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View Full Version : Cool gear on the "cheap"



Nelskie
October 26th, 2005, 07:27 PM
One thing that has already impressed me about the players on this forum are their "value conscious" gear selections. When I started playing way, way back in the early 80's, there was not near the amount of cool, reasonably-priced gear that is available to today's players. I have two Squier guitars that I absolutely dig, a couple of really cool $40 pedals, and a sub $120 Epiphone amp that I play constantly. What guitars / gear / pedals or other equipment do Fret.Net players think are "must-have's" for the $$? :rolleyes: I think a lot of our newer members who are just getting their "rigs" together would be interested to know. Newer players - what kind of stuff are you looking at adding to your playing arsenal?

marnold
October 26th, 2005, 07:43 PM
Easily my Vox AD30VT. Lotsa bang for very little buck.

Robert
October 26th, 2005, 07:55 PM
Nelskie, great post! Yes, there are so many cool cheap things out there. A Vox ADxxVT is a great purchase for low dollars.

But wait -the Squier '51 - without question! It gets my "Best Bang for the Bucks Award"!

Then we have the Bad Monkey - worth every cent.

I think that Epiphone JR is within my reach soon... it is so cool. And cheap. But good.

marnold
October 26th, 2005, 08:43 PM
I'd like to check out some of those Behringer pedals that just came out too. Dirt cheap and their supposed to be Boss knock-offs.

Nelskie
October 27th, 2005, 01:51 PM
For me, *new* the Epiphone Valve Jr. 5W tube amp is an easy choice when it comes to the "Bang for the Buck" factor. The variety of tones I can coax out of this little, one-knob gem is downright amazing - everything from the classic Sun records electric tone, to vintage Yardbirds and early AC~DC. Once you get those tubes a-glowin', point that chicken-head knob at 2 o'clock, and experience Class "A", low-watt, tube-powered nirvana in all of its stripped-down, in-your-face glory!! :D At $120 US, you might feel like you stole it!!

Robert
October 27th, 2005, 02:43 PM
Hey Nelskie, when you are getting your '51?! They are awesome!
That little amp of yours is a jewel for sure. I should really get one.

Tone2TheBone
October 28th, 2005, 07:52 AM
The only thing I got new recently was the AD30vt. I love that little thing. The 5watt Valve Jr. sounds pretty cool. Can never have too many things. :)

Nelskie
October 28th, 2005, 06:59 PM
No question about the new Vox ADXXVT series amps. I ended up swapping out the stock speaker in mine for a Celestion Vintage, and that little rig sounded soooo sweet!! I have a friend who just picked up the electric recently, and he was so enamored with it that I decided he should have it for his own. We worked out a deal, and now he's floating on Cloud #9 with all of the cool sounds he gets out of it. I can still play it anytime, though, and was happy to get another player involved with the electric. Anyways - I took the funds from that, and bought the Epi VJ + some upgrades. Loved that Vox, tho'. As for that Squier '51, Robert, my wife has given me the "inkling" that I just may find one under our Christmas tree this year w/ my name on the package!!! :p Merry Christmas, indeed!

marnold
October 31st, 2005, 09:57 AM
No question about the new Vox ADXXVT series amps. I ended up swapping out the stock speaker in mine for a Celestion Vintage, and that little rig sounded soooo sweet!!

I've heard good things about replacing the default speaker with a Celestion (G10?). If I ever feel like modding something on the amp, I'll try that. Has anyone ever tried different tubes in it?

