Joker Verox

Archive for January, 2010

I have a Vox Ac30 and when I turned it on today I was really close and it smelled like something was burning. I haven’t played it in like 3 yrs. though. Is this normal?

you should keep a dust cover over that amp…

Is there a guitar effects processor that has a MASTER EQ which applies to all effects at all times?

even when the effects are all switched off?

i want to eliminate one effects pedal – the graphic EQ

i would also like to eliminate the DI box, so XLR out would be nice too

wle.

Can’t think of anything other than a graphic EQ, sorry. You can put it in your effects loop to shape your tone bypassed through the amp’s EQ, but that’s all I can think of, unless you are looking towards a rack-mounted EQ, but those cost big bucks and work practically the same.

Sorry, but graphic EQs are your best bet. It all depends on getting the right one. The Boss equalizers suck in my opinion, but the MXR equalizers (6 band and 10 band) are amazing.

You could also go towards the Dr. Scientist Cleaness for a different type of equalizer. Good pedal

Now please, this really seems not to be a pickup or feedback problem. It almost certainly is a grounding/electricity problem. I need to confirm this. When i play, no guitar sound comes from the amp, just the loud buzz. It eases down when i remove my fingers from the strings or any other metal parts of the guitar but still no guitar sound. When i touch these parts its hummmmmmm…. Its really annoying.

You’ve got an open ground somewhere. It’s either:

– In the guitar cable itself
– In the guitar at the jack
– In the grounding wire from the bridge to the jack on the guitar

The easiest thing is to try a different cable (you have more than one, right).

If that doesn’t fix it, try a different guitar (you’ve got a buddy that plays, right).

If it’s in your guitar and you’re handy with a soldering iron, you can open up the control cavity and look for any wires that have come unsoldered.

If soldering is not your thing, take it to a guitar tech or repairman and have them go through it.

Good luck.

Greetings from Austin, TX

Ken

I have a 65 vibrochamp. The outside is dirty, is there anything that i can use that wont mess up the finish? also, what do i use on the insides to get it all clean?

I have an old Fender Twin-Reverb and I’ve used "Armor-All" onit for years. Takes off the dirt and leaves a gloosy finish, and won’t hurt the vynyl. Spray some on a clean rag and you can swab the inside clean also!

I own an epiphone les paul ultra II. It has two outputs. One electric one acoustic. I was told to achieve the best tone for the acoustic pickup i should get an acoustic amp. i was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for under $200

i have no clue, but you might get better results if you enter your question in another catagory this is mostly for ipods and mp3 players.

I don’t really understand what is so great about tube guitar amplifiers. Even low-wattage ones seem to be very overpriced, but all tube amps are like this. Do they sound better?

Tubes for general use in electronics pretty much died out in the early 70’s. Solid state semiconductors were so much cheaper to make, more reliable, more efficient, and much smaller that there was no demand for vacuum tubes. There is a small niche for tubes and there are some overseas companies that still make them for that market. But because the demand is so low, the supply is limited and that makes them expensive.

People believe what they want to believe and some are convinced that tubes give better fidelity in the reproduction of sound than solid state devices. As far as I’m concerned, a well-designed product will produce good fidelity either way. But it’s not my job to convince the world of that opinion, so I don’t try.

I’m trying to find a guitar effects pedal (standard 6 string electric) that creates a deep boom sound but it’s hard to type it in without having pedals come up for a bass guitar, which is not what i’m looking for.

I think you’re looking for an octave divider pedal. These effects devices will output a note an octave lower than the one you are playing.

You can mix the octave with the natural sound any way you like, or only hear the octave.

Here’s an example:
http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/EBS-OctaBass-Triple-Mode-Octave-Divider-Pedal?sku=151465

peace

.

What is a good brand for an electric guitar amp?
I am buying my boyfriend an electric guitar and amp for his birthday. He is an average player and is still learning. I don’t want to get him a completely cheap beginners guitar because I know he will take his playing seriously and will improve. Any suggestions?? And also, what color? What else should I get with it?

First, do NOT go to Target or some other department store and get one of those crappy Fender Starcaster or First Act guitars. Very crappy. Go to a specialized music store. It doesn’t have to be a chain store like Guitar Center, but those stores usually have an updated and large inventory with various models. Also look at musiciansfriend.com, although, getting to see the guitar in person is better. Guitarcenter.com, also. Ask the employees in the store, they’re usually knowledgeable.

Second, Fender is actually a good brand. Really depends on your taste of music and looks of the guitar. I don’t usually associate Fender with genres like heavy metal, rather, with jazz, classic rock etc. Gibson is an all-arounder. Some other good brands I can think of are Ibanez, PRS, ESP, Godin, Epiphone (cheaper brand of Gibson that is made outside of U.S.), Dean, and Scheter. That’s all electric guitars. For acoustic and classical guitars, it’s a whole different game.

