Noel S Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Hi all, first post, before I start I would like to say thanks to everyone for providing a great forum. Second, I will admit it, a midlife crisis and trying to recapture my youth etc. but I have made the decision to get a new guitar and I am not going to repeat the chopping and changing from one guitar to another like I did 20 years ago, (before I drifted away from music), so I have decided on either a Gibson Les Paul Traditional or Standard, may even go all out for the custom but probably not. My usage/thoughts: 1. Home use only (wont be in a band), a guitar that I will enjoy playing in my apartment, getting my skills back up to and past where they were years ago. 2. I am willing to spend the money to get the dream guitar, one I plan on keeping for years without getting a second one. (I will decide on one of the above shortly when I feel 'this is the one' moment). 3. I need to decide on which amp to go with it for home use only. I have kind of decided on the Peavey VYPYR 30 Guitar Amp, 30 Watts - 12". These are modelling amps are never mentioned on these forums and I am wondering why... I think it suits home playing and learning having fun (I also have a 11 year old daughter who plays cello, and is interested in the electric guitar so it would be fun for her also). I notice everyone if going for the Orange Tiny Terror 12" Combo Amp, or any one of the Marshall amps, am I missing something? I know you guys are serious musicians and are getting the great tones, but I was looking at this amp because of the amp modeling functionality....... for the fun at home aspect and trying to play different bands tunes on it. Am I making a mistake?? One shop said I should go for the fender strat with the Peavey VYPYR but I am not getting a stratocaster for an amp, I want an Amp for the Les Paul. Thanks for any pointers, Noel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MojoRedFoot Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Just make sure it has tubes. No solid state. I hear good things about Laney amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freak show Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Hey, and welcome! Great decision: Playing guitar (at any skill level) is one of the most enjoyable things a person can do! If you want to find your dream guitar, you're just going to have to go to stores and compare. No one can tell you what you like. As to the amp: I think it's good to always have one amp with a headphone outlet -- unless, of course, one lives alone miles from civilization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibsonAlmighty Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 As for amps and mostly home use scenario, try getting low wattage or a multi-watts tube amp just in case you need to go loud. WELCOME TO THE FORUM!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPguitarman Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Welcome to the forums. Good decision on the LP, Traditional or Standard, you can't loose. Just find the one that sings to you and feels right in your hands. As for amps, I'm not too much for modeling amps, but I guess they're ok if you don't want to put a lot into effects pedals. Peavey makes some good ones. Good luck in your musical adventures. Buying new stuff is always an exciting time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Hey Noel, welcome to the forum. You'll get a lot of good, but differing advice on what you should/shouldn't get. In the end most people will say "try a bunch of guitars and get what feels best for YOU". But, both the Trad and Standard would be more than awsome for a home-use guitar. Heck, some might even say a little too much, but if you're willing to spend the money, go for it. Like you say, you won't be trading it in later for a "better" guitar. Some will also say for a little more money you could get a used or even new Historic Reissue like an R8 or R7. That's up to you. Yeah, they're reallly nice, and made in the Custom Shop and are more like the original LPs, but unless you're really obsessed I don't know how much difference it would be to you. Heck, I have a Studio and it's good enough for me Amps....well I'm a tube snob, but someone just starting or re-starting, and only going to be playing in the house, a good SS amp might be preferred. I don't know much about modern Peavey's but there are a lot of decent, well priced SS amps with a lot of features that would be great for home use at lower volumes. Even lower watt tube amps really need to be cranked if you want the true "tube sound". Most good SS amps today do a good job of modeling a tube amp sound. Plus, you won't have all the maintenance issues with a good SS amp. Good luck with whatever you decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundergod Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Welcome to the forum! Looks like you've narrowed your guitar options to 2 or 3... now amps, it's a little difficult and can turn intotech talk if you let this guys shoot their mouths I think you'll have to try some with the guitar you are going to buy. You have to try guitars anyway so why not chek amps at the same time? Low wattage amps are what you probably need, you can go all tube, solid state or hybrid. I would recomend a combo (amp's preamp and power amp section in the same casing as the speaker). My recomendations: -Get something with a 12 inch speaker. -Don't look for "features" like multiple effects and amp simulations, at the end you'll end up wanting just one amp that sounds great better than 16 simulations that don´t. -You'll probably never need something above 15 watts. -Tube amps are great, but require more care and sometimes service than solid state amps. -Digital/modeling amps require care and service too (something most people don't realize) and sometimes are hard to set-up (get the tonse you want out of them). That said, my recommended amps are: 15W Vox Pathfinder 15R. I've rehearsed and even gigged with it. Nice little amp with tasty tones from sparkly clean to overdriven. 