stunning, but does it play well ? (PRS)

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

there is a huge expanse of opportunity to change the sound of a particular guitar by changing pick-ups, pre-amps, and any pedals or other sound modification equipment you choose to use.

True, but you'll never get a Strat for example to sound like a Les Paul no matter what you do to it, or the signal chain.

I think guitars are the sum of all their parts more than any one component and that includes wood. Each is unique. I've got three Les Pauls and they all sound wildly different but they all sound like you'd expect a Les Paul to sound.

What makes a Tele sound like a Tele? It's more than just a single coil pup. Same with a LP. I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY want a Gretsch White Falcon but it's just not in the budget.

[Mick]

Originally Posted by Thomas

True, but you'll never get a Strat for example to sound like a Les Paul no matter what you do to it, or the signal chain.

Well, of course I agree with this. You can "tilt at windmills" in the guitar hobby just as easily as any other I suppose. If I want a Les Paul sound, I'm going to buy a Les Paul. To spend money trying to make some other guitar "sound like" a Les Paul is simply a fool's errand.

Like I said, if I had a PRS guitar, and didn't like the sound, I would first make sure it was set up properly, and then try different pick-ups or a new pre-amp. If I still didn't like it, I'd probably do what you did, sell it. Nothing wrong with that, the guitar gear market is pretty liquid, so there is no need to beat your head against the wall on something that isn't working for you.

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

Originally Posted by Mick

Well, of course I agree with this. You can "tilt at windmills" in the guitar hobby just as easily as any other I suppose. If I want a Les Paul sound, I'm going to buy a Les Paul. To spend money trying to make some other guitar "sound like" a Les Paul is simply a fool's errand.

Like I said, if I had a PRS guitar, and didn't like the sound, I would first make sure it was set up properly, and then try different pick-ups or a new pre-amp. If I still didn't like it, I'd probably do what you did, sell it. Nothing wrong with that, the guitar gear market is pretty liquid, so there is no need to beat your head against the wall on something that isn't working for you.

I don't wanna generalize TOO much, but those PRS fanboys are a rabid bunch. You'd better fawn over them or you're a hater.

And speaking of PRS, why did the Nu-Metal crowd adopt them so heavily? PRS + Mesa Boogie. That's your formula.

[SnikPlosskin]

Originally Posted by Thomas

I don't wanna generalize TOO much, but those PRS fanboys are a rabid bunch. You'd better fawn over them or you're a hater.

And speaking of PRS, why did the Nu-Metal crowd adopt them so heavily? PRS + Mesa Boogie. That's your formula.

That combo is because PRS guitars are best suited to distorted sound and the Boogie has unbelievable duel rectifier gain. It is a killer set up if you play that type of stuff. But play clean like I do, and it is sterile as hell.

Oddly, my mid 70’s LP sounded flat through my Boogie and my 95 blues Jr. only when I used it with my 64 Deluxe did it come alive. Really alive. Without pedals, if I turn it up to 10 (22 watts!) it sounds exactly like Malcom Young. Heavy as shit. My strat turned up to 10 is still pretty clean. My tele has active pickups so at 10, it’s a smooth distortion that smacks you upside the head.

In a club I generally keep it under seven usually under five. No master volume FYI.

At some point I’ll get it mic’d up properly and do some comparisons. It is pretty dramatic how the different guitars sound. Two of my Strats have identical electronics but sound completely different.

[bigblock427]

This thread reminds me of a very good friend of mine that passed away suddenly in April. He was Vince Gill's best friend and guitar tech. He bought, managed, and tuned all of Vince's guitars. I remember all of the great stories he told about guitars. What he could lend to this thread would be awesome.

I still can't believe he is gone.

[Giraffe (He/Him)]

Originally Posted by SnikPlosskin

That combo is because PRS guitars are best suited to distorted sound and the Boogie has unbelievable duel rectifier gain. It is a killer set up if you play that type of stuff. But play clean like I do, and it is sterile as hell.

Oddly, my mid 70’s LP sounded flat through my Boogie and my 95 blues Jr. only when I used it with my 64 Deluxe did it come alive. Really alive. Without pedals, if I turn it up to 10 (22 watts!) it sounds exactly like Malcom Young. Heavy as shit. My strat turned up to 10 is still pretty clean. My tele has active pickups so at 10, it’s a smooth distortion that smacks you upside the head.

