New Guitar/Amp

Sweetloaf

Sweetloaf

Sweetloaf

Soldato
Joined
5 Mar 2004
Posts
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Location
Southport
Finally it looks like I have the chance to spend a little on a real guitar, obviously when spending this sort of cash I'll be wanting to sit down and try a few specific guitars and will not be buying online, however as a starting point I'm trying to price up a Sunburst American Strat and a reasonable amp a little beyond what I currently have. Does anyone know much about the more recent Vox amps? I'm not aiming for a metal sound before anyone recommends a Marshall job or pointy guitar :D

Think Stevie Ray Vaughan, then cross him with Clapton, Hendrix and then imagine them playing with gardening gloves on ;)

just window shpping for now but like the look of this amp and don't know the difference between these two guitars.

Any pointers/discussions welcome :)

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/vox-ad-50vt/66611

http://www.imuso.co.uk/ProductDetail.asp?StockCode=EG00385

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/fender-ash-strat/66515
 
In all seriousness I'm not really bothered about emulating anyones sound I just want to make sure I've got quality gear, I don't envisage spending that amount of cash and then changing the pickups, If I'm spending £600-£1000 on a guitar it's going to have to be great without alterations.

My total budget for Amp/Guitar is around £1200

I'm literally lost in a sea of Stratocasters.

I'm probably gonna go and plug a few things in here, which is where I bought my epi G400 custom

http://www.frailers.com/electrics.htm
 
One More Solo said:
I played a stunning Mexican Strat in a Guitar Center when I was in the States, it played perfectly and sounded great. One guy even came over and asked what kind of Strat it was, he seemed genuinely disappointed when I told him it was Mexican, so definitely don't rule them out!
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Snobbery has never been my strong point, If i can find the right guitar at the right price I'll be happy, cheaper the better :)

I'm aware that a Jap Squier could beat an American Strat if you find the right one, it's a case of trying and patience.

Now can antone recommend the right gardening gloves? ;)

Any Vox users out there? A good guitar is pointless without an amp that compliments it.
 
Can someone point out the differences that make the two Strats in my opening post different?

I'm assuming M/N means maple neck and they are made from different wood, is there anything else to particularly look out for?
 
Cheers guys, keep the info coming, I'm actually swaying towards spending a little more on the amp and a little less on the guitar, after all that will be like a free upgrade to all my other guitars :)
 
OzZie said:
You can say that again, my first squire strat sounds beautiful through my new amp. Doesn't play any better though :p
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I'm actually still pretty happy with the way my guitars play and sound through my Orange Crush 30R (Ibanez AF75, Epi G400 Custom and an old Aria pro II) But that's not really the point, I just want another :D

A couple more I'm considering:

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/72320

A potential bargain:

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/tfx-1/10996

I really need to leave work and try some stuff out :)

Do genuine tube amps really need to be cranked high to get the benefit? I don't get that much chance to go upto 11. (I realise that the above ones aren't just curious)
 
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OzZie said:
Get get a real nice blues tone though, you'll need to get a nice overdrive pedal such as a tubescreamer. I'll see if i can find the youtube video of someone with a Deville (same as Hot Rod but with another speaker rated at 60W) that compares the clean channel to that of three different overdrive pedals including the tube screamer and blues driver. :)
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was watching that last night :)

A guy with three pedals, Tubes n Blues? Tubescreames and a Blues Driver, I actually preferred the Blues driver to the Tubescreamer but it's hard to say without being in the same room.

If 40w = 120w then I may have to reconsider in a house with 3 young kids.........and more importantly a wife :D
Toryglen-boy said:
i cant stand strats .... beautiful guitars, i just cant get on with them ...

i have my Jem 7V, and i will never get rid of it, although i fancy another N4


:)
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I may end up the same to be honest, i never used to like them much and still don't think that they look particularly exciting, however I only had the Aria pro II which although full size is a tiny bodied and very thin necked guitar so the Strat felt a but too chunky and cumbersome, I haven't played one for a few years now and even then it was for 5 mins, I've since bought a large Hollow body and a chunky SG which are fine so I reckon a strat will seem fine these days.

