i've been using NI Guitar Rig and my pc setup since i started playing again a few months ago. plenty happy with that, but for some reason i think i want an amp. i've been looking at some old 60s/70s models, but am wondering if maybe i should just go for one of those new Yamaha THR modeling amps. i think the size of that would be perfect, i don't think i need to be any louder around here than i could get with that and it sounds damn good to me for what it is. then again, there's just something great about old gear (look, sound, whatever). which would you go for?
the amp i'm looking at is a late-60s solid state model, not more than a few hundred dollars. i'm pretty set on this thing (at least to see what it's about), but would anyone absolutely not bother with an old solid state amp for whatever reason?
(sorry for not stating the make/model of the amp yet, but it's so cool that if you saw it you would of course try to buy it out from under me. just think (not big name really) 60s/70s solid state amp in general.)
something cool/vintage, or something new?
Moderated By: mods
something cool/vintage, or something new?
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Mike
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If you're after something which does what you're doing with GuitarRig (a bunch of different guitar amp/pedal sounds) - I would consider the Fender Mustang amp series. I have a Mustang I and it's just great.
You also still have the option to plug a computer into it to do a bunch of deep editting.
The Fender amp models from clean to dirty are all great as you'd expect as are the Vox ones, the Marshall ones are a bit weak but I use pedals to get those sort of overdrive sounds. I couldn't be happier and they're very cheap and sound fabulous in headphones also.
For completness I generally use the following setup:
Guitar ->
(whatever pedals I choose to use)
-> Harley Benton/Joyo American Sound - this is a fender amp emulator I set to a nice Fender Clean sound, this basically allows the amp to take overdrive/distortion pedals better. Straight in they're not so much cop
-> Fender Mustang I
-> Superlex Beyerdynamic DT-10 clone Headphones.
However you're in teh states, so why not an old champ or whatever, you guys can pick those up for peanuts.
You also still have the option to plug a computer into it to do a bunch of deep editting.
The Fender amp models from clean to dirty are all great as you'd expect as are the Vox ones, the Marshall ones are a bit weak but I use pedals to get those sort of overdrive sounds. I couldn't be happier and they're very cheap and sound fabulous in headphones also.
For completness I generally use the following setup:
Guitar ->
(whatever pedals I choose to use)
-> Harley Benton/Joyo American Sound - this is a fender amp emulator I set to a nice Fender Clean sound, this basically allows the amp to take overdrive/distortion pedals better. Straight in they're not so much cop
-> Fender Mustang I
-> Superlex Beyerdynamic DT-10 clone Headphones.
However you're in teh states, so why not an old champ or whatever, you guys can pick those up for peanuts.
actually, most of the time i'm on a pretty clean setting, which breaks up just a bit if you hit it hard. my other favorite is a modified version of this with a bit more grit. i'm not even sure what type of amp this is supposed to be modeling. it uses the "Gratifier" amp/cab (Mesa-Boogie?). haven't experimented too much with other models/presets since i've settled on this one. it seems to drip correctly and growl just right when necessary.
part of this is because i've got about twenty guitars here and i'm constantly switching between them to note the various differences between them. a cleaner setting brings out the finer details better than with much of any overdrive or distortion. also, because i'm just mostly learning and practicing a lot of basic stuff, clean works better for this. lastly, i'm on this huge blues kick and want to be Albert King. you know that sound? that's along the lines of what i'm after. any more distorted than that is just for fun at the moment when i'm banging out rock riffs. i don't plan on using any pedals at the moment, though i do have an old Boss ROD-10 kicking around if needed.
part of this is because i've got about twenty guitars here and i'm constantly switching between them to note the various differences between them. a cleaner setting brings out the finer details better than with much of any overdrive or distortion. also, because i'm just mostly learning and practicing a lot of basic stuff, clean works better for this. lastly, i'm on this huge blues kick and want to be Albert King. you know that sound? that's along the lines of what i'm after. any more distorted than that is just for fun at the moment when i'm banging out rock riffs. i don't plan on using any pedals at the moment, though i do have an old Boss ROD-10 kicking around if needed.
