OCAU Guitar Players Club 3

[samos]

I'm already salivating over getting a new guitar and amp combo.. I only just recently bought an amp.. the line 6 is good for what it is.. but it still struggles to give me certain sounds.. It's only 15W, but definitely loud enough.

Where to from here with regards to amps? I only play my current one with the volume up 1/10th of the way.. any more and it's too loud. It seems the bigger amps are the more expensive ones, but are there equivalent 15W amps that are really good quality? Any recommendations?

Likewise with a guitar. I love playing solo's, heavy riffs, but also clean electric and clean picked stuff like Nothing Else Matters, and the start of One.

I'm still a beginner, but have come in leaps and bounds. (I've only been playing 8 months - but how do you gauge where you sit? I can play NEM start to finish pretty well, F2B with half of the last solo, and One (minus the solo, which i'll try tackle soon).

I want something that will reward my playing. What would you do with $1000-$1,500?

[Willybomb]

What sort of "certain sounds" are you looking for?

[Edstructicon]

Originally Posted by samos

I want something that will reward my playing. What would you do with $1000-$1,500?

I'd get a Krank Jr Pro 20w.

But yeah depends on what those "certain sounds" are.

[spootmonkey]

Or a Blackstar, or an Egnater. One of the versatile, high-gain, low-wattage jobs.

[samos]

Originally Posted by Willybomb

What sort of "certain sounds" are you looking for?

Maybe i'm trying to do too much - i'd like to be able to play a clean electric for songs that require an acoustic (NEM) which my guitar seems to do fine at. I'd also like to be able to play solo's such as the solo from one/F2B with less "trumpet fart" and more clarity. Also would like to be able to play some chug (start of master of puppets, heavier bits in one)

Not possible?

If I had to lean, i'd lean towards being able to play heavier electric/solo's, as i'll be keeping my current cheapo guitar as well (which has 2x humbucker and 1x single coil which works well for clean).

Also, is the floyd rose system preferred or not? I've got one at the moment, but the previous guitar was just your standard.. which made string changes easier. I'm yet to change strings on the current.

[samos]

Originally Posted by Edstructicon

I'd get a Krank Jr Pro 20w.

But yeah depends on what those "certain sounds" are.

Is that just the amp price?

[samos]

Hmm Blackstars look nice. Damn, $900 for a 20W Amp I like how it has a clean and overdrive channel. Need to hear them in action, anyone here have one?

[spootmonkey]

$640 for the HT5 combo on Ebay.

http://forums.overclockers.com.au/sh...d.php?t=765148

Pony Music in Hallam stock them, not sure about anyone else though.

[samos]

Got my eyes on these: Can't do both at the moment unfortunately.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-ESP-LTD-K...item2eb01d5e19


What do you think of this?

And this:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-BLACKSTAR...item2eb012e031

[sandwichamwin]

Personally I'd go the guitar unless you need a new amp for gigs.


Drop money on a nice guitar before the amp imo.

[samos]

Yeah, well I do think I need a guitar before the amp. The amp is working fine, the guitar has issues with the twelfth fret, also, the high E string down fret near 20-24 don't ring out correctly. That could be a case of them also being difficult to finger tap

Does that guitar seem like a good buy, or could I do better for my money? EMG pickups might be what I need

[sandwichamwin]

You always pay signature model tax on guitars. A standard model at the same price will probably be better but you never know, might find a gem.

For that price i'd be hunting for a bargain second hand japanese ESP for around $1000-1200. They pop up every now and then and will be 10x the guitar.

[spootmonkey]

Originally Posted by samos

the guitar has issues with the twelfth fret, also, the high E string down fret near 20-24 don't ring out correctly.

Sounds like it could use a good setup.

[samos]

Originally Posted by spootmonkey

Sounds like it could use a good setup.

Mates bought it for me second hand. I took it to billy hyde, and the dude there spent an hour on it. He said there were a few things wrong and he adjusted it to the best of his ability as well as putting on new strings. Don't get me wrong, it plays ok, but he said there was quite a bit that needed fixing. Bottom e machine head was threaded, and something was wrong at the bridge, and with the twelfth threat it was actually the fret that was munted?

Anyhow, if it were cheap to fix i'd consider it.. but for a guitar that's worth ~$250-300 i'm not sure if it's worth it?

Eg: What would be the major differences between these 2?

http://www.espguitars.co.jp/original/m7/index.htm

http://www.espguitars.co.jp/original/m2/m2_ctm.html

The latter looking similar to the Hammett signature..

[shredder]

The first one's a 7-string with a bolt-on neck, a 26.25" scale length, and passive Seymour Duncan pickups controlled by a 5-way switch. Chrome hardware.

The second is a 6-string with neck-thru-body construction, 25.5" scale, and active EMG pickups controlled by a 3-way switch. Reverse headstock and offset fret-marker dots also differentiate this one a bit. Black hardware.

The second guitar is (I reckon) a proper uncompromising metal guitar - Kirk Hammett would be proud to play this one. There are some cool aspects to the 7-string one, but it's ugly.

edit: just converted the prices to AUD. $4500 is a lot. As (sandy/winny/hamwin - to cover all the obvious abbreviation bases) mentioned, ~$1000 on the secondhand market should get you a guitar that those ESPs wouldn't kick out of bed. Maybe I could have written that clearer..