Do you guys have any suggestions for me?
i need to buy an amp, and an electric guitar. my budget is 500 euros; honestly i would like to get a good amp more than a good guitar, since i will use this for singing with a mic and acoustic bass as well. I have no idea where to start or what i sould look for, granted i just will probably try different guitars in the same price range and pick the one that "feels" the most mine. for the amp i would not know in the slightest how to choose. Should i bring my mic and try it out? sennheiser E835 or is that irrelevant? any suggestions are welcome

Teoita

Italy12246 Posts

October 21 2014 22:18 GMT

#1062

What music do you like?

I'm notot sure how doable using guitar amps for mics is.

WombaT

Northern Ireland26402 Posts

October 22 2014 01:18 GMT

#1063

Speaking of reinvigorating the thread I've seen a bunch of vids on YouTube of collective vids over a jam tracks with each guy taking a part.

I'd love to do something similar but as I found before with my 'let's cover a BW theme' it's a lot of work for my current schedule/breakup from my kid's mum etc.

I'd definitely be able to do a take though if people are game?

docvoc

United States5491 Posts

October 22 2014 02:07 GMT

#1064

500 Euros is a solid sum to work with. You need to clarify a bit though. Are you looking for one amp or two. I'm not sure you can do what you are talking about with just 1 amp. Also you should think about the sound you are looking for. Are you going big or small with the wattage? Do you want tube or solid state? Can you afford replacements on tubes annually if you are looking for tubes (depending on how much you use it)? The best way is to go into a local stores and try all the amps in your price range, but you haven't really given us much of a clear look into what you want.

On a personal side note. I just tried out the NYXL 10's from D'addario, and I love them. My big thing is I don't know where I should be progressing at 1 year being serious about guitar. All the really noticeable stuff has ended for the most part. Now I'm noticing that a lot of what I'm learning is about smaller things, like progressions, styles, etc. I still love playing, but I just don't know how I should go about practicing since I'm never going to be a pro guitarist. Any advice?

NihiLStarcraft

Denmark1413 Posts

October 22 2014 12:59 GMT

#1065

A guitar amp really isn't made to be played through with a bass or used with a mic. It technically works but it's going to sound like crap. Forget about tube amps, solid state is the way to go when you only have 500 Euros for amp plus guitar. Rest depends on what kind of music you want to play. I heard good things about the Line 6 Spider IV series for example, they come with okay build-in effects and supposedly sound pretty decent for their cheap price. Never played through one myself though. Your idea to spend a bit more on amp than on guitar is good. Do not buy a guitar with floyd rose tremolo bridge in that price range though, it will suck and ruin your (musical-) life. A solid beginner strat (Yamaha maybe) is a good bet.

About the strings, I notice the majority here seem to be playing .10s while I'm on .09s right now. Any particular reason for .10s? I found the low string difference to be fairly negligible in sound and feel while the .01mm difference on the top E string feels way different somehow. Also, docvoc, what do you like about the D'Addario NYXL strings? I've heard of them but wasn't really sure what the deal with them was? Have you played Ernie Ball strings before for comparison?

WombaT

Northern Ireland26402 Posts

October 22 2014 13:30 GMT

#1066

Line 6 Spiders are pretty horrible, at least the 2 series (if that's a correct range number). They're also primarily marketed/geared towards metal I believe. They do a couple of tones very well, but do some pretty damn horribly.

Teoita

Italy12246 Posts

October 22 2014 13:33 GMT

#1067

I think a good average starter amp might be some Fender solid state amp, like a Fender Champion. The ones i've played sounded pretty good for the price.

NihiLStarcraft

Denmark1413 Posts

October 22 2014 13:51 GMT

#1068

Oh I was talking about the Spider IV's, sorry, should have clarified.

WombaT

Northern Ireland26402 Posts

October 22 2014 14:31 GMT

#1069

There are some pretty good hybrid amps for cheap if we're talking relatively low wattage, are you looking something for gigging or for home use primarily?

pebble444

Italy2503 Posts

October 22 2014 19:22 GMT

#1070

Thank you all for your answers

i tought i could get away with it but then i can' t. What i' m looking for is a system to play guitar and sing, at home but also do gigs since i' m starting to do them now. At this point in time, it would be a good moment to have more money to buy equipment, but i cannot; i need to have amplification for my own in order to do gigs and practice with it. I have an acoustic not amplifiable, and the experience of playing near a mic works but its not very practical. To not amplify the guitar, i can' t really play the way i want. mostly reggae, some of my songs, some pop, some rock, some moviesoundtrack songs. I like to do arpeggios, and fingerstyle. I don' t play many solos. I use voice as a first instrument and accompany with the guitar. ultimatly the voice is a more important aspect for me while doing voice+guitar. Yesterday i talked to a singer and he suggested i get 1 speaker with a built in mixer, then add another for stereo when i have the budget possibility. I have a crappy mixer, some m-audio mobil-pre with 2 imputs. i need to find a way to make this work. Proper equipment is of course costly, but at this point i need to have equipment

