guitarists

nighthawk · Post by **nighthawk** » Sunday Jan 19, 2003

i am wandering what kind of amp cabinet combinations most guitarist like. also i am wandering why. i am looking to get a new setup of the marshall JMP-1 preamp with the 100/100 marshall amp and two cabinets. i currently use a 1967 fender bandmaster 2x12 setup and with my tele it sounds like a dream. im just wandering what most people like. i play a gibson also and marshall in my opion is the best for gibson guitars. i would also like to know if you like the sound of 10's or 12's better i like the tone of 10's myself.

JimmySkinny · Post by **JimmySkinny** » Sunday Jan 19, 2003

i run a mesa boogie dual rectifier 3 channel head into a marshall lead series 4x12 slant cab. to me nothing sounds sweeter than mesa through marshall.

John (Choking Faith) · Post by **John (Choking Faith)** » Sunday Jan 19, 2003

It's all matter of opinion,if your looking for an original sound.Alot of people use the standard marshall setups or boogie stacks but I say mix and match for an original sound.A great guitarist once told me that it doesn't matter if someone uses a les paul it's what you're running it through.Punkinhead is running a 5150 head with a marshall cab and a les paul custom and I have never heard anything sound as good.Like I said take what you like about certain stuff like cabs and heads and mix it up.

Post by **Ron** » Monday Jan 20, 2003

I agree... the only way to find "your" sound is to try and play through as much different equipment as possible. Sure, you won't like most of it, but you will eventually find exactly what you were trying to find.

Also try and hang on to the Bandmaster. Out of necessity, I sold a '66 Fender Princeton about 10 years ago. I still regret it.

nighthawk · Post by **nighthawk** » Monday Jan 20, 2003

thats cool a friend of mine has a 66 fender prinston, i wander if it is the same one. i dought it when he got his it was in realy bad shape but he got it redone and it sounds like a dream now. it is his studio amp. i know where there is one for sale that is in very bad shape. a kid has it and he told me i could have it for 40 bucks. problem is that i cant get a hold of him to go get it. its been a while so i hope he still has it.

FatVin · Post by **FatVin** » Tuesday Jan 21, 2003

Don't be hung up on what this guy is using or that guy is using or what's fashionable right now, test different guitar and amp combinations to find what matches the kind of music you are playing and the way you are playing it.

I get to see a lot of open mouths when I tell fellow guitarists that my tele is a squier and my amp is a peavey, but I have the sound I want.

I remember way back when guitars, brand new on the shelves, had one volume knob and that's all (remember those days?) Why? cause Eddie VH didn't know how to hook up his tone knob and everybody wanted to be like Eddie. Everybody I know, who bought one of those guitars because they were fashionable, has either given up playing or moved on to something else. Same thing with amps and all the micro-chip amp simulator technology, it's just the flavor of the month.

All my favorite guitarists have different set-ups, some highly customized so, since I can't buy it all, when looking for my own gear I wanted equipment that could be very versitile, I run a Peavey 212 w/ sheffield speakers and damn few effects but not everybody wants that kind of sound.

You might also remember that you're the one who has to lug this beast around so while a double marshall stack and a Les Paul might be the sound you want, you might wanna also invest in a truss.

Money too is an issue and sometimes you have to settle for the best sound you can afford, don't look down your nose at less expensive cousins of Marshall or Fender sometimes those Cheap-amps can give you something unique.

My advice, put on a lab coat and go on down to your favorite music store and drive the employees there-in nuts while you experiment with different combinations, that's the only way to get YOUR Sound. Good luck and keep playin

nighthawk · Post by **nighthawk** » Monday Jan 27, 2003

i saw a show the other night and i noticed the guitarist had all of the tone and gain settings up to 10. i didn't know that people still did that. some of you probably know what im talking about but for the ones that dont it made a sound that refused to mix well with the rest of the band. you could see him playing but could not hear the different notes. it all sounded like a hiss. as if you were listening to a radio station that was all static. i hate that sound.

chokingfaithguitar · Post by **chokingfaithguitar** » Friday Feb 07, 2003

Even being in a thrash metal band, I don't have any of my settings on 10...I can't turn my gain up much past 7 cause it just turns to mush...Like John said, I run a paul through a 5150 and Marshall 4x12. Im not much on effects, I don't use anything outside of a wah. It just seems to thin out my tone too much with effects. I love them but I love the thick chunk sound intended to split skulls more. Brutal is best for me baby!

