muttley600
Banned
....or at least not forget to stick one in your pocket.....
... and the right strap. You have to have the right strap or things could go horribly wrong.
... and the right strap. You have to have the right strap or things could go horribly wrong.
lpdeluxe
The Precision Bass Guy
Hmmmm...now I understand why the other guys are always whispering about me when they think I'm not paying attention....
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
Players will always have a greater affection for the guitar...it's only natural.
You hold it...practically fondle it as you play...
...and it has that organic vibe because it's mostly made of wood.
Whereas amps are just "devices"...a bunch of electronics stuffed into a box...so it's not unusual for some people to lean more towards the guitar as more important to them, and therefore they treasure their guitars more.
But if the underlying question is about your tone and overall sound...an electric guitar contributes much less to that than the amp does in most cases.
As someone already said...a cheap guitar can still be made to sound good through a decent amp...but a cheap amp can often kill even a good guitar!
And yeah...the player's style/technique is always the core of one's "sound"...but you will fight with a cheap amp a lot harder than a cheap guitar.
And not to sound snooty, but you do need to step up a bit in amp quality to appreciate what good amps do. Yeah...I've had my share of inexpensive, assembly-line amps, and use to think it's all just electronics and why do I need to spend $2k on an amp?!?!
But now I know why....
Meanwhile, I still play mostly inexpensive guitars if you want to compare them to the current price lists from Fender/Gibson/PRS/etc. Most of my guitars didn't cost me more than $500...with the exception of a few vintage pieces and my Fender Tele '52 RI.
I would love to own some top-of-the-line Duesenberg or PRS guitars or even some custom, made to order stuff...but it's not that necessary IMO. Maybe one day I will treat myself to one or two…but for now I would rather spend the big bucks on amps.
You hold it...practically fondle it as you play...
...and it has that organic vibe because it's mostly made of wood.Whereas amps are just "devices"...a bunch of electronics stuffed into a box...so it's not unusual for some people to lean more towards the guitar as more important to them, and therefore they treasure their guitars more.
But if the underlying question is about your tone and overall sound...an electric guitar contributes much less to that than the amp does in most cases.
As someone already said...a cheap guitar can still be made to sound good through a decent amp...but a cheap amp can often kill even a good guitar!
And yeah...the player's style/technique is always the core of one's "sound"...but you will fight with a cheap amp a lot harder than a cheap guitar.
And not to sound snooty, but you do need to step up a bit in amp quality to appreciate what good amps do. Yeah...I've had my share of inexpensive, assembly-line amps, and use to think it's all just electronics and why do I need to spend $2k on an amp?!?!
But now I know why....
Meanwhile, I still play mostly inexpensive guitars if you want to compare them to the current price lists from Fender/Gibson/PRS/etc. Most of my guitars didn't cost me more than $500...with the exception of a few vintage pieces and my Fender Tele '52 RI.
I would love to own some top-of-the-line Duesenberg or PRS guitars or even some custom, made to order stuff...but it's not that necessary IMO. Maybe one day I will treat myself to one or two…but for now I would rather spend the big bucks on amps.
suprstar
It aint ez being green
Yeah me too, I own 7 guitars, 4 of em were right around $400, the rest were under $300. Actually my amps are kinda cheap too, so i should prolly shut up ...
Zaphod B
Raccoons-Be-Gone, Inc.
There is so much to get wrong it's a miracle that anyone even tries.
Show up at a gig with the wrong stickers on your guitar case and you can get laughed out of town.
muttley600
Banned
There is so much to get wrong it's a miracle that anyone even tries.
Show up at a gig with the wrong stickers on your guitar case and you can get laughed out of town.
Tell me about it. Not to mention the right brand of talcum powder. It's a jungle out there..
Zaphod B
Raccoons-Be-Gone, Inc.
Tell me about it. Not to mention the right brand of talcum powder. It's a jungle out there..
You can never go wrong with Gold Bond.
cephus
Slow Children Playing
Tell me about it. Not to mention the right brand of talcum powder. It's a jungle out there..
Watch it!
We use cornstarch around here, mister.
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
You know, this just occured to me, embarrassingly.
"Cheap" really isn't the right word here. Rather, it's a question of a "good" guitar or a "bad" guitar, or a "good" amp or a "bad" one. I've played plenty of inexpensive rigs that sound pretty amazing - my Tech-21 Trademark 30 I snagged for something like $180, yet it's the best sounding practice amp I've ever played, and sounds better than a good number of "real" amps as well. $180- is cheap for a guitar amp, yet in a pinch I wouldn't hesitate to record with it.
Keeping this in mind, that it's not about price, but quality, I think it's worth considering what you consider "quality" in a guitar, and what you consider "quality" in an amp. For a guitar, for me, it's all about the feel and stability/intonation. A guitar that feels comfortable to me, feels resonant in my hands, and holds tune/plays in tune across the neck is what I consider a "quality" guitar. An amp, meanwhile, I judge almost entirely by the sound that comes out of the speakers, with a nod to reliability (and, of course, the number of blinkie lights. Little known fact, blinkie lights = tone).
So, I think rephrasing the question a little bit, it's clear that I look for something different in a guitar than an amp, and when buying an amp my first concern is tone, while it's more of a secondary concern for a guitar. Food for thought.
muttley600
Banned
You can never go wrong with Gold Bond.
I'm a Johnson man me self.
muttley600
Banned
OK some one has finally got it right. You can close this thread now.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
Well yeah...I think the original question is too broad...which is why I focused my reply towards "tone" and which of the two was more important.
I see we agree that the amp is more important for tone.
And I think really, that's the only way to judge the two equally...'cuz you can't talk about "feel" with an amp...not counting what people like to do with their knobs.
And "cheap" isn't the best word...maybe "inexpensive" is better, but I think most people associate cheap with cost and not necessarily build quality....though it sometimes needs to be clarified.
Most of my inexpensive guitars play as good as my more expensive Tele...and I've also tried out enough $1k-$2k guitars to come to the same conclusion.
Sure....there are some truly outstanding high-priced guitars...but I don't need to drop $2k on a guitar when I can pretty much get the same feel/quality out of a $500 (albeit...it may not have the right "name" on the headstock).
But with amps...I have found that when you cross over into the $1.5k to $2k range (and above), there are few if any $500 amps that can measure up, generally speaking...and there are some inexpensive amps that will certainly do the work for a gig, but I'm talking about having that special tone that makes you smile.
For me, that was a revelation...as I never use to understand what the big deal was about "boutique" amps until I bought one...and now I'm up to half dozen and growing. But I say that more from a studio perspective. If I was going to just gig, I think I would possibly get an inexpensive amp so as not to beat up my better ones, though good tone is an addictive drug once you get use to having it…so I can see myself dedicating a couple of my better amps for gig duty…and just try to take care of them real good.