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yes, yes and yesMike wrote:If you're after something which does what you're doing with GuitarRig (a bunch of different guitar amp/pedal sounds) - I would consider the Fender Mustang amp series. I have a Mustang I and it's just great.
You also still have the option to plug a computer into it to do a bunch of deep editting.
you can really nerd out with the computer software. i even upscaled to the head and a 2x12.
also if you can't play very loud a vintage tube amp without master volume is going to be a waste of time. edit: sorry, my mistake - it's a solid state. even so, i think all things considered, something like a mustang would dick all over an old solid state
plus the mustangs have a decent headphone out and still sounds good at lower volumes cos it's all digital modelling.
plus the mustangs have a decent headphone out and still sounds good at lower volumes cos it's all digital modelling.
nice, thanks. i hadn't considered the Mustang because in reading reviews of the Yamaha THR, pretty much everyone said it was so much better than the Mustang. the both seem/sound fantastic based on youtube videos, and the Mustang is so damn inexpensive that i almost have to grab one just to see what it's about.
took me a minute to figure out what this was and where i could find one, but it looks like the Joyo version is available on eBay. seems that this is a clone of the Tech-21 "Blonde" pedal? i'll look more into this and the other pedals in the line. any negatives with it being so cheap?Harley Benton/Joyo American Sound
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timhulio
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I've been using NI Guitar Rig for silent practice for a couple of months now. It's convinced me I absolutely have to own a UREI 1176 compressor... which in pedal form costs about £350. So fuck you, Guitar Rig!
Loads of people sing the praises of the Mustang amps. I couldn't get on with mine at all. I had a Mustang II, the sounds were all fakey and cheesy, and even the sounds it was okay at - like a clean Fender amp - paled in comparison to the real deal. I was told (by Tim IIRC) that you could use the software and USB link to remove either the built-in compression or 'woolen blanket over my amp' effect to open the sound up and let the amp take pedals, but I couldnee be arsed. If you're used to Guitar Rig you'll be very disappointed with what the Mustang amp has to offer.
If you have your heart set on a solid-state 60s/70s amp, then buy one of them. You won't have much competition.
Loads of people sing the praises of the Mustang amps. I couldn't get on with mine at all. I had a Mustang II, the sounds were all fakey and cheesy, and even the sounds it was okay at - like a clean Fender amp - paled in comparison to the real deal. I was told (by Tim IIRC) that you could use the software and USB link to remove either the built-in compression or 'woolen blanket over my amp' effect to open the sound up and let the amp take pedals, but I couldnee be arsed. If you're used to Guitar Rig you'll be very disappointed with what the Mustang amp has to offer.
If you have your heart set on a solid-state 60s/70s amp, then buy one of them. You won't have much competition.
bought the Mustang I. 
but, i ended up buying the cool/vintage amp after all. i'm fully aware that it will likely spend most of its time being used as an expensive foot rest, sometimes i buy things that just don't make sense. it's a mid-70s Kustom 'Challenger' (25w, 1x12). i think it'll look great in the living room with a Hagstrom leaning against it. (usually you'd ask before you go buying something, but...) any thoughts on these things, good or bad?
lolz, i ended up seeing this post about an hour after i bought it. actually glad i didn't see it, as it may have put me off buying it (at least for a few days). overall i'm pretty impressed so far. i haven't done any sort of A/B tests against Guitar Rig, but for what it is i'm pretty happy with it. not perfect, and it certainly can sound like shit, but i'm pleasantly surprised with some of the sounds i was getting out of it. haven't had a chance to fire it up today, we'll see if i was just caught up in the excitement of a new thing or what. haven't installed the software yet, and barely glanced at the manual so far.timhulio wrote:If you're used to Guitar Rig you'll be very disappointed with what the Mustang amp has to offer.
