Gemmill 44864 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Thinking of getting a Fender Champ off the missus for Christmas? Thoughts? Is there a better option for a similar price? I'm not pulling a CT here, I will do some research, but I know we have people on here much closer to this stuff than me. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14011 Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 Have you got a link to the exact model Gemmill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 44864 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/electric_amps_detail.asp?stock=13090213444232 That little fella there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21915 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 My purchases in the last couple of days. Fender Mustang II amp (40w) Squier Classic Vibe 50's Telecaster nice telecaster. i've got this model - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14011 Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/electric_amps_detail.asp?stock=13090213444232 That little fella there. Firstly - as obvious as it is - I'd say try it and see how you feel with it when you're playing it - demo it with a guitar similar to yours. Secondly I'd think about what music you want to play & whether it would suit - if you're blasting out something fairly heavy I wouldn't be too bothered with a tube amp for practicing for instance. Though a tube amp will reveal the delicacies of your playing - for better or worse! Though it's hard to go too far wrong with a small tube amp Fender sometimes do charge for aesthetics - though in that price bracket It's not really something to worry about - especially if your lass is paying for it. I would urge caution in the sense that it'll be a fairly limited amp & a lot of the variation in sound will come from how good you are at dialing up tone on your guitar rather than twisting a few dials on the amp - it only has volume! If you're just getting back into playing sometimes it can help to have a wider range of sound to play with - i.e an effects pedal/multi effects - but with this amp being designed to reach natural overdrive at low power the fact there's no effect loop has a chance to distort/ruin anything you put through it directly. Epiphone did a few cracking low budget tube amps around that price range a couple of years back & they were much better than anything Fender will kick out for the same price - although I'm not sure that you can still get them - Sounds Live on Dean Street might be worth a shot. If I had to recommend anything I would point you in the direction of an Orange Micro Terror + Matching Cabinet. It's a hybrid between tube/solid state but it affords you a similar dynamic range to the Fender although it also has gain & tone pots to adjust the sound a lot more freely. In addition there's also a headphone jack & an effects loop. So perhaps better for somebody just getting back into it and in the same price range. It also looks cool as fuck. I got my sister one for Christmas last year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 44864 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Nice one, will have a look at the Orange thing too. Thanks fit the response though, was wary of paying for brand/retro aesthetics on the fender one. Well keep investigating! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14011 Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 There's little doubt the fender will sound cool by the way you just need to know what you're getting! Give me a shout if you've a question anyway but I suppose the most important aspect of a purchase is making sure that you're getting what you want, not what some guitar geek tells you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 44864 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 I can feel the fender coming on. The Epiphone Valve Jr was available last time I was looking into this, but doesn't seem to be anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 71 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Nice one, will have a look at the Orange thing too. Thanks fit the response though, was wary of paying for brand/retro aesthetics on the fender one. Well keep investigating! Yeah have a look at the 'orange thing' mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 44864 Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Yeah have a look at the 'orange thing' mate. Suck my balls, Germanfucker! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Park Life 71 Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Suck my balls, Germanfucker! It'll match your complexion if nothing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14011 Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 I can feel the fender coming on. The Epiphone Valve Jr was available last time I was looking into this, but doesn't seem to be anymore. You may be better off getting a valve junior off ebay. I'd totally forgotten about them but played one the other month & they are a proper high class amp for the money. I'm tempted to get one myself now. Also 'Pignose' do some really good little amps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14011 Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 Actually I've decided I'm going to buy one and customise it with the 'Fender' mod. Cheers Gemmill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 44864 Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 I'll outbid you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14011 Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 Fight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14011 Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 Finally got round to restringing my Ibanez yesterday only to find it sounds like a completely different guitar. I'd never restrung a Floyd Rose Style bridge successfully before - so this was attempt number 2 and it was fairly easy. First time round on an Ibanez JS100 - as I tuned one string the other 5 would go out. Which was frustrating to say the least. It's amazing what you can get for the price with an Ibanez - especially when you learn to restring one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14011 Posted January 25, 2014 Author Share Posted January 25, 2014 https://vine.co/v/MBLrUlDZXg7 Vine is fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graing 15 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Nice to see Ibanez represented. Here's my old RG 560. And here's my latest toy (a year old now). It's a "The Loar" (yeah not a Gibson Loar) 520 VS and she sounds beautiful. My poor Ibanez is a bit neglected. I need to get it out again soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14011 Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 Ibanez make great guitars for the price. My RG has a wide array of sounds & is piece easy to play. For £280 it was a steal and it's a little different because it's a mad as fuck colour. For the money there's no real downside. My first Ibanez was a JS100 which is basically a Fender with high output picks ups and a Floyd Rose style trem. It was £600 and at the time I loved it but I've grown to realise I was paying for the Satriani name and the normally cheap Ibanez didn't really offset that enough. They aren't always the best looking guitars but they are certainly a lot of fun - though I couldn't get by only playing Ibanez. My Gibson/Fender get sounds & tones you really cant get out of a basswood guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graing 15 Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 What Gibson do you play? I have been thinking about a Gibson for my next acquisition. I like the tone of the Byrdland and ES series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14011 Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 A Les Paul, the one in the vine link! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graing 15 Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Yeah I just saw that, nice. Like the earlier vid testing the iPhone camera. Tasty blues chops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14011 Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graing 15 Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 I just saw a video from Gibson about the min-Etune. I must be getting old because my first reaction was WTF?! It has servos and spins the tuners into pitch? In my days, we had to tune by ear and hand, walking uphill, through the snow, both ways! It was freaky to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14011 Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 Yeh I've seen them on the 'robot guitars'. I just tune by ear or if I'm using an open tuning I'll use the tuner on my phone. Someone slap me if I ever get to the stage where I need a guitar that tunes itself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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