Dear Guitar Players:

[PLAS]

what string brands and gauges do you preffer and why?

what about guitars, amps, straps, pedals, cables?

I've been using Dean Markleys for the last ten years, but I'm thinking of trying something different

anyone has any suggestions?

 

[SpideyLad]

I use D'Addario XL Electric Guitar Strings, Super Light Gauge. Very nice strings, don't snap easily, and just nice to play in general.

Guitar, I use a Yamaha ERG 121, which is the only one I have, nice guitar for a beginner. Amp, I have a Marshall CDR15, which gives out a great sound.

 

[PLAS]

lately I've been having problems with strings breaking more often than before, and the band I'm in now is not as heavy as the one I was playing a year ago with

but I do play much more notes and do much more actual playing than before

the joys of electronic music, you can just stop playing for a while and nobody notices

 

[jaguarr]

I've always found Ernie Ball Slinky's to be very reliable and produce a nice tone. The heavier the gauge you're able to play, the better, but I like the meatier, more resonant tones the heavier strings produce. Then again, I'm not much of a guitarist and hesitate to really even allow that label to be applied to me because there are plenty of people who deserve it far more than I. But I've known a lot of hot sh1t guitarists who swear by EB Slinky's for their tone and the amount of abuse they'll take on stage.

As far as guitars, Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Strats have always appealed to me the most, and I really like Mesa-Boogie amps, particularly the tube driven ones. You can get some amazing sounds out of those, no matter the genre you're playing in.

Pedals, it just really depends on what you're doing with them. I know a guy who plays through a completely computer-driven rig that allows him to do a bunch of stuff with looping that he swears by. Others strip down to just an overdrive and maybe a distortion pedal.

jag

 

[PLAS]

I like to use .09's for standard tunning and .10's for D tunnings, if you check our band you can pretty much see what kind of tones I prefer

the thing is that I want to start anew on the whole string thing, but I'm not sure where to start

by the way, what is so special about slinkys?

 

[Mr. Thing]

I use Super Light Gauge D'Addario XL's. Nice crunchy tone but can also produce a nice smooth sound.

For guitars, I prefer SG's. I'm a sucker for them. But I also like fender Strats, for the comfiness of them, and their necks are always nice and smooth.

And for pedals, I have a Guitar FX Multieffect pedal, which gives you some cool sounds, but I also use a Big Muff which I love.

 

[jaguarr]

I like to use .09's for standard tunning and .10's for D tunnings, if you check our band you can pretty much see what kind of tones I prefer

the thing is that I want to start anew on the whole string thing, but I'm not sure where to start

by the way, what is so special about slinkys?

The guitarist in my old blues band loved 'em because they put up with a lot of heavy bending, which was pretty much mandatory given the type of stuff we were playing. He used to bend pretty hard and everything else would just snap in his hands, but the Slinky's would stay with him pretty well (he had incredibly strong fingers, even for a guitarist and used to play on pretty heavy gauges as a standard practice). Another guitar string brand you might check out are Rotosound. Those have a nice tone that I think you'd appreciate.

jag

 

[Under The Rose]

Gibson .09s

Ibanez Talman. Marshall amp, any cable will do me. And DOD pedal

 

[Green Lantern]

I've always found Ernie Ball Slinky's to be very reliable and produce a nice tone. The heavier the gauge you're able to play, the better, but I like the meatier, more resonant tones the heavier strings produce. Then again, I'm not much of a guitarist and hesitate to really even allow that label to be applied to me because there are plenty of people who deserve it far more than I. But I've known a lot of hot sh1t guitarists who swear by EB Slinky's for their tone and the amount of abuse they'll take on stage.

As far as guitars, Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Strats have always appealed to me the most, and I really like Mesa-Boogie amps, particularly the tube driven ones. You can get some amazing sounds out of those, no matter the genre you're playing in.

Pedals, it just really depends on what you're doing with them. I know a guy who plays through a completely computer-driven rig that allows him to do a bunch of stuff with looping that he swears by. Others strip down to just an overdrive and maybe a distortion pedal.

jag

Slinky's are great. For guitars I have four: two are Fender Strats (79 and 82 for the years) and those are the two I use most often. I also have a Fender Kingman SCE electro-acoustic that I just purchased recently, and also a Fender acoustic. Fender's never done me wrong so I keep boosting my gear with their stuff. I also use a Fender Amp, and minimal peddles, usually just my distortion and only occasionally a wahwah...

