I've got cash...

Creamy Goodness

hey,

i've finally come about some cash and i am looking to beef up my gear.

at the moment my gear is a miserable

2003 gibson les paul classic
15w peavey rage 158
2004 crafter cutaway electro/acoustic guitar

now the gibson is obiviously the best item in my rig, but i'm looking to beef up the other two areas (amp and acoustic).

i have 1700 euros to spend and i'm willing to blow it all on the two items (although saving some pennys will be allowed).


for the amp, i was looking at a peavey classic 50, they sound sweet and look the business.

i'm not entirely up on what makes a good amp at all that's where i'm hoping you guys can come in.

i play guitar just at home, don't gig or anything like that but i would like to have a good amp if i even branch out towards giging (you know kind of like future proofing).

i mostly play soft rock which would be like weezer, jimmy eat world, biffy clyro, idlewild and so forth.


now for the acoustic side of things, the crafter i have at the moment is not my scene, it was a impluse buy i made last year when i was yearning for an acoustic and rushed into buying it. It's tone is shallow due to it's thiness and that plasticky shell body.

i'm looking now for a full size full wood body guitar, preferably with a cutaway for ease of use of the higher frets.

i've honestly no clue what to go for with some many makes out there like martin, taylor, takamine, tanglewood and so on.

also i want to play the acoustic before i buy it (common enough) as it's not like electrics bought off the net.

so guys can you help me out?

Karl Hungus

Dare I suggest the ENGL Thunder 50? Should be more than enough juice for playing live when you'd need to.

No idea about the acoustic though, sorry.

Creamy Goodness

Karl Hungus wrote:

Dare I suggest the ENGL Thunder 50? Should be more than enough juice for playing live when you'd need to.

No idea about the acoustic though, sorry.

not too sure on that amp i would have to test it out before buying it.

Zapp Brannigan

Try the acoustics in Musician Inc. They have some nice Takamines in there.

Karl Hungus

They usually have a few ENGLs in Instrumental in Dublin if you're ever heading up that way. They were very helpfull when I wanted to try out the Fireball before.

Creamy Goodness

i always get confused about the names of the shops in town.
they all in one area kind of,

is musican inc the one beside the arcade?

instrumental that's the one on the quay's right? they were right assholes to me once, therefore lost the business.

Karl Hungus

You still have the option of trying the amp there and buying it elsewhere.

Creamy Goodness

yeh, true didn't think of it that way, i'll go in there tomorrow and see what it's like.

Giblet

The ENGL is class, I have one myself. And damn loud it is too. You won't get the Marshall high gain distortion on it, but man is it good for punching through. It's pretty sweet for playing lead as no notes are hidden when you turn up the gain. The clean is pretty good.

You can get a nice AC-DC sound from the amp.

fish-head

I think Musician have a Classic 30 second hand, you might wanna look at that..

Ravelleman

Waltons also have a Classic 30.

Kenny_D

I got a classic 50 on ebay for 475. It's an absolute sweet amp and the Les Paul will sing through it. It's just shy of a grand new so if you can pick one up around 500 in good nick you'll be doing well

As for acoustic..... you can get some really great high end guitars on ebay for really good prices. I have my eye on a few for my next purchase. Have a look at Taylor, Larrivee, Breedlove etc

Check out the reviews on harmony central for them. Also keep an eye on chris' guitars. He has a nice Takamine in there now around your budget. A ltd 2004 model I think

Kenny_D

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Peavey-Classic-50-2X12-Tube-Tweed-Combo-w-FS_W0QQitemZ7349240013QQcategoryZ38076QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even with import fees this will work out a great price for a classic 50

Creamy Goodness

will it work over here? or will it be too much hassle? it also looks fairly beat up

fitz

Don't buy a Takamine!
Check out Simon and Patrick, Taylor(both in MusicMaker), Stanford (Perfect Pitch/Waltons) and Avalon(Perfect Pitch/Musician Inc.).
Then check out the prices online...

niallb

If you're in Musicmaker, play at least one Washburn.
A different sound, but if you like it, you'll love it.

NiallB

Kenny_D

http://www.chrisguitars.com/acoustics.html

Number 34 on the list

fitz

Christ that's cheap!

Kenny_D

Tell me bout it. If I had the money I'd be gettin it for myself. But just after shelling out 2grand on new electric gear so it might be pushing it. Hopefully Cremo knows a bargain when he sees it because I'm half tempted to just get another loan

DiamondJQuimby

Not too sure about amps.

But I bought this beauty about ten years ago and it keeps getting beter with age.

I have played a few Takamines and they are ok but this is my pride and joy.

Seagull Guitars

I think godin own them now and Sorry I have no idea how much they go for.

I paid about £750 for this..

Kenny_D

http://www.chrisguitars.com/

Check out the Alvarez Yairi listed at the top. The higher end yairi are great guitars. Another good bargain for the price Chris is looking for

Creamy Goodness

fish-head wrote:

I think Musician have a Classic 30 second hand, you might wanna look at that..

saw that today, but i didn't ask about it because it had a tag saying "done" on it, i assumed it was sold.

i've found someone who's selling one of these which i think i'm going to go for, he wants 500 (1 1/2 years old) for it and it's in perfect condition and sounds heavenly.

i also couldn't get over to instrumental as i was running a tad late and they were closed by the time i got over there

fish-head

It might be sold but I think Musician generally give all their new second hand gear in a good look over, so maybe it's just been checked out and okayed.