dannyalcatraz

On the amp front: get a tube combo amp 5-40w- anything more will be wasted- with decent cleans.

Check out Fender, Egnater (esp. Tweakers), Peavey, Vox, Carvin...maybe Orange or Blackstar if you're more metal oriented.

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Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: “Ninety percent of everything is crap.”

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D3M0N1C

I do like the Tubemeister 18, but I'm just being a tart I think because it would look nice in my setup lol, that being said it does get good reviews and is supposed to have good tone at lower volumes, but as stated earlier there's no headphone port??? Why is this? Would the speaker I pair it with have a headphone port on it? Apologies again if this is a silly question, I just assumed all Amps would have a headphone port.

Huge Guy

I agree about the Fender Mustang, thumbs down. I was planning to get one but I thought the distortion chanells sounded terrible.

Frank M

I own a 60th Ann. Deluxe Am. Strat. I really enjoy it; this is my third stratocaster...I keep upgrading but I think I have hit the sounds I want now. I have three other guitars - two classical one built by a luthier in Germany, and one Washburn acoustic. I don't play for money anywhere but do enjoy a lot picking with friends on my patio at home. I am using a Fender amp, the G Dec 3, I will probably upgrade this in the future but for now I'm satisfied. All of my sons, 4, play instruments, my youngest son has a 6 string Ibanez and has played for a couple of jazz clubs in Fayetteville and Myrtle Beach.

Good luck in your search...I like my Strat!
Frank

D3M0N1C

I was under the impression I could get a really good Amp head with no speaker and just use headphones for the time being, but that doesn't seem to be the case as most of them have no headphones port? I've only been researching amplifiers this past week as I'm still pretty clueless really, so please forgive me if I come across as a total amateur

MaggaraMarine

Most of the big amps don't have headphone out because they aren't primarily designed for bedroom use. And that way the manufacturers will get you to buy another amp for home practicing only.

If you want to play with headphones only, buy a multi FX pedal.

__________________
My motto: Play what the song needs you to play!

Gear:

Charvel So Cal (MIJ)
Digitech RP355
MXR Micro Chorus
Laney VC30
Tokai TB48

Frank M

The G Dec 3 has a jack for head phones, works with the MP3 player and you can plug in your computer to try other music or backing tracks. That's one of the reasons I got this to try out. It is easy to record on for playback as well and it was only about $300.00.

There are nearly 100 backing tracks already recorded from all genre's...I know there are a lot more expensive amps but this one works for me right now. Good hunting :-)

Dave_Mc

I'm not sure pushing your budget up will really help all that much- at least if you know what you're doing and buy the stuff that's good value.

that traynor i listed is (barring just coming across a really good deal, say a shop blowing out old stock or something like that) as good an amp as there is without spending about double that money. IMO, obviously.

Ditto an MIJ Tokai- I'd pretty much take an MIJ Tokai fender copy (assuming I wanted a vintage spec fender-style guitar) over anything in fender's catalogue short of the american reissues. And even they only really get the nod because of the nitro finish (and tokai does nitro fender models too for only a slight upcharge, though they never seem to be available here in the UK for some reason). the fret kings are a bit more modern- and as i said, you can often get deals on them for around the £400 mark (often enough that i wouldn't pay any more than that for one). I'd probably take a fret king blue label over anything short of the USA fenders (which are a fair bit more money).

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Sledgeman

The Tubemeister has an built-in red box, so you can connect it thru line out to a PA-system, soundcard or a stereo. From there you can use headphones. The Tubemeister is very versatile and should cover all your needs. It also comes in a combo version but the construction of the combo is really bad so it's a mess if you want to change tubes in that one. The head is much easier.

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Sledgemanguitar on youtube

Dave_Mc

though if headphones are a dealbreaker the traynor probably doesn't have that capability. just to point out.

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Offworld92

I'm sick of posting it and I'm sure people are sick of seeing it posted, but... if you need solid tone at low volumes and headphone out, look at the Peavey Vypyr Tube 60.