In a club I generally keep it under seven usually under five. No master volume FYI.

At some point I’ll get it mic’d up properly and do some comparisons. It is pretty dramatic how the different guitars sound. Two of my Strats have identical electronics but sound completely different.

I’ve been meaning to run this one by you.

In the “Olden days” it was common to see 100w Marshall heads and cabinets in even the smallest of clubs here. PA systems pretty much sucked so I suppose some wattage was required. Everyone had a stack right?

These days, you see more and more small 20w combo amps than anything. My Friedman will melt your face and that’s no shit.

Even some bigger venues you’ll see a small combo amp mic’d up into what looks like a pretty decent PA.

(My Mesa Roadster Dual Rec combo was a 100w four channel beast with the option to cut power to 50w. Which isn’t half the power as we know)

So, is a 20w head/cab enough these days? My Friedman absolutely roars.

[Strats-N-Vettes]

Originally Posted by Thomas

I’ve been meaning to run this one by you.

In the “Olden days” it was common to see 100w Marshall heads and cabinets in even the smallest of clubs here. PA systems pretty much sucked so I suppose some wattage was required. Everyone had a stack right?

These days, you see more and more small 20w combo amps than anything. My Friedman will melt your face and that’s no shit.

Even some bigger venues you’ll see a small combo amp mic’d up into what looks like a pretty decent PA.

(My Mesa Roadster Dual Rec combo was a 100w four channel beast with the option to cut power to 50w. Which isn’t half the power as we know)

So, is a 20w head/cab enough these days? My Friedman absolutely roars.

That is something...
back in the day I kept in shape dragging around my TFL5000 with 2x15 JBL cab .....
now?.. moved to my silver face Deluxe or Blues Deluxe, and sometimes micing my Blues Jr. into the house PA where required (casino gigs).

[Mike Mercury]

if my dad (long deceased) were to buy another guitar, it would be like this one:

https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/ms...172122754.html

he was an "F" hole fanatic.

[SnikPlosskin]

Originally Posted by Thomas

I’ve been meaning to run this one by you.

In the “Olden days” it was common to see 100w Marshall heads and cabinets in even the smallest of clubs here. PA systems pretty much sucked so I suppose some wattage was required. Everyone had a stack right?

These days, you see more and more small 20w combo amps than anything. My Friedman will melt your face and that’s no shit.

Even some bigger venues you’ll see a small combo amp mic’d up into what looks like a pretty decent PA.

(My Mesa Roadster Dual Rec combo was a 100w four channel beast with the option to cut power to 50w. Which isn’t half the power as we know)

So, is a 20w head/cab enough these days? My Friedman absolutely roars.

I think there are a lot of factors. Back in the day, amp s were generally large and PA systems were not well developed. You needed a lot of speakers (4/10 cabs) and power so you could play louder than ****. Also, players were younger amd there was a cool factor to having a wall of amps behind you.

Now, PA systems are more efficient. We have monitors (I use custom in ear monitors). It’s importamt to keep stage volume as low as possible. When everyone is cranking, the sound waves get chaotic and you get cancelation of frequencies amd the band can’t hear shit. Singers have to yell, straining vocal cords. As players age, their gear magically gets smaller.

Finally, lower wattage allows tubes to clip at lower volumes. So you get a nice brown sound without screwing up the mix. It’s super important if you want to be tight to be able to hear everyone on stage. Particularly if you have 8-10 players.

Eric Tessmer is known for super loud playing. He brings baffles to block his amps so he can get the tone he wants and not kill everyone. (He lives in Austin).

Even in clubs that hold 500 or places like The State Theater I seldom turn up more than 4-5. The amp is mic’d. Just enough to get the tubes hot. If I need overdrive (rarely) I have a pedal for that. I point it at my head so I can hear it amd each player decides how much they want to hear each instrument in their custom monitor mix.

Granted, this is a high end situation with three engineers. A club show may or may not have decent PA. But a 20-50w combo is plenty. Playing super loud is the mark of the amateur. Plus, most amps now are louder than **** balls with low wattage because they are more efficient.

The exception is Fender Showman or Twins used for country. High wattage for clean sound. They have better headroom and don’t distort.