Upgrade guitar amp/effects

sh1tin-a-brick

Sorry if there's already a thread like this, I couldnt find any..!

I'm looking for good honest advice about upgrading guitar amp/buying pedal etc. I posted something similar on ultimateguitar but no replies, they're not as nice as everyone on here

I started electric guitar a year ago, in this time I've learnt many basic songs, some Muse, Stairway to Heaven (including the solo, it's not perfect though), currently learning Newton Faulker and Bohemian Rhapsody (I play the piano part on guitar). I'm not telling you all this to brag but so that you know the level I'm at.

The amp I have is very basic - Yamaha GA15, 19W. It's kinda buzzy and has very few settings. I was wondering if I would be at the right level to upgrade to something bigger w/ a few effects built in, like a marshall DFX or Roland cube.

It's just that I dont want to be one of these eejits who is not that good at guitar but spends a fortune on gear. Plus I'm short on cash so I would prefer not to splash out on something I don't really need.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Ravelleman

Get a Microcube or something. They're inexpensive, sound pretty good and are so much better than the Marshall DFX amps. Just don't get a DFX, please.

A bigger amp doesn't necessarily equate the a better amp. If you're planning on gigging in the near future, a bigger amp would obviously have it's advantages. If not, you should spend your shekels on better tone and better features, albeit with a smaller wattage and speaker.

It's never too early to get yourself an upgrade.

Sergio

Sounds to me that your quite advanced for somebody only playing the guitar for a year or so which means you are serious about it.
My advice is to invest in a good amp and in time get yourself a decent guitar too (assuming you dont have one already).
Its all about the guitar and the amp for me and fx are to enhance or add flavour to your already good tone but not to change the tone itself.
Id recomend a blackstar combo HT5 as its a lovely little amp with great tone and an fx loop.It is also a valve amp which would give you alovely warm tone.
You can buy pedal to add to this overtime.

sh1tin-a-brick

Cheers for the replies... well to be totally honest I did do a bit of acoustic in the past :rolleyes: so i had some basics before I started electric a year ago!

Really DFXs arent good? Just shows how much I know!! I just sort of assumed that marshall would be ok, but I know solid state arent that good.

I'm pretty happy with the guitar, its only a Squire but I really like it. My teacher reckons it's got a lovely tone (something that I dont know too much about yet). http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/electric_guitars/squier/satin_trans_fat_stratocaster_hh/index.html

I like the idea that it's never too early for an upgrade!! I can't see myself gigging too much, bar a talent show in a few weeks :eek: borrowing an amp for that though. A microcube sounds pretty good, cos it would be nice to play around with a few effects so i see what they're like.

If I had the money I would go all out on a valve amp and get all sorts of pedals... but that just isnt an option!

Thanks for the advice lads/ladettes...

RC88

i'd advise

amp (cheapest first)

http://www.thomann.de/ie/vox_vt20.htm

http://www.thomann.de/ie/roland_cube_40xl.htm

http://www.thomann.de/ie/marshall_mg101fx.htm

all are a decent choice for practise and some giging, and are good price range


guitar
(humbucker)
vintage vs6 or v100(both are as good as epiphone copies and are cheaper to boot)
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/electric_guitars/vintage/vs6/index.html

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/electric_guitars/vintage/v100/index.html

(singlecoil)
squier classic vibe tele or deluxe strat

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/electric_guitars/squier/classic_vibe_telecaster_50s/index.html

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/electric_guitars/squier/deluxe_stratocaster_fmt/index.html


depending where you shop, total could be between 550-800

Ravelleman

sh1tin-a-brick wrote: »

Really DFXs arent good? Just shows how much I know!! I just sort of assumed that marshall would be ok, but I know solid state arent that good.

It's not the fact that it's a solid state amp that makes it bad - there are lots of great SS amps out there, in fact - it's just the fact that it's a bad amp that makes it bad.

Obviously, it works for Marshall to run a line like the DFX series but they're about a far as you can get from the classic Marshall stuff that most young guitarists aspire to.

Squidgy Black

DFX's are generally just a horrible series of amps. They always end up crapping out, they sound horrific, and they're overpriced. You're basically paying for the marshall badge.

Try and find a Peavey Bandit, they can be had for around 100 quid used, it was possibly one of the best amps I ever had, well at least the best solidstate.

The only problem is it weighs a tonne, but still an amazing amp.

Dublin Guitar

Those new Vox VT+ are great amps, the 80 watt with 12 inch speaker is excellent.

sh1tin-a-brick

Really helpful stuff here! Just compared the three amps posted by RC88 on Thomann's wee sound sample thing. Have to say I like the sound of the Vox the best. It's the smallest but it's the cheapest too... definitely something I'll consider!

I've actually heard of the Peavey Bandit, haven't seen any second hand though. As for it being heavy, that could actually be a problem, me being a girl (yes, shock horror) with very little upper-body strength

sh1tin-a-brick

Dublin Guitar wrote: »

Those new Vox VT+ are great amps, the 80 watt with 12 inch speaker is excellent.

That would be nice... but expensive!

rgjmce

I personally think the mg dfx are great for what you get with them and if your looking for the "marshall" they get part way their but I owned one and I think your better off if you can getting something like a small blackstar tube amp and buying effects seperately. It will cost more but will sound far better and sure if you want to upgrade to a larger amp for playing gigs, you can sell it and probably get more money back then you would with mg or any other solid state effects amps.

68 lost souls

If you are considering the peavey bandit you may aswell look at the peavey vypyr which is the bantid with a nice fancy digital preamp, gor for at least the 30W, the 75W would be similar in sound levels to the Vox 80. The amp has a USB out so you can use it connected straight to a computer as an audio interface for recording, it has to sets of effects, the stompboxes are before the preamp and model some popular effects pedals and then the rack based effects are in the effects loop.

In time you can also stick on a sanperra 2 footswitch which gives you total control of the amp and a bucket load of presets, the sound is very good and you get a good mix of sounds. Its lighter than the vox as its an open back.

http://www.xmusic.ie/Peavey-Vypyr75-p-18496.html

Blackhorse Slim

If you're not planning on gigging any time soon, but want an amp that sounds good, the microcube or a small cube amp (cube 30?) would be a good bet.

They sound great at low volume, have some effects to play with, and aren't expensive. Which means you can start saving staright away for that great amp and effects that you'll need when you're ready to gig! The microcube in particular is something that you'll always keep as a practice amp, even when you finally get that 100watt Marshall valve amp (or whatever ).