 

[PLAS]

The guitarist in my old blues band loved 'em because they put up with a lot of heavy bending, which was pretty much mandatory given the type of stuff we were playing. He used to bend pretty hard and everything else would just snap in his hands, but the Slinky's would stay with him pretty well (he had incredibly strong fingers, even for a guitarist and used to play on pretty heavy gauges as a standard practice). Another guitar string brand you might check out are Rotosound. Those have a nice tone that I think you'd appreciate.

jag

I though Rotosound only made bass strings

 

[jaguarr]

Slinky's are great. For guitars I have four: two are Fender Strats (79 and 82 for the years) and those are the two I use most often. I also have a Fender Kingman SCE electro-acoustic that I just purchased recently, and also a Fender acoustic. Fender's never done me wrong so I keep boosting my gear with their stuff. I also use a Fender Amp, and minimal peddles, usually just my distortion and only occasionally a wahwah...

Nice set up. A wah is essential if you every play any Hendrix. SRV used it a bit as well. Check out the Mesa Boogie amps. I'm betting you'd really like 'em, going by what you posted about your setup.

I though Rotosound only made bass strings

Nope, they've got a full line of great strings for electric, acoustic and classical guitars as well as bass and even orchestral string instruments.

jag

 

[Green Lantern]

Nice set up. A wah is essential if you every play any Hendrix. SRV used it a bit as well. Check out the Mesa Boogie amps. I'm betting you'd really like 'em, going by what you posted about your setup.



Nope, they've got a full line of great strings for electric, acoustic and classical guitars as well as bass and even orchestral string instruments.

jag

Will do, got some spending cash from gigs recently so, I've been looking for additions to use it on

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

Strings, I don't care what brand as long as they're tens. 9's are too flimsy, the tone suffers, and I don't dig fighting with 11's.

Purists can say what they want. With my Line6 Variax through my Line6 Pod, I can sound like anything I want. It's literally life-changing. The only thing better would be to have the sounds transferred directly from my brain to the recording.

However, that only goes for recording as managing all the sounds, levels and EQ crap live would be a nightmare.


For live, in my old band, I got the most amazing, distinctive tone with a Fender Strat Plus through a Peavey Mega Bass amp using one of those old Rat pedals for distortion and a Yamaha SPX-50 for effects.

However, in that band, the guitar was the biggest thing. I actively did not want the keyboard and rhythm guitar to be heard very much.
I would never go that route again.

Now, it's got to be a Gibson Les Paul or an SG. I've played every major brand that's around today and some that aren't, and nothing can touch the tone, power, definition, bite, and versatility of an old Gibson. Preferably an old one though. Les Pauls are kind of like Harley Davidsons. The old ones are monuments of design, quality and beauty. Now they're kind of like a xerox of a xerox of their former examples, trading heavily on the name alone.
But my old '74 Goldtop would kill you.

Amp-wise, I've never found one I could recommend enthusiastically.
There's a line6 amp that has a doubling emulator which I was thinking of getting, but I have yet to play through one.

 

[jaguarr]

Will do, got some spending cash from gigs recently so, I've been looking for additions to use it on

Yeah, go fiddle with the tube-driven MB's at the music store. I have a feeling you'll like what you hear.

jag

 

[PLAS]

one thing I've been thinking about doing is buying cheap ass guitars and just put some really cool pickups on them and string them before each gig

maybe I wouldn't feel as bad when breaking them

 

[Green Lantern]

Yeah, go fiddle with the tube-driven MB's at the music store. I have a feeling you'll like what you hear.

jag

I'll go see what Mitch has for em after rehearsal tonight, see what deals he can give me since I've spent ALOT of money in his store...

 

[Under The Rose]

one thing I've been thinking about doing is buying cheap ass guitars and just put some really cool pickups on them and string them before each gig

maybe I wouldn't feel as bad when breaking them

Some nice Humbuckers hu?

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

lately I've been having problems with strings breaking more often than before,

Dude, maybe it's common knowledge to everyone else, but I can't even break a string or get my guitar to go out of tune if I try now that I re-string like this.

