Advice on guitar and amp

Messiah-19

Hey!

Basically I've been learning guitar now for the past year on acoustic, and have decided to get an electric! I'm sure ye guys probably have more knowledge than I do so, could you just give me your thoughts on the things I'm looking at...

Guitar http://www.thomann.de/ie/epiphone_sg400_ch.htm

Amp http://www.thomann.de/ie/marshall_mg30dfx.htm or http://www.thomann.de/ie/marshall_mg15_cdr_egitarrencombo.htm

These would be just for home use, but still the 70 ish extra for a better one seems good.

AC/DC are my favourite band, so I'd be playing alot of that but Id also play Guns N' Roses, Thin Lizzy, Aerosmith, metallica etc....Hard rock mostly... cheers in advance!!!:)

DeadSkin

Yamaha Pacifica & Microcube are the buzz words round these parts.

Trust me, you can't go wrong with a microcube.

Get your butt to a shop and try 'em out .

spoonbadger

Messiah-19 wrote: »

Hey!

Basically I've been learning guitar now for the past year on acoustic, and have decided to get an electric! I'm sure ye guys probably have more knowledge than I do so, could you just give me your thoughts on the things I'm looking at...

Guitar http://www.thomann.de/ie/epiphone_sg400_ch.htm

Amp http://www.thomann.de/ie/marshall_mg30dfx.htm or http://www.thomann.de/ie/marshall_mg15_cdr_egitarrencombo.htm

These would be just for home use, but still the 70 ish extra for a better one seems good.

AC/DC are my favourite band, so I'd be playing alot of that but Id also play Guns N' Roses, Thin Lizzy, Aerosmith, metallica etc....Hard rock mostly... cheers in advance!!!:)

My first piece of advice is to NOT buy a marshall MG. They're just about the worst amp on the market. In the same price range, you should be looking at something like a line6 or a roland cube. Much better amps!.

And there's nothing wrong with that guitar for the price. But my advice would be to up your budget just a little bit. Bare in mind that you've been playing for a year, so you're probably dont intend to give it up any time soon . Think of your first guitar as an investment. The more you spend on it, the more you'll love it. The less you spend on it, the sooner you'll be thinking to yourself "huh, i wish i'd spent a little bit more and got something a little better". If you buy a solid guitar now, it'll last you a lifetime. If you dont, you'll like it for a year, then you'll spend months wishing it was a little bit more upmarket. Eventually you'll sell it and buy a guitar you wish you had from the start.

Trust me on this, it's the curse of guitar gear .

pug_

I agree with the comments on the Marshall MG's. I was the unfortunate owner of an MG15CDR at one time, and it really wasn't up to much at all. The cleans were very good I have to say, but it's when you try to run some effects through it that it falls on it's face, even the overdrive on the amp it's self was atrocious any kind of music was lost with just the slightest bit of distortion and it was pretty much just noise coming out of it.

I replaced it with a microcube for home use and haven't looked back since.

As for the guitar It might be worth your while having a look on adverts.ie, there are generally some seriously nice guitars up there most of the time, and you would almost certainly get a lot more guitar for your money than buying new.

Fingers Mcginty

DeadSkin wrote: »

Yamaha Pacifica & Microcube are the buzz words round these parts.

Trust me, you can't go wrong with a microcube.

Get your butt to a shop and try 'em out .

ditto

Eoin Madsen

DeadSkin wrote: »

Yamaha Pacifica & Microcube

It's sound advice (pun intended :pac:).

spoonbadger wrote: »

My first piece of advice is to NOT buy a marshall MG. They're just about the worst amp on the market. In the same price range, you should be looking at something like a line6 or a roland cube. Much better amps!

+1 MG is a very... disappointing... amp.

ball ox

If you want an SG get the epiphone but I'd have to put in another +1 for the microcube.

