[pearfish]

Hi Guys,
Ive been playing acoustic for about 5 months now and was given an electric by a friend. I have yet to play the electric and would really like to start soon. At the moment I dont have an amp and really dont have a clue which one to get. I value sound more than features and have a budget of £100 which I could stretch. Im only looking for an amp for practice at home and I was looking at the Roland Cube 10 or the Peavey Vypxr 15. I read that valve amps sound the best and I would prefure a 'British Amp' i.e AC/DC type sound. Could I get this sound from one of the emulating amps or should I pay the extra and get a valve amp. I know AC/DC use Marshall amps and have used Orange in the past but I think there valve amps are out of my budget. Any advice would be great. Im into all sorts of music really anything from Kings of Leon to Bon Jovi and U2.

Many thanks
Wayne

[pmc]

You can go far wrong with the Roland Micro Cube for a beginners amp. It'll do that classic 'British' sound you want and is flexible enough that you can mess about with the effects and get a feel for what you like.

Bear in mind that to get the full sound of a good tube amp you need to TURN IT UP LOUD. That's not always possible depending on your living arrangements. Sure, getting a nice valve Marshall or Orange is a great goal, but wait till you've been playing a while in order to justify that kind of cost.

What guitar do you have?

[pearfish]

Originally Posted by pmc

You can go far wrong with the Roland Micro Cube for a beginners amp. It'll do that classic 'British' sound you want and is flexible enough that you can mess about with the effects and get a feel for what you like.

Bear in mind that to get the full sound of a good tube amp you need to TURN IT UP LOUD. That's not always possible depending on your living arrangements. Sure, getting a nice valve Marshall or Orange is a great goal, but wait till you've been playing a while in order to justify that kind of cost.

What guitar do you have?

Thanks for the advice I was leaning towards the Roland. Im using a Yamaha Pacifica at the moment its on loan from a friend. I really fancy a Gibson SG but a few of my friends who play in bands dont rate them, they all seem to use Fender Strats or Telecasters. So Im not really sure what electric to buy. If I keep my current acoustic I may buy a new electric for around £700.

[pmc]

Originally Posted by pearfish

Thanks for the advice I was leaning towards the Roland. Im using a Yamaha Pacifica at the moment its on loan from a friend. I really fancy a Gibson SG but a few of my friends who play in bands dont rate them, they all seem to use Fender Strats or Telecasters. So Im not really sure what electric to buy. If I keep my current acoustic I may buy a new electric for around £700.

Pacifica's are a good beginners guitar and go well with the Microcube. There is absolutely nothing wrong with an SG, especially for the sort of music you seem to like. £700 is a very nice budget for a guitar, you'll have a LOT of options. The biggest thing you need to learn is the difference between single coil and humbucking pickups. Go to a guitar shop and try out a few Strats and Teles with single coils, and a few Les Paul's and SG's with humbuckers, and decide what you prefer. The other big aspect is the feel of the neck. Again try a few and see what feels best.

I'd suggest taking your time and doing your research. The Pacifica will do you fine for quite a while. In the meantime, make sure you want to stick with it, and visit lots of guitar shops and try lots of guitars and see what you like. Which is half the fun anyway

As a general rule of thumb, the guitar and the amp should cost about the same. The Pacifica is a £100-200 guitar so goes well with the Microcube. So when you upgrade to a better guitar in the £700 range, then you can start thinking about a better amp that will bring you into the Marshall/Orange territory. But before spending that kind of money, make sure you are sticking with it and that your enjoyment of it justifies the expenditure.

[esc4p3]

+1 to everything pmc has said. I have been convinced at various points that I wanted 'so-and-so' guitar, rushed down to the guitar shop and played it and it didn't suit. Base your guitar purchases on how it feels in your hands, doesn't matter whether you have been playing for 1 week or 10 years, trust your first impressions. Also if possible take your guitar with you and play it through the amp you intend to buy, you will get a better idea of how it sounds.

Pacifica + microcube = FUN!

[pearfish]

Hi guys
thanks for all the advice. Definatly think the Roland Cube is the one for me just to get me going. I talked to my mate I definatly prefure the sound of a Humbucker pickup. He suggested a Fat Strat. So that is always an option in the future and I have since noticed the Pacifica has a Humbucker at the bridge so I'm really looking forward to trying it out. Thanks again for all the help guys.

[scottish nutter]

thers also the vox ad15 amps that are about £100, alot of people think they sound better than the cubes

[Azazael1984]

Did you buy anything yet?

£700 is a relatively good budget for a guitar and even more so in the second hand market.

