Live Setups – On a budget.

[Rofocale]

Hi guys

Basically I was wondering if we could start a thread that lists a range of equipment for a variety of price bands. The idea is to create a guide for metalers of all financial backgrounds. What I’m getting a little fed up with on other internet forums is the ‘boy racer’ guitar player mentality; not all of us can afford a rectifier and there is a full range of cheaper alternatives that the greater majority can access.

For instance. What should be the first priority? Where should the bulk of one’s currency be spent. Guitar? Amp? What stuff would make a good substitute for a couple of grands worth of rack effects. What effects pedals have led you to discover awesome tone? Which amps have left you breathless and which have murdered your hallowed tunes? Get a death metal sound for only a fraction of the price. What size amps do you really need to play live? What is THE crucial investment? Any short cuts to getting that killer tone?

I understand that this is all subjective but we’ve all had experience in the various fields of metal and it would be great if we could depart our musical knowledge onto others. It’s a big step from bedroom to stage and I know that personally I could stand to learn allot from the experience of just a handful of members on this board.

Thanks everyone in advance for their input.

 

[sumairetsu]

I've always tried to keep my costs down when it comes to gear. There's a number of different ways to do this.

You can purchase equipment used. There are times that you can get a good deal on an amplifier, though you may end up having to search for a bit. There are times that people are selling equipment when they don't know what they have. Then, you can get a REALLY good deal.

I usually buy my equipment from Carvin, who sells direct to the customer. It also helps if you know how to haggle with the salesmen at your local music retailer. That's how I was able to get a good deal on my Line6 Bass Pod when it first came out.

Just some thoughts.

 

[Rofocale]

Actually I have a question.

I need an amp for home use and a bit of gigging so it's got to be loud enough to play small venues and then be micked for larger venues.

Gonna be playing Dark metal sort of Dark Tranquillity meets Paradise Lost (Such a loose example!). But I need it to be heavy enough to play the sweedish melodic metal parts yet still have enough room for decent lead.

Not to sure about distortion sounds. I doubt I'd find a decent distortion on an amp, especially as I'm on a budget. Might use pedals if I can find one I like. Toying with A Zoom Tri Metal.

Any ideas?

 

[Indiooo]

Just a thought:

ADA MP-1 + Mesa Boogie 20/20 + some kind of 2x12. Search Ebay. Used prices are a little over $100 for the preamp and about $400 for the 20/20, I think. The cab really depends... Used Marshalls are dirt cheap, but if go for Mesas or Bogners it starts getting a fair bit more expensive.

 

[Rofocale]

Hiya

Thanks for the responses it certainly gave me something to look into...Truth be told it still may be presently out of my price range. It's a shame casue it looks like a nice setup. IF I can't get it then I will definatley put it on a wish list for future purchases.

I think I might have to settle for a combo and a mike. Any thoughts?

 

[TheMonkeysAteMySoul]

for a live amp the loudest amp youll ever need i 30 tube watts (equall to about 100 solid state watts) most of your tone comes from your effect, then amp and lastly guitar also the key to good tone is good eq-ing, learn to eq something well and your halfway to having a good sound

 

[Rofocale]

Thanks. Any ideas which sort of Comobos I should be looking at. I've had teh Spider II and the Peavey Bandit recommended to me as something on the lower end of the price scale.

 

[Indiooo]

for a live amp the loudest amp youll ever need i 30 tube watts (equall to about 100 solid state watts) most of your tone comes from your effect, then amp and lastly guitar also the key to good tone is good eq-ing, learn to eq something well and your halfway to having a good sound

Getting your tone from effects is a really bad idea IMHO. Effects just work with what you give them. If your amp and guitar aren't decent, no pedal or rack unit can make you sound good.

 

[Rofocale]

My guitars pretty decent, just fitting a pair of EMG 81's. The problem is really amp and effects. I'm not too sure what I can do on a budget, especially as I want to play live.

Miking stuff up is what were going to do. Smaller gigs aren't really our thing. So I need an amp able to handle that AND sound good. The Tri Metal does not have enough bottom end so palm muting sounds crap. I heard the distortion on the GT-6 leaves allot to be disired as well....*sigh* Any suggestions.

 

[TheMonkeysAteMySoul]

Getting your tone from effects is a really bad idea IMHO. Effects just work with what you give them. If your amp and guitar aren't decent, no pedal or rack unit can make you sound good.

true, you can't polish a turd but your effects will have the biggest effect on your sound

 

[Kenneth R.]

also, imo a great amp will make even a crap guitar sound good,

but on the flipside, a great guitar will make you enjoy playing it more.

 

[Indiooo]

true, you can't polish a turd but your effects will have the biggest effect on your sound

If I take every pedal and rack unit out of my signal chain, it still sounds like my guitar plugged into my amp. Effects only add color to what you feed them with, so I can't really agree with you when you say effects influence tone more than guitars and amps.

But hey, whatever works for you.

 

[Rofocale]

Okay what about getting something like a V-Amp / Pod and then just sticking that into the miking desk or speakers etc...

If so. Just for Back up. What amp would you recommend on a budget just to act like a decent speaker with force?

Ta chaps

 

[Kenneth R.]

for a clear PA style amp, anything Fender.

as for going directly into a fx box and then recording, that works and sounds clear, but getting good tone is hard

 

[Bryant]

I've always tried to keep my costs down when it comes to gear. There's a number of different ways to do this.

You can purchase equipment used. There are times that you can get a good deal on an amplifier, though you may end up having to search for a bit. There are times that people are selling equipment when they don't know what they have. Then, you can get a REALLY good deal.

I usually buy my equipment from Carvin, who sells direct to the customer. It also helps if you know how to haggle with the salesmen at your local music retailer. That's how I was able to get a good deal on my Line6 Bass Pod when it first came out.

Just some thoughts.

I have owned many guitars in my life and have bought a total of one brand new. The same goes for amps. I think that is sound advice. I buy effects new though... I recently purchased a Digitech GNX4, but I found the best internet price, printed the page and took it to my local music store and they matched it.
As far as sound..... it is 80% in your amp, not your guitar. You can go to Wal-mart and get a $50.00 guitar and plug it into a quiality amp and sound much better than plugging a quality guitar into a Wal-Mart amp. I can tell you, that even the biggest of bands that had "walls of Marshalls" were playing through only a couple. You all but "have" to mic an amp for it disperse right in the room. A mic'ed high quality 30 watt combo will sound better (on 95% of the stuff) than a cheap solid state half stack. I say 95% because I actually bi-amp and use a solid state for thrash style rythm, but it sounds like shit for everything else and I use a tube combo for everything else and could get almost the equal sound from the tube with a little help from my pedals.
My ideal setup on a budget would be a middle of the road Ibanez (just an example as I am not brand loyal,) a channel switching tube combo amp and effects. Though I own a newer effects unit, I bought it for it's recording capabilites as well as the effects. Some people like stomp boxes and they are just as good and in most ways better, but I like the convenience of all-in-one. I mostly use distortion, chorus (a must for clean even with a tube amp) the EQ (also a must in my book) noise gate, reverb (also a must for solos) and delay. This is just MY idea of a basic setup. Everyone will have different opinions.


Bryant