Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

That90'sGuy

That90'sGuy

DyzaBoyzologist
I spent yet again some more time at Guitar Center to play different guitars. Today I probably played more guitars and amps than before. Unfortunately, not a lot really impressed me. One of the biggest disappointments was the Vetta II, which I was expecting to really kick after playing the original. I wanted to like the Schecter stuff, but the necks on the C-1s I was playing didn't feel right and the sound wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I was shocked to try and dial in some great sounds with the Silver Jubilee combo they had there and couldn't (somebody must have really tinkered with it). I played the Mesa Lonestar combo and it sure did look pretty. The cleans were pretty good (the "Tweed" setting... better than most amps I've played honestly... including Mesas other amps), but the overdrive was thick and muddy. I did get it to sound a little better, but it still lacked life and character.

Stuff I did like:
'66 Fender Super Reverb
Lite Ash Fender Tele
some "riced" out Strat with a hot rails in the bridge :headbang:
Gretsch Nashville Orange Hollowbody (if the frets were cleaned up a bit, it'd be great, they were a little sharp on one end).
Gibson '56 RI Goldtop w/ P90s (GREAT neck, looks and tone)
ENGL vintage combo of some sort, great distortion tone

Just about everything else in the store disappointed me. I'm starting to really dig Fender guitars now, don't quite know what clicked.

Stuff I really want to try:
Vox AC-30HW
Matchless amps
Bogner stuff
Diezel stuff
Gretsch RI White Falcon
Fender Jazzmaster
Fender Jaguar
PRS McCarty (P90s, humbuckers)
Charvel Surfcaster

I'm realizing just how lucky I am to have the stuff I do. My equipment really does rock in comparison to the average stuff. Now if I can only mod a few things on my amp I'd be set for life :D
 
Last edited:
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

Very cool! Thanks for the low-down on the Lonestar! How did I know that the distortion would be muddy? Texas...?
 
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

You're welcome :) Maybe others' experiences with the Lone Star will be better. To be honest, Mesa just doesn't sound good to these ears anymore. Sounds like my tone is going through a paper shredder, never used to before : /. To my ears, the gain is either dry and dull with low gain or over the top clipping that sounds like it's raping the amplifier while it's running. The Lone Star had a decent bluesy type tone, but it's way too muddy compared to other stuff out there. It's a shame, because that amp had KILLER looks... it would be great to have on stage.
 
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

Amp electrical flows are not meant to flow in the same plane in close proximity. You need a good mess of shielded, insulated wires running at all angles to get TONE!

You guys can keep all of your circuit board amps. I'm done with them. The tone just gets sucked out of them. Simple is good. I think when they made the Tweed amps, they should have just stopped! :) j/k

It's all you need dudes! ahhahaha!
 
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

I played a Lonestar twice at my local GC over a two day period through a 57 Goldtop reissue and one of the new Tele lite ash guitars and I got killer tone from it clean, pushed and with the gain cranked. It was pretty easy to dial in but hey, different strokes for different folks.

Scott, don't make me fly out to Texas and go all Tommy Chong on your tweed.....
 
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

Scott_F said:
Amp electrical flows are not meant to flow in the same plane in close proximity. You need a good mess of shielded, insulated wires running at all angles to get TONE!

You guys can keep all of your circuit board amps. I'm done with them. The tone just gets sucked out of them. Simple is good. I think when they made the Tweed amps, they should have just stopped! :) j/k

It's all you need dudes! ahhahaha!
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. Simpler is better for me too. All my favorite amps were created by 1968 or before: Marshall 50 watt, '66 Deluxe Reverb, '59 Bassman, '59 Deluxe, '51 - 59 Super, etc. An old Tele and an old Fender amp: simple designs that allow room for the player's touch and personality to shine through. No mosquito tones for me! Lew
 
Last edited:
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

I reeaaallly need to go play one of those Lite Ash Teles.
 
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

I really need to BUY a Lite Ash Tele...I've wanted a Tele for a long time but haven't been able to find a decent, affordable wood finish/black pickguard one...there it is :D with DUNCANS no less!
 
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

yes, i must agree with your chris, '66 super reverbs are very cool, as are the 56RI's with the P-90s... thats one of my favorite guitars i've played actually, a freind has one.

