Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: SamR on December 07, 2006, 01:18:06 AM
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Hey all, first off this is my first post, so let me introduce myself, My name is Sam, I'm a m8 of Sambo... im sure some of you know him cos he has something like... 2800 posts on these forums (i hate to think how much time he spends on here :P)
Anyway im a self taught guitar player, been playing for about a year and 2 months now i think, inspired by random guitarists on youtube, i started making my own vids about 5 months ago...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA9Jfdvggnw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CEwAGNMUBY
Ok here's my predicament, I have an Ibanez Jem 555, to be honest i bought it without looking at many other guitars, After a while i began to notice the quality and sustain of the guitar is... to be honest... kinda poor, even compared to my £150 ebayed Kramer!! Also i dont get on well with the flatness of the neck... So i would like to sell it...
Heres where things get fun... i have around £1500 saved up (including the sale of my Jem555, up for sale at £500)
Dont get me wrong im not made of money, i would also like to buy an amp and a couple more leads, but if i see a guitar for £1500 that i simply cant turn down, then i suppose i can push the boat out a little...
WHAT IVE LOOKED AT SO FAR...
Ive been looking at Jackson PC1's... downside... i play guitar for 6 hours a day and i would forever be buying 9v batteries for the sustainer, also i have heard mixed reviews from harmoy central about the quality.
Ed Roman Pearlcaster... Again mixed reviews on Harmony central
Esp Horizon FRII... Love the guitar, very hard to find one around these parts, Machinehead dont seem to stock them.
Musicman Axis... Gotta love Van Halen, im a little worried about the unfinished neck though...
Building my own guitar on Warmoth!! sounds like fun, but i hear they dont hold their prices well.
Ibanez RGT220a, i love the through neck on this guitar, but could i get something better for the price? Also the feel was also much like my Jem 555, a very flat neck.
Tom Anderson? someone said theyre overpriced
Suhr... i dont know much about buzz feiten tuning.
and last but not least...
An American series fender strat, which i would like to put dimarzio HS-3, and YJM pickups in.
Anymore suggestions would rock. Cheers
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Welcome SamR! Any friend of Sambo's has got a lot of friends round here.. (plus a little bit of explaining to do) :lol:
I'm gonna cut to the chase and say that with the region of £1500 at your disposal and no clear idea of which guitar you "really" want your best bet is to talk to a luthier and get a custom guitar that you will love till the day you die.
A few guys on the board have made the jump to a custom and the results are like a tailored suit.
I'm not going to only suggest my usual recommendation of Feline Guitars (most people know that I am friends with Jon @ Feline).
For me - when I'm gonna spend that kind of money - I want to get everything.
I want neck radius / woods / craftsmanship AND Bare Knuckle Pickups.
The alternative is to buy one Jon has ready to go (I'm sure he would be happy to install your choice of BKPs if they weren't already in there)
Here is a pic from the London Guitar Show and some of the "stock" :lol:
(http://www.felineguitars.com/news/images/Londonguitarshowstand8.jpg)
Good luck and welcome again... I AM NOT ON COMMISSION!! :?
Here is another pic featuring Jon (left) and a couple of talentless fools from this board.. Johnny Mac and Davey - never listen the their advice :wink:
(http://www.felineguitars.com/news/images/Londonguitarshowstand5.jpg)
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Cheers for the reply, Does Jon have a website? The guitars are really what im into, something with a touch of class and a vintage look without sacrificing the quality of sound, as you said... with £1500 to spend i can afford to be fussy, and i doubt ill have this much money to spend on a guitar ever again. Also having bought a £800 Jem, and then prefering a £150 Kramer, i can also appreciate that the cost of the guitar isnt a deciding factor as to which guitar is better than the other.
*Edit*
Oh nvm i found the website! Cheers
Liking these two...
(http://www.felineguitars.com/images/products/sparkle_gunslinger_index_fu.jpg)
(http://www.felineguitars.com/images/products/black_panther_index_full.jpg)
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Also check out Bob Johnson's Legra guitars (he'S a poster on this site too) and there are also a few private guitar builders here who may be able to do something for you if they have the time/inclination :)
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If I had that money I'd go right for a custom guitar, probably from Feline Guitars as his work looks awesome, as does the work of Bob at Legra.
Dave, any idea how much Jonathans superstrat-style guitars cost?
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Ok - must be the Xmas spirit, but we are having a Xmas sale too
We do have rather a lot of nice guitars in stock and are starting to need t make some space (for new guitars to be built)
So if you see a guitar that you like the look of - gimme a yell and we will discuss a great price for it.