I'm so excited about walking into a shop, pointing and saying now I want to try that one and actually being able to buy it :D
 
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m3csl2004 said:
You could pick up an orange tiny terror head and pick and choose a cab for your budget. Allough ive never tried one out personally so I couldnt comment on the sound, it certainly seems to get great reviews.
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Had a look at them, they sound great at what they do but are possible a touch too limited.I like the look of them though and have been impressed by my Crush 30, even though I know it's in a different league.
 
m3csl2004 said:
I was just thinking that the switchable 7/15 watt mode would be better suited to you if you have a wife and 3 kids in the house as it would begin to break up a lot easier than a 40 watt amp if you wanted a more overdriven sound. plus you get your choice of cabinet/speakers which you can use later on.
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Ok, let's say you're onto something there, which cab would you recommend, wouldn't it be lost in this:

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/ppc112-1x12/67504

If not then it may be my only option, I love Orange stuff :)
 
Andelusion said:
It's possibly more than what you're wanting to spend on an amp but I'd recommend this: http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/harlequin-mk-1/3167

Cornford make completely hand-wired amps and are very versatile, they have their own tone and I'd definately consider one other than the usual Fender/Marshall options. That Harlequin in particular will definately do hot crunchy blues tones with bucket loads of drool worthy tone-ness :D
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It's pushing the price too far tbh, you've gotta have a limit, I still have a guitar to buy :D


I'm going to try a Hot Rod Deluxe against a Blues Junior on Monday at my local shop, overpriced there but their guitars are generally only £20-30 more than online prices, I'm hoping for a sunburst of some description and want to see the wood/play it rather than just accepting what turns up on my doorstep.

Secretly I think I'm still in love with this:

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/fender-ash-strat/66515

I'm starting to think that this may do the job nicely:

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/fender-blues-junior/341

Bizarre, first youtube hit for Blues Junior:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7WOO75Egboc

That's pretty accurate Cream sound as far as you can tell on the tube:)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Va8AQXld4Jk&mode=related&search=

He has my stuff :cool:
 
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I'll be able to check the volume when I play them in store, I rarely get past 3 on my Crush 30 so staying clean shouldn't be an issue. If a 15watt valve matches the Crush 30R for volume then it's a winner.

This has me stumped though:

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/fender-blues-junior/341

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/fender-pro-junior/340

same tubes same output, the Blues junior is footswitchable for Fat on/off anyone have a clue about this? surely it can be worth the extra £100 by the time you've bought a footswitch?

Oh and aren't all footswitches the same? Would i really need the Fender one? By the time you've added £55 for a footswitch you'd be starting to feel like you should have bought the Hot Rod IMO. Unless my £5 carlsboro one would do the trick.
 
OzZie said:
No, most footswitches are made for specific models unfortunatly. I tried to use one from an old Fender Twin but it didn't work regardless of the same functions on the amp.
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Bum

So I go full circle :D

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/fender-hot-rod-deluxe/9794

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/fender-blues-deluxe/67799

On a slightly different note, has anyone else noticed that when you start looking at new gear your playing takes off a bit? I'm sounding better than aI did a couple of days ago (not hard) just at the though of all this stuff :)
 
m3csl2004 said:
As has been mentioned before, I would deffinatly get an overdrive pedal (tubescreamer or similar), maybe go for a cheaper amp and you can use the tube scremer as a footswitch for the single channel amps.
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Yep, planning on a Blues Driver at the minute.
 
:cool:

Played a Standard US Strat vs a Deluxe and good god the Deluxe felt so much better, I didn't really expect to feel much difference but the neck is incredible, it's got a kind of curved/rounded shape to the top and bottom and the strings just felt so accesible compared to the standard.

I'm heading back on monday to try with a few amps but they had a great Tweed Blues Junior which sounded good to me, still a little undecided on the amp cause I didn't have much time. :)

this sounds more like it:

http://reviews.harmony-central.com/...s+Junior+Lacquered+Tweed+Special+Edition/10/2
 
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