases several cabs...

Or you get a Combo amp where is all in one and obviously easier to carry about and stuff.

As for differences. Im no real expert in amps but I dont think theres much difference in sound..  It comes down to the circuit types and valves in the amp and the different types of speakers you can get.. And theres just as many too choose from as there are guitars to play  🙂 

I see! Yeah I'm guessing the cabs have more power or something along those lines, due to the presence/size of the speaker.

BTW, I was browsing Marshall's website and I the MG and DSL lines caught my eye. 

I want an amp that let's the guitar sing on its own without telling it how to sound. 

Along with gibson les pauls with alnico 2s, p90s, SD Jazz and JB, various metal geared EMG pickups and 490R 498T pickups, I also want to get an ESP with dual EMG 81 pickups. Do you think the above Marshall lines that I mentioned will let my guitars with various pickups shine on their own without making them all sound the same? 

Edited March 15, 2021 by HomicidalVegan

[Rabs]

Just now, HomicidalVegan said:

I see! Yeah I'm guessing the cabs have more power or something along those lines, due to the presence/size of the speaker.

 

BTW, I was browsing Marshall's website and I the MG and DSL lines caught my eye. 

I want an amp that let's the guitar sing on its own without telling it how to sound. 

Along with gibson les pauls with alnico 2s, p90s, SD Jazz and JB, various metal geared EMG pickups and 490R 498T pickups, I also want to get an ESP with dual EMG 81 pickups. Do you think the above Marshall lines that I mentioned will let my guitars with various pickups shine on their own without making them all sound the same? 

Yeah the big cabs can have four speakers in them I think..  Some of the combos have two and some one... So when I say no sound difference, there is certainly a volume difference...

As for your other question... Will have to let someone else who know more than me about amps chime in...  I would imagine someone will recommend a Fender Twin or something..

I think the MG is all digital...  Also known as solid state amps...  Tube/Valve amps are way more expensive but most will tell you they are better than any solid state amp, in saying that the solid state stuff is way way better these days than it ever was and a lot of people will swear by them (Marshall Code, Roland Cube).... Its just another one of those things that everyone has a different opinion about..  Vox AC10s are really nice too... Theres just too many options  🙂  I went for a Slash amp cos im also a big fan and its a limited edition amp that I knew wouldnt be around for long, A lot of people find his sound a bit high gain for their taste.

[HomicidalVegan]

14 minutes ago, Rabs said:

Yeah the big cabs can have four speakers in them I think..  Some of the combos have two and some one... So when I say no sound difference, there is certainly a volume difference...

As for your other question... Will have to let someone else who know more than me about amps chime in...  I would imagine someone will recommend a Fender Twin or something..

I think the MG is all digital...  Also known as solid state amps...  Tube/Valve amps are way more expensive but most will tell you they are better than any solid state amp, in saying that the solid state stuff is way way better these days than it ever was and a lot of people will swear by them (Marshall Code, Roland Cube).... Its just another one of those things that everyone has a different opinion about..  Vox AC10s are really nice too... Theres just too many options  🙂  I went for a Slash amp cos im also a big fan and its a limited edition amp that I knew wouldnt be around for long, A lot of people find his sound a bit high gain for their taste.

Yeah I want a Slash sound but I also like Faith No More, Rammstein etc. I don't want the amp to limit the kind of sounds I can get. Otherwise there's no point in buying certain guitars and certain pickups.

[HomicidalVegan]

On 3/15/2021 at 6:28 PM, Rabs said:

Yeah the big cabs can have four speakers in them I think..  Some of the combos have two and some one... So when I say no sound difference, there is certainly a volume difference...

As for your other question... Will have to let someone else who know more than me about amps chime in...  I would imagine someone will recommend a Fender Twin or something..