Which brings me to a question...how do all guitarists out there feel about effects? I enjoy the sound of them when used properly, but what it does to the sound of most guitars(they seem too thin) I can't really stand...I prefer a straight into the amp sound

witchhunt · Post by **witchhunt** » Friday Feb 07, 2003

I don't play a six string but some time ago, a friend of mine bought a new Marshall head(50 watt) and immediately bought all new tubes for it. I can't remember what brand the tubes were(they were somewhere in the area of $300.00-$400.00) With a little research, you could find out which tube brands claim which sound differences. He always said he'd match his 50 watt w/the tube mod against any 100 watt factory head.

John (Choking Faith) · Post by **John (Choking Faith)** » Friday Feb 07, 2003

The way I always looked at is that 50 watts of marshall power is 100 watts of any other brand. They just have the chunk everyone likes BUT it can always be added to. I personally love the sound of the hughs and kettner because that's the sound they base the whole half stack around. It really gives a detuned guitar justice. Mesa is the same way to me, the power is just outstanding and above all but you'll never get the sound you want unless you experiment.

ragztem · Post by **ragztem** » Friday Feb 07, 2003

well, i don't think one brand is better than the other or even ask other people because its all in the TONE and the TASTE of the player...Best advice i can say is go to a HUGE gutiar store, such as Guitar Center and play on everything and anything (DONT FORGET to take your guitar), unless you plan on getting a new one.. ... if you want that classic rock sound, les paul and a nice marshall head give it hard, but if you want something that's goin to tear your head off, hughes and kettner and mesa would be more on those lines, but they ll also give you that great clean and classic sound.. comes down to your true taste, how you like the amp, and of course, price.... but go play everything!!!

chokingfaithguitar · Post by **chokingfaithguitar** » Saturday Feb 08, 2003

Truth be told, I would like to have one of everything...just in case...guess Im a gearwhore...

JimmySkinny · Post by **JimmySkinny** » Saturday Feb 08, 2003

yeah i just need to chime in again. i myself run a mesa head through a marshall cab, the other guitarist in my band runs a hughes and kettner setup. to be honest i love my mesa, but the hughes and kettner setup sounds pretty damn good for the price. its a solid state amp, but sounds pretty good considering the head AND cab were only $699. check it out here

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid ... e_id/46790

but another thing to consider is how the amp sounds with the other setups in the band. personally i think our mesa/hughes&kettner setups match each other very well. hell check out some of our mp3s and see if you can destinguish the mesa from the hughes & kettner.

www.nolucknodice.com

simon sez · Post by **simon sez** » Saturday Feb 08, 2003

Equipment is only half of it. Not to sound condescending, but attitude and feeling are what make a guitar sound. If you play with your soul, anger, excitement, etc...effects and equipment take a back seat. Don't get me wrong, quality equipment is a plus, but music/guitar is about enjoyment and passion - not how much equipment you have or how much you spent on it. Let's face it, guitar is an art and I always enjoy seeing another artists performance - when it is true, not forced or cliche. Just a personal opinion.

chokingfaithguitar · Post by **chokingfaithguitar** » Saturday Feb 08, 2003

I don't think I could have said it any better simon sez...That's about as right on as it gets....

FatVin · Post by **FatVin** » Sunday Feb 09, 2003

The Best gear in the world can't save you if you suck. Shit in-shit out. It's really about you and your passion and angst and how you express it. Effects are just tools and again shit in shit out. I remember playing in a band with a guy in high school who had every kind of stomp box in the book and he got some great little gurgles and farts out of all that but he couldn't play a chord progresion correctly to save his life, long story short, he switched to bass.

Effects can add something to a song or to a moment in the song every once in a while but for me they are not to be depended upon. What if the batteries die, what if the power cable goes kaput, what if somebody swipes it, do you not play that night? It's more crap to set up and more crap to tear down and more crap to lug around with you.

you gotta find your sound and that means working on it, playing with the knobs on your amp (everything up to 10? are you kidding? Did the band play Spinal tap tunes?), it means seeing how that works with the pick up settings on your guitar, it means seeing what is and isn't good for your music. I LOVE the sound of Brain May of Queen's guitar, but I can't use it for the blues. It's all about you and there is no ONE right way, if there was everybody would do it that way and we'd all be rock stars, what fun would that be?

JimmySkinny · Post by **JimmySkinny** » Sunday Feb 09, 2003

"you can't polish a terd." - quite possibly the best quote ever, but its true

nighthawk · Post by **nighthawk** » Monday Feb 10, 2003

last night i heard a sweet line6 setup. quite possably the best tone i have ever herd. the dude goes to school here and blew my mind away. no one knows him but god that was fast. freestyle is awsome.

lonewolf · Post by **lonewolf** » Friday Oct 03, 2003

I just sold a JMP1 (had for 7 years), Marshall EL84 20/20 and two 1965 4x10 cabs last month.

