If U were going 2 thin out your guitars based on performance on one amp-which amp w/b

[BG76]

Vibrolux or AC-30 (real one not Chinese)

[Sheraton]

If a guitar can't sound good through a nice Fender, it ain't worth having. EG

 

 

Words of wisdom.

 

Still, I did what you're talking about a couple years ago and arrived at a Music Man 65 as my perfect solution. It's essentially a Fender BF/SF type amp but with EL34s so it has a little bit of a Marshall flavor. It has a "Bright" switch and a "Deep" switch to give that Fender scooped mid tone if you want. Very versatile and dependable.

[bsman]

My (late, lamented) Pro Jr. was to amps what people say a telecaster is: A lie detector. A good guitar sounded good out of it, and a bad guitar sounded bad. If I were A/Bing guitars, I would just plug straight into a pro jr. turn up the volume to about three, the tone to about four, and get to it...

[Deadbeat Son]

This would be a tough call for me. I GAS for amps harder than I do for guitars, so trying to pick one amp to determine which guitars really shine and which don't would be difficult. I imagine it may be my AC15 or my '77 Marshall JMP though. Deciding between the two may be really tough.

 

That being said, I'd really like to pick up a SFDR or DRRI and see what those would do with my (mostly Gibson) guitars.

[nuke_diver]

My TA-15

 

Cause it sounds great and gives me different options all in the same tiny package.

[slushpup96]

An original Fender Super Champ, not the XD.

 

If I don't like the cleans through that, I won't like them on any amp.

[honeyiscool]

I need things to sound good through an Orange.

[allthumz]

I'm really curious what other think about this, because I may some day start doing this. I can see the Vox AC30 And I love the tone of Twins and the DRRI, but with Fender amps, I'm afraid all my Fender and other single coils guitars would be sticking around and most of my Gibsons and other HB guitars would end up on the chopping block. Keep 'em coming. Just nobody say "Dumble"

Maybe instead of culling just guitars you should thin out the amp herd as well.

[Bbreaker]

Every guitar I own sounds great through my Marshall 1987 Half Stack.

[jtr654]

Fuchs ODS 100.

[Help!I'maRock!]

i go with a Fender Deluxe or something similar. you can always add pedals for distortion.

[weareasmallaxe]

one's jigging amp of course

[jamdogg]

i would say a blackface fender amp, or any amp that has that overall classic fendery vibe. If all I played was humbuckers, I would likely say a roland Jazz Chorus.

[cratz2]

I've yet to find any of my guitars that sound bad through my Dr Z Carmen Ghia though they definitely interact with it in different ways, and I love the tones out of my Vox when I can crank it up a bit but my de facto amp choice for testing is a Blackface/Silverface type that is low enough power to get some sort of breakup... Deluxe Reverb, Pro Reverb, Super Reverb... something in that ballpark... esp for single coil guitars.

[diceman1000]

my Crate VC3112...

[mistersully]

 

If a guitar can't sound good through a nice Fender, it ain't worth having. EG

 

 

i strongly disagree

[sonic_777111]

I use a Crate V50 for everything, so it'll have to be that. I'm a Marshall/Orange guy tone-wise (the Crate sounds a heck of a lot like a Marshall).

[brunog]

Kind of a hard thing really because a really good amp sounds good with just a so-so guitar going through it. Of course a better guitar will sound even better through that amp. I guess a plain clean tone should do the trick so anything that fits that bill should work.

[Jarick]

Me personally? Probably a DRRI or an AC15. Something chimey and clean-ish. With a couple good pedals.

 

But if I played in a metal band, probably through a Mesa. And in a rock band, through a Splawn or Marshall. Etc, etc.

 

Typically I pick the guitar because of how it plays (or makes me play) and the amp/pedals for how I want it to sound to everyone else.

[DaleH]

If I had to marry a tone and had nice guitars. I would invest in a Hiwatt Custom 50 and some cabs.
I like some of the old Music Man amps also.

[grumphh]

 

What would be your choice amp for the drill?

 

 

Something like a Peavey Bandit or similar. A fair sounding SS combo with an ok 12" speaker.

 

If you want to thin out the herd based on how well the guitars sound and play i think that listening to them on a useable but definitely not great amp is the way to go.

See it this way - if it sounds good with a cheap amp, it will sound fantastic through any really nice amp you use later on.

 

A great amp can make even a mediocre guitar sing, making culling the herd difficult, so for your purpose i'd go budget amp strictly.

[SteinbergerHack]

 

Something like a Peavey Bandit or similar. A fair sounding SS combo with an ok 12" speaker. If you want to thin out the herd based on how well the guitars sound and play i think that listening to them on a useable but definitely not great amp is the way to go. See it this way - if it sounds good with a cheap amp, it will sound fantastic through any really nice amp you use later on. A great amp can make even a mediocre guitar sing, making culling the herd difficult, so for your purpose i'd go budget amp strictly.

 

 

I couldn't disagree more. That's like doing your final mix on a $3.99 set of earbuds and hoping it will sound good on a real system.

[gorebuc]

In every store I go to, I just plug into a Pathfinder. Easy to find, I know its quirks and sweet spots, and I am able to quickly tell whether I like the guitar or not. Salesmen always want me to plug into a bigger amp or one with more features (like a Line 6), but I know that's just to mask any weaknesses in the guitar (and hopefully sale the amp along with the guitar to package my positive store experience). I tell 'em I'm happy with the Pathfinder...

If I'm shopping for amps, I just grab whatever Tele happens to be around.

[kayd_mon]

 

In every store I go to, I just plug into a Pathfinder. Easy to find, I know its quirks and sweet spots, and I am able to quickly tell whether I like the guitar or not. Salesmen always want me to plug into a bigger amp or one with more features (like a Line 6), but I know that's just to mask any weaknesses in the guitar (and hopefully sale the amp along with the guitar to package my positive store experience). I tell 'em I'm happy with the Pathfinder... If I'm shopping for amps, I just grab whatever Tele happens to be around.

 

 

The Pathfinder is a nice little amp.

[Alex_SF]

 

I couldn't disagree more. That's like doing your final mix on a $3.99 set of earbuds and hoping it will sound good on a real system.

 

 

Mixing for listening on cheap earbuds isn't really that bad an idea from a marketing perspective, given how so many people listen to music these days. In fact, that probably accounts for a lot of the overcompressed "loudness wars" mixing techniques used on modern major label releases. After all, what good is dynamic range if 80% of your listeners are going to be hearing it through earbuds in environments with lots of background noise?