Would you take a loan to buy a rig?

feylya

I got to thinking this evening about buying gear and my (current) ideal set up and how much it would cost. From what I can see, €3000 would get me a great set up but to save €3000 would take a while so why not get a loan and pay back €60ish a week for a year?

In case anyone wants to know what my rig would be:
Marshall JMP-1
TC Electronics G-Major
Rocktron Velocity 100 Power Amp (2x55W)
Samsung Power Conditioner
SKB 6 Unit Rack Case
Behringer FCB1010
Behringer 4x12
Cow Bell
Random Midi, speaker and patch leads

All that would cost €2100 leaving €900 plus whatever I sell my current rig for to spend on a guitar. Nice, no?

Karl Hungus

I would. Although I do suggest going to the Credit Union. They have been kind to me, and you probably wouldn't have to pay that much per week.

feylya

Well, if I wanted to pay it off in a year, it'd be €60 a week anyway...

bonzai bob

Ah the age old loan. Definitely get to the credit union anyway.

I'm a real impatient bastard and i find it impossible to 'save up' to get what i want. I saw a guitar in a shop once(a maverick:D). I went home and imediately begged my ma for the money (i was quite young) but she gave it to me and i got the guitar the next day.

The answer though is definitely yes!

The only reason i haven't already gotten a loan this year to pay for my new rig is because i'm still paying off a 4000 loan from last year to pay for car+insurance:( it really is a pain. And at the moment i'm broke because this very week i'm renewing my car insurance and paying a deposit and months rent up front on a permanent rehearsal space. Overdrafts are becoming my friend lately:(

So yes, get a loan. ONLY from the Credit Union. Less pressure from a credit union. A bank will want a certain amount of money every month, that can be a little stressful when there are bills to pay. Not worth it.

My advice. Don't get a Credit card. Ever.

My new rig by the by.

Either Fender reverb reissue or Vox AC30 or ENGL Powerball.

One or two new pedals incl. Line 6 DL4, Boss GE7.

A nice new shiny pedal board/case

Flight case for whatever amp.

That's all i need.

feylya

TBH, this whole thing is just a "what if" thing. I'm not gonna do it cos the chances are incredibly high that I won't be working for another year so I'd have no way to pay back the loan. Although, a guy I used to live with got a loan, spent half of it on a new machine and the other half on living during college. Nice way to do it...

bonzai bob

Also, even if you did have a job. If you're not gonna put a rig to good use then it's not worth it imo.

The only reason i still have an MG is because i never needed anything better, i just couldn't justify spending €1000 - €1500 on an amp because i didn't need it. I need it now because i'll hopefully be gigging withing a couple of months. But if the band fell apart tomoro, i wouldn't bother.

feylya

That's one thing I often say about spending €1000+ on a guitar and at the moment I am a bedroom player which is why I'm usually suggest 2x12" cabs. But that said, if I stumble upon a band the day after I get that rig, I have an incredible rig to use. And there is nothing worse than plugging into your amp and getting a tone you're not happy with. I reckon that rig up there is pretty damn versitile.

bonzai bob

yeah i know what you mean. In Loop i used a Laney half stack for rehearsals, sounds SWEET! I'm not looking forward to using an MG in our new place. It just won't sound as good which could have an effect on how a song turns out.

feylya

Never liked MG's anyway. There's better amps for the price

I have to say, the thought of having that set up is tempting me...

bonzai bob

I think it would temp anyone. This is one of the reasons why i want to build my own guitar;

A) It'll be customized for me

I can make it how i want, eg, les paul, PRS, ibanez, fender style for half the price.

feylya

No. No you can't. Building your own guitar to the exact same specs and quality as a bigger company is nearly impossible, depending on how much you value your own time.As I said, your first guitar won't be near Squire standards.

bonzai bob

first no. But practise makes perfect:D

feylya

A lot of practice.

But back to the topic..

jcoote

i wouldn't get a loan to buy a full rig no but i did just get one for a new car and added on about 1100 to get the flextone and the gmajor (sold my old gear for about 700 so not really 1100) and i'm planning on puttin a few quid from it to buy a strat...got a loan to buy a bass and amp before...and spent a whole credit card on gear before..ah the good days ...4x12 eh fey?????

feylya

Cheaper than a 2x12...


