Re-Amping

Greg_L said:
Any of the usual suspects will get you there. Fenders, Orange, and Vox all do garage dirty really good and can be found as mid-watt combos. Marshalls are a little more limited unless you go huge. Most of the Marshall stuff that does those tones is expensive and/or loud as fuck. Jut stick with the classics and stay away from guitar hero mega-gain shred amps.

More importantly IMO is the pickups you use for those kinds of tones. I would think you'd want a P-90 guitar or something similar to a P-90. A mild humbucker would work too.
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Yeah my two electric guitars right now are a Gretsch duo jet (sounds a lot like a tele but can do rock with some adjusting of the knobs) and a American Strat (very versatile tone wise). I used to own a Jazzmaster, which was great, dark, extremely versatile just like a strat only a little darker...need to get one of those again. I think the pickup was a lot like a P-90. I don't play well enough to justify such nice guitars, but I bought them as inflation hedges because I fucking hate the Federal Reserve, and figure might as well put money into things I use and enjoy rather than sit in the bank and earn 0. But that's another story.

I never got into Gibson because the clean settings always sounded muddy to me. On the other hand, a strat or gretsch can sound too bright, but I find I can muddy them up easier than I can brighten a Les Paul. No?

Those were the amps I was thinking, too, especially a Fender, but wanted a 2nd opinion thanks. Years ago I owned one of the small Fender practice amps, the vibro champ...that thing was really awesome and recorded surprisingly well so I always have leaned Fender since then. I've also played bandmasters and bassmasters that were great. My experience with Marshall has sucked...found them very shrill and brittle sounding.
 
4tracker said:
I never got into Gibson because the clean settings always sounded muddy to me. On the other hand, a strat or gretsch can sound too bright, but I find I can muddy them up easier than I can brighten a Les Paul. No?
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Les Pauls can be crazy bright depending on the construction and pickups. There are so many variables that it's hard to tell without actually grabbing one and playing it. Something as simple as a volume pot value or tone cap change can drastically alter the characteristics of a Les Paul. I think if you can find slab body LP Jr with a P-90, that'd be right up your alley.

Those were the amps I was thinking, too, especially a Fender, but wanted a 2nd opinion thanks. Years ago I owned one of the small Fender practice amps, the vibro champ...that thing was really awesome and recorded surprisingly well so I always have leaned Fender since then. I've also played bandmasters and bassmasters that were great. My experience with Marshall has sucked...found them very shrill and brittle sounding.
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Marshalls usually need to be pretty loud. Even master volume Marshalls. They can sound thin at low volumes. I have two vintage master volume Marshall heads (50 and 100 watt) and each one is like Jekyll and Hyde depending on where the volume is set. And my non-master volume Plexi heads are just loud as shit no matter what. Those obviously won't work for you unless you use an attenuator. So you'd have to go with a more modern master vol model, and they tonally aren't what you're looking for. Unless you can be loud, Marshall probably isn't for you for the tones you seek. Classic Fenders are much the same, but they do tend to be warmer at lower volumes IMO. A Fender Twin or Super is loud as shit. Orange and Vox can do "warmer" low-ish volume tones, but I find them fizzy. You just have to decide for yourself. Those rowdy garage rock tones you seek are big volume sounds. A fuzz would probably help you too.
 
You've got a lot of choices. Gigging or just recording and playong at home? I've got a Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue that has been one of my go to amps for over a decade. It's 22 watts and pretty loud. It records well but wouldn't give you much headroom playing with a rock band unless you mic. I have a 40 watt Hotrod Deluxe that doesn't record quite as nicely but is loud enough to keep up with a drummer. I've modded mine down to about 30 watts and actually sounds better that way. Used HRDs are everywhere and cheap. You could have one for $400 I'm sure. If you want a pure recording amp and don't subscibe to the "loud is always better creed," look at the Princeton reissues. both the blackface '65 and the silverface '68. The '68 would be on my list if I ever feel the need for another Fender. There is always the Twin Reverb if you really want loud. They come up for sale used for about $1000 when owners realize that famous clean tone is all they are going to get if they want to keep their hearing too. Plenty of more pricy options too.
 
Greg_L said:
Hot Rod Deluxes are everywhere and cheap because they're maybe the worst shit Fender makes.
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No, the worst amp they ever made was a solid state called the Fender "HOT". Dubious if an image of thing thing even exists on the internet. It was AWFUL, and of course my parents bought it for me as my first amp.

