Hello there,
Not long ago I started playing the electric guitar. :D It is coming easy, since I played the acoustic guitar for many years before, but many other things appears into the picture. :? Like, what kind of guitar to get, with or without tremolo, what kind of pick-ups, what kind of amplifier, what accesories to get (footswitch, efects on pedals, wah) and other accesories to help the practice and the performing.
I have soooo many questions...I better start now.
I hope there is somebody on the other side willing to share his/her experience.
I have seen that, to practice at home, it is enough with a 5-8-10 or 15 watt amplifier. Could I plug a footswitch to it to change from chanel to chanel?, could I plug a JM4 from the Line 6 to it and use all its functionalities?
I am learning on my own, would the JM4 help me if I want to practice soloing?, or is there a cheaper solution to it?
My guitar is not an expensive guitar, would the sound improve if I change the pick-ups, for instance? or its just not worth it, and I should better buy another guitar?
What is it better, to use the distortion that comes on a big amplifier, or buying a pedal, and get your efects on the floor?
Thanks,
Gab
Oh wow Gab, lots of questions. That's a few at one time, so I need to see them above or forget.
You may like a guitar without or without the tremolo. Depends if you will use it. I like the Tele and the Strat as simple, reliable, workhorse guitars, but the bridge on the Strat is way more complex than it looks, and it has been that way for 55 years.
I also like single coil pickups if you're not into taking the guitar out to perform under lights and in areas of electrical interference, without a lot of knowledge on unwanted hum or noise suppression. Maybe avoid using a compressor at home, you won't really need it.
Single coil pickups should be nice and clear, and have a little more bite to them on demand, for the average in-home session. I like humbuckers too for warmth, and often for power, and perhaps many other people like them for that too - there's a wider range in differenes between different humbuckers themselves. A problem is that they can be muddy sounding. That is not fun, and is something to avoid at home, perhaps.
You could choose a simple or basic modelling amp such as the Roland Cube 20X to spice things up a bit from less-wattage amps, and to save hundreds on just a few effects, like reverb, chorus, delay and so on. There are so many modelling amps, that you can go and check the features on them, check the actual sound, and pay for only what you want.
I don't like the constraints of any 8" speaker however, although I have many and get by, if practising. A 10" moves more air and delivers a fuller sound, and 12" is my favorite, like on a Fender Blues Junior 15 watt tube amp, with no effects, other than an overdrive or a dirty channel.
Basic effects on pedals to own at some time are usually further distortion or overdrive, like Boss BD-2 or Blues Driver, Ibanez Tube Screamer etc; Chorus/Flanger, Delay and the Wah which you asked about - Dunlop Cry Baby maybe?
Most small amps are not footswitch compatible. So I'm afraid you'll have to push a button or add a pedal. Oh dear. :?
The Line 6 JM4 looks like a winner and IMO would be a great looper and jam trax provider to help your lead and soloing efforts. http://line6.com/jm4looper/ And look at all the effects, combinations or patches, presets and switches!
Try to get familiar with different guitars on the market to see which one best fits, or suits you, is comfortable to play with nice action, and a pleasing sound. A lot of the tone will come from your fingers and the guitar's compatibility with your hand movements, or its playability and set up, as well as construction and specifications; wide neck, thin neck, fingerboard construction, radius etc. Different strokes for different folks! 8)
I will buy a good guitar, which always helps in the effort and in sticking to it, and I may change pickups anyway to enhance sound. I also go with some pretty radical wiring stunts which are not needed normally, and on average. Generally, I would rather have a good initial guitar than to put new pickups into a less-than-permanent instrument.
Good luck and all the best! :D
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Thank you very much Blue Jay.... Your information has been of great help!.
I think I have made the right decisions according to my possibilities. It has been good to have a little modelling combo with effects integrated. Slowly I learn the possibilities in sound of the instrument. The Looper has been a neat multifunctional device too.
I think now about a bigger amplifier for gigs and practicing with the band.
Do you like baseball?....I used to watch until 3 mayor league games a day on television once upon a time....hahaha.
Yes, we're a baseball and hockey family; big CONSUMERS of the sport you might say! :lol:
Music is a passion too, with roots that run deeper still. Too much to cover in a quip or sentence.
I'm really happy that you are pursuing your music, guitar, amps and effects. I'll bet it's sounding good. 8)
Here's my little groupie wth Jared and Eric Staal in Toronto, and trying to dress like Marc Staal while in Sudbury, w/Canada attire. :roll:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Staal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Staal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Staal
My daughters follow their winter team, the Ottawa Senators on the road and in the air :shock: , and here can skate with the St. Louis Blues where hockey and music collide - ouch? :|
If the Rolling Stones ever get too close, (as close as Toronto, where the girls go to various band interactions with fans, press interviews, squeezing their way into the ROCK radio studio and to Much Music TV - terrible, have they no ethics?) I'm sure that my little one will be auditioning for Ronnie Woods' job too. :mrgreen:
Like a bird on the wire,
like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
