First electric guitar/amp combo - good choice?

[Tony Done]

What genre(s) and style? The choice should depend very much on that.

I'm old fashioned, and say spend more on the amp than the guitar once you get into the mid price ranges, because that is where most of the tone comes from. It took me over 30 years to get into electrics, because I failed to appreciate this. If you are a long-time acoustic player, you might find the same. Your total budget on that combo is about $2000, I would be looking at about $500-700 or so on the guitar and the rest on the amp. - But that guitar is nice, except I would go HSS rather than SSS.

[rob2966]

I have been very happy with my Egnater Tweaker combo and the price is very good. Just a couple of points.

1. I run the amp essentially clean all the time, I get my OD/distortion sounds from pedals and the amp takes pedals very well.

2. I have been playing guitar for 30+ years and have owned some high end tube amps (i.e. Soldano, Mesa, etc). I wanted something small that took pedals well, and was very impressed when I tried this, and the price is great for a tube amp.

3. MM makes a great guitar and if it the best fit for you it is likely the winner. No need to "move up" to brands like Tom Anderson, Suhr, etc. (although they are great, I own a Suhr myself).

Later
Rob

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by rob2966

I have been very happy with my Egnater Tweaker combo and the price is very good. Just a couple of points.

1. I run the amp essentially clean all the time, I get my OD/distortion sounds from pedals and the amp takes pedals very well.

2. I have been playing guitar for 30+ years and have owned some high end tube amps (i.e. Soldano, Mesa, etc). I wanted something small that took pedals well, and was very impressed when I tried this, and the price is great for a tube amp.

3. MM makes a great guitar and if it the best fit for you it is likely the winner. No need to "move up" to brands like Tom Anderson, Suhr, etc. (although they are great, I own a Suhr myself).

Later
Rob

Egnater Tweaker is very interesting, it got a glowing review from Andertons TV on YouTube And price is really attractive. I was thinking the 15 watt head and cab
Sweetwater has them both for $649
I love my Supro Titan and I also just picked up a Mesa Lonestar Special 1x12 combo. I absolutely love the sound but yikes 60 lbs. is way too much for any gigging for me (not that I will be doing any but ya never know) Even the Supro 1x10 combo is 47 lbs.

[roylor4]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Egnater Tweaker is very interesting, it got a glowing review from Andertons TV on YouTube And price is really attractive. I was thinking the 15 watt head and cab
Sweetwater has them both for $649
I love my Supro Titan and I also just picked up a Mesa Lonestar Special 1x12 combo. I absolutely love the sound but yikes 60 lbs. is way too much for any gigging for me (not that I will be doing any but ya never know) Even the Supro 1x10 combo is 47 lbs.

The Tweaker is a great sounding amp - just wish it had reverb..........

[MBDiagMan]

Pardon my ignorance, but I am an old man that got back into playing after a 25 year absence. What is an “axe,” a Les Paul?

[paulp1960]

axe
aks/Submit
noun
1.
a tool used for chopping wood, typically of iron with a steel edge and wooden handle.
"I started swinging the axe at the lumps of driftwood"
synonyms: hatchet, cleaver; More
2.
informal
a musical instrument used in popular music or jazz, especially a guitar or (originally) a saxophone.

[Scotso]

Some small amp choices

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exKUxhy_tDM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDoo7pw1frE

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by MBDiagMan

Pardon my ignorance, but I am an old man that got back into playing after a 25 year absence. What is an “axe,” a Les Paul?

It means "any" guitar, but electric players tend to use the term more than acoustic players, and it is not really new. Been in use to describe a guitar since at least the 60's when I first heard it

[MBDiagMan]

Goes to show you I am not cool, but I know now.😀

[PhilNBend]

Really -- any amp you buy that is not too expensive and you enjoy playing on it is a good choice.

What I say next will be controversial.

1) If you want a real, authentic tube amplifier, buy one of the reputable do it yourself kits and build your own. That is the only real, sure fire way to get an authentic mid 20th century tube amp. And make sure it is one of the small ones so you don't blow out your neighbors when you play on it.

2) The reality is that to get a big high wattage tube amp to clip/distort, it has to be cranked up to eviction level decibel levels. So modern amp manufacturers use all kinds of electronic tricks to get consistent great sound at a much lower volume level. Also, if your tube amp has any effects on board, the effects may involve digitally manipulating the signal. In other words, the sound you may be getting off an expensive tube amp may not be a totally analog sound, though it is probably indeed a great sound.

3) If using a combo amp, some people use a small lighter weight, solid state amp with a great clean channel, then use higher quality effect pedals for that "great" sound. There are also modeling amps out there as well as solid state amp heads that can be dialed into what the player is after.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by PhilNBend

Really -- any amp you buy that is not too expensive and you enjoy playing on it is a good choice.

What I say next will be controversial.

1) If you want a real, authentic tube amplifier, buy one of the reputable do it yourself kits and build your own. That is the only real, sure fire way to get an authentic mid 20th century tube amp. And make sure it is one of the small ones so you don't blow out your neighbors when you play on it.

