Queries for buying Guitar / Amp / MFX

[Croublade]

Hello all,

Some background:
I have been playing on a friend’s LTD M-50 into an MS-4 Microamp for about 4 years now. Going to return the equipment soon, so am looking to buy the following: an Electric, a Combo Amp, and a Multi-Effects Pedal.
I am setting myself a very strict budget of $1100 for all 3 items total.
Given the limited budget, I am looking for reliability (no issues or problems) and durability above tone or gimmicks.

Some queries, in order of importance:

1 – Best shops for cheap equipment
People have different preferences in guitars and amps, and thus I think instead of asking “what model guit/amp should I buy”, it would be better for me to go down to shops and try. Where exactly would be a good place to start looking? Any places which are reliably cheap? Where the salespeople have good advice on the cheap guitars and not just the expensive ones? Any periodic sales I should wait for?

2 – Brand Names
In the past I used to have a strange “Fender/Gibson/Squier/Epiphone/Ibanez or bust” mentality where I simply trust these brand names more than strange-sounding ones. Is this a valid attitude? What cheap brands are famous for being reliable or really worth the money?

3 – Second Hand Equipment
it’s a bit scary to buy second hand equipment because of the lack of warranty and the basic fact that things spoil more as they grow older, and the seller can totally falsify how old his guitar is or what issues it has and I have no way to tell cause I’m a new buyer. How do you guys deal with this?

4 – Tube vs Combo
Ah, the everlasting amp question. Given my budget is it sensible to even bother hunting for a Tube amp?

5 – Setup
Better to get the guitar set-up at the shop itself or elsewhere? What exactly do I need ‘set up’, apart from the action of the guitar?

Please understand that I have browsed the forums quite a bit and yes, I do know how to use the search bar. This is not a lazy post to get information I don’t want to look for; it’s for the issues that continue to not be answered for me despite extensive searching already, appreciate responses (and even links to other posts, I definitely wouldn’t have seen EVERY good cheap guitar advice thread) which are better tailored to my money-tight situation.

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

hi Croublade, just a side note, the term combo amp refers to guitar amps with both the amp and speaker in a single cab. So technically, there are both tube and ss combo amps, the other variation is the head + cab.

Given your budget, it's not wise to go for a tube amp. Go for a good solid state instead. The main thing to look out for is the size of the speaker. if you are into distortion and heavy sounds, look out for amps that house a 12" speaker instead of a 10" one. these amps are usually denoted by the 1×12" or 112 in their model number, or it may be listed in the specs.

I'm sure you already have an idea of what guitar to get, if you want the most bang for your buck, avoid "Fender/Gibson/Squier/Epiphone/Ibanez" and go for trusted high quality OEMs.

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What I would like to focus on is the multi-effects portion. I'm a multi effects user myself and I hang out quite a lot on TGP's Digital and Modeling Gear forum. There are two main types of mfx units, one is simply a unit with many stomp boxes selections, and the other is more acurately discribed as modellers.

To cut things short, modellers are units that are capable of modelling many amps and cabinet combinations. Dated units could actually model these sounds closely but only recently did units started to get the feel and dynamics of tubes right. There are two new units I would highly recommend to would be buyers and they are the Line6 Pod HD500 and Zoom G5. The Pod HD is slightly out of your budget, so I would highly suggest you audition the Zoom G5. It's currently available at City Music for $400. http://www.citymusic.com.sg/webshaper/store/viewProd.asp?pkProductItem=822

If you do actually get that, then it would leave you with $700 for a guitar and amp.

 

[eljo89]

If you don't mind secondhand gear, I'd recommend picking up a Line 6 POD X3 Live. Seen some go for as low as 250-350 in the last few weeks! You can get really good quality sounds out of a POD! Heaps of artists use it live and for recording too. Getting a POD would let you skip an amp too, if you have a decent set of speakers or something.

With secondhand stuff, I wouldn't worry too much over having guitars break down. Some of the nicest guitars I've picked up are almost the same age as I am. As with any instrument, just make sure you try it out for yourself, and bring a friend along who can help you check stuff up! Or just ask anyone around here. Heh.

 

[joshuanick]

There are cheap tube amps around soft too. You can get one at like around 150 and above?

 

[Croublade]

Thanks to all for the responses. They're definitely helpful.

Any responses on point #1 - best shops to try cheap stuff? That's still my biggest (unanswered) query.

Werewolf, what are these "high quality trusted OEMs" you speak of? I'm not familiar at all myself. Also was actually aware of the tube/SS and not tube/combo distinction; but fingers just worked faster than brain. Thanks for the correction nonetheless. And the Zoom looks great, definitely will keep an eye out for it.

eljo, if I had a friend who I could trust to come along to assess guitars, then I wouldn't need to be asking these questions online already, heh.

josh, tube amps are probably the last thing I want to buy second-hand; I do believe the tubes need to be changed every 3-5 years.

 

[17wil]

Grassroots by ESP, Bacchus, Tanglewood from TYMC, Vintage (brand) from Sound Alchemy, Swing, Rally guitars from SV Guitars all at Peninsular, Craftsman and Hamer from Citymusic. Made In Japan are a tad more expensive but more reliable in my opinion, if you wish to spend abit more.

In terms of MFX, you could start small with Zoom G2.1nu, should be quite cheap now since it is an older model, I started with this before moving on.

Also don't forget to set aside some of your budget for the misc but impt stuff like cables, tuners, picks and strings etc.

 

[theGroovyMusic]

To TS, best shops to try cheap stuff? Agree mostly with ^

I believe at this juncture you should spend mostly on your guitar and amp, instead of MFX. Once you get a rough feeling of what kinda tones you wanna achieve, then you can explore the never-ending world of the 'perfect tone'.

I would recommend a 2nd hand POD X3 Live or even a POD HD, so that you will be able to use the amp simulations in it too. Pretty worth it IMO.

Tube amps such as the VOX AC4TV are rather affordable as well, do look into them!