Squirrel

The Epiphone would be a grand guitar, but a definite +1 for not getting the MG. I've only heard good things about the MicroCube, maybe another one to look out for is the Vox Valvetronix, I have theslightly older model and it suits fine for home use

http://www.thomann.de/ie/vox_vt30.htm

Just one to think about

Messiah-19

Thanks for the responses...From what I've read the guitar seems good so I'm set on that!!! I'm guessing the MG amps aren't great so...even though I thought Marshall are a great brand for amps..maybe the more expensive ones...??

Could anyone recommend an amp to get along with the SG..preferably the 30 watt size like the marshall above for about 100-200 euro??

cheers

iHeartRyanAdams

don't get an epiphone! :O
for the same money u could get a telecaster!
a friend of mine plays his gibson sg with an ashtown..sounds lovely!
i dunno what kind of money ya'd need for one though!

padraig_f

Another amp to consider in that range is the Fender SuperChamp XD. I got one a few months ago and I love it. It has a number of voices & effects but mainly I use it on the great clean tone with a bit of reverb.

If you can't demo them yourself, check out youtube for demos of the amps your considering, they can help give you an idea.

pug_

I don't know... The guitar is not something I'm familiar with, but I'm not a big fan of SG's so even though I'm tempted to try and convince you not to do it it could just be my own personal prejudice.

Anyway for 30watt amps in that budget for the sound you're looking to get you could do a lot worse than the vox vt 30, though it'd be right at the top end of your budget.

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/78308
demo

I really like the Line6 Spider III 30. It might be a little too heavy for you depending on whether you might want to go into the more metal side of things but it might be worth considering.

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/line6-spider-3/71376
review

Another option in that budget might be something like the Orange Crush 30R. This is kind of the opposite end of the spectrum to the Line6 though in that it might not be heavy enough for you, but it's still a nice little amp.

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/crush-30r/67688
review
Here's another pretty crap review, but they play ACDC so might give you an idea what it would sound like through it..
review

Seriously though If you're going to spend that much money on an amp I'd consider upping the budget on the guitar. For the type of music you're looking to play not many people go down the SG route, I read an interview once with Angus Young and even he admitted that the reason he plays an SG is nothing to do with the sound but is because they're lighter than the LP making it easier for him to jump around the stage.

If you'd consider an alternative and you really want to go down the Gibson/Epiphone route then you could do worse than the Epiphone Les Paul Custom. I used to own one of these, and it really is a nice little guitar. I'm an Ibanez man myself at the moment, but that's not everyone's cup of tea either

I know I said I'd try not to turn you off the SG, but I just couldn't help myself if possible at least try before you buy and don't be afraid to spend a good bit of time messing around if you do get to a shop it's well worth it.

Messiah-19

Thanks for the replies. Definitely staying clear of the Marshall MG's...Noticed a few amps and I would like your opinion...

http://www.thomann.de/ie/line6_spider_iii_15.htm
http://www.thomann.de/ie/line6_spider_iii_30.htm

http://www.thomann.de/ie/roland_cube15x.htm
http://www.thomann.de/ie/roland_cube_20x.htm

As I said, the amp would be predominantly be used for home use..Would the 15 watt cater for that need, or would the larger models be better??

How are the above amps for hard rock.....AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Thin Lizzy etc..and a bit of metal.....cheers!!!!!!!!!!!

Or any others opinions would be great!!:D:D

adox

The micro cube is great and would give you a nice AC/DC sound. The only thing is, it is very small. Now it definitely punches above its weight. Volume wise, its unbelievably loud considering its size, but it does lack in the low end department,which might become an issue.

Maybe go for one of the bigger Cubes if you have the cash. Try them out somewhere and see what you think yourself.

rcaz

15 Watts would be PLENTY for home use. Don't think so much about the power of the amp, any amp made would be loud enough for bedroom practise.