2) The reality is that to get a big high wattage tube amp to clip/distort, it has to be cranked up to eviction level decibel levels. So modern amp manufacturers use all kinds of electronic tricks to get consistent great sound at a much lower volume level. Also, if your tube amp has any effects on board, the effects may involve digitally manipulating the signal. In other words, the sound you may be getting off an expensive tube amp may not be a totally analog sound, though it is probably indeed a great sound.

3) If using a combo amp, some people use a small lighter weight, solid state amp with a great clean channel, then use higher quality effect pedals for that "great" sound. There are also modeling amps out there as well as solid state amp heads that can be dialed into what the player is after.

Not so much controversial as simply having some elements of highly personal subjective opinion, which are totally viable as personal opinion, but not so much as any sort of universal objective "Amplifier truth" .


For example : Any amp that you really like is "a good choice" and "not to expensive" is both a totally personal qualification and subjectively relative to one's personal budget. And as such has no actual objective bearing on what constitutes a "good choice"

1) DYI is certainly an option but by no means is the exclusive domain of
"real authentic tube amplifier" sound (not to mention real and authentic both, being totally subjective terms)


2) The reality is getting a "high wattage tube amp to distort" is also a highly subjective personal preference/goal and by no means a universal qualifier for what constitutes desirability of tube amp sound

And to clarify. If in fact these so called "electronic tricks" otherwise known as analog circuits do get "consistent great sound at lower volume levels" then that would be in my opinion, all the more reason to consider a modern tube amp

Also a number of modern tube amps have tube driven effects (usually a physical spring reverb and sometimes tremolo ) on board, which are in fact totally analog, and in my opinion, are far better and more "authentic" (whatever that means ) or more accurately "desirable" sounding than any digital onboard or pedal sound

3) Beyond solid state being usually lighter weight, the rest obviously totally subjective spearheaded by what "great" actually means

Just Sayin'

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by roylor4

The Tweaker is a great sounding amp - just wish it had reverb..........

Love my Tweaker 15. I run it through a Celestion-equipped Blackstar 1x12 cab I got for silly money from Sweetwater, and handle the lack of reverb by running this TC trio in the effects loop.

[PhilNBend]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Not so much controversial as simply having some elements of highly personal subjective opinion, which are totally viable as personal opinion, but not so much as any sort of universal objective "Amplifier truth" .


For example : Any amp that you really like is "a good choice" and "not to expensive" is both a totally personal qualification and subjectively relative to one's personal budget. And as such has no actual objective bearing on what constitutes a "good choice"

1) DYI is certainly an option but by no means is the exclusive domain of
"real authentic tube amplifier" sound (not to mention real and authentic both, being totally subjective terms)


2) The reality is getting a "high wattage tube amp to distort" is also a highly subjective personal preference/goal and by no means a universal qualifier for what constitutes desirability of tube amp sound

And to clarify. If in fact these so called "electronic tricks" otherwise known as analog circuits do get "consistent great sound at lower volume levels" then that would be in my opinion, all the more reason to consider a modern tube amp

Also a number of modern tube amps have tube driven effects (usually a physical spring reverb and sometimes tremolo ) on board, which are in fact totally analog, and in my opinion, are far better and more "authentic" (whatever that means ) or more accurately "desirable" sounding than any digital onboard or pedal sound

3) Beyond solid state being usually lighter weight, the rest obviously totally subjective spearheaded by what "great" actually means

Just Sayin'

Just Sayin' - You read a lot into my brief comment and then criticize what I did not say. Of course everything is my opinion. Most people are already aware that comments generally made on these types of forums are someone's opinion. Overall, in my opinion, your comment comes off rather snarky.

Also, it must be remembered that in music a good sound is always a subjective experience.

[buzzardwhiskey]

Easy guys. Take your corners.

I'm now better edumacated on the various amp sounds available. I've listened to dozens of recordings, to my bandmate's Vox AC30, Fender Princeton 68, and Fender Super Champ, and to a music shop employee on a Fender Mustang 40 GT.

I believe that for what I do, a modeling amp is gonna fit the bill. I hear the musical sag, and the oddly warm sparkle of tubes when run quite loud, but the cost analysis fails me right now.

So I'm pretty sure I've decided on a Boss Katana 100/50/0.5 W head. That'll give me five main amp "flavors", and a whole truckload of Boss engineered effects at bedroom volumes, and the ability to power a cabinet if needed, and a recording output.

Thank you very much for your input.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by PhilNBend

Just Sayin' - You read a lot into my brief comment and then criticize what I did not say. Of course everything is my opinion. Most people are already aware that comments generally made on these types of forums are someone's opinion. Overall, in my opinion, your comment comes off rather snarky.

Also, it must be remembered that in music a good sound is always a subjective experience.

Interesting ... you preface your list with "What I say next will be controversial". and then claim statements pointing out a contra viewpoint, are critical and snarky ?? I mistakenly thought your preface meant, you expected some different viewpoints to be voiced . Also I thought I addressed directly what you did say as opposed to something you did not say. And I don't know what other people are aware of or assume, I try not to assume and just take what is written, as written. So it seemed to me your post read more like statements of fact , than offering opinion. If my pointing that out seems something more more than simply, pointing that out , then please ignore , certainly not intended to personally offend.... sorry