any audiophile guitarists out there?


be curious what guitar setup you have, and does anyone know if a Single Ended Triode guitar amp is out there? --my fender blues jr is 15watt, and will blow me out of the room, so power isn't an issue.

gibson sg into fender blues jr, celestion greenback driver, and lava cables (yes, cables made a difference)
128x128rhyno

Showing 7 responses by daveyf

I've been playing for over 30 years..oops that kind of dates me.
I love my Fender natural ash American Tele, Eric Clapton Blackie Strat with noiseless pup's and my Taylor 810.
I use a Mesa Boogie Tremoverb with 2 12" Celestion Vintage's running Svetlana el34's and NOS JAN 12ax7's or JJ 12ax7's.
Also use a Rowland Microcube... VERY loud!
Monster Cable 500's throughout and numerous pedals/modellers etc.
The Taylor usually blows away all a'phile friends who think they can produce the sound of a live guitar on their systems.
Good eye Kijanki... I own a Rowland model 8 and a Roland Microcube, amazingly
I think that the Roland might be the louder of the two..:0)
Kijanki, One of my modellers is a Vox Tonelab. It has the ability to model various amps, pedals, cabinets etc. I used to own a Line6 Pod v2, which IMHO is very limited and sounds much worse than the Tonelab. However, I have never used a modeller that really comes that close to the real thing.. i.e.,A Fender Tweed from the 50's has a tone that is to die for, the modeller's repro of this amp is really a joke when you do an AB.
I think if I were to get another amp, my #1 choice would be a Princeton or Deluxe Tweed folowed by a Black Face Super Reverb. All are amps that sound truly magnificent, IMHO.
Kijanki,
I would suggest that you go to a local guitar shop and play a Fender Strat or a Tele or a real Gibson Les Paul; Once you pick up one of these and play a few notes, you may re-consider. If not, well so be it, you will then notice that one of the nice things about good musical equip is that it holds its value very well. I would expect that you should be able to get back most, if not all, that you paid for the Martin, as an example.
Kijanki, One of the things that I have learnt over the years of playing is that it is FAR FAR harder to get a good sound out of a poor instrument than a great instrument... Which is why I suggested that you go and play a couple of good instruments. You may be able to get a better feel for what your abilities are ( which might make you decide to keep playing) and you may also be able to hear the improvement in the sound quality that the instrument gives off. Personally, I can easily tell the difference when I put on new strings and the quality and/or the gauge of said strings. To me, even string type and gauge makes a HUGE difference in my sound. As a beginner, a good instrument is even more important IMHO ..:0)
Kijanki, so are you agreeing with me and you are just tired or burnt out or ?
I don't really understand your post as to why you are on the one hand saying you have lost interest and have no ability, yet on the other hand state you are a beginner and yet have played for years? I guess if you have lost interest due to not wanting to play anymore vs. not feeling like you are progressing well, then my earlier post as to a possible remedy would probably not be of any help.
At least you can sell the Martin for what you paid for it or more.
BTW, I feel slightly differently about strings, IMHO lights on an electric is usually the way to go and mids on an acoustic is also. My Taylor uses Elixir mids on it and it just BOOMS.
Kijanki, I think with the Taylor vs. Martin discussion, that Martins are a little less able to bloom than Taylors but maybe do have a little more punch in the bottom end. I personally like my 810 better than say a D28, but like you say both are top notch. For my style of playing the Taylor seems a better fit. BTW, I doubt that the saddle has as much to do with it, I think it is the bracing and body shape that is the determinant as to the bottom end.
Also, if you are fed up with not making progress, i would suggest either more lessons and/or as I stated above, maybe a different guitar.