Also as next year is our 10th anniversary so we want to make a few choice bits (time permitting ) and maybe show them at next years LGS
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/felineguitars/LGS%2006/felinestand.jpg)
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Cheers for the help. I can never turn down a christmas offer! :D I may be able to come down to Surrey and check some of these guitars out, ill drop you an email when i can arrange a time.
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Sam, friend of Sam it sounds a bit Tolkein to me ;)
I would also suggest trying out every guitar you can get you hands on, that way you can say I love the Axis (or Peavey Wolfgang) body and loathe then neck (or whatever).
Even try the guitars that you wouldn't normally think of buying, you may find a neck style that you really like.
Rob...
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Haha i know you too, you are a mate of Ell Howards, i'm a mate of his brother Jonny, you would recognise me if you saw me.
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Haha i know you too, you are a mate of Ell Howards, i'm a mate of his brother Jonny, you would recognise me if you saw me.
Haha I know you are a mate of Elf Howards, I'm a mate of Aragorn, you would not recognise me if you saw me.....
From this day forth ye shall be known as "Sam, Friend of Sam!" :roll: :roll:
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seems that most of the Hertfordshire's guitarists are in these forums, craazy! haha.
I just read a topic on harmony central about alternive fender strat... strats... Basically things that look like strats but arent actually strats, like GandL, Pearlcasters, Esp Superstrats etc...
Eventually they came to the conclusion that if u want a strat thats well built and with great sustain... then you might aswel get a strat and do it up... new pickups and trem. Some guy on the Jerry C forums wanted to make a replica ESP snapper from a Fender standard strat, it worked out quite well.
What you guys think of this...
Fender American Series Strat - Chrome Red - Maple neck - Chrome Hardware
Dimarzio HS3 - Neck Position - Black
Dimarzio Tonezone S - Bridge - Black
Chrome Pickguard - Chrome volume and tone Knobs
PMT said they can do me a VOX AC30 twin speaker amp, and all of the above for £800... and my Jem 555 in part exchange.
Good deal?
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So SamR do you have some bareknuckle pickups?
I'd reccomend a fender strat or something along those lines, don't put shitety dimaziios in it neither, you want some proper english hand made pickups.
So yer from Hitchin, how are those wanK*rs at machine head, if you see the guitar tech Barry give him a slap on his big bald head from me :D
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What you guys think of this...
Dimarzio HS3 - Neck Position - Black
Dimarzio Tonezone S - Bridge - Black
Oh dear Sam, Friend of Sam.... You have opened the gates of Mordor and will be overrun by orcs if you ask for advice on Dimarzio in this forum..
We all love the "precious" BKPs!
You have been warned... :evil: :evil: :lol: :lol:
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Lol ah dont worry im looking at the BKPs at this second, i wasnt impressed with the evolutions with my Jem...
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BKP all the way.
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I'd be inclined to split that around £1000 for a new amp (assuming you only have a starter amp) and about £500 for the guitar- roughly. I mean, if you see a guitar at £700 that you simply must have, £700 will still buy you a kickass amp.
If you decide to blow it all on the guitar, though, I'd definitely consider a custom- legra, feline, guys like that.
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BKP all the way.
What BKP's do you have then? :roll:
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:roll:
The secret ones that are in my Explorer....ahem....
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aha
so you also ENDORSE Invisible BKP's :lol:
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Yes, yes i do :lol:
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Invisible BKP's rock, i have them in my air guitar.
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I'd be inclined to split that around £1000 for a new amp (assuming you only have a starter amp)
I spoke to a guy in PMT, i already have a POD XT live, i would really like a preamp and a stack, but i think there are a few downsides to stacks, for one they are lots to carry around, and we already have a PA system so volume isnt an issue, a nice combo amp with an effects loop would be cool. They quoted me £580 for an AC30
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SamR, another to maybe check is a MusicMan Petrucci. I sold my Axis due to the nut width (Dave_MC syndrome lol) but my Pet is my fave axe. The neck is sublime and the tone and variety is great (with the fitted Painkillers of course, none of the DiMarzio junk :)).
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SamR, another to maybe check is a MusicMan Petrucci. I sold my Axis due to the nut width (Dave_MC syndrome lol) but my Pet is my fave axe. The neck is sublime and the tone and variety is great (with the fitted Painkillers of course, none of the DiMarzio junk :)).
haha, I knew I wasn't the only one! :lol:
:drink:
as for the MM's- I still really liked the ones I tried, even with the "wrong" nut width, so that's about the best recommendation I can give 'em. (still wouldn't buy one, and I have a "thing" against sig. gear, so the pet is out, but excellent guitars).
