Gigging With Cheap Gear

[SLScott86]

 

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...

 

 

The Epiphone Les Pauls sound pretty good to my ears. Competing with Mexican strats, I think they're miles ahead. At least when comparing my two.

[FitchFY]

The Epiphone Les Pauls sound pretty good to my ears. Competing with Mexican strats, I think they're miles ahead. At least when comparing my two.

 

 

I had an Epiphone LP II and swapped EMGs into it - she sounded great!

[Kramerguy]

My Kramer is still my go-to guitar, I'm playing a focus 3000 mostly, it's a basic MIJ model, HSS, OFR and I put in the JBJ and seymour sc's from my american pacer custom (traded it but kept the pups). It's a great playing guitar, and arguably MIJ guitars from the 80's are a far cry better than most anything made today, even in the US. The nice thing is that used Kramers aren't that expensive, you can find most midrange and MIJ models on ebay for $250-$400. The american models get pricey tho.

 

Other than that, I too use an Agile AL-2000, great freekin guitar, but as mentioned, it's mahogany and heavy as hell!

In the avatar you see me with the blue Epiphone LP, it's borrowed, so after this weekend, no more.

I also play an Epi DOT, LOVE this guitar, right out of the box it's a hell of a great player, light weight, and sounds great. It stays in tune and cost me $300 new.

 

Like others have said- it's easy to take almost any guitar and make it great. So long as the neck is straight and it plays well, it's easy to make the best of almost anything.

[rocket888]

Piano players do not have the luxury of gigging with cheapo gear. Well, they can, and some do, but for me, a $300 digital piano has such lousy action and sound that it becomes a chore to play and is totally non-inspiring. And you can't soup it up with different pickups or strings like a guitar.

 

And a good B3 clone is along the lines of Nord (not cheap) Hammond (big$$$) etc, etc.

 

I wish there were $300 Roland and Nord and Hammond "Squires", but in my dreams.

[Gremson]

I gig with nice and expensive drum gear in one band. Outside of normal wear and tear, the gigs my band plays are pretty classy, and there's little chance of someone messing with my gear, or me getting trashed and doing the damage myself.

 

On the other hand, I play bass in another band and we're a little more rowdy. I play a cheap Squier P-bass. I swapped out for better electronics and it sounds great. I don't have to worry about getting {censored}faced and falling over with it, or any other unfortunate happenings.

[MusicalSchizo]

My main guitar for years (other than the Variaxes I use) has been an Ibanez GAX75. $200. Sounds great. Weirdly enough, it's middle position sounds almost exactly like a 335. No other GAX I've played sounds like mine, otherwise I'd have more than one. I saw one for sale used at my local Guitar Center and almost got it but it wasn't the same.

 

My main bass is a Carvin B5, which is pretty decent quality, but it only cost me $325.

[KeysBear]

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...

Love my Epi Dot in black and the stock pups are versatile. It's the third one I've owned and the most I paid for any of them was $225 used. Sold the first one, traded the second for a Classic 60's Mexi strat, will likely never part with the third.

[BATCAT]

 

I liked everything about the Dot I used to own except the pickups... found them pretty muddy.

[Mufasa]

I recently exchanged an expensive monitor for a semi-expensive monitor. I'm now going to exchange that monitor for a cheap Behringer that I'm used to using. You usually get what you pay for, but not every time.

[KeysBear]

I liked everything about the Dot I used to own except the pickups... found them pretty muddy.

Quality on the Dots and parts could be all over the place depending on the year produced. The first one I had in red was a superb quality instrument. The second one I traded was never pleasing to my ears. Actually I have no idea what pups are in my black one since I bought it used, could be factory, could be upgraded.

Here's the red Dot with an Agile LP-2000 in the back, paid less than $600 total for all three instruments pictured.

[rog951]

I used to be a big mic cable snob, but I've done a "180" over the last couple years and have now fully converted to using cheap-O cables. We'd go through expensive cables like crazy and it was costing us a fortune. I tried various brands of quality cable but, invariably, they'd get stomped, stepped on and kinked and would go intermittent.

 

Now I just grab twenty or so $5.00 cables about once a year. I can't really tell much difference in sound and I don't mind so much when I have to pitch one in the trash.

[rog951]

 

I recently exchanged an expensive monitor for a semi-expensive monitor. I'm now going to exchange that monitor for a cheap Behringer that I'm used to using. You usually get what you pay for, but not every time.

 

 

Be careful, I really don't like the Behringer powered monitors I've used. Our singer has a pair and they don't sound very good at all. Not sure the model but they were new about a year ago. I'm no monitor snob either; I use a Mackie Thump 12" and it is in a different league than my buddy's Behringers. I should also say I'm not one of those Behringer haters either, though I understand where they're coming from.

[c4racer]

 

Piano players do not have the luxury of gigging with cheapo gear. Well, they can, and some do, but for me, a $300 digital piano has such lousy action and sound that it becomes a chore to play and is totally non-inspiring. And you can't soup it up with different pickups or strings like a guitar. And a good B3 clone is along the lines of Nord (not cheap) Hammond (big$$$) etc, etc. I wish there were $300 Roland and Nord and Hammond "Squires", but in my dreams.

 

 

I agree! Lets see - my gig set-up consists of a 88 key weighted Yamaha S90-ES on the bottom and a Korg CX-3 on top, and a EV speaker as my monitor. Probably $4K worth of stuff all told.

 

Sometimes I use a SP4-7 Kurzweil, but only when we are so confined on space that the 88 key board won't fit on stage, or when I really need a lightweight set-up for some reason. Even that is a $1K board, and is at the low end of what I can live with from an action standpoint. The sounds are really good on some things, but not on everything, where the Yamaha just always sounds good no matter what type of sound I need from it.

[SLScott86]

I used to be a big mic cable snob, but I've done a "180" over the last couple years and have now fully converted to using cheap-O cables. We'd go through expensive cables like crazy and it was costing us a fortune. I tried various brands of quality cable but, invariably, they'd get stomped, stepped on and kinked and would go intermittent. Now I just grab twenty or so $5.00 cables about once a year. I can't really tell much difference in sound and I don't mind so much when I have to pitch one in the trash.

 

Doesn't Mogami have a lifetime warranty?

[tim_7string]

Let's see if I can remember it all!

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]347581[/ATTACH]

The first cheapo thing I remember using extensively was a Yamaha GE-10MII 7-band Graphic Equalizer pedal. I couldn't afford a BOSS GE-7 at the time (1993) and found this black pedal with green lettering and sliders in a music store for only $25 used. Perfect! It had a lot of hiss to it when engaged, but that seemed to work well when going for extreme metal sounds like the kind bands like Pantera and Prong employed on their recordings. I gave that pedal to my friend a few years ago when I finally bought the real deal (the GE-7).

 

I bought an Epiphone EB-O short scale bass guitar while I was playing bass and keyboards in a country-rock band in 2005. It was on sale at a Sam Goody and I figured what the hell. I've always been a fan of Cream, Nazareth and Free and the sound that short scale bass gets (although I believe Jack Bruce used an EB-3 instead). I found it to be a nice 'woody' sound, but uncomfortable for me to play for long periods of time. I traded it in at the music store where I teach guitar.

 

I also found an Epiphone Les Paul Junior Special II at the same store a year later. It was half price for only $50! I couldn't pass that up, so I bought it. I actually played that for some cheapo gigs out of town in 2006, the same gigs where I met my wife-to-be. Maybe it brought me good luck? Probably not, since I sold that one a couple of years ago and we're still together.

 

Actionsquid: Speaking of Squier Affinity guitars, I bought an Affinity Tele in early 2008 for use with the country-rock band I was in at the time. I was using my Ibanez 7-strings before that and it just wasn't fitting the style of music. The Tele made a big difference in the sound. Even though it was cheap as heck (I think it was all of $170), it played really well and sounded just like you'd imagine a Telecaster to sound! I even used it a lot in my trio back in 2010-2011, which was funny since I had a decent guitar as a 'backup' (Peavey Wolfgang Special). It seemed to fit the songs better, so I used it more often, even though it was essentially a crap guitar. Around late 2010/early 2011, it started to give me tuning problems, so I stopped using it. I decided to buy a 'real' Tele instead in February 2011, so I use that now (Fender MIM Telecaster). It's great!

 

Playing with cheapo gear can be fun, but more in a flying by the seat of your pants, "is this going to act funny soon?" kind of way. I have more piece of mind when I perform with stuff I spent more money on.

[tim_7string]

 

My main guitar for years (other than the Variaxes I use) has been an Ibanez GAX75. $200. Sounds great. Weirdly enough, it's middle position sounds almost exactly like a 335. No other GAX I've played sounds like mine, otherwise I'd have more than one. I saw one for sale used at my local Guitar Center and almost got it but it wasn't the same.

 

 

Ah, the GAX75! That's the one with the gray pewter finish and the Detuner, right? I considered buying one years ago, but never did. I liked it because it looked like my Ibanez AX7521 (same finish).

 

I did buy a cherry-red GAX70 though, but I sold it a couple of years ago. It played nicely and didn't sound too bad, but it had a big dent in the space between the first and second frets. I obviously missed that when I bought it from a Guitar Center back in 2006 (it was used). I always wanted the butterscotch finish one. Found one of those in a pawn shop in town, but they wanted the list price for it ($330!!!!!) and it was beat to {censored}. I was like, "this is a joke, right?" Nope.

 

It's still on the wall, years later...

[dan88z]

I have a few cheaper things in my rack. Lexicon Alex I paid 50 bucks for. DOD monitor EQ that came free in a rack I bought off my old guitar player. Behringer line mixer I bought new. My main PA speakers are Mackie Thumps. Not the best but they sound pretty good and cover nearly all our venues.

[rog951]

 

Doesn't Mogami have a lifetime warranty?

