Amp/axe ratio

[piebaldpython]

I found this on another Forum and thought it was interesting enough to post it here:

"I recently read an interesting article that I’ll summarize quickly here.. It basically pointed out that most of us are willing to spend gobs more cash on a guitar or multiple guitars compared to what we would spend on amps or multiple amps.. It also stated this seems to be backwards being 80% of the tone comes from the amp and 20% from the guitar as far as tone shaping is concerned (not going to inject the “tone comes from fingers” case here)… The bottom line question was could we be better served expanding our amp collection/cash instead?? Nobody was trying to downplay the importance of a great guitar, but the article does have merit at least with me (I’m amp shopping). Just curious what you kids thought…

Quote from article; “With such a huge amount of our tone coming from our amps, it is crazy how many of us guitar players neglect our amp collections in order to buy more guitars. It is not uncommon for a player to have 10 guitars and only one amp. That may not be that big of a deal if the amp is exactly the sound the player is shooting for. However, if this is not the case, then it really does not matter what type of guitar they add to the collection, the improvement in tone may only be marginal. Inversely, if the player had 10 different amps and one good guitar, not only would we all want to come over and hang out, but relatively speaking, he can probably dial in just about any tone he would like to.”

Hmmm.....guess I need some more amps.......:thwap

[Tig]

Most of my GAS is over amps. I'd love to have a VOX AC-15, a Mesa Express 5:25, and an Allen or a Vintage Sound Amps for nailing classic Fender tones better than the new Fenders but without the pain of an old amp. OK, let's add a Dr. Z and I'm done... Maybe...

Sexy guitars get all the attention, though.

[Eric]

I was a major offender of the lots-of-guitars-and-very-few-amps thing for a while, but I agree with the idea of the quote. However, I do think that one decent modeler can go a long long long way these days. And 'decent' can be pretty darn cheap.

There's a lot you can do with an Epiphone/MIM/whatever and a Pod.

[Photomike666]

Looks like I fell into the minority by accident.

Admittedly, I was saving for a great guitar when my amp became unreliable.

I have a $200 strat copy with Seymour Duncan Humbucker and a Peavey Audition 7.5Watt practice amp. For two years that was adequate.

I was close to getting a Schecter Hellraiser when the Peavey failed. So I got a Marshall. It makes the cheap guitar sound good.

I'll fix the peavey & get my Schecter in time, but a good amp makes a lot of difference

[Brian Krashpad]

I'm probably two or three to one in favor of guitars over amps.

But that's just me.

[Brian Krashpad]

[deleted post]

[duhvoodooman]

I started heavy on the guitars and have been migrating gradually towards the amps. My guitar: amp ratio is now 1.67 (10:6). Might be going to 1.43 soon, if I can find what I'm looking for....

It may be true that most of your tone comes from the amp, but they don't have nearly the same aesthetic and tactile attraction that a guitar has, which I think is a big reason why players almost always have more (and commonly many more) guitars than amps. How they look and how they feel in your hands is a huge part of the overall appeal.

[Eric]

It may be true that most of your tone comes from the amp, but they don't have nearly the same aesthetic and tactile attraction that a guitar has, which I think is a big reason why players almost always have more (and commonly many more) guitars than amps. How they look and how they feel in your hands is a huge part of the overall appeal.
Totally agree with this. Still doesn't really make sense in a pragmatic way though, does it?

[R_of_G]

I've been toying with the idea of getting a second amp and splitting my signal, playing with the tonal possibilities of going out to two different amp/effects chains. Dunno. Other things I am GASing for harder at the moment.

[Tig]

I've been running a Morley A/B AB switch box to two amps (Fender Super Champ X2 and the Egnater Tweeker)and love how creative it can be. Most of the time I split the signal after the effects board and set the amps up for different tones, but with a few more cables I'll split the signal to run one amp with delay and one with reverb, or one over driven and the other clean but at the same volume, etc. The possibilities are many.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8226/8508360704_28a1980274_z.jpg

[R_of_G]

I've been running a Morley A/B AB switch box to two amps (Fender Super Champ X2 and the Egnater Tweeker)and love how creative it can be. Most of the time I split the signal after the effects board and set the amps up for different tones, but with a few more cables I'll split the signal to run one amp with delay and one with reverb, or one over driven and the other clean but at the same volume, etc. The possibilities are many.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8226/8508360704_28a1980274_z.jpg

Yes. Something like that appeals to the tone junkie in me.

