Moderators BATCAT Posted August 1, 2012 Moderators Share Posted August 1, 2012 My main bass is a Squier Affinity J-bass (not even a "good" Squier) I bought around 2006 for maybe $140. I own a very nice MIJ Jaguar bass but save it mostly for recording. The Squier just feels right, lightweight, and comfortable to play and seems to get the sound a want with a minumum of fiddling. How about you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 A used Agile AL 2000 goldtops with P90s. Felt great, sounded great... then I dropped it and it chipped the fretboard. I suppose I could look into getting it fixed, but it might cost more than the guitar. It lead me to get another Agile which I never bounded with even after swapping out the pickups. I traded it for a 1x15 Ampeg bass combo last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joshmac Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 I opted for the $20 mic stand instead of the $60. Does that count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members melvinspeed Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 I use an old SM57 for my vocals. Of course, my vocals don't warrant anything more expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members KeysBear Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 I got a lot of mileage out of an Agile LP-2000 I think I paid $140 for a long time ago. I sold it to my lead guitarist last year. He will quite often leave his American Strat or PRS at home, especially if he has to gig right after work because he doesn't worry about leaving the bargain Agile in the trunk. I sold it because it's one heavy mahogany guitar. My main bass is a Squier Vintage Modified jazz with a gloss maple body I got for $170 used. I also have a MIM Precision I bought for $98 used. My bass amp is a Crate BX 200 I bought for $150 used. My Hartke 1508 cab was also $150 used. Got my Yamaha CS1x synth for $150 at a pawn shop and I've been taking it to every gig for three years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JailTime Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 I rarely change my guitar strings, and when I do, it's usually something extraordinary. That's cheap AND lazy. I also use Hosa cables to connect my ipOd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 In the case of keyboards I would never gig with cheap gear because I can tell right away. It Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 I'm a used gear whore. I'd rather buy something of quality that's used rather than something of lesser quality that's new. My keyboards were all bought new and a few other items, but most of the stuff in my rack and such is used. And ESPECIALLY things like racks. I just can't fathom the idea of paying top dollar for a new rack that's going to be beat to {censored} and "used" in a few months anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ggm1960 Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 PA = Behringer UB2442 mixer and B215 powered speakers. Cheap stuff but transparent in use, after all, a PA just needs to project a reasonably full range amplified representation of what goes into it. The mixer is a funny story. Because the design was lifted from a Mackie board it has crappy pressure fit ribbon connectors that were not intended for audio use. When mine screwed up I found the solution on the Mackie boards; all the knobs/dials have to be removed for access and one has to press down on the ribbon connections. I've had this mixer since about '04 and I've had to do this 2 or 3 times. Now the mixer gets a cushy ride strapped in the front seat of my van so that it receives minimal vibration during transport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted August 1, 2012 Moderators Share Posted August 1, 2012 I don't mind cheap as long as it can be setup well. I've got a Squire Jazz bass but had to put a Badass bridge on and some Seymore Antiquity pickups, but I love the neck. And now the bridge tunes, and it sounds great. I had the cheapest drumkit in my studio but I could tune it up very nice with the right heads and it always sounds much better than badly tuned DWs or what have you. It's all about the setup if you ask me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ZED Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 Main stuff is quality, back-up in junk. I might take a Danny Gatton Tele and a Louis Electonic amp as the main instruments, but backups might be an Epiphone Dot and a Fender Solid State amp with an 8" speaker (and a SM58 and cable in case it's actually needed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caeman Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 I bought a Gretsch G2202 from Guitar Center for $150 with free shipping. I then defretted it myself because I didn't want to pay a luthier to do it. I then sold my Fernandes fretless (which only cost me $110). I love my Gretsch fretless and so has pretty much every bassist that has tried it. That TV jones minihumbucker has a nice sound. For the first three years of my bass playing, my FX board consisted of a Korg tuner (not the pedal, the hand-held thing) and a Behringer BEQ700 Bass EQ straight to PA. I didn't even own an amp. And honestly, it gave me all the tone I needed with the Johnson 5-string jazz bass I was playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 In the case of keyboards I would never gig with cheap gear because I can tell right away. It Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarman Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 During Holloween, I'll gig with my $99 orange Epiphone collegiate Les paul (University of Illinois) and my Orange solid state amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fenderbender9 Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 I'm all about economy. The guitar I probably play the most is a sunburst SX tele with Rio Grande pickups. It's the only SX I've ever gotten but it feels good and sounds like a bonafide tele. Is it a high dollar guitar? No, but to the untrained eye nobody cares. Even better, I don't have to worry about someone knocking it off the stand or spilling their drink on it. Definitely the best mileage i've ever gotten out of $115. Some foreign 7 year old is making some killer guitars! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fenderbender9 Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 But a guitar that is built well and feels good can have upgraded pickups and pass. Don't underspend or settle for less on an amp. With some things, you'll always get what you pay for and have no way to change it into something more. As was already said, keyboards and amps are two of those things. For me it's a question of feel. If a guitar feels right, it's a catch. Change what you don't like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crownman Posted August 1, 2012 Members Share Posted August 1, 2012 A buddy of mine bought a beat up Soundgear bass from a pawnshop for $50. Leveled the frets and put a set of Bartolini pickups in it and it sounded amazing. What always irks me though about people going cheap is when people cheap out on the PA. The guitarist and bassist will have 2k in guitars and amps in each of their setups, the singer will have a nice wireless, the drummer will have some expensive kit. Then they'll only want to spend $1500 for a complete PA from mains to mics. I have to laugh and walk away to keep from donkey punching them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MDLMUSIC Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 My main gigging guitar for the past several years has been my Dean Vendetta XM that I bought at GC for $99 new (It's the one I'm playing in my avatar). Then a few months later they had a black one on sale for $89, so I bought that one too. Both of them are lightweight, which is a definite plus for my 59-year-old back and they stay in tune. I'm not a shredder by any means, but for what I do (oldies and classic rock covers) they sound great (IMHO, of course). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ku'Yleh Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 I take my $500 Jackson, my POD HD 300, and most often these days... and I am not kidding here... my Crate GX80 out to gig. The whole rig is maybe $1k with cables. m/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SLScott86 Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 We've used a $150 guitar cab of mine for a little while when a better one stayed home in the studio for recording. The nameplate of this company was removed over a plate of sausages and sourkraut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caeman Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 We've used a $150 guitar cab of mine for a little while when a better one stayed home in the studio for recording. The nameplate of this company was removed over a plate of sausages and sourkraut. Did you ever get compliments for the tone of the "nameless" cab? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SLScott86 Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 Did you ever get compliments for the tone of the "nameless" cab? We did not. I would have laughed if we did though. It definitely sounds sloppier than the Mesa cab it subbed for. But it was $150, so I was fine with that. We also had some converters of theirs in the studio that sounded legitimately good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FitchFY Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 I love this thread. My main gigging snare for my rock cover band is a 7x13" Ddrum SD4 maple snare... I paid $99 for it. Shop with your ears! But, more appropriately, in the spirit of this thread, two of my cymbal stands are made by Sound Percussion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dfwadjuster Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 For a couple of years my main guitar was an Epiphone LP Std. New nut, pups, pretty good guitar... Now it's number 2 behind my Gibson LP Jr, to some that's also a budget guitar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members americansinner Posted August 2, 2012 Members Share Posted August 2, 2012 I gig with my Epi Dot instead of my 60s gretsch cause it is more versatile. I did put boutique pickups in it so it is not super cheap, but ya... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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