And it comes with casters

jcoote

casters schmasters...why wouldn't u go for that instead of a 2x12 now then

feylya

A 4x12 is just too big. Plus they're hell to move around the place. Let's face it, if you want to go for a jam some where, you aren't going to be able to lob a 4x12 into a car as easily as you could with a 2x12...

jcoote

get both (if u were gettin a loan)...or just get a 6x12 and u can start your cab creation skills rollin

feylya

No room for both and really no need. I just can't see the need for a 4x12 in this country. If your amp is miced properly and you have enough stage volume, a 4x12 is nearly worthless. If my 2x12 Fender can drown out a drum kit, that's more than enough air moving.

jcoote

i struggled to get an sg with 81/85s and a marshall 4x12 100 watt head and a metal one over baggio's drum kit

feylya

Mids...

jcoote

i had indeed

feylya

Hmmm. Were you trying to play the guitar while you trying to hear

Cymbals will over power a guitar but you should be able to at least partially drown out the toms and bass drum. And it's your head that provide wattage, not the cab...

jcoote

i know i said it was the head!!!! yeah whatever way it was the bass drum would overpower the guitar an odd time

feylya

Sorry, I've been up all night drinking. I mean studying

Bloody drummers.

Still, it'd be a nice rig to have.

jcoote

yes it would it'd be fairly close to anyones ideal rig i reckon

Ancient1

Well, i dont know what half of those yokes you'd like to have do, but if i didnt have any other outstanding loans etc, i'd go for it.

Although i think that you might get a better deal with a bank now than with a credit union - depends on your bank. Ask around for repayment details.

JMArr

jcoote wrote:

i know i said it was the head!!!! yeah whatever way it was the bass drum would overpower the guitar an odd time

Yeah I'm finding that as well johnny ...I really have to crank the amp to hear myself over baggios bass drum ! same with mick the lead guitarist but then again he usually cranks it to the max anyway

Whats the deal with the 'mids' anyway ..I've read that "its all about the mids" in various guitar mags but I always turn the mid way down to get a good tone out of my amp..! my usual settings are bass 4 mid 2 treble 8 ??
I find the mags tone guides usually have the mids cut as well thats where I got the idea....

Feyla I would say on the loan question go for it ...looks like a nice rig what guitar tho? on the other side of the coin you may appreciate more if you have to scrimp and save for it !!

jcoote

your amp works through frequencies and the mid is the middle frequencies..u have heard what it does by adjusting it but what effect it normally gives is it makes the instrument stand out more in a mix..in a recording situation mids would make it feel more like your actually there while listenin to the cd...

thats a good point too saving makes it more excitin and easier to appriciate

feylya

Guitar wise, it'd be a LTD M-100 with EMG's and an Ibanez SZ520 but if I went for three grand and flogged my current amp and effects, this could be added.

As for mids, the treble and bass frequencies are mainly occupied by the bass guitar and bass drum and cymbals. The only frequencies left for the guitars are the mids. I've a guide to demonstrating how mids work (it basically involves playing along with a cd with mids up then with mids down...) but I dunno where exactly it is.

jcoote

eclipse savage machine!!!

feylya

Yup

JMArr

Sweet guitar , like the burst on it...ok so that makes sense what ye're saying about the mids but do you have any sample amp settings ? maybe its different playing at home without drums, bass etc ...

jcoote

what setting knobs are on your amp niallo...its totally different playin at home because u are only competnig with yourself and if like me you play in the attic the noise of the water tank

JMArr

pretty much the standard bass middle treble setup

http://www.marshallamps.com/images/products/dsl/dsl401frontpanel.html

jcoote

try maybe bass:11 o clock mid : 2 o clock treb:1 o clock for a clean sound

or maybe 10, 11 ,12 and presence at 11 for a nice rhythm sound

these are just opinions so nobody is wrong here

JMArr

cheers man I'll give those settings a try tonite...I guess its can be down to the type of amp as well and personal preference .

jcoote

indeed it can some amps are made for clean for example lots of fender amps ave nice clean channels an others such as engl are high gain geared