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GMC Forum _ PRACTICE ROOM _ Guitar Or Amp?
Posted by: Darknodar123 Oct 25 2009, 01:48 PM
Hey guys!!!
Well this December (too early to discuss but...) I am going to get 300-400 Euro.
And I will spent them on something that has to do with guitar.But where?
Any suggestions?
Should I buy a new amp with sound versatility?Should I buy a new guitar for better sound quality?Or should I buy something aside from those two?
Posted by: ZakkWylde Oct 25 2009, 01:54 PM
You are a beginner who has just started to play guitar. If you have a decent guitar and an amp that can give you a clean and an overdrive sound then you are set for now!!!
Save your money to spend it later on. You have only just begun playing and you don't know what your tastes in sound or guitarshapes are. Learn with what you have now for atleast half a year before you think about upgrading.
By that time you will know if you want an amp for which sounds or what guitar would be the best for what you want to play.
Posted by: Darknodar123 Oct 25 2009, 02:02 PM
Well I have mentioned on another topic that Im not quite happy with the guitar's performance.
You see I ve been cheated.
I was about to buy a Fender Stratocaster which was on sale and my father went to buy it for me.
But when he bought it and brought it home,it was a Stratocaster but not FENDER!!!
Instead of writing in the headstock Fender it writes League (idk what the hell League is.Do you know?)
So I think at least I should buy another guitar.
There you go decent
Posted by: Matt23 Oct 25 2009, 02:03 PM
You see I ve been cheated.
I was about to buy a Fender Stratocaster which was on sale and my father went to my for buy it.
But when he bought it and brought it home,it was a Stratocaster but not FENDER!!!
Instead of writing in the headstock Fender it writes League (idk what the hell League is.Do you know?)
So I think at least I should buy another guitar.
Maybe the store would let you exchange it if that's not the one you meant to get.
Posted by: Darknodar123 Oct 25 2009, 02:05 PM
Actually I didnt bought from the Local Music Store.I bought it from a store which had only that guitar on sale (no other guitars).But I saw that it was a Fender so I thought it would be okay.But in the end that happened
Posted by: Fran Oct 25 2009, 02:13 PM
A guitar needs a proper set-up.
The other day a friend who just starting playing show me his "starter pack", witha strat clone & cheap amp.
The problem was that the strat was so poorly set-up that it was barely playable, the action was rocket high, intonation was bad, etc.
Maybe your strat is not set-up properly.
Posted by: Darknodar123 Oct 25 2009, 02:15 PM
The other day a friend who just starting playing show me his "starter pack", witha strat clone & cheap amp.
The problem was that the strat was so poorly set-up that it was barely playable, the action was rocket high, intonation was bad, etc.
Maybe your strat is not set-up properly.
Well maybe I dont really know.Ill see to it.
Thanks
Posted by: maharzan Oct 25 2009, 02:26 PM
If you are not satisfied with the guitar, get a new guitar that you like. For amp, you can just use a DI box and a software or a multi effects box (which comes in really cheap) and just focus on learning guitar and practicing as much as you can before you can perform live and need an amp.
Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Oct 25 2009, 02:27 PM
I think you should wait a bit with purchase. You should take your guitar for setup which is a good idea since cheap guitars are not setup up properly and there for harder to play. You should take it to a local shop for setup its a well worth investment.
Posted by: Darknodar123 Oct 25 2009, 02:29 PM
Ok thanks guys for help.
Well its 2 months till I get that money so Its too early to discuss it now.
A lot of things may happen till then.
Live?I just started playing the guitar
Theres no way I can perform live
Posted by: maharzan Oct 25 2009, 02:55 PM
oh yea.. thats when you need an amp to get to know your tones.
Practice! Practice!! Practice!!! Till then. Good Luck.
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Oct 27 2009, 09:46 PM
This may be acquard to you, but I advise that you spend that money on a good audio interface, like POD Studio UX1, or POD X3 or something. This will enable you to play, practice and record with a variety of tones. For 300-400e you cannot get an amp that will give you that much tones and enable you to record anything.
Posted by: Pedja Simovic Oct 27 2009, 09:51 PM
Sometimes getting a new guitar can boost your practicing and playing. On the other hand if you are beginner you should focus on practicing and working with what you got. I remember my first guitar was copy of Gibson Les Paul by Slovenian manufacturer (Melodija). I played it for 4-5 years before getting me other electric guitar. Point is, guitar won't do playing, you are the one that make it happen
One little suggestion - take your guitar to get it properly set up. Lower the action if its two high, adjust intonation and all the rest that needs to be done.
Save 300-400 euros, soon you will have 1000 to upgrade when the right time comes (plus prices drop and every year new models come out 
Posted by: Adrian Figallo Oct 28 2009, 05:31 AM
100% agree with you Ivan. Recording is super important to really listen how you are playing, fine tune mistakes and tone.
Also a good interface will allow you to have a LOT of different professional tones and also allow you to do much more, like recording backing tracks, or layer your guitar and make arrangements.
Posted by: Darknodar123 Oct 28 2009, 08:01 AM
OK guys!!Conclusion is I will buy a POD for more sound versatility.thanks
One little suggestion - take your guitar to get it properly set up. Lower the action if its two high, adjust intonation and all the rest that needs to be done.
Save 300-400 euros, soon you will have 1000 to upgrade when the right time comes (plus prices drop and every year new models come out
As for guitar of course I will take it for setup.But save 1000 euros for upgrade?That would be a SUPER upgrade.
But I will buy a POD and save the rest of the money.
Btw how much does a POD X3 cost?
Posted by: maharzan Oct 28 2009, 08:36 AM
I think you won't need the super quality POD with hundreds of presets and features. You never really have to explore all those presets.. I bought GNX4 few years ago and I never actually played more than 4-5 presets. Clean, distortion, lead tone and Wah at times. After a year or so, I got annoyed with the digital sound and now m using a tube amp instead. Althought I have the GNX4, I never use it now.
So, the point is, you will always want to upgrade when you start learning more about sound and guitar playing. So, instead of doing a 400$ purchase at this point, I would recommend you to start off with cheaper ones and get one clean tone you like and one lead tone you like and start improving your playing skills.
Some really small ones but with great tones which has been recommended here as well are :
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Line-6-Pod-2.0-Guitar-Multi-Effects-Processor?sku=150448
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Toneworks-Pandora-PX4D-Personal-MultiEffect-Processor?sku=152176
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Korg-Pandora-PX5D-Guitar-Multi-Effects-Processor?sku=150486
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Line-6-UX1-with-PF?sku=250003 - http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/index.php/Toneport_Ux1
and the famous http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/index.php/Korg_Pandora_PX4D_Review (http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=7695) by the great Muris Varajic!
Good Luck!
Note: I think all of these have USB recording facility which is what you really need to improve.
Also, if you really want to get it cheap, buy used ones (near you if available).
Posted by: Darknodar123 Oct 28 2009, 08:36 AM
So, the point is, you will always want to upgrade when you start learning more about sound and guitar playing. So, instead of doing a 400$ purchase at this point, I would recommend you to start off with cheaper ones and get one clean tone you like and one lead tone you like and start improving your playing skills.
Some really small ones but with great tones which has been recommended here as well are :
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Line-6-Pod-2.0-Guitar-Multi-Effects-Processor?sku=150448
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Toneworks-Pandora-PX4D-Personal-MultiEffect-Processor?sku=152176
http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Korg-Pandora-PX5D-Guitar-Multi-Effects-Processor?sku=150486
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Line-6-UX1-with-PF?sku=250003 - http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/index.php/Toneport_Ux1
and the famous http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/index.php/Korg_Pandora_PX4D_Review (http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=7695) by the great Muris Varajic!
Good Luck!
Note: I think all of these have USB recording facility which is what you really need to improve.
Well I never actually said I would make a 400 Euro purchase but those are good suggestions thanks.
Also what do you mean by USB recording facility?
Posted by: maharzan Oct 28 2009, 08:42 AM
Yep, you never said but the POD X3 (you were asking for) looks like it will cost around 400$.
USB recording facility means, the unit will have USB port which you can connect to your computer and record using your favorite recording software like Cubase, Pro Tools, Cakewalk, etc.
Posted by: Darknodar123 Oct 28 2009, 08:46 AM
Oh I didnt know it costs that much 
But the USB Facility is something that needs to practiced and improved.'
Also till now I dont know how to use none of these programs.
Posted by: Keilnoth Oct 28 2009, 08:48 AM
Be aware that the POD 2.0 does NOT have USB. It's probably cheaper and you can probably found some for nothing on eBay but it's not as versatile and easy to use as the XT or X3. But yeah, those gears are pretty expensive and you are most likely to go over your budget.
Posted by: Darknodar123 Oct 28 2009, 08:50 AM
Well if it doesnt have a USB does that make it worse than the others?
I mean what are the disadvantages
Posted by: maharzan Oct 28 2009, 08:57 AM
also, if you somehow get or own an audio interface, you can actually use Amplitude or Guitar Rig software applications. Most instructors here seems to use those.. easy
You just won't be able to record. Yep, drop those not having USB.. its seriously needed to improve faster.
This one (audio interface) seems to be cheaper and comes with Guitar Rig as well.. Cons of this is you will always have to connect it to the computer even while practicing.
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Native-Instruments-GUITAR-RIG-MOBILE?sku=581836
PX4D would be a good choice but that is like 150$ (not sure how much euro it would be there)
Posted by: Darknodar123 Oct 28 2009, 08:59 AM
Well the Korg Pandora PX5D (ex) on the site you mentioned costs 184 $ that means 124 Euro.But looking on the net
in my country that thing does 280 Euro.
I mean look at the difference.Twice as much and more
Is there any way the product on the site you mentioned can be shipped in Greece?
Posted by: maharzan Oct 28 2009, 09:10 AM
Yes, you will have to do a lot of research before buying. If you are looking forward to learning lessons from GMC, its really recommended that you can record your playing. If I were you, I would definitely start with cheaper machines because, its not about sound at this point. You need to learn to play first. Once you are comfortable playing beginner level licks and rhythms then you can consider getting a better interface with foot pedals and what not like the POD XT. But these little machines will be your assets because whenever you want to record, these will always come in handy. Ask the instructors.
in my country that thing does 280 Euro.
I mean look at the difference.Twice as much and more
Is there any way the product on the site you mentioned can be shipped in Greece?
not sure if they ship to Greece. Have you tried searching over ebay within Europe? They should have almost half the price.
From your earlier reply, don't worry about not knowing how to use. Its not so difficult and I am recommending this small units because it will be very easy to play around. Getting larger units is more complex and instead of learning playing, you will be lost in finding the sound you like.
Let others chime in with other recommendations and you can narrow down the selection.
Posted by: Darknodar123 Oct 28 2009, 09:13 AM
Ask the instructors. not sure if they ship to Greece. Have you tried searching over ebay within Europe? They should have almost half the price.
From your earlier reply, don't worry about not knowing how to use. Its not so difficult and I am recommending this small units because it will be very easy to play around. Getting larger units is more complex and instead of learning playing, you will be lost in finding the sound you like.
Let others chime in with other recommendations and you can narrow down the selection.
Well you are not sure???
I cant take from Ebay.I have got my reasons.So the only way is shipment.
And the good part is that in Greek site they cut the price from 297 to 277
Posted by: Keilnoth Oct 28 2009, 10:39 AM
Not having USB means you will have to use it manually and you won't be able to pilot it through your computer. Even though it has a midi interface for that, it's not really comfortable.
It's OK but it's not really 2009 fashioned...
More than that, the sounds on the POD XT and X3 seem better than on the POD 2.0. But still, on ebay.com, you can find some POD 2.0 for like 50$ or 100$. It's really worth the price you pay for it.
So if you have 300$, you will still have 200$ left to buy something else, for example a good recording sound card or a webcam to do some REC.
It's up to you then. You can do a lot of things with 300$.
Posted by: Adrian Figallo Oct 28 2009, 03:21 PM
True, i personally prefer software based modeling, specially guitar rig, over pods or rack modeling.
It's more versatile, and in my opinion it sounds much better
You just won't be able to record. Yep, drop those not having USB.. its seriously needed to improve faster.
This one (audio interface) seems to be cheaper and comes with Guitar Rig as well.. Cons of this is you will always have to connect it to the computer even while practicing.
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Native-Instruments-GUITAR-RIG-MOBILE?sku=581836
PX4D would be a good choice but that is like 150$ (not sure how much euro it would be there)
Posted by: Boson Oct 28 2009, 03:30 PM
My recommendation would be to go for a Toneport UX1. It does not cost much and comes with gearbox software for modelling (loads of different tones) and also ableton lite for recording.
I have the UX2 which is more expensive and gives more inputs but the UX1 is equally good and lots of GMC members use them including Ivan M.
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Oct 28 2009, 03:36 PM
I also suggest POD Studio UX1. It is a sound card/audio interface and it will serve you well for home usage.
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