Most good amps don't have headphone outs. That's a features almost exclusively reserved for practice amps (which coincidentally usually don't sound great). There's some exceptions, but none I know of off the top of my head.

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In your mind, you can fly.

HUMANIZER

This isn't 1968. Use the volume knob.

Main Rig
Ibanez | S420 |
LTD | EC-1000 |
Peavey | 6505 | MS412 (WGS) |
Boss | TU-3 | CS-3 | GT-10 | NS-2 |
MXR | M77 |

D3M0N1C

Hello again folks, I've been looking into the advice and suggestions given so far and think I'm finally getting somewhere. I didn't realize that asking for a headphones port on a high end Amp was too much

What I'm looking at so far:

Guitar:
Fender Strat MIM
Tokai Strat MIJ
Fret King
Godin Session
G&L Tribute Legacy

Amp:
Peavey VYPYR Tube 60 - Good features but not able to achieve the right tone?
Traynor YCV50B - No headphone out?
Marshall JCM2000 DSL401 - x2 on ebay right now! Headphones port & able to achieve the right tone?
Tubemeister 18 - No headphone out? Connect to a sound card through the integrated redbox, would this create delay?

Effects:
TC Electronics Nova Delay
Big Muff
Boss RT20
Moog MF-104

Also, along with my primary needs in an Amp (Headphones out and low wattage), if I could achieve a 3D Rotary/Gilmourish tone similar to the video Danny posted earlier I'd be very happy

Effects aren't my main concern just yet, but if I end up with some change I'll look into it. If its gonna cost me £400 ish in effects to get the sound I want, would the Moog MF-104 be worth looking in to? It is very expensive and usually I wouldn't even consider it, but.....if it eliminates the need for anymore pedals, is it worth the money? I'm only a novice so I'm sure some of this seems overkill, but I want to spend what money I have towards it now to get the best set up possible, before I end up spending it on useless shit or computer upgrades lol.

Cheers.

dannyalcatraz

Ok...


You pretty much cannot go wrong with any of those: take a microscope to the specs, try out any of those you can.
****


Again, all good, quality options.

Delay pedals:

The Moog does it all, and does it well, but for that price, it damn well better. The TC Nova is another pricey but excellent pedal. If you're considering these, you should also look at the top- end Red Witch* pedals. Again, you simply can't go wrong if you can afford those. However, you might also consider less expensive options like the Line6 ToneCore Echo Park, the MXR Carbon Copy, and the Red Witch Violet Delay.

The Boss RT-20 is a killer pedal. I own one, and it does EXACTLY what it says it does. I bought mine a long time before I saw this video, but that video upthread illustrates why it is so good.

Distortion Pedals:
The Big Muff** is a classic distortion pedal, well made and does what it is supposed to do at a good price. Is an industry standard for that reason. There are other good ones out there worth considering- like the offerings from Visual Sound or Red Witch.





* I have several Red Witch pedals.

** I own a Russian Big Muff and just got the Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde and the Red Witch Famulus.

__________________
Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: “Ninety percent of everything is crap.”

Why, yes, I am a lawyer- thanks for asking!

D3M0N1C

Cool, thanks for the help Danny, your a star!
Its gonna be a hard decision between them. Considering I want Gilmourish tone, do any of them stand out to you more than the others? There isn't a decent music store near me so its difficult to test anything out before I buy it, our local music stores a joke! Best I can do is get as much information as I can, then make a decision. I've used a Fender Strat MIM before, but never picked any of the others up, or even seen them in the flesh.

dannyalcatraz

As for the guitars, I only know the Tokai and Fret King by reputation. I've played the others, but I don't own any of them. My only knock on the Fender is a personal one- for some reason, Fenders don't feel good in my hands. The Godins and G&Ls just simply felt better against my body and in my hands, and that may not be true for you.

The thing is, Fenders are Fenders, and tend to hold resale value better than anyone except maybe Gibson. This has 2 implications:

1) if you are looking at a guitar with an eye towards selling it down the road, the Fender is your best bet.

2) if you are considering buying used, the Fender is your worst choice, because the other brands will be cheaper on the used market for guitars of equivalent quality and condition.

All of that said, the number one factor in the tone you're chasing will be your amp, and there, I have to let you down. I don't know ANY of those personally, and my only amp is a 40w Fender HRD combo. I was looking for as clean a sound as I could find so my ridiculous pedal collection could be the deciding factor in what I sound like.

__________________
Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: “Ninety percent of everything is crap.”

Why, yes, I am a lawyer- thanks for asking!

D3M0N1C

No worries Danny, thanks for your opinion. It was my initial plan to go all out clean then use pedals to get what I want too, I thought it would be easier that way, but I love the soothing, beautiful Gilmour tone more than anything! Not gonna get my hands on one of those Yamaha Leslie Amps tho am I

I'm not sure what will be the deciding factor guitar wise, I'm not too bothered about re-sell value as I'll most likely keep it as part of my collection or pass it on to family later down the line.

I'm pretty impressed with the tone he achieves in that video you posted, with the Boss RT20 & Nova Delay, so I'll definitely be looking into them. The Moog MF-104 is a definite no no, I thought it was an effects pedal, not just delay, doh! I'll be doing a lot more reading and posting before I decide on an Amp though, cheers dude

Dave_Mc

i'd stroke the MIM fender off that list unless you mean the classic series- the standard MIMs have pretty mediocre (by that i mean shite) stock pickups which would need to be upgraded ASAP.

I'd also stroke the G&L tributes off the list- as i said, if you were willing to buy online you can get a USA one for ~$1000 on pro guitar shop. Granted you might get hit for customs (so that's worth bearing in mind and could add £100-£150 or so to the overall price), but it does make the UK prices of the tributes look very, very expensive (and the USA ones too, of course).

obviously buying online is more of a risk, and it's up to you whether or not you're willing to take said risk (and it's your own risk if you do take it- don't go blaming me if you try it and it blows up in your face, lol, I warned you!), but personally I'd be struggling to buy the tribute if i knew i could get the USA one for no more online. it'd be like buying a ford from a local dealer when i could get a porsche online for the same price, kind of thing.

EDIT: i have no experience with the effects other than the muff, and have only tried the traynor and dsl401 (i'd vastly prefer the traynor, it's ply and has a decent speaker, the marshall, er, isn't and doesn't But if the headphone thing is a dealbreaker, the marshall has it and the traynor doesn't, so... )



that's a very good point, and worth bearing in mind.

__________________

dannyalcatraz

Only buy online from sellers with a good return policy.

__________________
Sturgeon's 2nd Law, a.k.a. Sturgeon's Revelation: “Ninety percent of everything is crap.”

Why, yes, I am a lawyer- thanks for asking!

D3M0N1C

Thanks for stopping by Dave, yeah its doing my head in trying to narrow it down, I definitely wouldn't order from a different country, I'm not brave enough to take the risk lol! After a bit of thought, I don't think the Godins will be the quality I'm after either, I kinda like the G&L tributes, if it weren't for the risk factor as you point out, are the USA builds that much better? If the pickups on the MIMs are that bad I'll probably give them a miss as I don't really want to buy a spanking guitar and start tinkering with it. I'm also weary about the build quality of the Tokai, are they any better/worse than the MIM Fenders? If I were to purchase a MIM Fender Strat, and replace the pickups with the EMG DG-20's, would it be worthwhile?

I'm looking at a few more Amps if anyone has anything to say about them, with Gilmourish tones in mind:

Peavey Classic 30 - Too loud for bedroom use?
Laney Cub 12R?
Fender Blues Junior?
Fender FSR Hot Rod III Blues Junior 'Red Nova' Two-Tone?

From what I've read, most people seem to think Marshall Amps aren't a good choice for what I'm trying to achieve?