Bring out that Electric sound.

Woodsocks

Howya, I'm a playing guitar for 5 months and have a Epi Sheraton II & a Roland Cube 20xl. I am looking for advice from people with experience on what would be best to connect between this guitar & amp.
I feel the guitar has loads of potential and i also know that the amp would only be considered an ok (if even that) pratice amp by most experienced players but this is what i've got to work with until i get the basics down and get more playing time in.
I am going to be playing 60's/70's rock & some blues music. What would be a good set up, a pedal ( if so, which one? ) or is there an 'all in one effects unit kind of thing' that would bring out the 'electric sound' of the guitar ?
Also, what tube amp (50 watt max, as i will only be playing at home) would suit this guitar & sound i'm after ? (but thats a long time away as i'm as poor as a church mouse)
Many thanks for any answers & advice in advance.

martinedwards

this early in your playing career, I'll give the same advice I always give.

get a MultiFX pedal (or rack unit) and play around with the settings and learn what the individual effects sound like.

later, when you have a few pennies you can decide where you want to spend.

a Zoom 505 will cost under 20 on ebay.

rcaz

Woodsocks wrote: »

Also, what tube amp (50 watt max, as i will only be playing at home) would suit this guitar & sound i'm after ? (but thats a long time away as i'm as poor as a church mouse)

The watt rating of a tube amp compared to a solid state amp has a completely different meaning. A 50 watt all-valvestate amp would tear your ears out up full. The guitar player in my amp plays a 40 watt Fender Deluxe (don't know the exact model, but it's pastel blue :pac: ) and we NEVER go past 30-40% on the volume control. That's with another guitar (through a Vox AC15), a bass (Ampeg something-or-other, 4x10 cab), and drum machines and synthesisers playing through a PA (at a volume comparable to an acoustic drum kit). Even then the 40 watt amp is usually too loud.

As for effect pedals, unless you've got a really good idea of what kind of sounds you'd like to try, a multi-effect might be the way to go, to get a feel for different kinds of effects and then different ways of approaching those effects. But then if you do a lot of reading and listening, you might be able to figure out which individual pedals are best for you and how to use them. Definitely go second hand with whatever gear you're buying.

Having said that, if you have a decently-fast computer, think about getting some music software (REAPER, Ableton Live, Logic, Audacity, if you're running OSX you'll already have Garageband installed) and go around looking for free VST effects online and try them out. Something like a minijack cable with a 1/4" adapter into the 'mic' input would be fine for playing around (won't sound great, but it'll be perfectly servicable). That's a really good way of figuring out what effects you like to use. Then if there are a few computer-specific effects you like a lot, get an audio interface to improve the signal quality on the in- and outputs and just use your laptop as an effects processor.

I've started doing that a lot lately and it's practically limitless. If you're interested in programming your own effects you could even use something like Pure Data, Max/MSP, SuperCollider, CSound or something similar to build your own effects chains from scratch, to your own specifications. Endless fun and endless possibilities, and a 100% original tone.

Woodsocks

Thanks for answers & advise thus far.

I spent the past few hours looking at the Boss ME 70 unit on-line. I think this would suit my needs fully and i seen a few web pages with some great patches for the songs & sound i'm after.

Its around the 300 euro mark on Thomaans and so i'm going to squirrel away the yoyo's between now & Jan sales.

I think like everything else in life ; you get what you pay for.

Thanks for advise about tube amps, i don't need or want anything too loud at all, its just the quality sound i'm after.

rcaz

Woodsocks wrote: »

Thanks for advise about tube amps, i don't need or want anything too loud at all, its just the quality sound i'm after.

That's another thing to think about, a lower powered amp will be able to get into proper tube overdrive territory at lower volumes. A powerful tube able will need to be up way loud to get that real power amp distortion. But if you want super super clean tube tones, you'll want a powerful amp. Something like a Fender Twin Reverb (85 watts, all valvestate) will never distort at any kind of reasonable volume, so they're really good for using with manky fuzz pedals, all the distortion coming from the pedals. But then a lower wattage amp just needs a little push from a signal booster or light overdrive pedal to get ****ed up on its own tubes.

Woodsocks

I plan to start the saving for a new amp in the new year. I figure that will take the best part of a year and by that stage i hope to be in a better position (player & knowledge wise) to make a decision on what i'm after, but first off the bat for me is this Boss ME-70.

Fingers Mcginty

Woodsocks wrote: »

I am looking for advice from people with experience on what would be best to connect between this guitar & amp.

A lead?