Members Neehan Posted March 22, 2012 Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 I'm about to get out of school and enter into the world of being a professional musician. Something I've also been doing while in school. I currently play an Ibanez Artcore AS-73 (I think its the 73 anyway) through a ZT Club amp. I'm looking to upgrade my gear to higher end more professional quality stuff. Right now I'm playing a $500 guitar through a $500 amp; so I want to upgrade to a ~$1500 guitar through a similar priced amp. I'm thinking Vox AC-15 for the amp (I need something light due to serious back problems), but don't really know where to go with the guitar due to the overwhelming number of options out there. I'm looking for a guitar that I can play for jazz gigs and in my rock band. I've got a Mexi strat that I love, and have considered upgrading to an American. I would prefer a slightly shorter scale neck like on a gibson. I've thought about Heritage guitars, but they might be a litter over my price range. I really want a guitar that can speak well in any register. As I find my guitars now to be a little weak in the upper registers. I've got a lot of gear collecting dust that I'm going to trade in to make this upgrade possible. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members photon9 Posted March 22, 2012 Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 Being pro has less to do with your equipment and more to do with you. As a pro you will likely have the opportunity to play a vast amount of differing equipment and figure out what works for you. So the smart, though admittedly boring, thing to do is to wait until you have the experience to know exactly what you want, and not waste $2K on equipment that might not be right for you. Trust me as a rookie professional musician you most likely are going to need it for other things, like eating and rent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neehan Posted March 22, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 Trust me as a rookie professional musician you most likely are going to need it for other things, like eating and rent. Lol well said. I do teach enough private lessons to avoid going hungry, but not much else. Perhaps you could just point in a direction of where to start looking. Thanks for the reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blackface Posted March 22, 2012 Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 AC15's are pretty heavy for their size actually, 50 or so pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members silent-strat Posted March 22, 2012 Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 If you like your current Ibanez, you could maybe look into some of their higher end MIJ options such as a GB or a JSM. I'll say what I always say when asked for a lightweight amp recommendation - go solid state. If you don't mind using pedals for dirt there are many, many back saving options out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neehan Posted March 22, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 I'm sure I would love the JSM100 but $2500 for a MIJ guitar is a little steep. I kinda want to keep it in the states but we shall see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members silent-strat Posted March 22, 2012 Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 yeah, sorry, I should have made it clear that those recommendations were used. Resale on them is poo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neehan Posted March 22, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 Haha nice. Are there any one speaker tube amps under 40 pounds? I don't like the Fender Blues Junior cause it distorts too easily. I like the Deluxe Reverb but its about 40 pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blackface Posted March 22, 2012 Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 Princeton Reverbs are under 40 lbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neehan Posted March 22, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 Don't Princeton's break up at low volumes as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elsupermanny14 Posted March 22, 2012 Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 Don't Princeton's break up at low volumes as well? Yes. If you're going to want good clean headroom out of a tube amp you have to go higher wattage which means much heavier amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neehan Posted March 22, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 Stupid herniated disc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elsupermanny14 Posted March 22, 2012 Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 Can you just get a combo that weighs around 60lbs (which is normal for a higher wattage tube amp) and travel with a dually in your car? You could use the dually to move the amp from point a to point b. Just an idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neehan Posted March 22, 2012 Author Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 Yeah that'll probably be the way to go. I played a friends Deluxe Reverb one time and absolutely loved it. So that's what I'll probably go with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dres_x Posted March 22, 2012 Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 If you like your AS73...you can always try its amazing older brother: the AS103It's really a well-built wonderful instrument...can't say enough good things about mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xrleroyx Posted March 22, 2012 Members Share Posted March 22, 2012 Build a Carvin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Special J Posted March 23, 2012 Members Share Posted March 23, 2012 Buy used to stretch your dollar. There are a lot of off-brand, high quality guitars. Hamer, G&L, you already mentioned Heritage. I think if I were you (playing jazz and rock, bad back), I'd check out a used Hamer Artist Korina. For an amp, look at some used boutique options. If you like a Deluxe Reverb, but not the weight, research who makes a clone in a separate head/cab configuration or maybe they make one with a lighter material. I think pine cabs tend to be lighter than birch, or MDF. Maybe check in with the TGP amps crowd. The Peavey Classic 30 seems to be the end-all-be-all of amps around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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