 

[wolfgang]

Strings: Depends on the guitar. I have GHS boomers on my Les Paul and my Jackson. I like those a lot. I generally use a pretty heavy gauge for a few months to strengthen my hand and then swap em’ with something lighter. That way, say before a show, I can play any leads or get some bends easier because my hands are used to the heavier gauge. It’s a nice little trick.

Then I have EB Slinkys on my Ibanez and Peavey Wolfgang. I just like them better on those guitars. They sound better, especially when playing clean.

For acoustic; I’m a big fan of Elixer. Love that crisp, bright tone they have. Plus, they tend to last longer than other strings I’ve played.

Amps: For my money, the Mesa Triple rec. is the best amp you can get. Unfortunatley, I don’t have the cash to get one right now. I’m using a Behringer cab and a Ibanez Tone Blaster head. Very, very cheap rig, but it gets the job done for now. Loving those Krank amps too. They’re thick as hell and move some air around, let me tell ya. You stand in front of one of those and it’ll blow your clothes dry.

Pedals: Personally, I’m a minimalist when it comes to pedals. The less tap dancing I have to do, the better. Right now I have a wah, a delay and a Digitech Metal Master pedal. If I can, I prefer to just plug direct into the amp and play.

Cables: Unless you’re doing some pretty serious recording, I really don’t think it matters. I like Planet Waves but to be honest; as long as there’s no short in it, it’s good enough for me.

 

[PLAS]

Amp-wise, I've never found one I could recommend enthusiastically.
There's a line6 amp that has a doubling emulator which I was thinking of getting, but I have yet to play through one.

I have the same thing with amps, I have one, but I really don't even use it, I just make and dial all my adjustments, amp settings and effects on my Boss GT3 (current Ebay value: 90 bucks) and then just go directly into the board or whatever two amps are around

one of the really cool things about going direct is that you can generate a really cool feedback pretty much anywhere you're standing, as long as there's a monitor nearby, the only problem is that monitor feedback is not as "musical" as amp feedback, but I've found that a little bit of chorus can greatly help in controlling it, that's why most of my solo settings include a little bit of chorus and delay

if anyone ever tries it, here's a tip: go straight into the house board, set your delay in taps or stereo settings (most processors have either "single" and "tap" or "mono" and "stereo" settings in them), make sure the house system is running in stereo and that you are plugged in stereo two, get as close to a speaker as posible (not the monitors, I'm talking the big mothers who bring the noise to the place you're rocking), and dick around with your guitar until you're getting some mean feedback, if done right and with the proper stereo delay settings, you can get some pretty cool "ping pong" feedback which helps in creating some nice, rich textures

something I do for show sometimes is use a beer bottle I'm drinking onstage as an impromptu slide, if you can work out your phrasings between beer chugs and guitar slides, the impact you cause on people can be pretty huge

 

[PLAS]

Dude, maybe it's common knowledge to everyone else, but I can't even break a string or get my guitar to go out of tune if I try now that I re-string like this.

my problem is not tunning, I always reinforce and bend my strings when I change them, they are breaking at the bridge, not at the neck

I might start using .10's for standard tunning

 

[FOG3]

Ive been using regular slinkys lately and I like them alot. The only thing Ive noticed is that they go completely dead after about a month. I know I shoud probably be changing my strings that often anyway, but Im lazy so it bothers me..

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

something I do for show sometimes is use a beer bottle I'm drinking onstage as an impromptu slide, if you can work out your phrasings between beer chugs and guitar slides, the impact you cause on people can be pretty huge

I like to play with a blender with the beaters removed. Wicked sounds.

 

[Man-Thing]

what string brands and gauges do you preffer and why?

what about guitars, amps, straps, pedals, cables?

I've been using Dean Markleys for the last ten years, but I'm thinking of trying something different

anyone has any suggestions?

D'Addario 8's (They hardly ever brake.)

Guitar: I like the Korina Wood Explorer that Epiphone made a few years ago.

I would also suggest a Tele, for versatility and that dirty clean sound.

Amp: I really like Soldano's, but I hate their distortion. The Line 6's are nice and very versatile. Ofcourse you can't go wrong with 50 or 100 watt marshall.

Pedals: Just get a decent digitech or yamaha effects processor

Straps: Make your own out of leather, you can get the right length and it won't come loose.

 

[Carter]

I've been trying to learn, but it just kills my fingers.
And I can't move them fast enough