I tend to agree with lew and scott... i like it simple.
 
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

Chris, phase two of this revelation you're going through is to stop going to Guitar Center. LOL There's nothing there that can't be had in 5 minutes of shopping the used market. When you think about the best gear out there....it isn't even sold at GC!
 
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

Thick and muddy on the lonestar overdrive? Sounds like i want one!
 
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

Gearjoneser said:
Chris, phase two of this revelation you're going through is to stop going to Guitar Center. LOL There's nothing there that can't be had in 5 minutes of shopping the used market. When you think about the best gear out there....it isn't even sold at GC!
Click to expand...

I realize this :D Unfortunately, Guitar Center is really the only place around that sells medium to upper class stuff. This summer, I may travel through CT and look for some small shops to try stuff out.

My Guitar Center isn't bad surprisingly. We had a 19g PRS Dragon II come in today and man did it look sweet. :32: I played a decent EG model PRS (no, not the newer cheaper ones, the nice early 90s ones). They also have private stock models and customs so they do have decent stuff. Also played a McInturff there (that guitar was outstanding in every possible way) and two Heritage guitars. (not all in the same day, mind you, but different times they have different equipment).

Sorry to disappoint you Kyuss about the muddy distortion on the Lone Star, but I'm sure you can still get it in spades if you work hard enough :)

Oh, and that ENGL that I thought sounded great was a vintage Straight combo.
I tried the Lonestar with the PRS EG and it sounds absolutely amazing (the key is to keep humbuckers and p90s away... single coils really make it speak). The clean was to die for when I was playing jazz, blues, and funk through it. The distortion sounded pretty good today, I did mess with it a lot more though.

My tastes are definitely changing. I really like a Strat I was playing today. It just really "spoke" to me, so I think I may want to go that route. I love chiminess, so I think I need to check out some amps by Matchless or Vox.
 
Last edited:
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

I am not bashing the Lonestar. Haven't played one. But, I will only be buying amps I can fix myself from here on out. (I've gotten rather ****y after building my Tweed Deluxe!)

Puck, no bad cat at home yet. Although my wife's cat would probably gladly crap on the carpet for me if I asked.

On the Lite Ash Tele's, I played one yesterday at GC. I thought the figuring on the neck was weak, but that was only one example. I'm sure if you looked through 10 of them, you'd find one that was stunning. I loved the abalone inlays. Very nice. The pups, well, what can I say, they are the exact pups I'd be putting into a Tele if I owned one. I think that's a huge selling point for Fender. Good call on their part. The neck felt really good to me. Action was topnotch for a guitar that's been sitting in a GC for a few weeks. I'm a brass 3-barrell on a Tele kind of guy, so that was good. They didn't go Top load, but it strngs through the body as it should. I'm not sure if they come with an ash tray or not, but that would really round out the package nicely. The grain on the one I played was excellent. YOu really had to search for the seam. I'd heard they were 3-piece, but this one was either 2 (which was hard to find) or 3 piece and they used some sort of witchcraft to hide the seam.)

Great guitar from what I played. Like I said, get the guys to bring 4 or 5 of them out of the back and try them all.
 
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

I was curious about that Ash Tele, too, but then I stumbled upon this $1300 G&L Z-3 on Ebay, which I scored for $615. It's the one in my avatar pic. I didn't even have to deal with some pimply faced Guitar Center Salesman, and his commision is still in my pocket.
 
Last edited:
Re: Most gear doesn't do anything for me anymore

I'm with Gearjoneser on that. GC is a complete waste of time. They dont aim at the market of people who know much about guitars. Mostly mass market stuff.

Jim:cool2:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

blakejcan
Since I've started to try and sell guitars online
2
Replies
23
Views
413
switchman
S
alex1fly
Custom 8/59!
Replies
1
Views
120
Masta' C
Masta' C
Artie
Is Peavey back?
2 3
Replies
50
Views
864
marcello252
marcello252
Ascension
NOS Wasburn Chicago Custom body and neck project
Replies
7
Views
199
Artie
Artie
Chris EmCee
Will anything dethrone the '78?
Replies
19
Views
465
jeremy
jeremy
Back
Top