Guitar thread

Out of the ones you mentioned go with the Fender Blues Junior III. It's a great little amp. They come in several flavors but the black tolex is the standard. The NOS (Tweed) is a little better since it had a Celestion G12 Greenback speaker. There are a few others with Eminence Cannabis Rex which I've heard is also nice. Though they come in some weird two-tone colors. Keep in mind that most tube amps aren't really 'all tube' unless it's vintage or boutique.

If you don't mind going vintage you might try finding a Fender Champ from the 60's (Silverface) & 70's (Blackface). You should be able to get one in your price range. If you get one without the Vibro then it should be even cheaper. You could also go with a Gibson GA-5 which is basically the same amp as the Fender. The later tan tolex amp was made by MojoTone in recent years. Earlier ones were know as the Skylark.

Silverface:


Blackface:

Man, I had a silverface "Vibro Champ" when I was a kid. Forgot all about that.

They are still great amps. Since they're only 5w you can crank them till the tubes sing without being too loud. More then enough for a home or studio amp.

Good suggestions all....just one correction, the original Blackface amps were produced in the 60s (until 68--post CBS' purchase of Fender Musical Instruments) and the Silverface were from 68' through the 70s.

The little Champs are great sounding amps I've used one in the past on stage, mic'd and it did a great job.

If you can look at the Bugera in person....when I was shopping a while ago I was looking at smaller amps, it came down to the Vox ac4tv and the bugera v5. At the time people liked the bugera but the quality was a bit iffy. When I went and played both of them back to back I liked the bugera better, but because of the reviews I was shy to buy one, so I bought the Vox. I have second guessed myself from then on.

At the time the bugera was only $100 and I keep telling myself I should go pick one up but just have not....always spent my guitar money on something else.

If you can go demo one, you might be shocked....but I do admit I have not read reviews on them in a long time.

I love this cover.

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A couple of weeks ago I decided after spending considerable time looking at a catalog while sitting on the throne to take a trip to GC and check out an Epiphone Rivera P93 Custom.
I played it in the Platinum room and I just couldn't go home without it. It now sits proudly next to my SG400 and I gotta tell ya that the Riviera is a tone monster with the 3 p90 pickups. Quality of fit and finish is as good as I've ever seen.
Since I resumed guitar playing less than a year ago after a career that put me on the orad for 25 years I've been playing classic rock on the SG but wanted to learn to play "Da Blues", I just couldn't get what I wanted from the SG even though it's a Rock monster but I couldn't get a bluesy sound out if it no matter what. I couldn't even bend the strings enough to get a good note,
The Riviera changed all of that, despite the fatter feeling neck it is easier to play than the SG and I can bend strings like a madman. The Riviera IMO isn't a good hard rocker but it loves the blues and Setzer style Rockabilly.
I'm ate up playing the blues to some jam tracks on youtube and I'm getting close to a good version of Gary Moore's "Still got the blues"
I'm having a blast.

Did anyone get in on Amazon's Black Friday, which is still running? They has a Gibson Studio, Standard earlier and now a Angus Young SG. The Standard was $1850, down from $2250 and the Angus Young is $1199 down from $1850.

http://www.amazon.com/Gibson-USA-Angus-Young-Cherry/dp/B00AFDPMM8/ref=pd_ybh_3

The NAMM show is in January and 2014s are in the pipeline. I was in a local Gibson dealer yesterday and some of them were 55% off MSRP.

>"The NAMM show is in January and 2014s are in the pipeline. I was in a local Gibson dealer yesterday and some of them were 55% off MSRP."

Hmmm... 2014 model for guitars... this must be... 'bold new graphics'

Gibson always has a big sale this time of year. I think this comes from them dating their guitars. Like cars, no one really wants to but last years model.

No one pays MSRP though. The street price is more like the actual MSRP. Now if you can get 10-15% off on the Sale price then you're really getting a good deal.

Yes and no...

One of the biggest changes for Gibson players is no more nibs. This is one of the ways you can tell if it's a Gibson or a fake and has been used since the beginning. Though if you ever get a fret job done, they usually remove them as it's a lot more difficult to set frets between the nibs. The other is the 120th Anniversary Banner on the 12th fret. There are some new models as well. The Traditional is still going to be solid with no weight reliefs. Looks like they're bringing back the Standard Plus as they sort of made a mess of the line in 2013 with AA, AAA, Quilted and Koa all under the same name.

I'm interested in the Classic and or Signature which are both new for 2014.

I don't like how they brought back the Melody Maker name as a Les Paul with P-90's. Removing the EGM style covers on the LPJ was a good decision though. Calling it the LPJ wasn't. Made for some confusion last year with people buying up the last of the Juniors.

I'm hoping to see more ebony...

http://www2.gibson.com/Gibson-USA-2014.aspx#Lineup

It would be nice if the LP Standard remained constant: 60s neck and the back was one-piece of solid mahogany, no "weight relief" nor "chambering". I played a chambered LP and the tone was thin.

The '09 Traditionals were close but have a two-piece back. It seems all LPs do these days. It also had transitional neck which was in between a 60s and 50s.... very similar to the LP Custom's.

I played a 2013 Traditional yesterday but it had 50s baseball-bat neck. They're not for me.

A Traditional should be traditional and have a 50's neck or else it wouldn't be a Traditional. If you want a solid Standard then you'll have to pony up and get a 1960 Reissue. It will have a 60's neck, no weight relief and a one piece-body.

My Les Paul dot com

I agree ! I've got an early 90's 60 RI (R0), and it is STELLAR ! If you don't like the baseball bat necks on the R5-R9s (or the originals for that matter), the R0 is the way to go.

Here's a couple of pics:


Under different lighting...

A quick return to the smaller amp discussion. I really love my Egnater Rebel 30. I'm a shitty guitarist, so I can't speak much about guitar tone, but a clavinet through the thing is a thing of wonder - and since a clav is just a bunch of guitar strings being hit by rubber tipped hammers, that's probably indicative of how it'll sound. Being able to dial the power of the amp up and down and smoothly transition between 2 tube profiles is really nice for dialing in your tone, though I wonder how much I'll muck with it now that it's been dialed in. So far, I've never felt the need to play around with those knobs after the first few gigs. They're $800 or so brand new, but I've definitely seen them at $500 and less on craigslist. Available as a combo or just a head.

http://www.egnateramps.com/EgnaterProducts/Rebel/Rebel30112/Rebel30112.html

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back to amps.... Traynor makes some bitchin' amps. they've been around forever.... made in Canada. I was playing through a few different amps including a Blues Junior & liked it a lot, but it was noisy with some effects. did a little research & found the YCV20WR. it has a few an effects loop, and that gets rid of the noise. it also has a head phone jack, ext speaker jack & low impedance line out. and... it sounds great. its supposed to be rated at 15 watts but its class A tube power. two 6BQ5s and three 12AX7s.... that usually makes 22 watts. anyway, it can cover small clubs just right. the reverb isn't too good (not as good as Fenders) but it's ok. no need for a Tube Screamer.... it has the fat sound already.


http://traynoramps.com/guitar/ycv/product/ycv20wr/

Even got a 4 string bass in there....

This ol boy is hopin' Santa has a 3 string for under the tree this year.

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Just bought my first guitar yesterday! A basic Fender acoustic from the locally owned music store. Learning chords and basics on youtube right now. Enjoying it

I loves me some CBG but check these out. I just posted this in "What Song Are You Listening To" down in JM. This is the Hometown Jamz Band out of Tupelo, MS. The guitars are made by the father out of car mufflers.

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