but, i ended up buying the cool/vintage amp after all. i'm fully aware that it will likely spend most of its time being used as an expensive foot rest, sometimes i buy things that just don't make sense. it's a mid-70s Kustom 'Challenger' (25w, 1x12). i think it'll look great in the living room with a Hagstrom leaning against it. (usually you'd ask before you go buying something, but...) any thoughts on these things, good or bad?
nice! a friend of mine has the 100w 1x12, but it's in pieces at the moment.timhulio wrote:The only old solid state amps I would bother with are Music Man amps... and they're hybrid with one or two valves.
I had a 100w 1x12 a while back, and that was punishingly loud. I'd much prefer the 50w 1x10.[/img]
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Mike
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Yup, sorry I should have made that clear - it's the Blonde/Fender emulation yesjbuonacc wrote:took me a minute to figure out what this was and where i could find one, but it looks like the Joyo version is available on eBay. seems that this is a clone of the Tech-21 "Blonde" pedal? i'll look more into this and the other pedals in the line. any negatives with it being so cheap?
And no I've had no problems, I own two of them they're so nice
EDIT - I removed all the onboard compression from the amps also using the laptop, not plugged in via the laptop since I've been so happy.
yeah, really digging this thing overall, thanks for the suggestion!
no, it won't come close to all that you can do with GR5, but for bread n' butter stuff it's perfectly fine for my needs. nice to have something to move around with and not be tied to the pc setup all the time. i'm trying not to worry too much about how it holds up sound-wise to GR5 (or whatever), and would never expect it to sound exactly like the originals. it's just quick, fun, and punchy. i've always hated onboard fx, but it's great to have them here. that said, the software is a bit "lacking" to say the least, and the fx themselves aren't all that great. but again, for traditional stuff it's got most of what you need.
when you say you removed the compression from the presets, is the only compression in "stompbox" form or are there some lower level settings for this?
one odd thing i noticed is that there is no difference in sound whether you put the delay before or after the reverb in the fx loop. same result either way, which is totally fucked up if they're supposed to be in serial like the signal flow shows.
looking forward to seeing what this Kustom is all about.
no, it won't come close to all that you can do with GR5, but for bread n' butter stuff it's perfectly fine for my needs. nice to have something to move around with and not be tied to the pc setup all the time. i'm trying not to worry too much about how it holds up sound-wise to GR5 (or whatever), and would never expect it to sound exactly like the originals. it's just quick, fun, and punchy. i've always hated onboard fx, but it's great to have them here. that said, the software is a bit "lacking" to say the least, and the fx themselves aren't all that great. but again, for traditional stuff it's got most of what you need.
when you say you removed the compression from the presets, is the only compression in "stompbox" form or are there some lower level settings for this?
one odd thing i noticed is that there is no difference in sound whether you put the delay before or after the reverb in the fx loop. same result either way, which is totally fucked up if they're supposed to be in serial like the signal flow shows.
looking forward to seeing what this Kustom is all about.
i'm a negative creep.
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Mike
- I like EL34s
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>> when you say you removed the compression from the presets, is the only compression in "stompbox" form or are there some lower level settings for this?
I think that's what i removed. The compressor peal was there on a lot of the patches.
I also put in some of the old small Fender amps instead of the hairy metal ones I wasn't using.
I think that's what i removed. The compressor peal was there on a lot of the patches.
I also put in some of the old small Fender amps instead of the hairy metal ones I wasn't using.
the Kustom came a week or two ago, pretty nice. it's got a fair amount of background hiss though, especially noticeable with the reverb and tremolo engaged. might this be due to the caps drying out over the years and allowing unwanted parts of the signal to bleed through? haven't had a chance to get very familiar with it yet, and it'll be a while before i'll be looking at getting it serviced. works fine for now.
here it is with the latest Hagstrom:
here it is with the latest Hagstrom:
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