Unpolished player needing a few bits of advice

[Guest]

Hello,

There appears to be a lot of very knowledgeable guitarist on these forums so I figured maybe it was time to pose some questions to help me out. I’m 39 y/o and have had a guitar of some sort since I was 14. I’ve never taken formal lessons so all I’ve learned I got from tab books, Guitar World, websites and very recently “Idiot’s Guide to Music Theory” (the most enlightening book yet).

I don’t play in a band nor do I really intend to but you never know. I wouldn't mind finding some guys my age that have similar taste to jam with. Playing for me is a hobby and a form of relaxation. I work full time, have a family with two children and a dog so practice doesn’t come easy for me. Lately I’ve really have been trying to get myself on a schedule to at least pick up a guitar once a day if only for 15-20 minutes. I’ve been forcing myself to learn scales and scale patterns no matter how boring it can seem. My biggest hurdle to this point is the fact that I can never seem to get a tone that sounds how I “feel”. I’ve never wanted to spend a lot on gear since I don’t plan on releasing an album any time soon or even leaving my house with my instrument for that matter. I’m currently in possession of the following gear.

Fender MiM HSS Strat with Dimarzio Super D in the bridge, Dimarzio Pro Track Rail in the Neck and Stock PuP in the Middle.

Ovation Celebrity CC 057 Acoustic/Electric

Boss BCB-60 with Fender Tuner, MT-2, DS-1, GE-7 and CH-1

The amp I got new off of Ebay a couple years back. It is a Crate Flexwave 15R.

I like to play the Jimmy Page alternate tuned songs like Bron-y-aur and Rain Song.

For my harder side I like Iron Maiden, KISS, Metallica and tons of other 70’s, 80’s Rock/Hard Rock. And I like my mids “un” scooped. I really like the tone in Dave Murray’s solos. So Metal, yet so creamy.

As you can see, I’ve never spent a lot of money on high end gear because I play for myself and because my wife is my CFO! But I have $500 burning a hole in my pocket and I’ve been eyeing two amps to replace what I believe to be one of my fatal tone flaws which is the Crate Flexwave.
So that is my background in a nutshell and here are a few questions I have for you gurus.

#1 – I’ve been looking at the Marshall MG100DFX. It is in my range, seems to not be too overboard and “It’s a Marshall”. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Marshall...05-i1145940.gc

#2 – I’ve also been looking at the Peavey Vypyr tube 60. It is in my range, has a lot of probably useless bells and whistles and yet it has “tubes”. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Peavey-V...93-i1413609.gc

#3 – I have a lot of respect for the gear guy at the local music store. But he is a Clapton rhythm and blues kinda guy. He insist on low action for a guitar. I’m wondering if this is leading to some of the problems I’m having with Bending and Vibrato.

#4 – Seeing my gear I own is there anything you can suggest for a bedroom player like me other than a better amp?

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Unpolished player needing a few bits of advice

Low action generally equals increased speed (especially for those Iron Maiden solos) but then, as I understand it, EVH has used stupidly-high action for over 30 years and it doesn't seem to bother him.

But, I have no knowledge of the amps you mention, so I can't say which one to get or not. I will say anything would be better than the Crate.

Take your guitar to the local shop and sort through the amps if they have those two you're looking at.

[Condemned soul]

Re: Unpolished player needing a few bits of advice

In defense of crate: I still have my old ss crate glx-65, 112. Put an emmence keyboard speaker speaker in it. The high gain and rhythm channels are still useless, however, the clean channel has opened up greatly, and I'll probably keep it until it dies.


I believe that you would be better off skipping the Vypyr. Please take a look at at Roland cube amps [ Roland is coming out with a 80 watt version that has a looper and channel switching ] or the Vox valvetronics amps.

[Wattage]

Re: Unpolished player needing a few bits of advice

The Peavey Vyper seems all right and I do like the Valvetronix but for $500 there are a lot of options, especially if you start looking used.

The Marshall you are looking at is a pretty nice amp, I am pretty sure that is the 1x12 version of what my other guitarist uses, he loves it. He basically bought it for practice at the house but has ended up gigging and recording with it, seems to be up to the task. His Plexi is a flakey beast of an amp and really isn't gig worthy anymore.

Actually the Marshall amp you are looking at is exactly what another friend of mine uses - there are aslew of tunes he uses it on his band's myspace site

http://www.myspace.com/theerotics - Check out 30 Seconds Over You that's a pretty good representation.