What could i get with £2000? (Guitar Related)

OzZie · 27 Jan 2007 at 11:55

Hi everyone.

I have some insurance money coming through in May 07 of about £2000 :cool:

Anyway, the current situation stands like this. I have three guitars: a squire strat, a Minarik Lotus, and an Epiphone Les Paul Standard that i bought second hand for £200. Now, the only decent sounding guitar is the Epiphone. The other two are very basic and arent phyisically nice to play, so if selling them would be of use to fund towards new hardware then i am willing to do so.

Here's the confusing part. For sound, i am running the guitars through my computer, using Amplitube v2.1 to generate the amp sounds. However, i am using very standard 2.1 speakers that are not of any decent quality, but are ok for the most part. However, i am sick of going digital as i feel left out having no amps/cabs to see or touch and fiddle with, so i want to go the traditional route.

Now, it has been my dream for the past 2 years since i started playing to own a real Gibson Les Paul Standard in Cherry Sunburst flavour. I can imagine i am not the only one who has said that over the years! However, these do produce really great tones for all my needs and styles, but i know that to get the most out of it, i will need a good amp and extras.

So if a Les Paul Standard sets me back £1400, thats £600 left for an amp. I don't gig at all, i only play for personal pleasure, so i dont think ill need a hugely powerful amp. However, as i play classic rock more than any other, i feel like a good Marshall will be the best option, especially as i want to get the "women" tone like slash did so very often. However, i am confused as to what to get. I know nothing about amp models or cab models or tubes, only that they cost quite a bit

So, could anyone recommend me some amps and accessories? Will i need a few effects pedals too, such as reverb and a decend overdrive etc? I can afford to buy those if need be at a later date, as i dont want to go wild and spend a ridiculous amount

Many thanks for any recommendations.

Nathan.

OzZie · 27 Jan 2007 at 13:06

Soundcard is the M-Audio Fastrack USB

Latencies are: 128 Buffer - 5.3ms
256 Buffer - 10.6ms
384 Buffer - 16.0ms

No delay at all using those buffers that i can hear, but it is limited to the amount of recording options available (ie no MIDI IN/OUT). However, im thinking that if i get a decent amp i could always use that to get an output instead of having the standard 2.1 set i have at the moment?

OzZie · 28 Jan 2007 at 11:46

Thanks for ther recommendations. It will be a few months yet before i even get the money, so i'm going to do as much research as i can and take a look around before i even comtemplate buying one there and then.

Still unsure however whether to go for a 50's or 60's neck. My Epi has a 60's and plays really nice, but it does seem a little wide and as a result a bit slower than my squire strat which has the narrow neck, and i would like to speed up my playing, but all in due time of course.

I was also looking at the Marshall TSL-122 Combo as it seems to be the higest combo amp available, and does seem to look better on paper than the 601's and 602's, but again, i will have to try them out if possible to justify the extra £100.

Also, with effects pedals and extras, who are the best manufacurer to go for in terms of value, cost, reliability etc? Boss have a HUGE range with an average price of around £50 per effect, but then there are others that seem to be nearly twice the price and i cant see why.
Also, what effects do people recommend? I do like my reverb a lot, but would the marshall give that effect anyway to a decent degree? Also, are Boss distortion and overdrive pedals worth the money, or are IBZ Tube screamers more renowned for their quality?

Thanks.

OzZie · 29 Jan 2007 at 08:12

I was talking to my uncle yesturday who recommended going second hand (for the guitar) because of the depreciation in value if i bought new, and because one with a little history behind it will be much more pleasing to play, which i can understand. He said he'd take me down to Andy's Guitar Shop in London to see if they do any second hand LP's. (ie maybe a custom which would be really nice)

I dont mind going second hand for amps either though, so if those Marshall's will be a waste then that's completly fair for the volumes i will play at (however, i will be playing in a new and large extension with a garage below, so i will crack the volume up quite a bit i imagine, but still nothing near gig levels of volume)

OzZie · 18 Mar 2007 at 12:45

I've seen offered a 1959 'Re-Issue' Jimmy Wallace Signiture model for £2500 thats never been played before. Bear in mind i've never heard anything about this model, and any reviews are pretty well hidden on the net. Cant find any specs for it, so im kinda worried that i'd be paying an extra £500 for the signiture aspect :rolleyes:

However, with this kind of cash i could probibly get a LP Custom second hand and maybe still afford a half-decent amp, but if that JW LP is good for £2500 then i dont want to waste the oppertunity!

Ahh cant make up my mind :confused: