13970 replies to this topic

[John MFer]

I'm thinking about guitar cabs. I've got a closet I plan on trying to make a poor man's iso booth out of, but I can't really fit a 4x12 in there. Plus if I ever play out I don't know if I'd want to lug around a 4x12. So I've been looking at 2x12s...anyone have recommendations? Hoping to pick up something decent for less than $350. I've considered buying a cheap 2x12 amp too, something like this maybe. For some reason it'd be cheaper than buying just a cab...

That sucks your band broke up!

That Bugera is cheap because it's made in China. The speakers that are in it are probably bottom of the barrel crap. Invest in something with some quality! Your TOL50 deserves it in order to sound its best.

LordMachino already suggested some good ones, Avatar and Lopoline are widely regarded for quality at a good price point. I liked the Randall RV212 I had for a short while, though it was hard to keep up with Christine's Ampeg SVT/8x10 mammoth rig which is why I went back to a 4x12. Mojotone will build you a custom cab if you want. Reinhardt makes an upright 2x12 that's 23" wide that would look fantastic under the 23" wide TOL50 head, but it's expensive. There are lots of good ones out there. Of course, Egnater has several good cabinets available. I don't know what kinds of speakers they have in some of the smaller ones, but my 4x12 has Vintage 30s and sounds great, those are my faves.

Hhngnnng I am GASing after this Tele so hard. How is it that teles are so simple yet so sexy? I just wish it had a contoured back. Maybe I'll try to build one sorta like that.

Wow, that's beautiful!!

[LordMachino]

If you use your Hot Rod as a cabinet, you should get some ABY switching going on I've always wanted to use a JC120 as a cabinet and have an AB switch so I could use it for cleans. You can also use the effects loops to switch only the preamps and use the power amp from the TOL for both if it sounds better, plus you'll have the same master volume so it'd work like another channel.

I've taken the plunge. I made up a sketch in AutoCAD and sent it to Chris at www.mai-guitars.com, and he's going to CNC a body shaped like Glen Tipton's Painkiller guitar routed for HSH pickups, 1 volume, 5 way switch, Ibanez AANJ pocket, through body hardtail bridge, and then give it a Steve Vai swirl. He's got a cool "you draw it, I CNC it" thing, so you could get like a Tele with a wizard neck

Finding the neck for this guitar will be a pain though. I'm a diehard maple fretboard fan, and Ibanez rarely uses them on their prestige line making the used necks pretty rare. I hear it's not even worth trying to get Ibanez to sell you just the neck

[John MFer]

Sweet! That sounds really cool. Hey, I tried to look at that website just now and it's not coming up.

Rather than depend on Ibanez (don't they just use Fender spec neck heels?) could you get someone like USA Custom Guitars to build you one?

[LordMachino]

It might work for the older square heeled Ibanezes, but in the early 90s they switched to the all access neck joint. If USACG makes super thin wizard type necks I'll have to look into that! I hear a lot of the people that do strictly Ibanez repro necks don't play all that well, but I'm sure a USACG would be great.


And the url is www.mai-guitar.com, looks like I added an 's'.

Edit:Looked it up and some people have put Strat necks on pre-AANJ Ibanezes. That's pretty awesome!

[John MFer]

I have been scoping out possibilities for a bridge humbucker for the LP, trying to be very scientific if that's at all possible. I'm trying to find something warmer without losing clarity, while also adding some balls, also sounds good split - but also not something super ridiculously hot in output either.

The ones I have found so far would be the new Duncan 59/Custom hybrid, WCR Godwood, Rio Grande BBQ, maybe the Dimarzio AT-1 or Air Zone. I could also try something like a 9K or 9.5K Fralin and play with the magnets until I find the right combo if the A4 doesn't work. An Unbucker would be really great for coil splitting but I'm concerned about it being too bright. I've always been aware that Rio Grande existed but have never played any of their pickups. In all the threads I'm finding with other people on the same hunt as me, the BBQ comes up a lot, with lots of die-hard fans.

WCR has the best reputation of the bunch (at least as good as Fralin), but those pickups are close to $200 each, which IMHO is more than any pickup should cost. Otherwise they're all in the price range of $80-130 for new ones, close enough together in price to where I'd rather get the right thing than pinch pennies.

I also want to try out that mod with using the resistors in the coil split circuit. Gotta go back and find out which resistors are preferred for that sort of thing.

[the Wozz]

Hhngnnng I am GASing after this Tele so hard. How is it that teles are so simple yet so sexy? I just wish it had a contoured back. Maybe I'll try to build one sorta like that.

Wow, that's beautiful!!

I agree!

[John MFer]

Anyone have any pickup recommendations?

[Big Jilm]

Anyone have any pickup recommendations?

The Duncan Custom hybrid might be a good choice for splitting if you use the higher wind coil. I'm going to order one here pretty soon. Duncan is going to do an ad blitz and it would probably be good if I had one in my case!
Also- I'm not sure which Rio Grande model I heard/installed for someone but it was not a sound I would ever want to hear out of any of my guitars.

[LordMachino]

I loved my Rebel Yells in my Les Paul like I said before. They tapped great and clean up beautifully with the volume knob. I believe the lower outputs model of them is the VHII, and then the Mule is close to an even lower output.

I forget if I said this before, but I have about a garbage bag full of old rolls of friction tape - the cloth precursor to electrical tape. I took the metal covers off of my BKP RYs and used some pieces to shield the coils. It has held great and has an awesome vintage look. If anyone wants a roll of it, send me a PM because I've got more than I could ever use. It's apparently pretty sought after for taping up baseball bats and hokey sticks, too

[TETSUOOOO!!!]

I finally have a very decent setup for my guitar!

Jackson Dinky with a Marshall Valvestate 2000. Man, I'm so stoked!

I'll be hitting up this thread more.

[Tender Lad]

Okay here it is! The new Ibanez Prestige:

The model is an RG1527z.

Badass guitar. I have the white and purple 1527's. I love them.

[Tender Lad]

Anyone have any pickup recommendations?

I've always wondered about the Fralin Unbuckers. Have you ever heard one? Supposed to be good for coil tap.

[LordMachino]

Someone on eBay is selling the 2 channel version of my amp, but would also take a trade for the 1 channel and cash. The one I have now is my dream amp, but I always find myself wanting another channel. I can't decide if I want to take the risk of losing my holy grail tone if the other head sounds different. Everyone who works for Cornford says they're the exact same circuit, but some people on their forum claim they sound different. I can't tell if it's just cork sniffing though.

What to do?!

[John MFer]

The Duncan Custom hybrid might be a good choice for splitting if you use the higher wind coil. I'm going to order one here pretty soon. Duncan is going to do an ad blitz and it would probably be good if I had one in my case!
Also- I'm not sure which Rio Grande model I heard/installed for someone but it was not a sound I would ever want to hear out of any of my guitars.

Cool, thanks! I'm definitely leaning towards giving that one a shot, seems like the specs are all right around where I would want them to be.

I loved my Rebel Yells in my Les Paul like I said before. They tapped great and clean up beautifully with the volume knob. I believe the lower outputs model of them is the VHII, and then the Mule is close to an even lower output.

Right on, I'll keep the BK's in mind. Lots of good reviews out there regarding those.

I've always wondered about the Fralin Unbuckers. Have you ever heard one? Supposed to be good for coil tap.

Good to see you back on the thread! Haven't had much time recently but I've been thinking about calling him and describing what I am looking for, and asking about whether the Unbuckers would work for me. Unbalanced coils seem to be brighter than equal coils though, and it's primarily going to be used as a humbucker.

That's sort of why my curiosity is piqued with the Duncan Custom Hybrid. The way the copy is written they've got one coil wound with 42awg wire and the other with 43, and they're supposed to be big in the low end.

Also, I have read a few people out there have put alnico 4 in their burstbuckers and they've smoothed out nicely, but Alnico 5 is too bright and harsh. I happen to have an A4 magnet just sitting, so I'm going to try that 1st since it costs 0 dollars. That said, the A4 was way bright and harsh compared to the A5 in the HFS pickup in the baritone. This stuff makes no sense to me.

Someone on eBay is selling the 2 channel version of my amp, but would also take a trade for the 1 channel and cash. The one I have now is my dream amp, but I always find myself wanting another channel. I can't decide if I want to take the risk of losing my holy grail tone if the other head sounds different. Everyone who works for Cornford says they're the exact same circuit, but some people on their forum claim they sound different. I can't tell if it's just cork sniffing though.

What to do?!

Win the lottery and buy both!!!

[Wyatt Riot]

Anyone have experience (good or bad) with the Carvin V3M amps?

I'm nearly finished with upgrading my rig and it's time I made the switch from solid state to tube. I like just about everything I hear—versatility, volume, switchable power mode, and TWO COLORS OF LEDs! (kidding...or am I?)—but I'm hesitant to purchase. I'm probably going to upgrade to the Celestion Vintage 30 speakers and replace the tubes, it seems like those are the only things that people complain about.

Opinions?

P.S.—Guitarra virgin here. Yay?

P.P.S.—I should probably include info about what this'll be used with.

The new guitar:


The new pedalboard:


I'm also getting a custom Warmoth made, but it'll be months before that's finished and assembled.