What should I plug my Pitbull Guitar into ?

[MikeL]

Hi guys, I can play flawless keyboard while staggering drunk and the odd song on acoustic but I'm a complete novice when it comes to electric guitars. I've done a lot of study and research while waiting the arrival of my SV-1 but one area I need some help is output...

I have a stereo 200w amp with twin 1.5m high speakers that I use for my synth and I would preferably like to use the same for my guitar. one of my coworkers who plays electric guitar said I should just get a pre-amp then. So I started Googling and next thing I'm looking at software such as Amp Farm and Amplitube... and then there's pedals and I'm starting to go into brain overload...

Can anyone suggest a nice inexpensive way I can get things happening and get sounds that won't make me cringe. This is an example of the kind of sound I would love to be putting out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkptcx7KO6Q

[pablopepper]

Hi MikeL,

Have you checked out a Line 6 POD? The older kidney shaped ones can be found on eBay for surprisingly little money.

I have a hd300 that I have used direct into a pa and it sounds great. I have also plugged it into a regular home stereo as a ghetto jam amp and that worked a lot better than expected. Through my guitar amp though, I prefer to turn the amp modeling off and just use it as an effects board.

Overall I find the PODs pretty straight forward to use and you can get some top notch tones out of them. Check out some YouTube vids, it might be what you're after.

Quote from MikeL on December 18, 2012, 17:35
Hi guys, I can play flawless keyboard while staggering drunk and the odd song on acoustic but I'm a complete novice when it comes to electric guitars. I've done a lot of study and research while waiting the arrival of my SV-1 but one area I need some help is output...

I have a stereo 200w amp with twin 1.5m high speakers that I use for my synth and I would preferably like to use the same for my guitar. one of my coworkers who plays electric guitar said I should just get a pre-amp then. So I started Googling and next thing I'm looking at software such as Amp Farm and Amplitube... and then there's pedals and I'm starting to go into brain overload...

Can anyone suggest a nice inexpensive way I can get things happening and get sounds that won't make me cringe. This is an example of the kind of sound I would love to be putting out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkptcx7KO6Q

After 40 years of playing-

Nothing personal, please don't take it that way: Being a complete novice means that this sort of decision is a bit early. Have you settled on string size and brand, pick size, pickups, effects, tuning, set list..? You need to develop your own touch and style. You can have the same gear she has and sound totally different. I would.

I will answer your question- you can get that sound out of a 5 watt Epiphone Junior or even a 1 watt Firefly, especially if you are in your garage. I have both amps and can annoy the neighbours with them. I even record using them. You will probably find that she has a hi gain pedal in there. There is no way that she's gotten that sound of of anything but a small amp.

Learn to play the whole package from fingers to amp, hit a shop and start playing with stock, and then you can make your choice.

-==-

what I've learned about amplifiers:

A keyboard amp or a vocal amp are not good guitar amps. We want guitar amps to break up; vocal and keyboards, no.

200 watts and a good sound engineer should be a good rig for Wembley.

(Despite what it looks like) Brian May uses only 3 x Vox AC30s and unless he's doing chorus stuff, only one of them is on line.

Check out David Gilmour's stadium rig of a couple of Hiwatts. Great for stadiums.

The cabs on an AC/DC stage are there for show. They have isolation boxes under the stage; Metallica too.

When I play festivals I use an iso box and a 40 Watt combo; when I play pubs and bigger clubs I have a choice of Hiwatts, Voxes and Fender Bassmans, depending on the venue. I've even used the Epiphone Valve Junior mentioned above.

But it all comes down to :

Cheap, Loud, Tone. Pick 2.

[MikeL]

Thanks Pablo I hadn't heard of Line 6 or POD's for that matter, after a quick look at them on Youtube the X3 or even the Portable POD would more than suffice in getting me started... on ebay they start around $125


Thanks Dmac, no offence taken, I want your input. Tapping into the collective knowledge will save me years of trial and error. The guitar setup I'm initially using is whatever Adam supplies me with because I simply don't know any better yet but having the guitar seems to be only half the equation. I could go to cash converters and buy a $40 amp but would the results encourage me or put me off, I simply have no idea what to look for and Google hasn't helped much on this one The biggest problem for me is i'm a fullblood lefthander so playing around in shops is embarrasing and feels all wrong and until I get my guitar making noise I can't develop my own preferences properly, so I'm kinda in limbo at the moment, hence my post. But regardless, my guitar is still a few weeks away and I don't plan on doing a quick botch job of assembly so I do have some time to learn all I can.

Oh, and Brian May is legend, Queen was built on the distinctive sound of dining room table and mantle piece ... with some homemade pickups for good measure ( love that guitar )

[adam]

Hey Mike, for what it's worth, I've had a Line 6 Floor Pod for years and its served me very well. I couldn't use it live, but its great for home use and right now I plug it into our Jam Hub for "silent" rehearsal.

It has the bonus of a few pedals (plus an "Expression Pedal") so you can program a few of your fave patches.

Edit: These are dirt cheap now as they're a few years old.

[MikeL]

Now that does look pretty cool, thanks Adam.

I'm not going to get one just yet, going to do more research into options but if anyone is after one I found one for sale in Brisbane on Gumtree for $99

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/brisb...pod/1009741434

[MikeL]

Ok, Couldn't wait, bit the bullet and sent several requests to the seller on Gumtree, no response to any contacts.. So then I started looking further into other brands and options.. Bearing in mind I do want to start small.. Something like a Line 6 Pocket POD would be awesome but they're still a little more than what I want to pay for something I expect to outgrow fairly quickly. Then I discovered the Nux PG-1 and also the Mooer Pogo, both of which fit my starting needs and are both cheap... After an Ebay search I found one company selling the Nux PG-1 for only $17 +$14 freight, they're $99 in the shops. So that's what I've bought.

I realise that you guys with years of experience are probably cringing in the same way I, with my 20 years using Roland Synths, cringe at people with Casio keyboards but it's all good, it's only a taste tester to wet my appetite for more and better.

Quote from MikeL on December 28, 2012, 09:24
Ok, Couldn't wait, bit the bullet and sent several requests to the seller on Gumtree, no response to any contacts.. So then I started looking further into other brands and options.. Bearing in mind I do want to start small.. Something like a Line 6 Pocket POD would be awesome but they're still a little more than what I want to pay for something I expect to outgrow fairly quickly. Then I discovered the Nux PG-1 and also the Mooer Pogo, both of which fit my starting needs and are both cheap... After an Ebay search I found one company selling the Nux PG-1 for only $17 +$14 freight, they're $99 in the shops. So that's what I've bought.

I realise that you guys with years of experience are probably cringing in the same way I, with my 20 years using Roland Synths, cringe at people with Casio keyboards but it's all good, it's only a taste tester to wet my appetite for more and better.

If I'd known you were left handed...

I'm not cringing. You're playing. It's good.

If it has the choice, turn the gain up. In any event, you've got something to develop yourself with.

(I still have a 30 year old 5 watt amp in the workshop that does testing duties.)

[MikeL]

For what it is, it looks pretty decent for a starting point.
One of the Asian guitar sites rated it 5 stars.
Worst case, at least I can plug my headphones in and I won't be annoying the wife.

Here it is http://multimedia.fnac.pt/multimedia...g?201111252028

There's also Youtube clips if you want to hear it.

[adam]

I've never seen or heard of this unit before, but it looks kinda cool. Let us know what it's like.