Howsabout those Blackstar amps? http://www.thomann.de/ie/blackstar_ht5_combo.htm

There are loads of little tube amps you could get - for the ACDC stuff, some proper valve overdrive would be what you're looking for, amirite?

http://www.thomann.de/ie/blackheart_little_giant_bh5h.htm
http://www.thomann.de/ie/epiphone_valve_junior_head.htm
http://www.thomann.de/ie/harley_benton_ga5h.htm

http://www.thomann.de/ie/harley_benton_ga5h_bundle_1.htm

(You'll need so sub some extra money for a speaker cabinet to these amps, btw, but they're worth considering.)
(The Epiphone Valve Junior and the Harley Benton are almost completely one-and-the-same, the older models used to be built on the exact same circuit boards.)

CianRyan

The cubes aren't great for metal.
For that you'd want the spidder III, not sure what they are like for the rest though.
People go mad for the Cube amps, I'm really not into them to much though. Have one, rarely use it.

spoonbadger

Messiah-19 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses...From what I've read the guitar seems good so I'm set on that!!! I'm guessing the MG amps aren't great so...even though I thought Marshall are a great brand for amps..maybe the more expensive ones...??

Could anyone recommend an amp to get along with the SG..preferably the 30 watt size like the marshall above for about 100-200 euro??

cheers

Recently we've had 2 very similiar debates about marshall MGs and how the "Marshall" badge counts for fook-all :pac::D.

In short yes, the pricey marshall models are very good (and their old models are incredible!), but also over-priced. But dont worry about that for now .

iHeartRyanAdams wrote: »

don't get an epiphone! :O
for the same money u could get a telecaster!
a friend of mine plays his gibson sg with an ashtown..sounds lovely!
i dunno what kind of money ya'd need for one though!

Emmmm.....

Firstly, Epiphone SGs sound nothing like telecasters.
Secondly, ashtowns are not the same as line6s/cubes
Thirdly, Gibson SGs also sound nothing like telecasters.
And lastly, that kind of a setup would cost upwards of 1,500€.

CianRyan wrote: »

The cubes aren't great for metal.
For that you'd want the spidder III, not sure what they are like for the rest though.
People go mad for the Cube amps, I'm really not into them to much though. Have one, rarely use it.

Brother has a cube. It's solid for what it is, and definitely better than a lot of the competitors out there .

That's a fairly good list OP. You should also check out the vox valvetronix series as has already been mentioned. Same price range, very good amps!. And more versatile than the spiders/cubes.

Messiah-19

Right finally decided on the SG and the roland cube 20x...Ordering from thomann. Maybe a stupid question, but does a cable come with the guitar or amp to connect them together or do they have to be bought separately...and if so any recommendations?

rcaz

There's an incredible amount of rubbish that goes in the advertisement for guitar cables. Stuff like gold-plated jacks, special wires and all, which shouldn't be believed. I think what they do is take principles which have been proven to work on speaker cables and hi-fi gear and use it to flog guitar cables. (Edit for clarity; because the signal running in speaker cables and instrument cables are at different strengths, and other differences, the optimum specifications are very different between the two, almost opposites. If you're interested, there are a ton of articles about this kinda stuff on the net.)

I used to be a sucker for all the crap you'd read on a Planet Waves cable package, until I realised that the 'unbreakable' cables break just like any other cables.

Get the cable that you can afford, and think is at a reasonable price. Don't get the cheapest cable available, but don't feel like you're missing out by not getting the most expensive one. 90% of your tone is in your fingers.

Eoin Madsen

A cable may come with the amp or guitar, but freebies are usually pretty low grade. Get one of the Cordial instrument cables on Thomann - neutrik connectors, good cable, well soldered and easily repaired. Have a think about the length you need; having too much cable is as annoying as having too litte imo.

rgjmce

When it comes to an amp, i suggest you judge for yourself and be very sure what kind of sound you are looking for before you spend loads of money on one

Tomas911

El Pr0n wrote: »

I used to be a sucker for all the crap you'd read on a Planet Waves cable package, until I realised that the 'unbreakable' cables break just like any other cables.

Don't the Planet waves have a lifetime guarentee? I got a replacement for one that stopped working before.