New guitar or amp???

whjr15

whjr15

New member
So I've decided that I'm going to invest my full tax return check... Into music that is! My only dilemma is that I can't decide exactly what I want to get. However, I do know that it will either be a new electric guitar or a nice tube amp, as I don't really have quality in either aspect.

If I buy a guitar I still have to play it through a crap amp, and if a get a nice amp I still have to plug a crap guitar into it! :mad:

I'm leaning towards a fender hot rod deville, or a fender nashville power tele. I have roughly $1000 to spend.


Any suggestions on what I should do?
 
okay think of it this way.. which does less justice. a PRS through a 5 watt solid state practice amp? or a squier through a soldano half stack?

I think you should take your guitar to a music store and play through some stuff, and then try to find that tele and play it through whatever amp you have now and see which you like better.. that way you know first hand, ya know? :D
 
Does your guitar have decent intonation without fret buzz? If it does I would say get an amp. If you can't play chords or notes without always feeling like you are out of tune somewhere, I say get a guitar. Upgrade the weakest link first.
 
Outlaws said:
Does your guitar have decent intonation without fret buzz? If it does I would say get an amp. If you can't play chords or notes without always feeling like you are out of tune somewhere, I say get a guitar. Upgrade the weakest link first.
Click to expand...

I agree with this.

But I was at a point when my amp was worth more than twice as much as my guitar ... and I just hated the concept. I feel like my Instrument should be way more important. Of course with guitar there a catch because its two pieces that make the chain. Split it in half? hot rod for 600 some other guitar for 400? I dunno haha good luck figuring something out. Of course the answer is " theres no right answer." Hopefully you can come to something youre content with.
 
Erockrazor said:
I agree with this.

But I was at a point when my amp was worth more than twice as much as my guitar ... and I just hated the concept. I feel like my Instrument should be way more important. Of course with guitar there a catch because its two pieces that make the chain. Split it in half? hot rod for 600 some other guitar for 400? I dunno haha good luck figuring something out. Of course the answer is " theres no right answer." Hopefully you can come to something youre content with.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Playability is a huge issue on a guitar. I had a Squier I had to fight with to play out of a Trace Elliot solid state. Putting $300 toward an Epiphone at the time made the biggest difference in the world just for playability, it made the $250 amp sound very useable. There has to be a balance.
 
it's like mikes and preamps : a lousy mike can still sound good with a decent preamp but a lousy preamp makes even a $ 10000 mike sound like crap.

get a good amp!
 
TravisinFlorida said:
if the guitar is playable, go for the amp. spend some time playing your candidates too.
Click to expand...

Good idea. And right now is a great time because you don't have the money burning a hole in your pocket.
 
new guitar

check out rondomusic.net ...... that will get you a nice guitar and leave you enough for a nice amp :D :D
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

See, I'm really stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one. My guitar's intonnation is shot to hell, and my amp is a run-of-the-mill solid state - definitely not the sound I want, and I feel my recordings are suffering from it (at least to my taste).

It wouldn't be practical to get my guitar repaired, as its a squier.
And I KNOW I want a tube amp for sure after a few years of playing through my friend's, and after all the trips to GC playing them.

Maybe I should just buy the more expensive of the two, so it'll be easier to save up for the other later?
 
whjr15 said:
Thanks for the replies everyone.

See, I'm really stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one. My guitar's intonnation is shot to hell, and my amp is a run-of-the-mill solid state - definitely not the sound I want, and I feel my recordings are suffering from it (at least to my taste).

It wouldn't be practical to get my guitar repaired, as its a squier.
And I KNOW I want a tube amp for sure after a few years of playing through my friend's, and after all the trips to GC playing them.

Maybe I should just buy the more expensive of the two, so it'll be easier to save up for the other later?
Click to expand...

Squires can be decent guitars. I vote that you spend $40 on your squire to have it professionally set up and checked out electrically (if the intonation is off then it needs it whether you keep it or sell it). Then take it to the store and play it through every amp in your budget. Bring headphones so you can sample the output (on amps with headphone jacks) without the room colorations from the store.

That's just what I would do. I hope you find what you want.

Oh, I love the Fender blues jr. for the price range, definitely try out one of those.
 
what's wrong with your guitars intonation? is it just a matter of needing a setup or was the the guitar just built wrong?

is there any chance that you can sell your current guitar/amp and get something like a yamaha pacifica to hold you over?
 
Go for the tele!!!! The amp your looking at isn't that great.

Also think about how playable the tele is going to be. This will give you not only a tone advantage but a nice playable instrument. There are a tone of good sounding amps that are cheaper than that guitar.
 
whjr15 said:
I'm leaning towards a fender hot rod deville, or a fender nashville power tele. I have roughly $1000 to spend.
Click to expand...

For the money, there's no reason why you can't get both a great amp and a good guitar. Compared to prices where I am, it's unbelievable what a thousand bucks will get you in the States. A quick look at the Guitar Center website threw up this option: A Blonde Fender Blues Junior for 400 bucks, and a Lite Ash Tele for 620. Great amp, good guitar = great sounds.
 
32-20-Blues said:
For the money, there's no reason why you can't get both a great amp and a good guitar. Compared to prices where I am, it's unbelievable what a thousand bucks will get you in the States. A quick look at the Guitar Center website threw up this option: A Blonde Fender Blues Junior for 400 bucks, and a Lite Ash Tele for 620. Great amp, good guitar = great sounds.
Click to expand...

Good call, makes me want to go shopping...
 
32-20-Blues said:
For the money, there's no reason why you can't get both a great amp and a good guitar. Compared to prices where I am, it's unbelievable what a thousand bucks will get you in the States. A quick look at the Guitar Center website threw up this option: A Blonde Fender Blues Junior for 400 bucks, and a Lite Ash Tele for 620. Great amp, good guitar = great sounds.
Click to expand...

that's objectionable. i would never put the words "great" and "blues junior" in the same sentence.
 
whattaguy said:
You might be able to score a deal on both if you shop for used gear. I got the Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb floor model at GC for about $700. You could probably find a used G&L for about $500. I know it's a little over budget, but it's something to think about.
Click to expand...

Oh, nice, I forgot about G&L. Nice guitars.
 
bear in mind that holding a new guitar is a lot nicer (and easier) than holding a new amp...
if i want to be extreme and feel the wrath of the amp buffs i could put it like this...
you can make music with a guitar and no amp
but it's hard to be creative (in a non tom waits way) with an amp but without a guitar...
put simply
the guitar is the instrument
the amp is basically a plug!

:p
 
whjr15 said:
See, I'm really stuck between a rock and a hard place on this one. My guitar's intonnation is shot to hell, and my amp is a run-of-the-mill solid state - definitely not the sound I want, and I feel my recordings are suffering from it (at least to my taste).
Click to expand...

If you can't decide which to upgrade first then, I would choose the guitar.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top