Regarding a gibson with p-90s. It's on my wish list, but I just bought these 2 guitars in the past year and have to save. I notice a lot of bands I like play live using Fenders and then record their studio overdubs using Gibsons with p-90s.
 
4tracker said:
No, the worst amp they ever made was a solid state called the Fender "HOT". Dubious if an image of thing thing even exists on the internet. It was AWFUL, and of course my parents bought it for me as my first amp.
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Haha that's probably true. I don't even consider SS amps as real amps though. One of my first amps was an M-80. I loved it as a teenager. For better or worse, I've outgrown that crap sound now. I think the worst tube amp they currently make are the Hot Rod series. The rest are pretty awesome IMO. If I had any practical use for Fender tone I'd scoop a bunch of them up. Hate the guitars, love the amps.

Regarding a gibson with p-90s. It's on my wish list, but I just bought these 2 guitars in the past year and have to save. I notice a lot of bands I like play live using Fenders and then record their studio overdubs using Gibsons with p-90s.
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P-90s are just so much meatier than Fender single coils, but still retain the cool characteristics of a classic single coil. I love a P-90. They're like the perfect in-between a single coil and a humbucker IMO.
 
Don't rule out the Hot Rod Deluxe. Try and let your ears decide. They are plentiful and cheap because Fender sells a hell of a lot of them, and for a reason. Value for money they are hard to beat. Is it the best Fender you can buy? Hell no. Can you get a good tone from one? Absolutely. They are also quite modable. Small changes in bias can change the character of the amp a lot. Raise it a bit for early breakup, or lower it for that hard edge clean tone.
 
The 4x10 Blues Devilles have a nice full sound and can usually be picked up used in the 3-400 range (at least around here). Slight step up from the HR Deluxes. In some ways I wish I still had mine.
 
I think Greg has serious GAS for a Les Paul Studio with P90s.

Protest as you will, but it's a recurring theme in your recommendations, dude. Me included :D That's not a bad thing but I think you ought to give in to your impulses, get the thing bought and poast some toans, Greg!
 
HOT.jpg
Has SERIOUSLY bad reviews.
Press red button to select one of the 4 TONES available.
 
Bubba po said:
I think Greg has serious GAS for a Les Paul Studio with P90s.

Protest as you will, but it's a recurring theme in your recommendations, dude. Me included :D That's not a bad thing but I think you ought to give in to your impulses, get the thing bought and poast some toans, Greg!
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Haha I don't want a Studio, but a Jr would be cool. It's a great guitar/pickup choice for those of us that aren't metal shred dorks. That guitar and pickup has been used extensively since the beginning of rock and roll. I should have one, but the right deal hasn't fallen into my lap yet.

I have a Seymor Duncan P-Rails in my Hallmark Mosrite clone. It's a P-90 with a single rail next to it. It can be a humbucker, a P-90, or a single coil rail. Good pickup. Not surprisingly, mine never leaves P-90 mode.
 
rayc said:
View attachment 95594
Has SERIOUSLY bad reviews.
Press red button to select one of the 4 TONES available.
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Holy crap. Where did you find that, and why are people reviewing it?! It hasn't been around for 20 years.

I recorded my first album using that thing on a BOOMBOX. Possibly the worst sounding album ever, but the songs were juvenile and fun. It was pure 5k ear bleeding "edge". The guy who did vocals on one song went on to be a fairly well known Hollywood actor. Maybe I should try to resell those cassettes and cash in on his fame...and bring back the Fender HOT sound.
 
One more question before I exhausted this thread: what about using a guitar preamp/head, plugging it into the interface, and using the cab in the interface? Is this possible? Anyone tried it?

I wonder if this would eliminate any of the fizz that make sims pretty awful.
 
That load device thing half way through seemed like a lot of bother given the gear on hand needed to do it.
 
Lol. It wouldn't be home recording if something simple wasn't made into something cumbersome and difficult.
 
rayc said:
That load device thing half way through seemed like a lot of bother given the gear on hand needed to do it.
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Haha, yeah. I thanked Robus because, I mean, it was interesting and the guy on Youtube was enthusiastic, but is that practical? Not really.

I'm still curious if you can plug a guitar preamp into an interface and then bypass the preamp in a sim but use the cab in a sim. Might be a dumb question, but I'm curious.
 
4tracker said:
I'm still curious if you can plug a guitar preamp into an interface and then bypass the preamp in a sim but use the cab in a sim. Might be a dumb question, but I'm curious.
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Technically yes, you can do it but, in my experience, it doesn't sound that good.
If you do try it, make sure it's a preamp output you're trying.
 
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