I spoke to a guy in PMT, i already have a POD XT live, i would really like a preamp and a stack, but i think there are a few downsides to stacks, for one they are lots to carry around, and we already have a PA system so volume isnt an issue, a nice combo amp with an effects loop would be cool. They quoted me £580 for an AC30
it depends what music you play, really. You can get combos at any price, just because you have the cash doesn't automatically mean you have to spring for a full stack...
:drink:
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I realise this might not be quite what you're after, but have you considered a PRS? £1500 wouldn't get you a Custom, but a US built CE would be within reach.
Although, with that said, if I had that amount to spend, I'd probably be talking to some custom builders to be honest. I'm guessing there must be something very special about having a guitar you know is a total one off.
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True true, again price isnt everything, i prefered Sambos Crate to his Hughes and Kettner because the Crate had a bit more crunch and had good distortion tone without things getting muddy.
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^ i didn't really mean that, lol, I meant you could get expensive combos as well, if you were willing to part with the cash...
sorry! :lol:
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Lol Oh sorry i must have missunderstood what u meant, when it comes to stack amps i dont think £1500 can go an extremely long way. I would love a messa, an AC30 is still gonna sound like the sex with a PODXT plugged into the FX loop! Ive been looking at a few Crate amps as well but i think i cant really go wrong with an AC30... or can i?
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Be warned AC30's are pretty loud.Go and give one a hammering if you haven't already.They have a tone of their own-a classic amp, some might say iconic.
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if ur looking for Mesa high gain I wouldn't go for an AC30 if i were you :? sure you could model through it but it just won't sound like a real high gain amp. for the price of an AC30 you can get an ENGL, that you could still model through (thats if you need to)
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I agree with indy, if you want a mesa-esque high gain tone, you don't want an ac30, it's a much more vintage-toned amp.
I seriously recommend giving a genz benz el-diablo 60 combo a try. It has a mesa-esque high gain (more so than engl, which are great, but don't really sound like a mesa), but has much better cleans and crunch tones than a recto- and is about £500 cheaper as well.
http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=1399&sid=416&cid=91 (the amp)
http://www.sutherlandtrading.com/genzbenz_dealers.asp (UK dealer list)
It's around £900-£1000 for that combo- that'd be top of my try-out list if I wanted a mesa-type tone. Also, the mesa f-series and rectoverb combos may be in your price range.
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Well personaly i would say check out Organic guitars (what a suprise to those who know me lol) as well as everything else you want to try.
From what you listed suhr would be my pic all day long.
When it comes to amps i will bow out as many people on here are far more familiar with mesa style high gain than me. :D
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If you're considering going for a new amp as well, for the price you cant beat Laney. If you want multi channel, the old combo version of a VH100R (cant remember its name) should go for quite cheap and would give you enough money left over for a guitar and probably a hotplate to get good tones from the amp at reasonable volumes.
Or if you want a head and cab, I found a cab loaded with Eminence speakers for £83 all in on ebay. Got a Laney GH50L head and I couldnt be happier with it, it does everything I want but you might want to change the valves if you prefer a modern american kinda tone to classic british.
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if ur looking for Mesa high gain I wouldn't go for an AC30 if i were you :? sure you could model through it but it just won't sound like a real high gain amp. for the price of an AC30 you can get an ENGL, that you could still model through (thats if you need to)
+1 again... i dunno what the PODs sound like through AC30s but i know mine through my H&K isnt exactly great... and my EQ pedal with the amp on its own sounds much better...
personally i would split the 1500 straight down the middle... get a £750 amp + £750 guitar... (roughly of course)... ive been wanting to try a Genz Benz El Diablo, like Dave suggested, for a while now; they seem a great choice for the money.
i also remember playing a Mesa Nomad combo which sounded very nice indeed, but i think theyre a bit more expensive.
then of course there's the laneys that are really popular with people on here, but i dont think they're really your kinda amp, still worth checking out though.
and knowing you samantha i would also go for an Ibanez or something super-stratty, as opposed to something like the Axis. so maybe as Nick suggested the Petrucci sig. might be a nice choice. although i dont think thats in the £750 price region is it?
and as for pickups... well... Dave and Rob already summed it up haha.
:lol:
(loving the lord of the rings references by the way),
Sam Wise Gamgee.