Justaguyin_nc
November 1st, 2005, 02:20 AM
Hey Im old ... But a newer player... Gear Im looking for huh.. that sound! The sound each one of us has in our mind's eye... although different. Amps.. I am already sold on the VOX AD series through reviews and The Robert "The Squier_Man" Renman Video Sound clips to see if it has "That sound" once my hands get ahold of it although I play in home so I don't really know if I need the 100 or 50 and could settle for the 30 if they all sound alike?? If I settle for the AD30 I could get the Valve Jr also and be in the price of the AD50.. hmmm... then there is More Gear? the best way to record to computer gear.. I am assuming Firewire seeing it is the fastest with less latency?? maybe the M-audio Firewire solo is enough at $200? other suggestions? The right stomp boxes... in my case to play painful blues crying (my playing is very painful to listeners come to think of it lol) or something jazzy.. Digital stuff such as J-station, V-amp2, pod..are they worth it ? I've already answered that for myself by buying them.. nice but not as nice as stand alone stomp boxes imho..well, thats a start of what this newer player is looking for and picking the brains here to see what ooozes out.. thanks for asking.. ;)

Nelskie
November 2nd, 2005, 07:41 AM
marnold - The speaker I swapped out in my Vox was an older Celestion Vintage 10. It has since been replaced by the G10, which I am told has similar characteristics. If you can scrounge either one of these speakers up on Ebay, I can assure you the sound results would be well worth your while. As for the tube change-out on the Vox, I'd read on an online forum that changing it out was quite the hassle - a lot of stuff to pull off and work around to get to it. One of the tubes I remember reading about was the Electro-Harmonix - whatever size the ADVT's use. :confused: If you do a tube change out on yours, let us know how it goes.

Nelskie
November 2nd, 2005, 07:51 AM
Robert - what's your opinion on the "loud" factor of the ADVT - you have a 50W model, right? Myself, I had the 30W, and thought it was plenty loud for around-the-house practice, and small gig-playing (perhaps it would need to be mike'd). nycguy - Unless you're a real big fan of volume, I don't see where you'd need anything more than the 30W model. The amp also has a knob on the back, so you can adjust your wattage output, but not sacrifice tone (very slick feature for the home-based player). Boy, there's a lot talk on this thread about the Vox ADVT amps - I'm starting to miss mine more and more! :(

Robert
November 2nd, 2005, 08:58 AM
Nelskie, the 50w is loud enough for my gigs. It's got more than plenty of volume for a gigging guy. The 30w wouldn't be loud enough for some of my gigs though. It also have a bigger and better sounding speaker, but if I didn't gig, I'd go with the 30w.

marnold
November 2nd, 2005, 01:04 PM
I don't gig, just playing in my house. The 30W is more than loud enough. Actually, I've never even come close to opening it up all of the way. I'd scare the kids :)

Justaguyin_nc
November 3rd, 2005, 01:36 AM
Ok then soundwise, Say the AD50VT and the AD30VT are both set to 5-10 watts the speakers in each produce the same sound even though one is 10 inch and other 12 inch? Meaning for the extra 125.00 or so I would get more power and an external speaker out but the same sound?

Was looking on the VOX site and they rated the 50 as 52watt and the 30 at 45watt.. this seem strange?

Robert
November 3rd, 2005, 09:07 AM
The 50 is definitely louder. The 15/30/50 sounds very similar of course; the amp technology are the same. The main difference is in the speaker. The 50's speaker will sound different (better IMO) because of its bigger size. If you don't need a lot of volume, there's no need to go with the 50w.

Justaguyin_nc
November 3rd, 2005, 10:51 AM
Disregard the wattage thing above 50 as 52watt and the 30 at 45watt.. was consumption... I would want the amp that did sound the best of the two or I would probably always have wished I got the right one. Ofcourse I do not have a store around here that has these setup to listen side by side so.. this is a good place to determine... hearing Roberts clips on the AD50VT was the reason I even thought of the VOX...

Katastrophe
November 21st, 2005, 04:13 PM
Ya know, I used to be a total gear snob, and had to have the biggest, baddest rig out there. At one time I had a full rack mounted MIDI system and a Marshall 4X12 cabinet. I got tired of temperamental rack systems and went to a basic, 65 watt Crate amp, and for a solid state, it sounded great! Played on stage a couple of times with it and was completely happy.

I've since moved on to a Crate 120 watt combo with 2 12" speakers and a Digitech RP80. I now have the same tonal variety that I had with the rack, plenty of power for whatever gigs might come along, and all for under $450.00 total! It's a heck of a lot more portable, too.