Tldr: i' m looking for a way to sing and play guitar, amplified

Teoita

Italy12246 Posts

October 22 2014 19:52 GMT

#1071

With your budget and your music choice i'd go with a fender solid state amp like these:
http://www.ginomusica.it/it/fender-champion-40-p-2803.html
http://www.ginomusica.it/it/fender-champion-20-p-2804.html
along with a squire classic vibe, either tele or strat. Lots of different styles in the range:
http://www.ginomusica.it/it/squier-classic-vibe-stratocaster-50s-2cs-p-935.html
http://www.ginomusica.it/it/squier-classic-vibe-telecaster-50s-bb-p-1284.html
It's slightly above your budget because italy is expensive like that, but it should be a good starting point.

NihiLStarcraft

Denmark1413 Posts

October 24 2014 16:20 GMT

#1072

Do any of you use a different right hand position when picking lead/solo lines and playing rhythm/power chord stuff? I do and I always thought that was kinda weird. Then I saw Paul Gilbert say he does the same in a video. Now I'm unsure :p

WombaT

Northern Ireland26402 Posts

October 24 2014 18:52 GMT

#1073

Aye, if I ever open my self-filming archive of doom it's pretty noticeable. Things like sweep picked arpeggios if they require a tap require you to pre-empt things a bit and push up a bit from the bridge

You get a good bit of tonal variety from picking at different angles too, it's something you tend to develop naturally rather than something you actively work on

Was something a friend swore by, playing in front of a mirror to keep an eye on your positioning and overall technique.

NihiLStarcraft

Denmark1413 Posts

October 25 2014 11:37 GMT

#1074

This is how I'm currently holding my pick. Left column is for when I pick single notes, right side is for (power) chords.

For lead I curve my index finger, put the pick on top of the first knuckle, the put my thumb over it. My thumb is not curved but stretched and the pick is not under where my fingernail on my thumb is but lower, closer to the thumb knuckle.

For rhythm I stretch my index and middle fingers out almost straight, then hold the pick almost like an extension to the two fingers. Then I put my thumb on it, this time not at the knuckle but higher up, where the fingernail on my thumb is.

How do you guys pick compared to 'my' techniques?

I'm having trouble going from one position to the other without readjusting my pick with both hands lol. The fingers under the pick aren't the issue but getting the pick to be further down on the thumb for lead and higher up for rhythm seems very tricky...

Teoita

Italy12246 Posts

October 25 2014 11:51 GMT

#1075

I pretty much always use what you do for lead, only i keep my thumb a little further back

NihiLStarcraft

Denmark1413 Posts

October 25 2014 13:21 GMT

#1076

Hmm interesting. What about you other guitar players?

Girondelle

France969 Posts

October 25 2014 13:55 GMT

#1077

On October 25 2014 22:21 NihiLStarcraft wrote:
Hmm interesting. What about you other guitar players?

There is no 'good way' to hold your pick, however, the most popular is what you do for the lead. I've seen plenty of ways to hold the pick, you just have to find what works best for you. I personnaly always hold the pick the same way : your position for the lead you're using.

Powerpill

United States1693 Posts

October 25 2014 20:02 GMT

#1078

I never could hold the pick comfortably like you showed in the lead picture, so I use more of a higher hybrid, closer to how you do rhythm, but for leads. Just feels like I have more control, then again, my hands are strange. (Have super long fingers with normal length thumbs)

OtherWorld

France17333 Posts

October 25 2014 20:10 GMT

#1079

I think the only right way of holding a pick is the one that provides you both comfort and control, so it will change from person to person.

NihiLStarcraft

Denmark1413 Posts

October 26 2014 19:31 GMT

#1080

True but I'm changing it on purpose because my 'old' way, the one that I still use for rhythm playing, is really sloppy. I can't play fast and/or clean with it.

Do you guys play fast rock/metal with a lot of power chords and palm muting as well? Because I really can't get my lead position to sound good for those songs. Maybe I just need to get used to it.