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well, the El-diablo :twisted: gets mentioned again, and i am the resident owner! Sambo was asking a while back and i do believe i forgot to comment, sorry our fella :oops:
anyway, i'd agree that it's in the Mesa ballpark gain wise, there's no shortage of the stuff available! it's definately geared towards metal though, you can get more classic rocky sounds out of it, but it prefers all out war. also, it has a very definite personality of it's own, which it stamps all over whatever you're playing through it. what i mean is, if you plug a les paul into a Marshall, you'll get a thick crunchy sound, plug in a strat and you'll get less gain and a springier edgier sound. through the El-diablo :twisted: this difference seems less apparent. it's there to an extent on the clean channel, but on the hot channel it's a lot less subtle and not at all transparent. the clean channel can be driven to a light overdrive, then the dirty end starts at mayhem and works it's way up! which is great a lot of the time, but not always ideal. it makes for much less difference between different guitars.
of course, maybe i just need to learn how to work my amp properly :roll:
if a modern sounding metal biased amp is what you want, the El-diablo :twisted: 's hard to fault (i have to put a devil after it, it told me so), but it would be best to try it out with your own guitar to see how it sounds.
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[+1 again... i dunno what the PODs sound like through AC30s but i know mine through my H&K isnt exactly great... and my EQ pedal with the amp on its own sounds much better...
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Snipping snipping snipping goes the scissor man
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(loving the lord of the rings references by the way),
Sam Wise Gamgee.
Really a pod or whatever sounds best through a PA or a keyboard amp, though if you use it on a super clean setting with no EQ it should be OK
I think you mean Sam un-Wise Gamgee don't you !
Personally I always thought the Dark Elves where way cooler than any other LOTR characters
Rob...
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:lol: :lol: which Elves are the dark ones? The freaky dudes that show up fashionably-late at Helms Deep?
and no worries Blue mate, any info you would have given me would probably have just induced a sudden rush of G.A.S lol. i really would like to try one though; where did you actually get yours from just out of interest?
cheers.
Sam UN-wise Gamgee...
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got mine in the deepest darkest depths of Banbridge, an ancient dwarf mine in northern ireland. it was accompanied by a pink Maverick guitar, which insisted on joining the quest for ultimate tone.
(who the hell started this lord of the rings cr@p? my battle hammer wants to crush their skull!!!)
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hahaha :lol:
well i think it was Rob who started it...
if not.....
blame Rob anyway... :D
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^ that's where I tried it too. I doubt that's much help to you, sam... :lol:
I think I posted the dealer list earlier in the thread, sam.
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Kingfisher Music ,Fleet Hampshire (on M3) is a dealer/have em Sam. I know cos am Getting a G-Flex for the Rivera very soon :twisted:
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I always love the look of Ran guitars... http://www.ranguitars.com/gallery.htm
From your vids on youtube it seems you're a shredder so these should be right up your street.
:twisted:
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problem with ran is the wait... i think it's something like 8 months at the moment...
if you can wait that long, I'd expect them to be good, lol.
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haha yeah musicman was a 6 month wait if i wanted one built for me.
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Kingfisher Music ,Fleet Hampshire (on M3) is a dealer/have em Sam. I know cos am Getting a G-Flex for the Rivera very soon :twisted:
ahhh cheers for that nick!
and how is the Rivera by the way? apparently those G-Flex things are great so should sound f*cking sweet with the Knucklehead... (it was a Knucklehead right? or have i just invented that out of nowhere?)
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The Rivera is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet Sam, f'ing loud (very dependant on tone/volume) but still on learning curve (esp. with my unscheduelled trip to TX recently) but great. The G-Flex is being delivered down the chimney on the 25th Dec. if ya know what I mean :) But did some research whilst in US and they are amazing cabs and should make the Rivera even more beastly :)
Oh yeah, tis a knucklehead, not my invention :)
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The Rivera is sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet Sam, f'ing loud (very dependant on tone/volume) but still on learning curve (esp. with my unscheduelled trip to TX recently) but great. The G-Flex is being delivered down the chimney on the 25th Dec. if ya know what I mean :) But did some research whilst in US and they are amazing cabs and should make the Rivera even more beastly :)
Oh yeah, tis a knucklehead, not my invention :)
I didn't know UPS delivered this side of the pond...
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Dave, without a 'smiley' for some indication, that just totally confoosed me.
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^ aren't UPS the ones that guys (on forums like HC) are always complaining about? you know, for like playing football with their new guitar package etc.?
or is that fedex? i can never remember- i think there's another one too.
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Dave
1. HC is mainly full of whiny teenage acting ASSHOLES!
2. If packed right (as manufacturers do and ship WORLD WIDE) every package is as safe as it can/should be.
3. ANY postal/carrier service can lose/feck up summit if they try.
I have NEVER had an issue with UPS or FedEx or DHL :) Maybe am lucky.
But, we are talking Santa Mail :lol: So should be ok as have not heard that Rudolph is learning to 'shred' yet, sheesh :)
P.S. yep, DHL,UPS,FedEx ALL operate worldwide bud.
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^ can't argue with number 1, at any rate...
:D
:drink: