Which amp?

Public service announcement: how to set up your own guitar/bass and not pay for others to do it...

With helpful clarification:

John, one thing I couldn't get my head around when I contemplated setting my bass up, when you say "Now, set your B (D on a bass, then) string saddle so that the distance between the contact point of the first saddle and this saddle is the width of the second string", is that towards or away from the actual bridge end?
I suppose when all the strings are done, the saddles will sort of form a diagonal line but is it like this \ or like this / (looking at the bridge with the G string at the top and E at the bottom).
Thanks a lot for the guide.

-- jona

Like this "\" (on a bass. On a guitar it will be more like two of those next to each other, because of the combination of wound and unwound strings.) In other words, the highest pitch string (thinnest) will be the closest to the headstock and the lowest pitch string (thickest) will be the furthest away.
-- John Justen asks why your baby cries when I preheat the oven.

Having said that, depending on your budget I'd say:

Cheap - Peavey Bandit 258 or Blazer 158
Pricier - Fender Blues Jr.
Really expensive - Get a bigger apartment.

For amp: Behringer V-amp. You are playing in a tiny bedroom, recording to a computer, with neighbors. The V-amp is 32 vintage and "boutique" amps, 16 speaker cabs. You can get the sound of a Marshall stack at 11 in your headphones and into your recording software without getting evicted.

The preamp idea is a good one, but if you're largely looking to use it for computer recording, I'd look for something with a USB out, like the Zoom G2 series, or some of the Digitech stuff.

You're misinterpreting a music journalism pejorative as gear snobbery, a somewhat different insult. Harmony-Central.Com has all the reviews you need. Start under the reviews tab, guitar amps, new -- which sometime update everyday. The reading is often unintentionally hilarious. And we had a thread devoted to it but it scrolled a couple months ago. But you will find something to your taste.

the basic idea being, if I use the REAL tube screamer, I'll have just exactly Stevei ray vaughns tone, so my music will be just as Real.

epi is 5w all-tube and 100 bucks - the bomb!

proper tone & low decibels

av it!

Just kidding.

I'm considering getting a new guitar amp. I'm using a Bassman now, and at 50 amps, it's just too much. I can barely turn it to 2, even at a gig. I'd like to get something equivalent to 30-35 tube amps. I'd like to get some nice natural distortion at realistic levels, something I can't get out of the Bassman now.

I don't want an amp that sounds "warm", either, not that this is totally a function of the amp. (Warm being maybe Hendrix or Sonny Sharrock to my ears.) Some of the guitar sounds that I like:

• Steve Hanley ca. Perverted by Language
• Steve Albini ca. Racer X
• Erin Sullivan ca. A FRAMES 2
• Roland Howard ca. Junkyard
• Moore/Ranaldo ca. Confusion is Sex

and by amps you mean watts, yes?

Thing to know: a 50-watt amp is not e.g. "twice as loud" as a 25-watt amp (though it will stay clean longer). unless your drummer is Bonzo, you might be able to get away with 20 watts.

Also, you may want to get, like, a Big Muff.

Yes, watts. The Big Muff is way too much distortion for my tastes.

yeah, the big muff is too fuzzy for the sounds cited. i don't know what to recommend in its place though

one of the 70's era musicman combos might work nicely for you. i have a 212 HD-130 combo and it can dial up a nice range of really sharp cleans and a good natural overdrive sound. when i crank it up, it sounds a lot like the guitar tones on wire's 'pink flag'. mine is super loud but it has the master volume so you can dial the volume down and push the master up and get some tube crunch. (or is it the other way around, i can never remember) they also made a version that has half the wattage. (65)

http://www.oldenburger-music-station.de/Music-Man-112-RP-Combo.htm <- found this too

you might also consider getting a boost type pedal - mxr microamp, DOD preamp/OD, zvex super duper 2-in-1, etc

Consider the Crate V and Palomino series. Me bandmate has a 30ish-watt Palomino that is just lovely and may fit the "nice natural distortion" criterion.

The Big Muff is too fuzzy and the Distortion+ kind of bleepy. Lately I like the Blues Driver.

been digging the MXR Distortion III as far as a good range of very musical and usable distortion goes. plus, it's fairly cheap.

^^ OTM Distortion III smacks up toobscreamers all day

Anyone have much experience with old '70s Ampeg V4s? I read someone on the net saying something like "'Get Yer Ya-Yas Out' crunch at jet engine volume", which sounds about what I'm lookin for.

How well do they take pedals? Better/cheaper alternatives?

There's totally a website/forum dedicated to these things but I don't think it'd be much help askin the choir.

Shucks.

I really just need advice on high powered amps that don't break up too much at high volume, and that I can get for around $600-800 or so. Definitely no more than a grand.

I was kinda considering a Deville410 to simultaneously power a 4x12 I've got but unless I could mod it I don't know if they quite have the power I'm looking for. It'd be cool tho cuz if I ever couldn't travel w/ a full-stack-ish setup I could just take the combo on its own in a pinch.

Some kind of HiWatt combo - I've played a couple that might fit the bill, but sadly can't remember model numbers/names. Or a Fender Twin?

If you're not absolutely fixed on valves, what about a Roland JC-120?

HiWatt stuff looks way outta my price range, like more than double. I'm not totally bent on tube amps, though the favs I've played all have been. My hands down favorite (in my limited experience) was an old BF Bandmaster, but at 40W just didn't quite have the volume. Used to have a Twin but had to sell it--tho would go back to one if nothing else worked out for me.

The JC-120 looks interesting! I have no use for the chorus or anything, but keeping that one in mind. Thanks.

lol there's a Johnny DeMarco and Gary Lenaire demo of it that's pretty hilarious.

One thing on the JC-120 - don't plan on ever using the amp distortion, it is the worst sounding on board gain I have ever heard.

(you are in NZ not MN right now right? I have a used Sunn Beta Lead in stock that would fit what yer looking for perfectly, but the shipping to NZ would be insane.)

Yeah, I'm actually just trying to figure this out before I move to Mpls, which won't be til Nov. I have a tendency to impulse buy, so I'm gathering my data now.

I heard that JC120's distortion in some youtube videos. I like me some ratty overdrive, but blech. I've got no real use for in-amp distortion. I really just want the most bare-bones totally loud amp I can find.

Considering Ampeg VT-22 combos. Tho I hear old ampegs have tube issues (esoteric, not much room for variation in the bias)

I've got a V4.

pros: great sound, nice presence on the mids, doesn't break up easily, take pedals well

cons: they are tough amps but still need some TLC. a head alone is in the $600-$800 range but most are in need of a $200-$300 cap job to get them back into spec. early models have polarity issues, and will need to be converted to a grounded power cord. they're heavy as hell - a couple times I was convinced that lugging the 4X12 was going to herniate me.

there's some debate about which V4s are better, the early 70s aluminum knobbed vs. latter plastic knobbed. personally I haven't heard enough variation of either to render a judgment.

"doesn't break up easily" could be pro or con. I wish it broke up earlier because I like the sound of natural overdrive vs. pedal overdrive. but my volume is on 6 and I'm louder than everybody else I'm playing with.

Ah. Thanks.

Also looking at Bugera amps.

lmao
http://www.rosario-musica.com/guitarras%20amplificadores/Bugera%20Poster.jpg
And their website's designed with this big desolate highway canopied by epic storm clouds and there are fuckin lightning bolts everywhere. For that classic all-tube Zeus-fucking-a-black-hole crunch cherished by countless guitarists etc. lol. If it weren't for a lotta scary reliability talk the 6260 would totally be at the top of my list right now. Seen some on ebay for under $500. Damn...

bugera = behringer fwiw

based on your description (high power, clean, affordableish) an Ampeg V series sounds like the thing. they have oddball toobs and they're heavy as fuck but they are LOUD and CLEAN.

they work well for qotsa b/c the desert is pretty much the only place isolated enough to crank 'em without killing low-flying birds

"qotsa"? Queens Of the Stone Age?

Yeah I read about the Behringer thing, nervoussweat.jpg...So it's looking like a V4 or VT-22, tho I'd consider a Peavy 5150 if I could find one used and cheap and also crank it up w/ my gear before buying I suppose.

Thanks y'all!

yes queens of the stone age. josh uses a shit ton of gear and is stealthy about it but the big ampegs are a staple

if you are looking at a 5150, skip the creepy weirdo EVH price inflation and look for a used 6505. ive done the schematic to schematic comparison and they are 100% identical.