Build A Rig

[TeleTex82]

I don't know if any of you all have gone through this but lately im just bired to death of my sound/rig. I was thinking about selling all of my electric stuff and starting over from scratch. If I was able to sell all my guitars, amps, and pedals I think I'd have, conservatively, about $3400 with which to start over. I don't know that I am actually going to do this, but I thought it would be a fun exercise.

So lets say you have a $3400 budget and zero amps, guitars, or pedals. What kind of rig would you build?

 

[Daytona57]

Keep your best guitar and buy a really nice amp.

YMMV

 

[TeleTex82]

Keep your best guitar and buy a really nice amp.

YMMV

Like I said, I will probably end up keeping everything, I just thought it would be fun to hear what other people would do if they decided to build their rig from scratch.

 

[Nsomniac]

That can indeed be a fun mental exercise.
In my current mood, I'd get a Deluxe Reverb and a Fractal FX-8 for amp and effects, then one of the new Epiphone 60s Les Pauls in Iced Tea. Then a Player Stratocaster (Tidepool Blue, please). I think I could amuse myself for a while with that setup if that were my budget.

 

[strawberries]

An old Les Paul and a super reverb. A glass slide and a nice patch cable. That's probably it for me.

 

[BigDoug1053]

Well, I just recently upgraded my amp situation - I got a Line 6 Firehawk FX with 2 Headrush 12" FRFR powered speakers - that's $1000. It has all the amp models and FX I could use and has USB and XLR sterero outs, and all the power I could need regardless of gig situation I might play. It sounds really great.

If I had $2400 to get a guitar, it would likely be a headless 7 string of some sort since I have been really concentrating on 7 string with my practice. Otherwise, I would bank the $2400 for possible future gas for a fancy Les Paul or Gretsch pro line.

 

[TeleTex82]

Well, I just recently upgraded my amp situation - I got a Line 6 Firehawk FX with 2 Headrush 12" FRFR powered speakers - that's $1000. It has all the amp models and FX I could use and has USB and XLR sterero outs, and all the power I could need regardless of gig situation I might play. It sounds really great.

If I had $2400 to get a guitar, it would likely be a headless 7 string of some sort since I have been really concentrating on 7 string with my practice. Otherwise, I would bank the $2400 for possible future gas for a fancy Les Paul or Gretsch pro line.

I have been looking at the floor processor + FRFR option lately too. The PodGo looks to be priced and sized right. The thing I keep hearing is that you "aren't moving air" the way you do with an amp so the feel isnt there. Is this accurate? I'm not a tube snob, my main grab n go amp is a Blues Cube Artist, so I tend to take those statements with a grain of salt. Still, curious.

 

[sleewell]

my entire live rig could be re purchased for that amount with money left over for hookers and blow. most would have to be purchased used but that is how i buy all my gear.

2 cheap 7 string guitars
BKP pickups for one of them
line 6 helix LT w the backpack
2 quilter tone blocks
2 cabs
mono m80 dual gig bag

 

[TeleTex82]

my entire live rig could be re purchased for that amount with money left over for hookers and blow. most would have to be purchased used but that is how i buy all my gear.

2 cheap 7 string guitars
BKP pickups for one of them
line 6 helix LT w the backpack
2 quilter tone blocks
2 cabs
mono m80 dual gig bag

Lmao beats the change jar I use as my hookers and blow fund. Kidding. I don't do blow.

On a serious note, i am always impressed by any interaction with Quilter stuff.

 

[Guitarworks]

Getting a great P-T-P handwired tube amp is the place to start. Experiment with different brand tubes for a variety in different subtleties in sound. A good amp will shift our perspective on everything more than a guitar ever will. You may not even feel the need to add pedals... for at least a while.

 

[Bassopotamus]

Of what I’ve got, I’d keep my number one warmoth strat, Dutch my amps and get a used bogner shiva and a 212. I’d keep my CAE wah and my muffuletta and probably add a some sort of Kline knockoff and a full tone vibe

which is a long way of saying I’d switch my amp and buy a couple pedals but I’m otherwise happy

 

[jonnytexas]

A used American Strat that someone else has already put good PUPS in, a Blackface Deluxe Reverb, a TS type pedal, and a Fuzz.

