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change guitar or amp?


venusshore

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I am thinking of change my current equipment - I found out that pedals are not the most important thing for the sound I want, So I have a budget to (1) change my current 06' Deluxe Strat (Mexico,rose wood) to American Standard Strat (maple) (2) change my amp (Fender Super Champ XD) to VOX AC15.

 

I can only do one of those two options. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

UPDATE: I finally bought VOX AC15!!!

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The amp is the way to go in this situation, but you should keep the super champ too.

 

 

I want to keep SC~but if I want to buy AC15 I need to sell it. I just changed the preamp tube in SC with a JJ 12AX7 and it sounds better now. Thinking of change the speaker too. But it seems that SC will never sounds close to VOX AC15.

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what are you trying to get out of the change?

 

 

I want a better sound:) I just played several American Strat and Fender/Vox amps in GC and found out the sound of American Standard Strat + Vox AC15 is GREAT. Not sure what to change (guitar or amp) will make me closer to this sound.

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What sound are you looking for?

 

 

I tried several stuff in GC and try to find the sound I like.

 

First I compared maple and rosewood Strat. I like the "clearer?" sound of maple Strat.

 

Then I compared Fender Blues Deluxe with VOX AC15 and found out that AC15 sound just like the thing I am looking for. "rich,a bit of acoustic feeling, transparent" - I am not sure this is the best way to describe it.

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Any suggestion on pickups? The fender noiseless pickups seems don't have much output especially on 1st string.

 

 

I suppose that depends on what tone you want, but I would go play your guitar through those same amps to see if that's the case or not before considering a change. Perhaps you like the tone of your current setup through the VOX.

 

However, lots of people recommend BG pickups for the '60s Strat tone reasonably priced at $100 a set.

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If I only had one guitar and one amp, I would much rather have the Deluxe Strat and an AC15 (with a Weber Blue Dog) than any $600 new guitar and the Super Champ.

 

:idk:

 

But as someone above said, a relatively modest pickup change will be a dramatic improvement, depending on what kind of tone you are going for... but I've always thought the Vintage Noiseless pickups (which I think is what is in the 2006 Deluxe Players strat) are pretty great sounding. I think there are some great tones in the Super Champ... I think the speaker holds it back. I mean, for a practice amp, I think it's spectacular, but for trying to sound like a full size amp on its own, it needs a bigger speaker or at least something with a fuller bottom end and more body. You could always get a 1x12 or 2x12 cab and get some speakers... You could probably put something together for relatively cheap. I'd personally try to find a used quality 1x12 cab locally, then order either a Weber Blue Dog if you are mostly going for clean and lower gain tones, esp Vox tones, or I'd get a Warehouse Speakers Reaper 55 for good clean tones but great gain tones.

 

That would be a HUGE step but if you want a Vox, get a Vox. I'm a Vox guy, too, and modelers just don't do a very good job at coping the Vox vibe usually... on the other hand, if you sell the Super Champ to get the AC15, you're getting rid of a lot of versatility and without comparing them back to back, I would think that the Super Champ and the Reaper 55 would have more clean headroom than the AC15 with the Greenback. The Greenback itself tends to have some speaker breakup and EL84s tend to not keep their composure quite as well as 6V6s.

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I tried several stuff in GC and try to find the sound I like.


First I compared maple and rosewood Strat. I like the "clearer?" sound of maple Strat.


Then I compared Fender Blues Deluxe with VOX AC15 and found out that AC15 sound just like the thing I am looking for. "rich,a bit of acoustic feeling, transparent" - I am not sure this is the best way to describe it.

 

 

Your amp affects your tone just as much as your guitar does, if not more, in some cases. I'd say change the amp. Going from one strat to another isn't going to make the amount of difference you're looking for. Going from a rosewood to a maple board is hardly going to make any difference. The pickups will make a difference, but you can change those for much less than buying a new guitar. Get the AC15, and you'll be a whole lot closer to your tone.

 

Get the amp, and given the difference in price between the AC15 ($500 or $600, I think?) and an American Standard Strat ($900-$1000), you can buy a new set of pickups, maybe even a maple board neck, and be all the way there.

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If I only had one guitar and one amp, I would much rather have the Deluxe Strat and an AC15 (with a Weber Blue Dog) than any $600 new guitar and the Super Champ.