The two most influential electric guitars are arguably the Fender Stratocaster and the Gibson Les Paul. Many of these kinds of guitars come in different variations and originate from different countries from which they are made, but beware of the cheaper so-called "Special" versions that can cost ten times less than a standard version. They usually lack important elements. Ones that are made in the U.S. are often more expensive.

As for amps, Fender makes their own good amps. Marshall, Vox, Line 6, and a countless number of others and boutique brands are ones to consider.

Third, if I were your bf, I’d really appreciate a good tuner, extra strings, a strap, a scale and chord book (or electronic library), a hard-shell case or a good gig bag, a set of picks, a capo, a cleaning and polishing kit, or an effects pedal. If you got him all those things with the guitar and amp, it would be overkill. Just get one or two. Also, try to avoid guitars that are specifically labeled as a "starter/value/beginners/special/etc. pack" as these tend to be of lesser quality and come with less features.

Also, since I assume you don’t know exactly what kind of guitar to get (death metal-ish? jazzy?), get something along the lines of a Stratocaster or Les Paul. The copies made by other brands do just as well. In the end, it doesn’t really depend on the brand, but the guitar itself. Be sure to ask for some advise about specific features about the guitars you look at, and ask what style of music they best fit.

Hope that wasn’t too long and made you go tl;dr.

i went to guitar center looking for a 100W-or-so amp.. i have 500 dollars that im willing to expend in this amp (not necessarily i have to expend them all though)
my top two where the 120W spider III from line 6 (400$), and the 250W marshall (500$). i’ve always loved marshall’s but the 400+ effects of the spider III seemed tempty
after playing with both amps and figuring i saved 100$ if i bought the spider III, i bought the spider III
i’ve just owned it for two days and i feel it doesn’t fill me completely =s
vox amps were a bit too expensive.. i searched for other vox on the internet and only the 100W seemed fair (a bit expensive though, 479$).. but the effects seem a bit mediocre.. are they?
i didn’t get to see fender in the store.. but i found a great 100W for 330$ on the internet..
is the 500$ marshall (250W) worth it over the 330$ fender (100W)? i know marshall is louder but i don’t necessarily need THAT much sound..
could u recomend me something?
thanks
mostly i play progressive and classic rock.. but i also play indie, experimental, etc
im not sure if i just havent get to know the spider III enough to set it as i wante to, but the overdrive doesn’t seem very good
the 100W fender seems very good to me but i dont know fender amps quality

I can’t stand Fender’s distortion, so I personally avoid them like the plague. They sound great clean, though.

First off, why do you think you need 100w to get the job done? Because I assure you that you absolutely, 100% do not need that much volume.

The downside to a large number of watts is that you need to turn it up that much louder to get a sweet tone. 60-70w is pushing it, and is 50w is more than enough in almost all situations to get the job done. Playing live you actually want a good sound at low volume, if you turn up too loud you swamp out the other mic’s and take away from all the other instruments.

Congratulations on not liking the Spider… that means you have a good ear. They blow, the only thing the spider 3’s have over the Spider 2’s (and I’ve played extensively with both) is that the 3 is louder – it doesn’t have tube dynamics, it doesn’t have tube sweetness, it’s just bloody louder. Bastards. They let me down. =(

I’ve played through a Kustom 65w that frickin’ blew me away. Might be out of your price range, though, but 65w of tube sound is more than enough to blast out anyone. Keep in mind that each tube watt is going to equal 2-3 solid state watts, depending on the topology and design – they’re really that much better. It’s in how they’re rated, but let’s not quibble.

I think the Epi Valve Jr has a great sound, and is very modifiable. Even with only 5w of tube sound, it can easily power a 4×12, and with the right pedal it can anything from a rock, blues, to even make a great metal sound… you’d be surprised!

I guess what I’m saying is to explore your options – see if you can find a solid state amp that isn’t necessarily 100w that sounds good at lower volumes – and maybe try to find a tube amp with around 50w, and see if it doesn’t give you a great sound at lower volumes, but still gives you the ability to crank up if you want to.

Saul

Awhile ago, I was told that it is not good to use an electric guitar amp with my acoustic/electric guitar and that I should use an acoustic amp. Lately, I have been hearing that there is nothing wrong with using this kind of amp, or others, with my guitar. So is there anything that could be damaged by me plugging my guitar into an electric amp?

Many great musicians mix amplification types. The sound will be slightly different but you’re not going to hurt your instrument.