Gibson SG's are ok, they are to an extent a 1 trick pony however and seem to have lots of horror stories - mostly down to user error however.

I like SG's but lots of people complain they are neck heavy due to the small body and it is a known problem of the necks breaking because of this - as i said before it is down to the careless of the owner typically.

Check out the Sterling range of guitars they are good for the money.
I think the Sterling AX20 would be a great guitar for you that can cover many many bases including AC/DC.

Amp wise, the Vox modelling amps are ok but it depends on how much of a purist you want to be for that AC/DC tone. A good way to get a similar tone is to get a low output valve amp. Such as a Orange Tiny Terror or a Blackstar.

However personally, you cant go wrong with a Marshall. It all depends on what you want! The used market is flooded with good amps and its opens so many more options. You could even find a 20w DSL combo that would do you fine.

These Sterling guitars seem to retail about £550 but I thought they were going to be a bit cheaper. £400 I think is the better market placement for them maybe they will drop. However that being said it is quite realistic you could pick up an Axis Supersport for shy of £700.

That would mean you're first electric guitar is perhaps arguably the best guitar ever designed

[Scott_Mac]

Can i put a nod in for a Laney Cub 8 or 10 too....

Laney Amplification | Product Range

[scottish nutter]

its pointless paying £700 for a guitar to play it through a £100 amp, best to pay say £250-£300 for a decent guitar and buy a better amp, i have owned an epi lp and a gibson lp and while the gibson does sound better it doesnt sound £1300 worth better, these were played through a marshall dsl401 and a marshall jubilee, in my opinion a good guitar through a low quality amp wont sound that great, but a decent guitar through a good amp will sound good, anything over about £300 new is a decent sounding guitar, of course some sound better than others but for me the amp is more important

dont do what i did, buy something cheaper when you know thats not realy what you want because you know the mrs is going to moan about the cost, only to decide a month later that you want the better stuff and cost yourself lots more money

[Scott_Mac]

Originally Posted by scottish nutter

its pointless paying £700 for a guitar to play it through a £100 amp, best to pay say £250-£300 for a decent guitar and buy a better amp, i have owned an epi lp and a gibson lp and while the gibson does sound better it doesnt sound £1300 worth better, these were played through a marshall dsl401 and a marshall jubilee, in my opinion a good guitar through a low quality amp wont sound that great, but a decent guitar through a good amp will sound good, anything over about £300 new is a decent sounding guitar, of course some sound better than others but for me the amp is more important

dont do what i did, buy something cheaper when you know thats not realy what you want because you know the mrs is going to moan about the cost, only to decide a month later that you want the better stuff and cost yourself lots more money

Whilst in principal i agree with what you're saying.... a great guitar played through a 'cheap' amp won't sound bad. A lot of manufacturers design and build cheaper amps using very expensive guitars.... sure a great amp will make the guitar sound even better, but to write off cheaper ones is a little naive

[scottish nutter]

Originally Posted by Scott_Mac

Whilst in principal i agree with what you're saying.... a great guitar played through a 'cheap' amp won't sound bad. A lot of manufacturers design and build cheaper amps using very expensive guitars.... sure a great amp will make the guitar sound even better, but to write off cheaper ones is a little naive

where did i write off cheaper amps? im only pointing out its pointless spending £700 on a nice guitar to play it through something like a cube when he would probably get exactly the same sound through that amp as he would with a £200 guitar, im a believer in the amp is more important than the guitar once you get past the begginer £100-£200 guitars

[pmc]

You also need to think about how the guitar feels, stays in tune, sets up, intonates etc... though. It's not just about sound. All those thing will generally improve as you move up in price. That's the difference between a £400 Epi and £1700 Gibson. Well, that and the name on the headstock

Having said that, I agree you can get an excellent guitar in the £400-£1000 range and a good guitar should be matched with a good, similarly priced amp.

[TEKNICOLOURFOX]

second hand all the way for me when it comes to amps, a because im constantly skint and b they just sound better...

of all the amps Ive owned (and thats a few) my peavey renown still gets more use than the rest and it only cost me about £250 13 odd years ago...

try going to your nearest music store and seeing what they have in, pick a guitar off the shelf you can see yourself owning and try that through it... dont be put off by something that looks battered either, its the sound thats important, same goes for guitars in my books... my framus jazzmaster DOES sound better than my fender jazzmaster

[Scott_Mac]

Originally Posted by scottish nutter

where did i write off cheaper amps? im only pointing out its pointless spending £700 on a nice guitar to play it through something like a cube when he would probably get exactly the same sound through that amp as he would with a £200 guitar, im a believer in the amp is more important than the guitar once you get past the begginer £100-£200 guitars

But a Cube is overpriced for what it is IMO..... as i said, I agree in principal, but not all smaller/cheaper amps are crap. Don't forget a smaller, lower powered valve amp will allow you to drive it harder and get it singing, as opposed to buying even a 15w valve amp which you'll rarely be able to crank up and make work in a home environment. In instances like that a great guitar through a 'cheaper' amp can work very well.

