What's your primary amp and guitar?

Gear
#21

My guitars are mostly from Warmoth, with scalloped necks and EMG pickups, and my favorites have a Flying-V body (very ergonomic to sit down with). I tune in 4ths, EADGCF, except one semitone flat, and use 8–38 strings. My “amp” is an Axe-FX 2 (XL), it is usually pretending to be a Mesa-Booglie Dual Rectifier. I just run this into a mixer and then a pair of loud powered speakers.

The only thing that I might do is create a balanced set of strings with more even tension, the default 8–38 set is actually pretty terrible in terms of uneven tensions.

#22

GTRS: Strats, Les Pauls, Superstrats, Telecasters.
AMPS: Marshall DSLs, Fender Twins
FX: These days its '78DOD250 w/1458 chip, custom built MXR Dist+, TC Electronic Mojomojo, Klon Klones, '92 Dunlop Wah, and a dizzyingly large set of gear that gets rotated in and out.

1 Like
#23

Hey code crackers :grinning: saw this post and thought I wouldn’t mind hearing folks opinions on the setup I run. Never been a big gear head or sonic aficionado, my basic outlook on tone shaping is to work with what I can afford (which ain’t all that much), or whatever I can salvage. I’m a more or less home player type so dont have to worry about portability. Now that’s out the way, here goes.

Primary guitar - Brian may red special (not a burns).
Secondaries - sterling ax40 (with tone zone and air Norton dimarzios).
Ibanez rg1570 prestige ( dimarzio 36th anniversary paf bridge and mo Joe neck).
Running into a pod hd 500x and out to a, wait for it, technics a+ hifi amp outputting to 2 100 watt pioneer hpm speakers.

I’m curious to know what some more knowledgeable folks might have to say about potential drawbacks or benefits to a setup like this, all I can say is it sounds massive and I’ve spent a long time with the pod unit and dont suffer the problem I’ve heard before about digital effects units clipping low end and sounding too thin.
In fact I dare anyone to stand in the room with it even half cranked while I play a low e, be a booming experience to say the least :rofl:. Anyways appreciate any input, keep on rocking, jazzing, swinging and bluesing folks :love_you_gesture::guitar:

2 Likes
#24

Blue, sounds like you got some awesome vintage wattage going on there, they just don’t build stuff like that anymore these days unless you pay a premium. I can totally understand the SPLs with your rig turned up. Joyous and thumpalicious.

Your processor is a widely loved unit, mated with your vintage analog gear I can only imagine good things.

I miss the 80/90s era audio equipment, we’re devolving en mass!

#25

Gibson Custom Shop Flying V has been my main guitar since I just got it. I’ve also got a EJ Strat from 2006, and a Brazilian Rosewood tiger inlay PRS. Amp is a Marshall JTM 40 that I run thru pedals for gain.

image
84144F4A-00C5-442B-ACEB-89A343471F06.jpeg1080×1350 587 KB

1 Like
#26

Indeed @Twangsta, not so cheap to get this kinda amp these days, was an inheritance of sorts with lots of sentimental value, very first hifi I ever heard and the first thing I wouldve heard music through at a young age (queen greatest hits album on tape :grinning:).

Although I believe it’s the speakers making the difference, they’re apparently not so great according to audiophiles, but as I say I know what I’m hearing and compared to the few more modern setups I’ve had in the past, laney and vox valve amps, vox valvetronix and a Marshall head of which the name escapes me, this just sounds like what I’d expect to hear on albums from 60s and 70s rock bands.

Would no doubt get a more authentic tone using all analog pedals but that’s a very expensive hobby (pedal collection) and honestly to my ears phasers sound like phasers and a flanger a flanger, I’m of the belief that much more of what’s coming out the speaker is derived from the players hands then the instrument they’re playing on, what comes after is additional tint to the colour presented.

#27

I had a RG1570 - the crappy silver finish one. Great guitar!

#28

Yeah @mrrstrat they are! The one I have was picked up from Ebay 2004 zinc blue, only one year run of that finish and after that they changed the neck profile and hardware such as the bridge, the neck on mine is pretty much the same as a full fledged jem far as I’m aware.

Only let down was the pickups hence the change to the more vintage sounding ones I’ve installed, I never really play anything that chugs, think Billy Gibbons, Brian may hell even ace frehley and I’d say that’s what I like to hear, something that growls but maintains clarity, also Eddie van halen of course, the man who convinced me to begin this endless endeavor :joy:.

#29

Mine was this cruddy silver that I had to research to verify that is WAS an official Ibanez finish. It looked like it was painted on with a spray can. But the neck was bound and it had the Edge Pro on it plus a Team JCraft plush case. I found someone to that made custom pic guards for the 1570 on eBay and then I was able to take pickup height seriously with it.
I got it early in my endorsement years with Dimarzio and I think they were sending me humbuckers for a couple months to get a set I liked. I tried them all and gravitated on a PAF pro in the bridge and a PAF Joe in the neck. I put a Heavy Blues II in the middle.

The PAF Joe and Mo Joe differ inthat the PAF Joe is voiced to have this midrange honk (kinda like a constant formant vowel filter) - incase you were wondering.

These days I use 36th Anniversary PAFs for live and studio work and having these put on a wicked Michael Kelly HEX shredtastic guitar I picked up. The 36s have the tone, clean up great, take pedals great, and heavy up nice. For shreddy work I like them as the bite and response is great. I never used the neck version before but can’t wait to try it.
My normal shreadly-force guitar is a totally customized Fender Strat with a 36th Anniversary PAF in the bridge, Area 61 in the mid (I think) and my working sweep-a-matic pizzicato machine pickup in the neck: th Heavy Blues II. That pickup in particular is great for sweepy and shreddy work. But like anything else everyone has their secret sauce recipe for guitars.

I have been trying to get the guy I traded my 1570 for a bass to sell or trade it back lol. I have been trying for over 4 years now and I am thinking he will never get rid of it.

The Michael Kelly HEX XLT is darn close and every bit the detail and quality of the Fugigen RGs I owned over the years. A nice sleeper shredtastic machine!

1 Like
#30

My Exact Michael Kelly:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUtc-w65LqU

#31

hey Blue, man like in the 80s I didn’t like the kind of pop that was coming out, but going by todays standards I’d hug them all for fear of all the DJ and EDM that’s out today. Same with speakers, even the “not so” speakers back then are pure gold today. We’ve really devolved as to fidelity and sound quality in this micro shrunk devices days. DJs and EDM makes me want to to yell on planes :smiley:

The only way to know what you’re missing is to go out and try a proper rig. There is a euphoric feeling with it all sits right. But I digress, the best thing is to first make the most of what you got already. Gear has a way of finding you when you’re ready.

Cheers :slight_smile: