Which is better?? Cheap guitar & expensive amp or expensive guitar & cheap amp?

[Skybox]

Another awesome video from Chappers and the Captain. Looks like I spent more money on my amps + pedals so more like Rob's rig. Where did you spend more money, on your guitar or your amp + pedals?

[titser_marco]

I once heard someone here (I think it was deltaslim) that one can live with a good amp and a so-so guitar than the other way around. Been almost a decade since that was said and I can attest to the truth of that statement.

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[titser_marco]

That said, pedals should come last in order of priority. So in summary my view is that get the straight through chain right first before going crazy on buying pedals.

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[Skybox]

That said, pedals should come last in order of priority. So in summary my view is that get the straight through chain right first before going crazy on buying pedals.

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I couldn't agree more. Sadly, it was only recently that I started to actually invest on amps.

I think guitarists in the Philippines generally spend more on their pedals instead of their amps because not a lot of folks actually bring their own amps to gigs. I think this is the main reason why my younger less hairy self invested more on a good tube preamp to get a killer direct to FOH sound than on a good tube amp.

[royc]

Good guitar then good amp then better guitar.

Maganda sana good amp muna pero usually naiiwan ang amp sa bahay kaya makes sense na good guitar muna.

I agree na last ang pedals unless cover band and kailangan sa tugtog.

[titser_marco]

Never too late to discover how amps are just as interesting (or even more so than) as guitars!

Agreed that people here have a tendency to focus on getting a good guitar and pedal kit first because of our real-life constraints, but barring that the amp before guitar principle wins hands down. An electric guitar was designed to be amplified, full stop.

I couldn't agree more. Sadly, it was only recently that I started to actually invest on amps.

I think guitarists in the Philippines generally spend more on their pedals instead of their amps because not a lot of folks actually bring their own amps to gigs. I think this is the main reason why my younger less hairy self invested more on a good tube preamp to get a killer direct to FOH sound than on a good tube amp.

[mikebled]

Good guitar then good amp then better guitar.

Maganda sana good amp muna pero usually naiiwan ang amp sa bahay kaya makes sense na good guitar muna.

Agree. Most do not have the means to travel with the amp to gig. Commute karamihan eh.

[Ralph_Petrucci]

naniniwala akong tone is in the amp talaga. hahaha I always hear entry level guitars sounding awesome on an awesome amp, and I've also heard top of the line guitars sounding like MEH on an entry level amp.

[titser_marco]

Hear, hear.

naniniwala akong tone is in the amp talaga. hahaha I always hear entry level guitars sounding awesome on an awesome amp, and I've also heard top of the line guitars sounding like MEH on an entry level amp.

[karl666]

naniniwala akong tone is in the amp talaga. hahaha I always hear entry level guitars sounding awesome on an awesome amp, and I've also heard top of the line guitars sounding like MEH on an entry level amp.

I remembered playing my 1.5k worth of guitar way back high school on a Laney 50w tube amp. Sounds better than my setup now. I'm still saving money for a good amp.

[Skybox]

I felt that the Gbson LP in the video was being held back by the Cube 80

[shoegaze geezer]

i would rather have expensive amp and cheap guitar than other way around.

[ice_man_jester]

just curious..lets say your a big fan of (insert guitarist name)..

a. would you rather have a Gibson LP Slash sig thru a RJ Hot Cabs  or an RJ LesPu through a Marshall AFD100?

b. would a Fender CS Mayer sig through a karaoke system inspire you more than a Sta Mesa strat plugged to a Dumble amp?

Personally, a high-end guitar/cheapo amp combination would inspire me more in both home practice and actual gig.

[vinCe-uv7bk]

just curious..lets say your a big fan of (insert guitarist name)..

a. would you rather have a Gibson LP Slash sig thru a RJ Hot Cabs  or an RJ LesPu through a Marshall AFD100?

b. would a Fender CS Mayer sig through a karaoke system inspire you more than a Sta Mesa strat plugged to a Dumble amp?

Personally, a high-end guitar/cheapo amp combination would inspire me more in both home practice and actual gig.

A.) I would go for the marshall. no matter what guitar you put infront of an RJ hot cabs it will sound like crap LOL
B.) it really depends on your preference.

[24242009]

Due to budget constraints and practicality most guitarist buy guitars first because it is easier to carry on gigs, most people has small to medium sized amps at home (not all people are rich), bigger ones usually are at the venues. Not all people has the time to bring amps on stage.

I would buy guitar first, good guitars sound good too

[Ralph_Petrucci]

just curious..lets say your a big fan of (insert guitarist name)..

a. would you rather have a Gibson LP Slash sig thru a RJ Hot Cabs  or an RJ LesPu through a Marshall AFD100?

b. would a Fender CS Mayer sig through a karaoke system inspire you more than a Sta Mesa strat plugged to a Dumble amp?

Personally, a high-end guitar/cheapo amp combination would inspire me more in both home practice and actual gig.

for A, i'll get the Gibson Slash LP and then sell it to get a cheaper guitar (i.e. a Greg Bennett or Epiphone) then get a marshall.

for B, no contest. i'll get the dumble. i'll bet you good money that the dumble will make that sta. mesa strat sing compared to the JM CS Strat on a home karaoke system.

tska PS. isang dumble amp palang, kaya na bilhin lahat ng choices sa taas HAHAHAHAHAHA

[ice_man_jester]

but what if lets say, you don't have any option to sell the expensive guitar or amp and you're down to just choosing between the 2 setups..

which would you choose for long term use at home and at gigs? expensiveguitar/cheapamp combi, or cheapguitar/expensiveamp?

[Ralph_Petrucci]

but what if lets say, you don't have any option to sell the expensive guitar or amp and you're down to just choosing between the 2 setups..

which would you choose for long term use at home and at gigs? expensiveguitar/cheapamp combi, or cheapguitar/expensiveamp?

amp pa din. may oto ako eh. dalin ko sa gigs yan.

eto yan eh, kung maganda lang ang public transpo sa pinas or kung may oto ang gitarista, mag dadala ng amp yan sa gig more often than not.

kaya lang naman gitara ang nagiging gas priority ng karamihan eh kasi yan ang medaling dalin sa labas. sa ngayon. again, kung madaling mag transport ng amps, amp din ang dadalin niyan.

naexperience ko na kasi yan. back in college I had a Fender American Standard Tele, complete with pedals and all, pero I was playing through a cheapo orange solidstate. was never satisfied with my rig.

 fast forward 3 years, I was then using a Greg Bennett Les Paul, through a Goldea AT30 (well, di parin kamahalan nung amp, but definitely better). napakatagal ng setup na to sakin. why? kasi I was getting the sounds and hearing what I wanted from the amp.

dun ko narealize na, a good guitar can only sound as good as the amp will let it sound. kung hanggang dito lang ang tunog nung amp, ganyan din ang tunog either fender or Squier ang gamit mo.

maririnig mo ang nuances ng expensive guitar at cheapo guitar sa isang magandang amp. pero, magiging decent parin ang tunog nung cheapo guitar, more or less sa magandang amp.

[skrumian]

Kaya naman yun ibang effects ang priority dahil sa convenience eh. Madali kaseng bitbitin.

Pero kung tone improvement talaga ang habol mo, syempre dapat unahin ang amplifier.

[Ralph_Petrucci]

Kaya naman yun ibang effects ang priority dahil sa convenience eh. Madali kaseng bitbitin.

Pero kung tone improvement talaga ang habol mo, syempre dapat unahin ang amplifier.

yan na yun. mismo.

[gandydancer123]

good amp is better...syempre.. pero for me, true joy I can get sa isang magandang gitara sa kamay mo..hehe

[Ralph_Petrucci]

good amp is better...syempre.. pero for me, true joy I can get sa isang magandang gitara sa kamay mo..hehe

no denying that! hahaha hindi magtitigil ang gas unless masaya ka sa hawak mong gitara! =))

[pallas]

Enjoying the Orange Tiny Terror on 7 watts straight plugged in LP with nice bareknuckle mule buckers.
On the 2x12 combo loaded with broken in Vintage 30s they are glorious. Neighbours ARE complaining and the amp is on 7 watts.

Next evil plan is to acquire a 4x12 to pair it with the TT.
Amp gets my vote.

[r_chino18]

just curious..lets say your a big fan of (insert guitarist name)..

a. would you rather have a Gibson LP Slash sig thru a RJ Hot Cabs  or an RJ LesPu through a Marshall AFD100?

b. would a Fender CS Mayer sig through a karaoke system inspire you more than a Sta Mesa strat plugged to a Dumble amp?

Personally, a high-end guitar/cheapo amp combination would inspire me more in both home practice and actual gig.

My 0.2 cents... While the choices indeed fit the thread title of "cheap guitar & expensive amp or vice versa", they seem a bit too extreme.
I'm not familiar of anyone who can afford a Gibson Slash sig while only have a hot cabs, similarly one who can afford an AFD 100 but can only acquire an RJ LesPu (this is not even an electric guitar... it's an acoustic guitar with a single coil attached).

Same goes for the John Mayer stuff....

Being realistic, If you can afford an expensive "branded" guitar, we would at least expect you to have a decent "branded" amp that's far from a Hot Cabs or a karaoke.... and vice versa if you can afford super expensive amps.

That said, I'd rather have a decent guitar going thru a decent amp (not in the choices, but yeah...).

But if I really have to choose, I'd take a cheap (acceptable) guitar and an expensive amp. I'd prefer to hear and be drowned with the thundering lows of a Mesa Triple Rectifier thru an OS 4x12 with any guitar that has humbuckers, than a thin, boxy, and muddy sounding with less perceived sustain of a Gibson CC LP thru a low-watt solid state amp with a 6.5" or 8" speaker.

But seriously, I'm more of an amp guy than a guitar guy.. More fun when you can have different sounds from one guitar by having differently voiced amps in your arsenal.

[Skybox]

Great points all around guys.

Let's do it the way the Captain and Rob did it to make it more interesting.

GBP 1,000.00 = PHP 68,329.51 at a conversion rate of 1 GBP = PHP 68.329

Let's round it off to a good round number of PHP 70,000.00

Let's say you are given PHP 70,000.00 and are challenged to come up with a gigable rig but you can only spend PHP 17,500.00 on your "affordable thing" and PHP 52,500.00 on your "expensinve thing". Which guitar and amp will you buy?

In summary:

For the affordable guitar + expensive amp guys: PHP 17,500.00 for your guitar and PHP 52,500.00 for your amp
For the affordable amp + expensive guitar guys: PHP 17,500 for your amp and PHP 52,500.00 for your guitar

**TAKE NOTE THAT YOU CAN ONLY BUY BRAND NEW STUFF JUST LIKE ROB AND CAP10**

Which guitar and amp wil you buy?


Here are some of my choices:

Epiphone SG G400 PRO Ebony + Laney Tony Iommi Signature amp
Epiphone ES-339 G Cherry Sunburst + Marshall DSL40C Combo
Squier Standard Telecaster + Vox AC30
Squier Standard Stratocaster + Fender Princeton
Ibanez RG421EX + Blackstar HT Club 40