I think the MG is all digital...  Also known as solid state amps...  Tube/Valve amps are way more expensive but most will tell you they are better than any solid state amp, in saying that the solid state stuff is way way better these days than it ever was and a lot of people will swear by them (Marshall Code, Roland Cube).... Its just another one of those things that everyone has a different opinion about..  Vox AC10s are really nice too... Theres just too many options  🙂  I went for a Slash amp cos im also a big fan and its a limited edition amp that I knew wouldnt be around for long, A lot of people find his sound a bit high gain for their taste.

Just wanted to update you on an amp I found that looks promising and has good reviews

Apparently it's a mini version of the Marshall Silver Jubilee that Slash was known to play.

This is great, not only did I find a condo friendly amp for my slash sound but I also found a mini version of the mesa boogie rectifier series of amps for getting my rammstein sound, it's literally called the mini rectifier. Both of them are around the same wattage with options to switch the power, the Marshall can play at either 20 or 5 watts, the Mesa can play at either 25 of 10 watts.

This video is of the head but they have a combo version with an amp as well.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2021 by HomicidalVegan

[Rabs]

9 minutes ago, HomicidalVegan said:

Just wanted to update you on an amp I found that looks promising and has good reviews

Apparently it's a mini version of the Marshall Silver Jubilee that Slash was known to play.

This is great, not only did I find a condo friendly amp for my slash sound but I also found a mini version of the mesa boogie rectifier series of amps for getting my rammstein sound, it's literally called the mini rectifier. Both of them are around the same wattage with options to switch the power, the Marshall can play at either 20 or 5 watts, the Mesa can play at either 25 of 10 watts.

This video is of the head but they have a combo version with an amp as well.

Very nice choice    Good luck with it and let us know what you think when it turns up and you get some time to play with it.

[Rabs]

1 hour ago, HomicidalVegan said:

Just wanted to update you on an amp I found that looks promising and has good reviews

Apparently it's a mini version of the Marshall Silver Jubilee that Slash was known to play.

This is great, not only did I find a condo friendly amp for my slash sound but I also found a mini version of the mesa boogie rectifier series of amps for getting my rammstein sound, it's literally called the mini rectifier. Both of them are around the same wattage with options to switch the power, the Marshall can play at either 20 or 5 watts, the Mesa can play at either 25 of 10 watts.

This video is of the head but they have a combo version with an amp as well.

Is this the one you got?  Quite similar to my Slash amp in size.. I got built in reverb on mine  and it goes between 1 and 5w.

 

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by Rabs

[HomicidalVegan]

2 minutes ago, Rabs said:

Is this the one you got?  Quite similar to my Slash amp in size.. I got built in reverb on mine  and it goes between 1 and 5w.

 

 

I haven't gotten it yet but yes, that's the one! 

[HomicidalVegan]

On 3/19/2021 at 9:21 PM, Rabs said:

Is this the one you got?  Quite similar to my Slash amp in size.. I got built in reverb on mine  and it goes between 1 and 5w.

 

 

Just purchased an "excellent" condition Marshall sl 5 off reverb! I'm still going to get the mini jubilee but since I want a Slash sound and this is discontinued, I couldn't pass on an excellent condition one for sale! Will post a picture when I get it. 

[Pinch]

On 3/15/2021 at 11:15 PM, Rabs said:

Yes you get Amps which are just the top bit and have the tubes in them and all the electronics and then a speaker "Cab" (cabinet) connected to it called a stack amp... Or in some cases several cabs...

Or you get a Combo amp where is all in one and obviously easier to carry about and stuff.

As for differences. Im no real expert in amps but I dont think theres much difference in sound..  It comes down to the circuit types and valves in the amp and the different types of speakers you can get.. And theres just as many too choose from as there are guitars to play  🙂 

Also, when you stop thumbing your nose at amps/cabs with two speakers or less, you're officially middle-aged. 

[Rabs]

5 hours ago, HomicidalVegan said:

Just purchased an "excellent" condition Marshall sl 5 off reverb! I'm still going to get the mini jubilee but since I want a Slash sound and this is discontinued, I couldn't pass on an excellent condition one for sale! Will post a picture when I get it. 

Ohh nice one.. I love my SL5....