:idk:

But as someone above said, a relatively modest pickup change will be a dramatic improvement, depending on what kind of tone you are going for... but I've always thought the Vintage Noiseless pickups (which I think is what is in the 2006 Deluxe Players strat) are pretty great sounding. I think there are some great tones in the Super Champ... I think the speaker holds it back. I mean, for a practice amp, I think it's spectacular, but for trying to sound like a full size amp on its own, it needs a bigger speaker or at least something with a fuller bottom end and more body. You could always get a 1x12 or 2x12 cab and get some speakers... You could probably put something together for relatively cheap. I'd personally try to find a used quality 1x12 cab locally, then order either a Weber Blue Dog if you are mostly going for clean and lower gain tones, esp Vox tones, or I'd get a Warehouse Speakers Reaper 55 for good clean tones but great gain tones.


That would be a HUGE step but if you want a Vox, get a Vox. I'm a Vox guy, too, and modelers just don't do a very good job at coping the Vox vibe usually... on the other hand, if you sell the Super Champ to get the AC15, you're getting rid of a lot of versatility and without comparing them back to back, I would think that the Super Champ and the Reaper 55 would have more clean headroom than the AC15 with the Greenback. The Greenback itself tends to have some speaker breakup and EL84s tend to not keep their composure quite as well as 6V6s.



Great advice~I play more ambient/post-rock stuff. So I need good clean and lower gains tones. Seems tone is more important than versatility to me. For now I only use clean channel or #5 voice in SCXD for clean tone. I am not sure if I change the speaker in SCXD to Ragin Cajun will make a huge difference.

If I buy a AC15...would Weber Blue Dog a good one compare to Celestion Blue? I only know this one.

I think I need to buy an AC15 then!

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Great advice~I play more ambient/post-rock stuff. So I need good clean and lower gains tones. Seems tone is more important than versatility to me. For now I only use clean channel or #5 voice in SCXD for clean tone. I am not sure if I change the speaker in SCXD to Ragin Cajun will make a huge difference.


If I buy a AC15...would Weber Blue Dog a good one compare to Celestion Blue? I only know this one.


I think I need to buy an AC15 then!

 

 

Make sure you bring your guitar when you go to try it out again!

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Yeah, the Blue Dog is Weber's take on the Celestion Blue. They definitely don't sound identical.... the Blue Dog is more of a creamy Celestion Blue with more bottom end and less compression.

 

I had an AC15CC1 and have an AC15H1TV and I tried both amps through a 50W ceramic Blue Dog and the 15W Alnico Celestion. For the CC1, I think I actually preferred the Blue Dog as that amp was slightly kinda harsh (I use single coils 90% of the time) and the Blue Dog smoothed it out a bit. Not to mention it costs $200 less and if you get the 50W version, it will pretty much last forever in the AC15.

 

I think it's the biggest improvement that can be made to the CC1. The C1 has the Greenback which is great in its own way, but warmer sounding than I prefer from a Vox. I'd definitely go for the Blue Dog.

 

But yeah.. with your last couple posts, I think I'd think about ditching the Super Champ entirely and getting either a new C1 or a used CC1 and getting the Blue Dog as funds allow. I personally would do this before changing out the pickups. Having said that, I had the CC1 for a couple years and have had the AC15H1TV for a couple years now and I do prefer brighter single coils with both amps. I have one strat with a set of Duncan SSL2s that sounds spectacular on the bridge+middle or bridge+neck positions. In fact, that guitar through that amp is probably my second favorite tone I can dial in right now. Duncan SSL1s and SSL2s can usually be bought for $80 used or so. I have several higher end sets of pickups but sometimes, everything just comes together with certain pairings.

 

:lol:

 

DSC_3879a1.jpg

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I believe that the amp is the biggest part of your tone in almost any situation.

Having said that, I'm kind of scratching my head and wondering why you're not able to get the tone you'd like out of the Strat you have now plus the Super Champ XD. I have that same amp and I can get all kinds of usable tones out of it, including a dynamic Fender-style clean. Plus some decent effects. I'm stumped.

Instead of doing something as dramatic as getting rid of your guitar or amp, you could attempt a smaller fix like getting a new speaker or trying new pickups. Truly, those smaller changes can have a big impact on tone, for sure. Unless you absolutely hate the Super Champ, and for practice sessions, I can't see why you would, hang onto it. Just my .02.

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Amp first. But I would just use your mexican strat until you can afford another upgrade to something nicer. Sure a pickup change might improve the sound a bit, but in my opinion a great strat is much much more than nice pickups. And it usually starts from an amazingly resonant body. Find one with a body like that an you're set.

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