Guitars

[Trainee Warrior]

Well I already got the pick ups installed now and they sound pretty amazing, but now my amp is letting me down hence me looking at that Class 5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh1gckzcZSg

Thats the amp in action and I have the Les Paul and the one being demoed only has standard pick ups.

What you think of the amp? Im gonna be getting it soon as my Nan and Grandad have kindly lent me money towards it.

Oh, and theres no real chance of me getting a cab and stack, not in my flat anyways!!

[BubbaHeat]

Originally Posted by Trainee Warrior

Can anyone have a look at this and tell me what it all means please?

Ive not got much of a clue about mods or what hes on about here....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RAT-HOTROD...item1c25700122

Im guessing that its the class 5 that Bubba mentioned just thats hes done some stuff to it.

The master volume Mod is sweet. Otherwise you don't have as much control over volume as you would probably like.

He mentions the shop that did the mods. Talk to them and find out what kid of warranty they offer.

I didn't realize there was no master volume on the amp. That could be a pain in the ass.

Sounds sweet though.

[Trainee Warrior]

Yeah Im a bit worried about the volume thing to be honest but its got a low power mode too which is apparently pretty decent.

Is there any other amps worth looking at or is this pretty much the best for the price range?

I love the tone its got though...sounds amazing but only has 1 channel that needs to be cranked unless I get a pedal.

[BubbaHeat]

These are also great choices in your price range>
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HT5R/

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/V22combo/

The key is to go play them.
Don't trust internet reviews and youtube players. Go and buy what talks to you.

[Wilbury]

Anyone have experience with these guitars? http://www.italiaguitars.com/new/guitar/mon_01.html

Not necessarily that specific model, but any of them? I kinda want to give them at try.

[BubbaHeat]

The Torino looks cool. I've never played one. For all gear questions I search here:

www.thegearpage.net

[Kodiak]

I am both skeptical and intrigued by their "Acousti-glass" top. The materials are surprisingly important to the tone of an electric guitar. But as the owner and lover myself of fiberglass bodied and carbon-fiber topped acoustic guitars, I think perhaps Italia is onto something with these. The piezo bridge could be an interesting feature. The Ovation VXT is a very gig-worthy electric guitar with a piezo bridge. I know people who have retrofitted the regular tune-o-matic bridges on all kinds of electric guitars with piezo saddles and like the results.

HarmonyCentral has some reviews. http://www.harmonycentral.com/products/89737

[Tonini]

Originally Posted by Wilbury

Anyone have experience with these guitars? http://www.italiaguitars.com/new/guitar/mon_01.html

Not necessarily that specific model, but any of them? I kinda want to give them at try.

If you want a really good hollow body just get a Gretsch. In my humble opinion, they are the top guitars and are pretty versatile. I own the g5191 Tim Armstrong model and can play anything from country to metal.

[BubbaHeat]

I have a Heritage 535 which is a Gibson 335 copy made in the original Gibson Factory. I love that guitar.

[Trainee Warrior]

Whats a good way of recording my playing?

I used to do it by a webcam but Ive heard that you can do it straight into your laptop?

Also, my amp has an emulated output but I have no idea what that does....?

How do you guys go about it?

[Kodiak]

You really need an interface box, USB or FireWire. On most computers there is a little input jack, and you in theory can use it. But it sounds like crapola. The sound card built into any computer at the factory just sucks for recording.

I use a Lexicon Alpha, but there are a number of well liked units out there. The Line 6 Pod Studio is one that gets outstanding reviews. Get at least a 2 channel unit because the cost increase is almost nothing, but the utility increase is huge.

For software you can use Garage Band on an Apple. I upgraded to Logic Express for recording on my Mac. If you are on Windows there are a number of excellent software packages. Guitar Tracks Pro was one I used and liked. Audacity is a free program which gets good reviews, so start there if you are on Windows.

The emulated output is a line level output designed to go straight to the house PA system or into the mixing board for recording. It emulates the tone of a speaker cabinet, so in theory the line out sounds like you mic'd your amp's speaker. You could plug that into the interface box just fine, or you could just plug your guitar into the interface directly. The benefit would be getting use of the effects in your amp, the downside is possible noise, hiss, or hum. Also, recording with effects means you cannot remove the effects later, which is a possible negative.

[SnapRoll]

+ 1 on the interface box.

I have a Zoom digital recorder and have used that as an interface box to go direct into Garage Band. The Zoom also has stereo speakers and does a pretty good job for lots of applications. We use two for live recordings in my band - one direct off the mixing board and then one in the room as an "ambient mike". Combining the two gives decent sound for a live recording.

You need to think about your goals with recording. If you are just trying hear yourself, the interface box or a Zoom works fine. Personally, I would just use a Zoom or similar digital recorder.

If you are trying to do something bigger - like record complete songs, you have to enjoy the whole sound engineering thing and be prepared to spend money and lots of time to get great sounds. There is also a fairly steep learning curve to understanding how to build a good drum track, as an example, if you aren't a drummer. The few times I have tried made me appreciate the guy beating sticks behind me.

There is a lot of art to making good recordings. Sure, you can get decent sounds with a Mac and a little software. But people spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars equipping professional studios and then rent them out for $35 to $100 an hour. If you are prepared, you can get in and out pretty quickly, spend a lot less time and get a really great product.

I have gone down the home recording road a couple of times. I always end up concluding that I am better off using the time to get better at the guitar and paying someone else to record me.

[ConfidenceMan]

The Apogee stuff is very good. I have been using an Apogee interface since 2000, and it still holds up against the latest pro offerings. I hear good stuff about their low price point stuff.

As for guitars, well I do not play guitar - I am a keyboard man - but I saw Bubba's mention of Heritage. These guys took over the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan when Gibson left. They make good stuff that is pretty popular in the country music market.

Twenty-two years ago I was working in a music shop, and an used Heritage HB1 bass (P bass copy) came through the store. I bought it for something like $200USD. It disappeared for twenty years - long story, but we were reunited. I started playing it, then took it to a local but very reputable technician to set it up. By the end of the set up session he was raving about. "Better than the P basses people bring to him.". If I sell it, I am to sell it to him. However, my bass playing of 40 years brother has layer claim to it since should I sell it.

Hmmm, time to put some new Rotosounds on it.

[BubbaHeat]

I use this
http://line6.com/podstudiogx/

and Garageband. Line 6 has great rigs and effects to play with.

[Trainee Warrior]

Ah sweet, cheers guys.

Guess Im gonna have to start saving up!!

Another tech question now though.....Ive got the HT-5R combo and Im interested in changing the speaker in it.

How easy is it to do?

Also, which is a good speaker to go for?

Im currently looking at the Celestion Vintage 30 or the Classic lead 80s one.