 

[wirsteve]

I love my rig but I guess if I had nothing and $3400 I'd start with:

• Used AVRI '65 Strat
• Used PRS SE w/ upgraded, everything
• Used Mesa Boogie Lonestar
• Nice Reverb Pedal, Boss DD-20

I might have some money left. If I do, I'll scoop up a nice overdrive pedal.

 

[TeleTex82]

Here's another question, better to have a good amp and one good guitar or good amp and two decent guitars?

 

[noisebloom]

I'd get the following just for a start:

Guitars
Fender Road Worn 50s Strat or Jimmie Vaughan Tex-Mex Strat (maple board with Tex-Mex pickups)
Harley Benton SC-Junior (LP Junior type, with P-90--I loves me some P-90 action)

Amps
Boss Katana 50
Marshall Studio Vintage 20H

Cab(s)
Avatar 212 with Greenbacks or V30s

Pedals
MXR Carbon Copy
JTM style pedal (i.e. Mooer Blues Crab)
JCM style pedal (i.e. Golden Brownie)
Reverb
Compressor
Tuner
OD

I figure there'd be room under the cap for more pedal choices, and/or maybe a guitar with a humbucker.

 

[Benz2112]

I think my current favorite signal chain could work if you go used: Silver Sky --> Helix Floor --> Powercab 112. I am pleased with that setup, does everything I want it to do.

 

[wirsteve]

Here's another question, better to have a good amp and one good guitar or good amp and two decent guitars?

Why not good amp and 2 good guitars

I would say a good amp and one good guitar.

You are going to get more different sounds from a good amp and a good guitar. That'll keep you interested in playing and inevitably you'll buy more gear down the road. Whether its another amp or another guitar.

 

[TeleTex82]

I'd get the following just for a start:

Guitars
Fender Road Worn 50s Strat or Jimmie Vaughan Tex-Mex Strat (maple board with Tex-Mex pickups)
Harley Benton SC-Junior (LP Junior type, with P-90--I loves me some P-90 action)

Amps
Boss Katana 50
Marshall Studio Vintage 20H

Cab(s)
Avatar 212 with Greenbacks or V30s

Pedals
MXR Carbon Copy
JTM style pedal (i.e. Mooer Blues Crab)
JCM style pedal (i.e. Golden Brownie)
Reverb
Compressor
Tuner
OD

I figure there'd be room under the cap for more pedal choices, and/or maybe a guitar with a humbucker.

I think my current favorite signal chain could work if you go used: Silver Sky --> Helix Floor --> Powercab 112. I am pleased with that setup, does everything I want it to do.

Oddly enough, I've been looking at the Jimmy Vaughn and Silver Sky. I also really like the SV20C, the California Tweed by Mesa, and the Dr Z Jetta.

 

[noisebloom]

Here's another question, better to have a good amp and one good guitar or good amp and two decent guitars?

I think there's always room for both. I don't ever see a reason to cheap out on one or the other. Too many good choices to not have a 'best of both worlds' scenario.

With that said, I know the Harley Benton looks like a compromise but hey, it has a mahogany body and neck (or so they claim), and it has a P-90, which is swappable if the stock isn't sweet. Definitely worth considering.

 

[TeleTex82]

Why not good amp and 2 good guitars

I would say a good amp and one good guitar.

You are going to get more different sounds from a good amp and a good guitar. That'll keep you interested in playing and inevitably you'll buy more gear down the road. Whether its another amp or another guitar.

That's kind of the debate for me, i was thinking possibly one of the amps mentioned above and two Vinteras, a Strat and a Tele. Or a nice Wildwood Thin Skin and one of those amps.

I guess what has sparked this whole thing is that I have been a Tele guy my whole playing life, up until recently when i transitioned to PRS. I love my PRS but I find myself really missing my Tele in a way I didnt see coming. I play through a Blues Cube Artist which, to me, is a fantastic Amp but not quite as versatile as I need now with the projects I am involved in so I feel a bit adrift at the moment, if any of that makes sense.