Hi,

I grew up playing acoustic guitar and never realised how much an amp and distortion helps make electric guitar almost another instrument! I have been producing pop records for the last 10 years now, but as I grow older I am finding I am getting more into classic guitar/rock pop. I need to set myself up with some great amps and some fx. The sound I want to go for would be U2, Tonic (for the heavy stuff - as heavy as I want to get anyway) and Sting (the Police). So some great clean sounds and some really gritty ones as well. I have a '91 strat plus deluxe and a '91 Les Paul Classic and I am soon to get a Telecaster and maybe a Musicman.

I only need my rig for the studio and I need reliable gear. Some suggestions that have been thrown my way in the past include:

Rivera
Vox A-30
Marshall
Laney
Mesa-Boogie
Matchless

I am definately considering getting 2 contrasting amps. Should I get combo amps or some kind of speaker cabinet with different heads? If you could suggest some great FX pedals or boxes that I should know about also, please let me know. My main aim at this point however are great sounding amps that I will love recording.

Thanks.

Well, I'd definately recommend Mesa/Boogie as they are completely reliable and sound wonderful. You can get a real 'Fenderish' clean sound and the Boog screaming sustain lead tone is perfect for loads of styles. They also have a great sounding direct out for recording which includes speaker sim and a silent speaker switch to hush your amp if you only want to hear it in the cans. A lot of tone can be found by changing the drive between pre amps. I'd recommend a Mark IV/EV combo.

Marshall and Vox are way cool, but sort of one trick ponys. You might get a Marshall 'plexy' and some sort of power soak so you can live with the volume where it sounds good. This would give you a very popular rock tone. Just keep a bunch of spare tubes around cos cranking a Marshall tends to burn out tubes rather quickly. The Vox is something I'd think about after you already have more bases covered. Going the Marshall route I'd go half stack, with Celestions.

As far as effects, I'd check out Pod. I've got a Boss GT-3 which I like a lot, but every interview I read these days, they're using Pods. Not only on guitars, but on vocals and everything else. There's nothing like a great amp in a room pushing air around, but loads of albums are cut using Pods or other modeling devices almost exclusively. They really have come a long way. If you're a Pro Tools kinda person, then Amp Farm is suppose to be the best altho I haven't heard it.

So if I could only have two contrasting amps, I'd go Boogie combo and Marshall half stack. As far as effects for those amps, don't you have some retired SPX-90's laying around gathering dust? Actually, just Boss stomp boxes will keep most guitarists happy.

Many great recorded guitar sounds came from small amps that were easier to control, record and overdrive in a studio setting.

Instead of getting a Marshall stack for example, try a good sounding Marshall or other combo. Mesa also makes some great sounding small combo amps. I also noticed you didn't include a Fender tube amp in your list... I'd consider adding one for its classic clean sounds. I have a Hot ROd Deluxe and its clean sound is awesome IMHO.

Another option is something like the THD UniValve Head. This is a new product announced at NAMM this year. It's interesting because you can switch tubes easily, without re-biasing, and get a wide range of completely different sounds. It also comes with their "hot plate" technology which allows you to get great sounding tube amp drive and distortion without having the volume break your ears.

I am also a POD user, and I think many of the sounds are decent for recording. Let your own ears be the judge... If you do like it, the big advantage is that you have the characteristics of so many amp and cab combinations. Literally hundreds if not thousands of variations. Like any "effect" device, I suggest you don't make your decision solely on the presets. I have found a lot better sounds, (to my ears) from my own patches and those of others.

One tip I've found with the POD is to use it to get a multi-amp sound. The way I do it is to split my guitar signal with an A/B switch, sending one to the POD and PA, and the other to an effects chain and my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe's clean channel, then record the amp with a mic. Then I set the POD to a Marshall Plexi, Soldano, Matchless, Budda, Mesa or whatever patch and mix the two sounds together. This tends to reinforce the sweetness of the amp while warming up the POD sounds. This even works great live and I rarely play in a full band setting without using "two amps" in this way.

As far as effects pedals are concerned I've been using the FullTone FullDrive 2 as my main overdrive unit. I also have a Line6 DM4, and find I still pull out my trusty Boss DS-1 once in a while.

I also have a Line6 DL4 and I find it to have a number of nice sounding delay options.

Good luck with your plans and let us know what you decide on for your setup.

guitplayer

Hey,

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to you both for your great responses. It is just the kind of detail I need to get informed. I am hitting some guitar stores today, so I'll let you know how I go.

If anyone else has anything to offer, I would love to hear from you.

Thanks!

Marshall: Bluesbreaker Combo, 50 watt "Plexi" with 4X12 cab
Fender: '65 Deluxe Reverb, Vibrolux Reverb
Vox: AC15 or AC30

These are the three classic sounds for electric guitar in my opinion. The original versions are better if they are in good condition but these amps are available as reissues and the new versions sound good. I haven't heard one amp which can produce all three sounds to my liking. For FX you might consider an Ibanez Tube Screamer and a Vox WahWah. Here's something interesting which i just came across also. http://www.rockhardinc.com/theplex.html

Enjoy!



This message has been edited by gtrmac@hotmail.com on 05-31-2001 at 03:03 AM

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If you can find one, I highly recommend the Lexicon Signature 284. It is an all-tube, class A, rackmount amp. Unfortunately, they were discontinued not long ago but you still see them around sometimes.

It has only a single EL84 tube per channel so you can crank the volume in the studio without the decibel level becoming unmanageable, which is great for recording. The sound is very much like a Vox AC30, but you can get more of a high-gain Marshall-type sound with the pull-boost function on the gain knob. It is very versatile for a one-channel amp but there are two sounds it can't really do: the sparkling clean Fender sound, and the hyper-gain Boogie sound.

Thanks for your replies. It sounds like a Mesa-Boogie combo could be a good place to start. I haven't heard any this week, but will do so tomorrow.

Thanks again.

Mesa Boogie Nomad 100, unless you have option anxiety. If that's the case then a Fender Deluxe reissue and a Tube Screamer for bluesy sounds and a Boss Metal Zone or Danelectro Fab Tone for "modern rock" sounds.

Hmm, no, wait, you mentioned U2 - you might prefer a Nomad 45, since it runs off of EL84's. Alternately, a Boogie Formula preamp through a 20/20 power amp might suit.

Or if you can find a Marshall JTM30 on a budget; that will yield classic Marshall sounds at a reduced volume, along with Police-like clean sounds.

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New and Improved Music Soon: http://www.mp3.com/chipmcdonald

I am pondering many of these things and just this week I had the luxury of playing the new zentera by Hughes Kettner. It started off as an A/B test against the Cyber Twin but quickly turned into no contest. In fact, this thing is more properly to be compared to the world's finest amps rather than other modelers. It's no Line 6 or Sans Amp. Here's a link to the Fender page where I posted my humble findings.

http://www.fenderforum.com/fdp.html?mess...1-06-0210:31:16