 

 

They do, and they make GREAT stuff, and the company seems really cool about it too, but you either have to pay for trackable shipping (more than a $5 cable these days!) or hope you have a dealer nearby. In our case, it's a nasty drive down to Chuck Levin's. Also, I'm not sure if the warranty covers "misuse" which can be argued in most cases where a cable gets stomped on (IOW, every single gig anyone ever played). They're still pretty cool about taking them back honestly, but the local dealers can put up a bit of a fight. We did it a few times but it became not worth it anymore. At least to us (me).

[n9ne]

I carry an EHX .22 Caliber amp as my backup, and it's saved me on several occasions when my more expensive tube amps started acting up. Cost me $50 used.

I also use a Behringer Ultra-G DI box w/ cabinet emulation. Sounds great....$30 brand new.

One of my main guitars is a MIM Tele with Duncans. Got it from a former bandleader who owed me $200.

[SLScott86]

They do, and they make GREAT stuff, and the company seems really cool about it too, but you either have to pay for trackable shipping (more than a $5 cable these days!) or hope you have a dealer nearby. In our case, it's a nasty drive down to Chuck Levin's. Also, I'm not sure if the warranty covers "misuse" which can be argued in most cases where a cable gets stomped on (IOW, every single gig anyone ever played). They're still pretty cool about taking them back honestly, but the local dealers can put up a bit of a fight. We did it a few times but it became not worth it anymore. At least to us (me).

 

 

I thought so, but we haven't had to use it yet. I imagined it being like the Monster cable warranty where it's pretty no questions asked. We've since switched to bulk Mogami cable and Neutrik connectors. If you don't have to make them too often it's pretty fun. Redco is the site I think?

[BATCAT]

 

Actionsquid: Speaking of Squier Affinity guitars, I bought an Affinity Tele in early 2008 for use with the country-rock band I was in at the time. I was using my Ibanez 7-strings before that and it just wasn't fitting the style of music. The Tele made a big difference in the sound. Even though it was cheap as heck (I think it was all of $170), it played really well and sounded just like you'd imagine a Telecaster to sound! I even used it a lot in my trio back in 2010-2011, which was funny since I had a decent guitar as a 'backup' (Peavey Wolfgang Special). It seemed to fit the songs better, so I used it more often, even though it was essentially a crap guitar. Around late 2010/early 2011, it started to give me tuning problems, so I stopped using it. I decided to buy a 'real' Tele instead in February 2011, so I use that now (Fender MIM Telecaster). It's great! Playing with cheapo gear can be fun, but more in a flying by the seat of your pants, "is this going to act funny soon?" kind of way. I have more piece of mind when I perform with stuff I spent more money on.

 

 

Yeah, it's weird what actually sounds "right" in a band context sometimes.

 

I had the same "what's going to go wrong with it" worries with my J-bass (which is why I also bought a more expensive one a while ago) but what's kind of funny is I've been using it regularly for over a year now, and sporadically for around five years before that, and I never have even small tuning instability or hardware issues. Not a single crackle or loose jack or anything. You just never know I guess!

 

I'm with you on the MIM Teles, though... they can be really great. My main guitar is a MIM Tele I bought around ten years ago. I've done a few hardware upgrades, a four-way switch, and added Duncan Antiquity pickups and it's just a joy to play. Bulletproof, too.

[Yer Blues]

One of Phil X's main characters is a LTD Viper 400. I can't get youtube at work, but I will post a clip at home. The guy is awesome whether he is playing the Viper or a 59 Les Paul and whether he is playing through a pocket Marshall or hand made botique amp.

[Outkaster]

Man as a keyboardist you just don't have cheap options and when you do the difference is night in day compared to PRO gear. There is suck a small amount of gear that we can use.

[KeysBear]

 

Man as a keyboardist you just don't have cheap options and when you do the difference is night in day compared to PRO gear. There is suck a small amount of gear that we can use.

 

In 2005 I picked up a Roland XP-50 at a pawn shop for $325. Same sounds as a JV1080. Gigged with it for five years until I blew a power supply which happens to most of them. My Yamaha CS1x was another bargain which makes a fine top tier keyboard for strings, horns, sound effects, pads, and some organ parts. It's still going strong after several years. I also keep a Roland JV1080 and a JV1010 in the rack which I got used for $150 and $175. I've always liked rack gear with controllers. Beat the controller keybeds to death gigging and replace them as needed. I bought two M-Audio keystation 49's for that, used of course around $50 each.

[Lee Knight]

They do, and they make GREAT stuff, and the company seems really cool about it too, but you either have to pay for trackable shipping (more than a $5 cable these days!) or hope you have a dealer nearby. In our case, it's a nasty drive down to Chuck Levin's. Also, I'm not sure if the warranty covers "misuse" which can be argued in most cases where a cable gets stomped on (IOW, every single gig anyone ever played). They're still pretty cool about taking them back honestly, but the local dealers can put up a bit of a fight. We did it a few times but it became not worth it anymore. At least to us (me).

 

 

I love Mogami cables. I keep a fairly expensive Mogami guitar cable in my studio. 9 times out of 10 a guitarist or bassist has issues with their cable. I swap in mine. The Mogami's been going strong for 5 years of abuse now without any repairs needed.