The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Good taste in amps, guitars and bands.

Did I ever tell you that you're my hero?

You're the wind beneath my wings.

It might have appeared to go unnoticed
But I've got it all here in my heart
I want you to know I know the truth
Of course I know it
I would be nothing without you.

It's actually been finished for a little while, only just got around to the pictures. Everything is hand-sanded, painted, etc. I left the guitar at my dad's house, and he thought it would be cute or something to do that inlay on the headstock. If it was like, legible, I'd be sorta fine with it. Oh well.

Picked up a Japanese Fender Squire last night for cheap. One humbucker in the bridge which I will replace soon. It is red, not pink like in the picture.







Ken

Hey. I need to get a new guitar and amp for recording an album, but I'm really hung up on what to choose. All my current guitars and gear are essentially hand-me-downs, and I'm ready to find my guitar, if you know what I mean.

My biggest concerns are getting a full, pro-album tone out of the guitar/amp combo meal and the uniqueness of the sound. I can only afford to buy one guitar and one amp (and I really, I can't afford this at all), so what I go with will probably define my sound into the near future.

I'm not really going for the biggest, baddest guitar sound, if that helps. More often than not, I'll be playing tight, funky rhythms and jazz or country-ish leads. Generally, I want a smaller, more expressive sound with a lot to it. But, having the ability to rock out with some serious overdrive is a definite asset.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

catch wrote:Hey. I need to get a new guitar and amp for recording an album,Thanks.

Moxie Prophets rocked out on a Fender Strat and a Mesa Boogie 22 Caliber combo amp. His tone was amazing, and he rocked out.

How about a semi-hollowbody guitar? A Gibson ES-335 type of thing? There are some cheaper versions by Epiphone and Ibanez. I can sell you my Jay Turser if you are interested in that.

The best recording amp ever is probably a vintage Fender Champ. They are little and sound great. Look for one from the late 60s, replace the tubes and speaker. Get a nice distortion pedal to use with it, either the Fulltone Fulldrive or if you can find one, the Pigtronics Disnortion.

Just some ideas.

Ken

I just need to vent....

In 2001, my roomate's brother offered to finish a Carvin bolt-on kit with a gorgeous blue burst for his semester wood finishing project, if I sprung the $400 for the kit. That sounded pretty good to me, and when the kit arrived he took it home. He ended up choosing a different semester project, and didn't finish the guitar. Meanwhile, fast forward five years, it's now 2006 and I still have no guitar!

This past August, I had finally offered to take it from him, saying no problem I'd just finish & build it myself... but since he wanted to keep his promise to me, we made a deal where it'd be all finished by mid-September.

Since then I haven't been able to get this guy to talk to me. Because I'm friends with his sister, I know that he always screens calls because of all his "crazy" ex-girlfriends, and that he's avoiding me now as well.

What can I do to get him to talk to me? Just show up at his house unannounced or should I simply file a police report regarding stolen property?

Anyhow, seeing all your pretty electric guitars just reminded me of how much I'd like one.

Hey, thanks for the response.

Actually, I've been heavily leaning towards a 335 or similar hollowbody guitar. My only concern with getting a cheaper version would be that it wouldn't have hot enough output.

As for the amp... would a small amp be suitable for recording a "real" album? The extent of my amp-micing knowledge is the age-old "SM57 a tad off center directly into a big Marshall tube amp w/ a Les Paul" deal.

I'll look into the Champ. What do you know of Vox AC30's?

Henrietta: Sorry to hear about your guitar. Can the sister help you? Otherwise, I suggest you forget about it and move on. Like any relationship, just find another guitar to love.

Catch: Yeah, if it is in the budget, a 335 and AC30 would be a great combo. it seemed like budget was a concern for you, but if you are willing to buy that, it is not. Smaller amps usually record better at low volumes. Usually those bands you see playing huge fullstacks recorded with small combo amps. I have heard that Joe Perry of Aerosmith even does this on tour. There are big fake amps all over the stage, but his guitar is actually plugged into a little amp hidden somewhere behind it all.

You can't go wrong with a Les Paul plugged into a Marshall. No brainer gutiars: Fender American Strat or Tele, Gibson LP, SG, or 335. No brainer amps: Fender Twin or Deluxe Reverb, Mashall JMP or JCM800, Vox AC30.

Ken

Oh, thanks very much.

I actually have a Fender American Stratocaster, but it's in disrepair. Should I... get it... repaired?

Budget is a concern in that I can't afford to get a guitar/amp combo that isn't the best for me. But I'm willing to pay if the quality's there, for sure.

Really, I'd like to get a guitar and amp that would last a lifetime. Would that be true of your no-brainers? And what about the Fender Champ? There seems to be a bunch on Ebay.

Yeah, if I had an American Strat sitting around the house (which I do) I would have it ready to rock at all times (which I do).

I would start there as it is much cheaper to fix it up than to buy a new guitar.

Ken

i second the Champ as a great, great recording amp, but make sure you're getting a tube one. late-60's, early-70's.. if you can afford an AC30, especially a vintage one, that's a lifetime kind of amp. but you can't really gig with a champ unless you're the suzies or you only play shows where you know you will have good monitoring.

ken wrote:I would start there as it is much cheaper to fix it up than to buy a new guitar.

I took my Strat in to a guitar repair place, and apparently it's a real good find. It's a special edition from some time ago and has hot LACE pickups, etc.

