To Plunge or Not To Plunge...

[elfro89]

so, it is the start of my college year again and my bursary is coming through which will free up a bunch of cash i can afford either my awesome warmoth strat ive been dying to get for years. Or postpone it till I buy my new live setup which will cost me about the same price...

Tough Question...
I need a strat for some studio session stuff at college, and for my own use where i will not need my own gear. I don't need my live stuff right now or for at least for 6 months. however if i had my rig i could gig alot sooner and get my band off the ground when my drummer returns from italy in november... hmm...

 

[Cagey]

For whatever it's worth...

I generally don't replace gear when there's gear I still don't have. I'll suffer with what I have until I've got everything I need, then start replacing it as resources become available. Of course, that sort of thing can be minimized by buying the right stuff in the first place, but you can't always do that. Luckily, there are companies like Behringer/Bugera who make things that are surprisingly passable and inexpensive, although they may not last long under road conditions. Still, a $30 flanger is better than no flanger at all. Someday, you can buy the Eventide or Lexicon unit. In the meantime...

So, if you have a guitar but no amp, It might be a good idea to buy an amp before another guitar. You may not like your current axe, or lust after something better, but without an amp you're dead in the water. Same with effects, cords, speakers, etc. Good, bad, or indifferent, get a copy of everything so you can make progress, then rebuild from there. I hate to buy things twice, so I have another philosophy that says "it usually only costs a little more to go first class, but you're rarely sorry". Problem is, you don't always have that luxury.

 

[JamesL]

For whatever it's worth...

I generally don't replace gear when there's gear I still don't have. I'll suffer with what I have until I've got everything I need, then start replacing it as resources become available. Of course, that sort of thing can be minimized by buying the right stuff in the first place, but you can't always do that. Luckily, there are companies like Behringer/Bugera who make things that are surprisingly passable and inexpensive, although they may not last long under road conditions. Still, a $30 flanger is better than no flanger at all. Someday, you can buy the Eventide or Lexicon unit. In the meantime...

So, if you have a guitar but no amp, It might be a good idea to buy an amp before another guitar. You may not like your current axe, or lust after something better, but without an amp you're dead in the water. Same with effects, cords, speakers, etc. Good, bad, or indifferent, get a copy of everything so you can make progress, then rebuild from there. I hate to buy things twice, so I have another philosophy that says "it usually only costs a little more to go first class, but you're rarely sorry". Problem is, you don't always have that luxury.


+10!

 

[Jusatele]

I do not know about it, I have been through maybe 12 amps in my life till I got the one I have now. I have lost a lot of money on amps. As well as dream guitars. I have owned ES335s, a CS 336, several Pauls and Paul Jrs, A few wierd guitars like a songbird and the Hair Metal stuff, so many vintage Fenders it hurts, and now I have it broke down to 3, A American standard strat with SD pickups and custom wiring and PG, a PRS artist edition triple soup bar custom 22 I picked up about 6 years ago and a Tele I want to replace with a new one because it is almost as old as me and wore out.
I cover any tone I can with my current rig. I have sold all those useless pedals, alll the toys and depend on my Vox and my guitars. You can buy stuff till your ears no longer can tell a tone from a explosion and you will never get past the fact that one day it is you, your fingers, and your ears. My advice is to delete any plans you have right now, learn patience, put that money away till you can get a great amp, with the prettiest clean tone you can find, plus can break up the guitar when you are driving the tubes past 10. That amp is the one that will serve you longer than anything you will ever own.  We no longer need 150 watt stacks, we mike everything,  we need a good 30 to 50 watt amp we can drive the tubes to hell and back.
The money you save you can put to going once a week to a Jazz teacher and learn to work your fingers to the bone, The knowledge you get will put you head and tails beyond the rest of the pack.

 

[elfro89]

I do not know about it, I have been through maybe 12 amps in my life till I got the one I have now. I have lost a lot of money on amps. As well as dream guitars. I have owned ES335s, a CS 336, several Pauls and Paul Jrs, A few wierd guitars like a songbird and the Hair Metal stuff, so many vintage Fenders it hurts, and now I have it broke down to 3, A American standard strat with SD pickups and custom wiring and PG, a PRS artist edition triple soup bar custom 22 I picked up about 6 years ago and a Tele I want to replace with a new one because it is almost as old as me and wore out.
I cover any tone I can with my current rig. I have sold all those useless pedals, alll the toys and depend on my Vox and my guitars. You can buy stuff till your ears no longer can tell a tone from a explosion and you will never get past the fact that one day it is you, your fingers, and your ears. My advice is to delete any plans you have right now, learn patience, put that money away till you can get a great amp, with the prettiest clean tone you can find, plus can break up the guitar when you are driving the tubes past 10. That amp is the one that will serve you longer than anything you will ever own.  We no longer need 150 watt stacks, we mike everything,  we need a good 30 to 50 watt amp we can drive the tubes to hell and back.
The money you save you can put to going once a week to a Jazz teacher and learn to work your fingers to the bone, The knowledge you get will put you head and tails beyond the rest of the pack.

Thanks for all the tips from everyone.
Definitely have tones of patience my friend. But a man's got to make a living and I'm going for the most versatile set up I can afford, a strat is a must and the other stuff I'm getting will allow me be as versatile as I can afford to be at this stage of my career. Both these things are coming this year, but I'm undecided as to what to get first.

None are vitally important right this second, but I may as-well get it now since I have the cash free and the need.

As for my current guitar, it does everything required of it and a great tool in the studio, but its not a strat, nor does it sound like one. That strat sound is definitely something I require for my own music and the music I need to play and record.

If I were to purchase my own amp then I could use that instead of the colleges gear which are pretty poor quality crap... And I'm a complete perfectionist when it comes to the right colouring of my sound.

The Warmoth would cost me around £1000 where as my rig would only skin me £750 I'm selling a bunch of old shite that I have no need for which can raise me around £400 extra to what I have, so whatever way I go the other wont be too far away. Its really six and half a dozen when it comes to making this decision.

Any further thoughts are appreciated
P

 

[erogenousjones17]

Just out of curiosity, why do you so desperately need a Strat? Seriously, I'm not judging, just curious. I think Strats are great.

 

[elfro89]

Just out of curiosity, why do you so desperately need a Strat? Seriously, I'm not judging, just curious. I think Strats are great.

I need the bridge/middle pup sound that strats so brilliantly deliver. Both for my own recording projects and for other things, obviously most guitars could deliver this without going with Warmoth. But I have wanted my own Warmoth strat for years, and instead of going with some "does the job" guitar, I could kill 2 birds with one stone and have my own special build that does everything I need it to, and will be something that will hopefully last me a lifetime and provide me with all the great things a strat does.

I play all the ussual stuff any guitarist in my position would need to, and to not have a strat on hand is fine and the job can still be done with whatever gear one might have, but for me having a strat not only feels right in certain situations but can really be a great "go to" guitar for many reasons. Alot of the music I like to create has that 80's comp'd strat sound with chorus, its something the parker im playing just can't deliver. Obviously this isnt the only reason to blow a grand on a strat. But nothing beats having the right tools for the job.

 

[Jusatele]

OK, I get it, want a Strat because it is a Strat. I think it is the worlds most popular guitar just for that reason.

 

[erogenousjones17]

OK, I get it, want a Strat because it is a Strat. I think it is the worlds most popular guitar just for that reason.

Seems fair enough to me.  :laughing7: