Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

I've gone in circles, but primarily in terms of effects. I started at 19 with my Gibson Explorer and a SS Marshall. Added a couple pedals (MXR Dist+ and EH Small Clone) and got by for a while until I could afford better. At 21 I acquired my 2555 and ditched the pedals, but eventually started using the Small Clone again. I also picked up a Les Paul to replace the Explorer as my #1.

The LP never did replace my Explorer and after using the 2555 and Small Clone for a while, I started to get sick of my lack of a true clean sound. At 23 I started using a Soldano SP-77 into the Marshall's effects return or into a power amp. This solved my clean channel problem, but it didn't like my pedals which at this time included an MXR script Phase 90 and MXR Flanger. Later that year sold the SP-77 and pedals (I was broke) and went back to plugging straight into the 2555.

About a year later I started getting irritated with my lack of a clean sound again, so I picked up an ADA MP-1 and Marshall power amp. I seemed to have it all... Great cleans and any other sound I could think of, but it started to bug me. The MP-1 has an EQ issue where there's an annoying upper-mid spike that you can't dial out. At first this wasn't an issue, but after a while it drove me insane. Sold the MP-1 and went back to the 2555. I also added an EB Volume pedal and Maxon OD-9.

At 25 I got sick of my lack of clean again, so I bought an H&K Triamp mk I. Loved the first and second channels, gradually grew to hate the third. Sold the Triamp after six months because i needed money to move and because i was tired of carrying the ungodly heavy thing. Went back to the 2555 and added an EVH Phase 90.

In the year since selling the Triamp I've gotten sick of my lack of clean yet again, but this time I finally did what I should have done years ago. I bought an A/B box and I'm using an H&K Edition Tube 20 for clean. Now I have the great Marshall sound that none of the other amps could touch, and the Triamp's awesome clean channel. If I could only find a chorus I like (the Small Clone is no longer my thing), I'd be completely happy.
 
Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

I seem to be moving in a generally forward motion, although I am double and triple covering my bases when it comes to pedals I love.

That's not why I'm posting though. I'm posting to encourage you to get a Road King, they friggin' rock. :)
 
Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

I think the catch is that I need some sort of Mesa high gain head. It's one of the sounds I've grown up with, the other being 70s rock and metal.

I'm figuring that between owning a Mesa and an Orange I'll hopefully have both ends of the spectrum covered.

ok, sounds cool that you are having fun with it then ;) . I like the recto sound especially on soundgarden and foo fighter albums.
 
Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

18 - crappy acoustic guitar

21 - same crappy 'ol guitar

25 - ermmmm, same crappy guitar

27 - Epi Gold Top LP, Marshall MG15DFX & Big Muff !

28 - 32 - Epi LP, Artore AG75, Marshall MG12DFX, various fx-units

32 - Epi LP, Blues Jr, even more FX-pedals

TODAY - Epi LP, Artcore AG75, electric Resonator, Blues Jr, Celtic amp (still in the making, but will; have one by Jun/Jul) even more FX units !


. . . ok, so i am NOT saying, or helping much, as i am still looking for MY sound, but i do have a ball-poark tone and good i dea where i am going !!!

. . . i think !!! (wink-wink)


Cheers
JP
 
Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

hmmm,

18: Ibanez RG, Boss DS1, Crate SS amp
25: Custom strats, Fender Deville 2x12, boss, tube works and Vox pedals
28: MIJ Strat with Fralins, Mesa Blue Angel/recto 2x12, Marshall, Vox and boss pedals
30: ri strat and tele custom, Fender Vibrolux, Mesa Blue Angel/recto 2x12, G2D and vox pedals
33: 33: ri strat and tele custom,Gibson LP jr, Fender Vibrolux, Mesa Blue Angel/recto 2x12, Soldano Hot Rod 50, G2D and vox pedals
34: Tele Custom, Reverend Flatroc, De Armond Starfire, Victoria Double Deluxe, Mesa Blue Angel, G2D, EH, Vox and digitech(!) pedals

-So, from that, I guess that you can surmise I've been pretty consistently vintage/retro-oriented in my gear choices from my 20s onward. The only thing that really stands out as an unusual choice is the soldano.

I have gone off using strats as my main instrument, so that's a major change. I never would have believed you if you told me at 18 that I would end up playing teles and semihollows...

The biggest change for me has been getting into the idea of a palette of tones, which has come from playing and especially recording several genres of music. I like to have amps with all the different tube types (6l6, 6v6, el34, el84), and several different essential flavours of guitars (tele, strat, semi, p90, humbucker solid, dano etc...) available to me so I can create pretty much any tone I need for whatever I think will suit a song. I've also learned that generally it's better to get something that does one thing extremely well than two or more things averagely. That's helped keep me away from owning modelers, multifx and multi-channel amps.

The last few years has been a process of learning what works for me, and slowly upgrading and adding to my collection to suit my needs by buying the best thing I can afford at the time.
 
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Re: Gear - Does anyone find themselves going in circles?

19yrs -


peavey 212 SS combo, marshall jcm8002203 half stack, fender prodigy guitar and epiphone les paul standard silversparkle

I loved that setup....
 
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