I discovered amp modeling and gave up on tubes (and all their pains in the ass) and when I did that, I gave up on Marshall (except for my trusty solid state Valvestate 8008 power amp).

You'll like the JMP-1, if you can consistently get good tubes for it. It kicks. The EL34-200? You playing shea stadium? I once thought about getting one of those and asked myself "you playing shea stadium?" "what about your back?" Hell, get a Valvestate 8008 or EL84-20/20 and the JMP1 will scream plenty loud enough and sound just as good. But I'll tell you what...I can get more consistent Marshall tube sounds out of a Roland GP100 (or BOSS VF1), Marshall 8008 and 2 Mesa/Boogie 1x12" roadready thieles. Thats why I sold all my Marshall stuff (for a profit, no less).

ragztem · Post by **ragztem** » Friday Oct 03, 2003

i personally use a hughes and kettner triamp through a carvin cab.. i get the sound I WANT....gear i agree is half of the battle....but gear wise, try out some line 6, johnson, and Hughes and Kettner stuff...i am partial to the H & K myself....amazing what you can do with them.....

facingwest · Post by **facingwest** » Saturday Oct 04, 2003

It's amazing how whenever you start playing, you're just greatful to have a single amp and after playing for years, you still are trying to find your sound and/or something different. I started out with a Peavey 212 Stereo Chorus and linked it to a Peavey Renoun combo. The chorus, effects, and endless sustain in this amp pound, but I'm not crazy about the distortion (It's a little muddy for my tastes). For the shows I play with Retro, I'm using a Voodu Valve tube preamp for the 50 +- presets I use for the songs we do ran into 2 poweramps (One for a 2 12 reference cab and the other for a talk box). I like the sounds I'm using, but they're other people's tones. For our studio project, we used a Steavens "The Brick" Preamp through a VHT poweramp, then into a greenback loaded 2 12 cab for all the tracks and this particular tone is nothing like I've heard. The tone is true and pure. The problem with this preamp is it isn't made anymore and to try and track another one down is next to impossible. Knowing that, I purchased a preamp that I wanted for a long time and am glad I bought it. In the 80's to early 90's, Carvin made a 4 channel tube preamp (The Quad X) that was midi compatible, had a cloaking device (used to place your guitar in a mix), noise gate, reverb, 5 band graphic EQ, sends and returns for each channel as well as one for the mains, and much more. With this, the possibilities are endless what you can do with it and the tones in each of the channels are sweet.

Zerohdefects · Post by **Zerohdefects** » Wednesday Nov 12, 2003

I have an Ernie Ball Music Man Axis, a USA strat, a Jackson SL2h MAH, a Jackson SL2h, a Charvel 650XL, an Ibanez 7 string.

The EBMM has Dimarzios, the strat has a duncan distortion and a lil 59, the SL2H's both have JBs and 59s, the Charvel has dimarzios, the Ibanez has Dimazrios.

I have a Mesa Triple Rectifier 3 channel, into a Marshall JCM900 4x12 straight cab, and a Marshall TSL100 into a Marshall JCM900 4x12 Angeled cab.

Tubes make a LARGE difference in tone and volume. I know people who love the tone of the JJ, but the Sventlana has a larger head room.

I use JJs in my Marshall, and whatever Mesa sells for the medium grade, they are like 56 a pair for the power amp section.

I use Mesa preamp tubes, because thats what I had.

Thetubestore.com has GREAT deals on QUALITY tubes.

I know some people who use chinese preamp tubes, and Sventlanas in their amps.

the people I am talking about play 2000+ dollar amps. Diezels, Bogners, VHTs, ENGLs, stuff like that.

Tubes make a difference, your cables make a difference, your speakers, and cabinet construction also do.

People that put their sounds on 10 still? hahaha, a Marshall sounds good with everything at ten,jk.

My Mesa if you were looking on a scale of 1-10 (it does not have numbers), my mid would be 4, my bass would be 7-8. ,y treble same, and my gain about 7 or 8. On the Mesa, NOTHING needs cranked all the way, my presence is just over half, and it sounds sweet.

The Mesa EQ is VERY touchy, if you change one, all the tones change.

My Marshall, it seems to sound good with, 10 bass 10 treb, 4 mid, 8 Pres, 10 gain, Deep switch, and mid scoop. Not too bright, not to low ended, and not too much gain. Then again, everything makes a difference.

If you use USA or foriegn parts in your guitar makes a difference, your nut, tuners, trem, neck and finger board all make a difference.

Every single thing you add/change makes a difference in your sound.

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