So, I should have it back, repaired and set up, a couple days from now.

blue wrote:I second the Champ as a great, great recording amp, but make sure you're getting a tube one. Late-60's, early-70's.

At the local GC, they happen to have a 70's Champ. I played a 335 through it a little bit and it sounded pretty nice.

I didn't know that SMALL tube amps were preferred for recording until today. This really loosens up my situation, as I'm looking for a recording amp first and foremost.

I think I very well may go the Champ route, based on the high praise it's getting here. I don't know if I could afford a vintage AC30, but I'll try out a reissue.

Any other suggestions for good guitar recording gear? Pedals, amps, mics, what have you?

Thanks a whole bunch.

catch wrote: Any other suggestions for good guitar recording gear? Pedals, amps, mics, what have you?

I know this is probably some kinda sacrilidge but why spend the ducets on a recording amp. Its the 21 century, people have neighbors and spare bedroom acoustics to deal with. <a href=http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... 98>This</a> does all kinds of amp modeling and effects. So you can just go direct into your DAW? I bought its littler brother at GTR Sinner for around $200.

because it sounds like shit. digital effects are getting a lot better about bit depth these days, but the classic multiFX units like that one used 12bit (or worse) conversion and really, really ruined the sound of your guitar.

if you get a strong, clean, well-defined signal (of any instrument) into your DAW, you will have much better luck manipulating it later.

the only digital pedal i'd recommend is the Boss DD-6 delay pedal. It gets 95% of your tone through without wrecking it, it has a ton of good options for sound creation, and it's just plain fun as hell. everyone in sos had one.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=151302

for distortion, there's just too many options to choose from. the MXR, Rat, and Ibanez ones all have good range without too much weirdness involved. if you get a tube amp, it's not a bad idea to get a non-distorting gain pedal. if you play lots of chors but like plucky, clean sounds, you'll probably want a compressor as well.

for mics, the SM57 or Sennheiser e609 are your best low-cost bets. If you have $350, but a Senny md421. I've also had great luck with the MXL cheapo condensers on electric guitar.

blue wrote:because it sounds like shit. digital effects are getting a lot better about bit depth these days, but the classic multiFX units like that one used 12bit (or worse) conversion and really, really ruined the sound of your guitar.

FWIW the spec says A/D conversion is 24bit 44.1khz. Whatever that means.

catch wrote:At the local GC, they happen to have a 70's Champ.

O RLY?

Lace sensor strat is a no-brainer. Rock that thing out.

In other news, Fender Rhodes's supposedly come through my store every once in a while, which I can usually get for about a grand. Holy crap.

Catch, the reason Champ's are such highly regarded recording amps is because you can crank them and not really overload the mic used to record them. Yeah, they get loud in close proximity. But set an empty beer can right in front of the speaker and try to knock it over. It's not gonna happen until your drunk buddy runs into it and asks "is that mine?". Try that in front of a 100 watt Marshall and a full stack with a Les Paul in your hands. You're drunk buddy won't even make it near the can because he and the can will keep getting pushed back by the sound pressure.

The problem is all that sound pressure can overload a mic's sound pressure level capabilities (SPL as it's noted in the mic's specs). An engineer will simply back off the gain to get the level under control, but if the mic isn't capable of handling the job in the first place, what you end up with is a kind of compressed overloaded sound. So if you want something that fills both of you're needs, recording and playing out live, you'll probably want something in the 20 to 40 watt range. I have the Hughes & Kettner which is 20 watts and also has a nice low z DI out in back, the new Vintage Crate 30 watt, and a 40 watt Fender Vibrolux which is basically the same thing thing as a Fender Super with 2 less 10" speakers. I think I provided links to all of them earlier in this thread. Oh and I have that 100 watt Marshall for pissing all kinds of people off. All of them are all tube amps. I love each and every one of them, because each one has it's own qualities. It would be hard for me to tell you which one I would grab unless I knew what kind of playing style I was going for. I will say right now the Crate seems to have the edge on the variety of sounds it can produce well. And being only 30 watts I expect it will record well very easily. EDIT: Oh and 18 watt amps seem to be all the rage right now.

Recording techniques vary as much as playing styles and the players preference in tone. Pedals can and will change that tone of your amp so try them out extensively, and go to Harmony Central for great reviews and advice on all things related to.....uh....all of this stuff.

Henrietta, I recommend a Louisville Slugger and someone with an attitude towards stealing not unlike my own who's not afraid to "persuade" someone to give back what is rightfully yours.

The Sober Irishman wrote:In other news, Fender Rhodes's supposedly come through my store every once in a while, which I can usually get for about a grand. Holy crap.

I bought mine off ebay for $260. Yes I had to drive 3 hours to get it and my friend got a speeding ticket in the process. It needed about $50 in parts and a good tuning, but $1000 for a Rhodes is crazy.

Ken

yeah, they had a fender rhodes in the starving musician here in santa cruz for about $400. might still have it.

Thanks for all the help, folks!

It's looking like I'm going to be going:
LACE Strat -> Proco Rat/BIG MUFF (?) -> early 70's Champ -> SM57 -> Firebox -> PC.

Does... does that sound right? And is the Champ recommended for its tone, or its easy recordability, or both?

* * *

Also, I may be able to get a FREE Marshall JCMwhathaveyou and cab, if I play my cards right (gay sex).

EDIT: Should I go for this?