[Monkus]

Axes: Agile 3100, Xaviere XV-870(DVM mod), PRS SE, 50th Anniversary Fender Lonestar Strat.
Amphs: Peavey Studio Pro 110, Mesa Boogie TA-15, Avid 11r w/ Tech21 PowerEngine, Roland Cube 60.
Ratio: 1:1
I cant figure out what that means in this context... :thwap

[duhvoodooman]

Axes: Agile 3100, Xaviere XV-870(DVM mod), PRS SE, 50th Anniversary Fender Lonestar Strat.
Amphs: Peavey Studio Pro 110, Mesa Boogie TA-15, Avid 11r w/ Tech21 PowerEngine, Roland Cube 60.
Ratio: 1:1
I cant figure out what that means in this context... :thwap
It obviously marks you as a tonal visionary, a man ahead of his time!

[davewrites]

I'm a sucker for low-watt practice amps, especially when they surface with dirt cheap asking prices.

If I "acquire" a Vibro Champ XD from Craigslist, my ratio will be 2:3. I'll have to find an acoustic sound hole pickup to bring the ratio to an even 1:1.

[Monkus]

It obviously marks you as a tonal visionary, a man ahead of his time!

lol if only....nice words though... :poke

[Monkus]

Sigh, Ok.....
My DVM "visionary" status has just been revoked. Traded an amph for a MIM Tele. Ratio stands at 5:4. Gory details here (http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/21460-NGD-07-08-MIM-Telecaster).

[duhvoodooman]

Sigh, Ok.....
My DVM "visionary" status has just been revoked. Traded an amph for a MIM Tele. Ratio stands at 5:4. Gory details here (http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/21460-NGD-07-08-MIM-Telecaster).
Relax, this is easily remedied--just buy another amp! Geez, do I have to do all the thinking around here?? :thwap

P.S. Nice Tele!

[duhvoodooman]

I started heavy on the guitars and have been migrating gradually towards the amps. My guitar: amp ratio is now 1.67 (10:6). Might be going to 1.43 soon, if I can find what I'm looking for....
Reduction of guitar:amp ratio to 1.43 now underway. Ordered the 1x12 kit version of THIS (http://allenamps.com/sweetspot.php) last week....

[marnold]

Reduction of guitar:amp ratio to 1.43 now underway. Ordered the 1x12 kit version of THIS (http://allenamps.com/sweetspot.php) last week....

Cool! Now, make sure to properly "age" those parts before assembly! :poke

[duhvoodooman]

Geez, I let a kit sit for a few months one time, and the FretNet clergy won't let me forget it! :mad

How long do the parts need to age before the amp is officially "vintage"?? ;)

[piebaldpython]

Whoa.......DVM......nice kit!!! So.....uh.......what amp gets de-commissioned?

Getting quite envious of your amph-age (as in the # of boutique amps you have; not the age of them; lolol)

[kidsmoke]

Well, going strictly electric, I'm 1:1. three electric guitars, three amps. Planning to put one of the amps and a cab up for sale. I'm in simplifying mode. I feel like I only need more than one of anything so if something fails, I still be able to leave the house with a rig, even if it's not my chosen one. This is really just an effort to make me focus on PLAYING the guitar, rather that fiddling with tones. The latter is fun, and entertaining, but mostly it's just EXPENSIVE.

for the record, not to blow smoke up anyones butt...but I've been playing my 535 through my DVM Klone, through my DVM Champlifier, and have been turning heads some gigging pros...or rather the rig has. At an event there was a guitarist in the house who was asked to sit in, he was unprepared. I set him up as described above. No other pedals, no 'verb, no tuner, nothing. A semi through a drive into the champ. The look on the guitarist face was fantastic as he started digging in, then after the show 4 different people went to him, and were then redirected to me to ask about the gear. I had to shrug and say, "i gotta guy....". If I were a rep...no doubt I'd have closed on a few items that day.

for DVM - since he knows the items:

the p'ups are Sheptone tributes, which are PAF humbuckers, so the output on both is in the high 7's low 8's. I set the Champ about 5-6, and on the Klone volume at 11PM, Tone at Midnight, and both gains at 9pm. Nirvana, my friend.

So my aim is to use this one guitar, and a simple amp without any tone control at all. A simple drive pedal. And learn how to get as many sounds as I can from it using the tone and volume knobs of the guitar and the amp. Call it a roots immersion if you will. I do like to throw the reverb pedal and a tremolo on there when necessary, but I'm diggin the bare bones approach.

I still do grab the tele or the RS2, (similar to a LPjr, but not really) if I think a song needs something, but by and large...simplicity is winning out.

[Eric]

And learn how to get as many sounds as I can from it using the tone and volume knobs of the guitar and the amp.
I went down this path a while ago and it has worked well for me. I don't think it would work real well if you use a ton of effects, but for someone like me I've enjoyed the simplicity of just learning the ins and outs of one guitar. Makes it a much more personal experience, if that makes sense.

[NWBasser]

I recently sold my H&K because I haven't been playing very much guitar lately and the little Mustang I works for what I do well enough.

I still have two bass amps and a preamp pedal. I tried selling my Ampeg PF500, but didn't get any buyers.