8 inch speaker. Around $120 bucks, 15/7W Orange Tiny Terror combo. It's a tube amp with a nice crunch, some like the clean setting, some don't. Around $600 (a wild guess, that's what they cost around here). I would say Fender Hot Rod / Blues Jr. but to get a nice overdrive you'll need a pedal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I dunno... I'm more of a hollow/semi hollow guy - as in the current avatar - but for mostly playing an LP at home, I'd consider something small, yeah, but also with sufficient "out" stuff that you could plug in to the computer to record your own practice sessions. That means a line out at minimum, if not a headphone jack. If you do vocals with the pickin, you may then wanna consider an acoustic amp such as I think Kustom still makes in a 10-inch speaker/30 watt solid state version. That, and a number of other acoustic amps, have separate input sections for mike and guitar. Ifn' you want special effects, you can add a stomp box or multi-effect pedal at first, then consider adding better quality specialized stomp boxes. There's no question a tube amp will have a good degree of better sound, but for a one-box solution to picking up the instrument after a long hiatus, we may be talking a different tale. Then get an interface to the computer and recording software. It's not expensive. Audacity, for example, is free. I may be old, but frankly using the computer as part of a practice session is the best thing since sliced bread. You hear stuff to correct you don't hear or think about without the feedback. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thin_Lizzy Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Hi Noel, Welcome to the forum. I know what you mean about mid-life crisis. I think I had one last year when I bought my Les Paul Traditional. All the time I was thinking back to when I was a mosher in the 80s. How about a Fender Hot Rod DeLuxe 112? I've got a Deluxe 112 which gives a nice sweet tone and also a raw punchy sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel S Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 Thanks all, your responses were most informative and got me thinking much more broadly than I was..... and to be honest I realise now that I could easily end up with more that 'only one guitar and amp' in a few years time. I like most others will probably end up with a couple of each, plus the add ons. A couple of points you have raised .... Thin Lizzy suggested a fender Hot Rod DeLuxe, I do like fender, but I have wanted a LP. (From this evening I have more or less decided on the LP Standard) ...... edit - oops, mixed up there between amps and guitars, I will look at this DeLuxe amp. !!! Milod reminded me about software and recording - I was only thinking about headphones as mentioned by Freak Show further up, so I will research this area more before I decide fully on amps etc. Realistically after today's shopping, I will probably have more than one amp down the line - because I just tried a LP Standard with a Marshall Haze 40 combo this evening and I was blown away (not by my quality of playing mind you!!). I want this set-up but it is really not suitable for my apartment living Monday to Friday as it does not have the headphone jack as far as I remember plus it is way bigger than I need. I liked it though!!!!! I was messing about with a Peavey modelling amp again this evening and have decided that I don't need all of this functionality while I 're-train' but I did like the headphone jack, the guitar tuning functionality and the portability, so that I can easily bring it up to London in the car each week (I work away from home during the week) until I am 'playing' the thing again. The 15 watt one is cheap and would be good for a started/apartment amp. I will check out other brands with the headphone functionality. I played the Orange Tiny Terror today and liked it, but no headphones out. I didn't have time to checkout the Vox mentioned above by Thundergod and I tended to prefer the tube over the ss, and realised that I was looking for simplicity rather than functionality (someone earlier above pointed out this thinking also). So thanks to you all, I have plenty of ideas to investigate on my next shop trip. Noel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Noel... Best of luck. I do think getting the guitar of your choice is job 1. Amplification is #2. Personally I think the most versatile you can get for the least cash is the immediate choice, but it's your cash. I guess I'd not think of rushing were I you. But then, I don't always follow my own advice along those lines, either. Who knows, the "versatile practice amp" may be supplanted by a bigger machine for playing in public. <grin> But the little jobbie for practice, recording, silent playing in an apartment still has its job to do. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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