[COLOR=Slate Gray]As far as the bands you listed, Slayer and Megadeth use Marshalls and Metallica did on
Kill 'Em All before switching to Mesas. I'd suggest if you want a chunky thrash sound, there's no better choice than a hot-rodded Marshall JCM-800. They're all over e-Bay, but if that's not in your price range (they go anywhere from $500-$1,000), I'd say you might want to start with a Marshall MG-series. You can get a pretty decent thrash sound out of them if you don't have alot of money.
For guitars, I'd say choose between these brands: BC Rich, Ibanez, ESP, Jackson, Kramer. It doesn't matter too much, but if you wanna play early thrash you're gonna want a thin neck, maybe a Floyd Rose (unless you've never had a Floyd, then stay far away from them, they're a huge pain in the ass), and 24 frets. Getting new pickups might really help too. Metallica and Slayer use EMGs, but I don't like the idea of active (battery-powered) pickups, and they're pretty expensive. Dave Mustaine uses a Duncan JB in the bridge and a Jazz in the neck. I also use Duncans (JB/'59) and they work fine for me, and are alot less expensive to buy and to install as EMGs.
Here are some products I'd recommend:
- Ibanez RG-321 guitar
- BC Rich Platinum Series guitars
- Jackson JS-30
- Kramer Barettas and Strikers (
www.musicyo.com)
- ESP 100-series
- Seymour Duncan JB pickup
- Ibanez TS-9 Tubescreamer overdrive pedal