If anything, I'd like to sell the PF500 and maybe get a GK micro head to cover the bright, grindy, modern tone that my Aguilar won't do.

My basses though cover certain roles like fretless, 5-string, acoustic, jazz, and precision (sounds - not actual models). In actuality, I could probably do everything on my jazz bass (G&L JB) well enough to get by.

[Eric]

I recently sold my H&K because I haven't been playing very much guitar lately and the little Mustang I works for what I do well enough.

I still have two bass amps and a preamp pedal. I tried selling my Ampeg PF500, but didn't get any buyers.

If anything, I'd like to sell the PF500 and maybe get a GK micro head to cover the bright, grindy, modern tone that my Aguilar won't do.

My basses though cover certain roles like fretless, 5-string, acoustic, jazz, and precision (sounds - not actual models). In actuality, I could probably do everything on my jazz bass (G&L JB) well enough to get by.
I could probably stand to sell my Jet City amph and similarly get by with the Mustang I; I really like that little amp. I already have my Ibanez bass and Zoom G3 up for sale on CL.

In some ways, I feel kind of lucky to have very low standards (no pun intended) when it comes to bass tone. I generally know what I'm looking for but I'm way far away from being picky, so I just plug away with one bass and one amp. I know from guitar that an attitude like that is kind of rare for me, so I'm embracing it while I can.

[guitarhack]

I've downsized due to combining households with very little space, so I'm at 2:1.

[marnold]

I'm at 3:2. More accurately, it's 2:1 for guitar and 1:1 for bass.

On a related note, Heid Music in Green Bay is now a Jet City dealer. They have most of their amphs and pedals. I'm going to have to take my Jackson down there one of these days and try their 100W aka SLO head. I also want to try the lower gain version of the 20H.

[Eric]

I'm at 3:2. More accurately, it's 2:1 for guitar and 1:1 for bass.
That's a good point. I hadn't thought about this relative to bass.


On a related note, Heid Music in Green Bay is now a Jet City dealer. They have most of their amphs and pedals. I'm going to have to take my Jackson down there one of these days and try their 100W aka SLO head. I also want to try the lower gain version of the 20H.
There's a lower-gain version of the 20H? Interesting.

[marnold]

There's a lower-gain version of the 20H? Interesting.

Yep. I believe it's called the 20HV. It even has tweed styling.

[Eric]

I still have two bass amps and a preamp pedal. I tried selling my Ampeg PF500, but didn't get any buyers.

If anything, I'd like to sell the PF500 and maybe get a GK micro head to cover the bright, grindy, modern tone that my Aguilar won't do.
Why are you selling the PF500? Just don't play it very much? I was very interested in those at one point and occasionally still feel like I could use a little more grit or fullness in my bass tone. Once I start considering that sort of stuff though, it's a long and rough road that lies ahead.

[NWBasser]

Why are you selling the PF500? Just don't play it very much? I was very interested in those at one point and occasionally still feel like I could use a little more grit or fullness in my bass tone. Once I start considering that sort of stuff though, it's a long and rough road that lies ahead.

Eric, being as lazy as I am, I keep the PF500 hooked up to a cab in my practice room and leave the Aggie in my amp case for band practices and rehearsals. I've found that the Aguilar does the whole vintage bass tone better than the PF500 which means that I see no use in having two vintage-voiced bass amps. But, I have no compelling reason to sell it and may just keep it. I'm starting to like the idea of keeping minimal gear though.

If you want grit and fullness, I'd think that Sansamp would give you all that?

[Eric]

Eric, being as lazy as I am, I keep the PF500 hooked up to a cab in my practice room and leave the Aggie in my amp case for band practices and rehearsals. I've found that the Aguilar does the whole vintage bass tone better than the PF500 which means that I see no use in having two vintage-voiced bass amps. But, I have no compelling reason to sell it and may just keep it. I'm starting to like the idea of keeping minimal gear though.
Makes sense. I do something similar with a practice amp and I keep cabs at the band rehearsal spot and in the basement for church practices, but since I only have one head I bring that back and forth. However, if I had another head I'm 90% sure I would do it the same way as you.


If you want grit and fullness, I'd think that Sansamp would give you all that?
Well, now we arrive upon my level of laziness -- I don't want to bother with batteries and extra cables and messing with levels, so I only use the Sansamp at church for DI purposes, even though I always keep it in my bass case. Basically, I'm just avoiding carrying and hooking up another 1/4" cable. Do I win the laziness olympics?

What are the GK micro series; is that like the MB500? I have a friend from where I used to live who recently bought that and an Ampeg 410HLF as his setup. Are the micro heads GK's answer to all of the lightweight class D bass heads that abound these days?

[duhvoodooman]

Got my new kit last Friday! :dance

Progress: http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/21485