However, a better balance might be obtained elsewhere.....

[TEKNICOLOURFOX]

oh and I got my other halves brother a portable valve amp for £80 (cant remember the make) about a year ago and it sounds stunning, Ive got it now and use it on my reverbs its sweet, you can find some bargains if you get on good terms with the shops.

[scottish nutter]

Originally Posted by Scott_Mac

But a Cube is overpriced for what it is IMO..... as i said, I agree in principal, but not all smaller/cheaper amps are crap. Don't forget a smaller, lower powered valve amp will allow you to drive it harder and get it singing, as opposed to buying even a 15w valve amp which you'll rarely be able to crank up and make work in a home environment. In instances like that a great guitar through a 'cheaper' amp can work very well.

However, a better balance might be obtained elsewhere.....

yes but your normal persons idea of a cheap amp is an mg or a spider i know there are plenty of good cheap amps but i was talking about the cheap ss amps that seem to be popular, everyone has their own idea of what they like best

[Scott_Mac]

Originally Posted by scottish nutter

yes but your normal persons idea of a cheap amp is an mg or a spider i know there are plenty of good cheap amps but i was talking about the cheap ss amps that seem to be popular, everyone has their own idea of what they like best

Indeed... and that's what makes this industry fun!

An entry level ss amp with a 6" speaker isn't going to sound very good on anything bar a cheapy guitar, but for not a hugh chunk over £100 you can pick up some cracking no frills valve amps...

[KelvinS1965]

Could I add a comment regarding louder valve amps in a home setting? If you find a good secondhand amp but it is too loud to use at home, you can add a series resistor to the speaker to reduce the sound level while allowing the amp to 'sing'.

NOTE: It is especially important with valve amps to ensure the impedance of the speaker/resistor combination does not exceed the rating for the amplifier as some amps become unstable if the load is too low (ie a higher resisitance than the speaker alone).

On a more practical level, I've enjoyed using my Line 6 modelling amp which I would imagine could be bought secondhand for around £100 these days. It does a passable Marshall stack effect with my (Epiphone) Les Paul and a Straty single coil twang (with my '82 Japanese Squire '58 reissue Strat) at the other extreme. I'd love a real Fender Twin reverb and Marshall stack, but this satisfies me enough (and it doesn't look too out of place in the living room either).

[Kellfire]

The Line 6 Spider III is a very good amp for a beginner. A range of sounds and very cheap.

[Crocodile]

http://www.avforums.com/forums/elect...-amlifier.html

[Kieron]

Originally Posted by Crocodile

http://www.avforums.com/forums/elect...-amlifier.html

I saw that earlier and thought of this thread! Beat me to it!

[LilDOzer]

I'm slightly worried by some of the advice going on here. Especially for a beginner about to get his first electric guitar. The biggest factor effecting the sound you'll be getting is your playing!

It is true that a really bad amp will make even the best guitar sound bad. But to learn on and just play in the house there is no way I'd advise an expensive valve amp.
Better to spend your money on a guitar you have tried out and love. An expensive guitar will sound better, be easier to play and learn on and will always hold its value.

Personally I would reiterate what the last 2 posters have said. The line 6 modelling amps are great and very cheap 2nd hand. Get a foot board with it and you've just got all the effects pedals you'll ever need saving you another £400 plus into the bargain. Plus they have a headphone socket so you can let rip in the middle of the night if need be.

For playing in the house and gigs I use my line 6 (an old 2nd hand Flextone 2). For recording (I'm a professional musician) then I borrow or rent an orange or marshall head and old school heavy cab etc and I delight in the sound of it, because there is a sound difference, but its way too soon to worry about getting one of them.

I'd put a warning up against the vox modelling amps, vox ac15 or ac30 are amazing, the modelling amps are awful a shame to the great vox name, avoid!

[Scott_Mac]

All valid, i think the thread drifted a little on valve amps....

Modelling amps are a great starter as you can sound great relatively quickly, sticking with the loveable Laney brand the Prism models are an excellent Line 6 alternative, cheaper and British with a few bonus features thrown in too

Laney Amplification | Product Range

[andywylde]

Someone said that playing an expensive guitar through a cheap amp will sound crap and that just isn't true. For bedroom practice i use a tiny Marshall 15DFX, i run a JS1000 through it and it sounds amazing for such a small amp. I used to have an Epiphone Zakk Wylde with EMG 81/85 Pickups in it and that sounded like a beast too. You can have the most expensive set up in the world and you could still sound like a dying cat. Whilst a good amp and guitar does help i still believe that a good tone comes from skill too.

A £700 budget for your 1st electric guitar is awesome, you have a lot of choice. Personally i wouldn't spend that money on a SG, they just don't have much range in terms of tone. A nice Tele, Strat, Les Paul or even Ibanez would be great.

Amp-wise, i'd agree with other posters who mentioned the Line 6 Spider Amps. They have great sound and the in-built digital effects are great, and it can work out cheaper rather than buying pedals separatly, if your satisfied.

The Marshall DFX randge is pretty cool too, like i said i use one for practice and i get great tone out of my guitars. Depending on what guitar you end up buying you might end up with a bigger budget for an amp, the JSX Mini Colossal looks great.

[scottish nutter]

Originally Posted by andywylde

Someone said that playing an expensive guitar through a cheap amp will sound crap and that just isn't true. For bedroom practice i use a tiny Marshall 15DFX, i run a JS1000 through it and it sounds amazing for such a small amp. I used to have an Epiphone Zakk Wylde with EMG 81/85 Pickups in it and that sounded like a beast too. You can have the most expensive set up in the world and you could still sound like a dying cat. Whilst a good amp and guitar does help i still believe that a good tone comes from skill too.

i reckon this is aimed at me? dont remember exactly what i posted but i didnt mean an expensive guitar through a cheap amp would sound crap, what i ment was if he is only useing something lik a marshall mg or a spider then a £300 epiphone les paul will sound almost the same as a £1500 gibson les paul through the amp (i know i own a vox ad15vt and have used my epi and gibson on the amp and there wasnt much of a difference) and if this is the case i wouldnt spend £700 on a guitar to use on one of these amps when somthing half the price will feel almost as good and sound almost the same, i still stand by what i said, a half decent guitar through a great amp will sound better than a great gutiar through half decent amp (again iv used an epiphone l/p through a marshall jubilee and it sounded a hell of alot better than my gibson l/p through my vox ad15vt)

[pearfish]

Hi guys thanks for all the advice. I have narrowed my amp options down to either a VOX VT15 Valvetronix (£99) or a Line 6 Spider 4 15 (£74). The Vox seems to sound abit better from the clips ive heard on you tube as it has a tube in the pre amp but the line 6 seems more user friendly and has more user settings. Does anybody have any experiance with either these amps? Im not looking to gig them it is purely just to get me playing electric in the bedroom.

Im using a Yamaha Pacifica but will look to upgrade to a FAT Strat HSS later in the year.

[ciggerley]

MESA/Boogie & Paul Reed Smith used to be my weapons of choice. Not suitable for home use though (and definitely out of budget!)

[Urbanvictim]

With that budget you cant be too fussy, but you dont need to be if you are just starting out. Any amp with an overdrive switch will give you the crunch you are looking for and overdrive/distortion pedals arent that pricey if you decide to upgrade. Just get the cheapest thing you can find, spend a few months getting good and then upgrade to something nicer. You will appreciate the quality more at that stage and wont have wasted much money if you dont take to it

[Aerial Man]

Originally Posted by Scott_Mac

But a Cube is overpriced for what it is IMO..... as i said, I agree in principal, but not all smaller/cheaper amps are crap. Don't forget a smaller, lower powered valve amp will allow you to drive it harder and get it singing, as opposed to buying even a 15w valve amp which you'll rarely be able to crank up and make work in a home environment. In instances like that a great guitar through a 'cheaper' amp can work very well.

However, a better balance might be obtained elsewhere.....

I can play my 15w valver just great at home, it has Gain and Master Volume. I would say the smaller valvers are less versatile and more boxey.

I think it all boils down to opinion, but I think that for a beginner it's best to stick with stripped down simplicity and a small valve combo would be perfect for developing touch and technique. This will give a much better foundation to build on rather than being too caught up in learning how to get a half decent tone from a SS modeling amp.

Or even start with an Acoustic until you know that this hobby is for you. You can pick up a perfectly playable model for a bit over £100, get it set up with low action and your away with learning how to play rather than having a dozen different knobs to distract you and it's also more accessible to just pick up and play. This then also gives more time to get into it and learn about the different types of gear available before jumping straight in and then maybe regretting the guitar or amp you bought.