First Amp

[Plikity]

Hey,

So I'm planning on getting a nice Stratocaster sometime in the near future, but I have no idea about amps! I don't really know too much about how they work or what sounds better, so I was looking for some help. What I really want an electric guitar and amp for is mainly for playing Pink Floyd, and more mellow songs. This doesn't mean however that I won't want to play songs that are different styles, just that the majority of the time I will probably want something delivering a perfect clean tone...and the effects I guess I can worry about later on. Are there any suggestions??

Thanks!

[Geek]

Hi,

What price range? That will narrow (or widen) it down a bit.

Cheers!

[Plikity]

Hmmm...I'm really not sure man...Cause I don't know if all you need is the one piece or if you need pedals and other small speakers too...I would say that I wouldn't want to go over 700

[Geek]

That depends on your style and how you play what you play.

What power level you wanting?

Cheers!

[Paul]

I was talking to a guy at a music store on the weekend. They have sold over 3000 Peavey Rage practice amps over the years. They are among his favorite practice amps mostly for reliability.

The only two failure modes he could recall were:

1) Running the amp full splash for weeks on end and blowing the speaker

2) The amp falling over with a cord plugged in and breaking out the input jack.

They NEVER had to send one back to Peavey for repair.

I'm in favour of great tone as much as the next guy, but it has to work when you plug it in.

[Plikity]

Cool, thanks for the replies, and sorry it took me so long to get back to this. I'm really a more chilled out guitar player, I'm looking for something that can provide me a great clean tone, and also some cool effects too. As for power...next year I'm going to be playing with some buddies who have their guitars basses and drums, so I won't need something too extreme, but something that can go loud if I need it to. Hope that narrows it down a little more. Thanks!

[Greg Ellis]

Traynor YCV40 might be a good option. YCV20WR has a nicer feature set, but might not be loud enough to keep up with drums and bass when you get to that stage. That's debatable; it depends on how loud your bandmates play.

The Traynors can be had for slightly sub-$500 on the used market. Sometimes a bit more than that; depends on condition.

When you get your guitar, you should drop into a few music stores and play some amps, see what you like in your price range.

Some guys enjoy the recent solid state amps with loads of effects built in. Line 6 has stuff like that, so does Vox and even Fender.

Others prefer a simpler but much more traditional tube amp.

If you keep playing, you'll accumulate effects anyway, over time. Effects pedals are at a nice price point - they make great Christmas and birthday presents.

An amp can be a major investment that stays with you for many years, or a throw-away "just enough to get me by for now" sort of thing. It really depends on what you want.

[Budda]

for a small home practise amp, i loove the peavey rage.

i'd get a blazer this time around though, for reverb. used, save some $$.

[david henman]

Hey,
So I'm planning on getting a nice Stratocaster sometime in the near future, but I have no idea about amps! I don't really know too much about how they work or what sounds better, so I was looking for some help. What I really want an electric guitar and amp for is mainly for playing Pink Floyd, and more mellow songs. This doesn't mean however that I won't want to play songs that are different styles, just that the majority of the time I will probably want something delivering a perfect clean tone...and the effects I guess I can worry about later on. Are there any suggestions??
Thanks!


...if you are a "bedroom" player, take a close look at the vox da5 (built-in effects) or the vox pathfinder 15r (reverb only).

-dh