MOTUnation.com

A good guitar can be a friend for life.

When you go to GC ask if there are any deals, if they have them the sales man will look it up for you as an incentive to get you to buy.

Any amp talk? Mesa Trans Atlantic... Like? Dislike?

Frodo, who needs a car? Oh, that's right, nobody walks in LA.

I picked up the first REAL guitar amp of my entire life a couple of months back, when Guitar Center was blowing them out: Mesa/Boogie Lonestar 2x12 (not the Special or the 1x12).

I did a lot of research and auditioning before settling on this amp. To me, it is the most versatile for getting as many of the classic tones as one could imagine.

I might eventually pick up a 1x12 tweed Lonestar Special edition, just to add those other flavours (it uses a different tube brand/character, for one thing).

Somehow, this Lonestar series seems to have captured the vintage sounds more accurately, to my ears, than similar designs from Mesa/Boogie themselves, Vox, and others.

HCMarkus wrote:
Frodo, who needs a car? Oh, that's right, nobody walks in LA.

Of course we walk in LA. What do you mean? We walk to and from our garages at least twice a day.

Besides-- I need something with which to bring home that shiny new amp!

PS:

Bravo to mhschmieder for the post @ 11:11.

These Hobbits are crazy. LOL

My favourite amp's a sleeper, and whenever I've lyric'd waxical about it it's been like casting pearls to swine; blank faces ensue. I'm happy to attempt casting a morsel to a Hobbit though, given the reputation of such critters, and anyone else who'd like to call me stoolpid:

Fender Montreux (1981-87), with the 120w mod.

The guitarist I worked with in the late '80s played a '55 SG (Cherry) through one of these things, and I can honestly say he managed to pull a decent early-TOTO lukather overdriven tone with the setup. All he used was a Dimension C chorus pedal which I'd recommended, but he sure had all the basses covered. Great clean sounds, jazz tones (his nickname was "Benson")... whatever was required. I swore to myself that one day when I'm well healed enough I'll recreate his setup for the sheer joy of it. In fact, I went partially deaf in my left ear from having placed my head virtually on the grille many a time and begging him to "please, please give me some dirt!". He was a serious musician who only went dirty when the need presented an overwhelming case, but when he did, I was in hog heaven.

One other that's caught my ear since then (the only one?), and I've only experienced modelled models, is the Matchless Chieftain. To my untrained ears, it's as if a clean path has been tastefully mixed with the overdriven sound, imparting a definition that's hard to define(!), but is surely... erm... reassuring. A bit of glass on the class, if you will.

Just sayin' is all. Thank you, HC, for bringin' valves into the frey. I vote we keep it a transistor-free zone. Only one problem, and I think this is partly why I used to get all those blank looks: The Fender is actually a tranny job. I couldn't believe it when I was told this, so I still to this day am afraid to find out and am happy to live in ignorance. I vote for it as contender for Number One Sleeper in the Right Under Our Noses category.

HC, where do I vote? I don't see a booth anywhere...

Well I pulled the trigger on that Tele I found at Buffalo Brothers.

Used 2008 American Standard with glossy finish everywhere (not a fan of the satin finishes on the necks these days). Played every other tele I could drive to and this was still the killer deal so I bagged her this morning. She's got a nice spanky sound with a bit of the jangle I love. A great addition to my quiver.

I'm actually inspired to fire up the space heater - er guitar amp - and play through that for a bit. Usually I just fire up amplitube these days but every now and then you gotta heat up a tube and cook.

My amp is a MESA Boogie MK III with simulclass and EVM speaker upgrade burning EL34s in the power section for a bit more karang than the usual complement of 6L6's. Very versatile with the classic three (clean,crunch,lead) foot switchable channels. Sounds from warm vintage clean to screaming leads.

Tele Pics: http://imgur.com/a/KjWj2/ssgtele" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (they were too big to inline directly - tried it)

SixStringGeek wrote:Well I pulled the trigger on that Tele I found at Buffalo Brothers.

YEAH, SIX!!!!!!!!!



You and Tom beat me to it from two sides-- and I'm proud of you both for it.

Way to go, man!

Frodo wrote:You and Tom beat me to it from two sides

You should apply for commission for selling so many guitars.

SixStringGeek wrote:

Frodo wrote:You and Tom beat me to it from two sides

You should apply for commission for selling so many guitars.

Ha-ha!!

You know--- I've got an M-nation anniversary coming up in a few days. Hmm--- Now, how should I celebrate?

Is there any way to sell-abrate other than by buying new gear?

mhschmieder wrote:Is there any way to sell-abrate other than by buying new gear?

I must say, these are a few of my favorite things:

1. A warm hug from the woman who cares.

2. A big pile of mashed potatoes (Close Encounters, anyone?)

3. New gear.

Just the smell of the packaging is intoxicating!!

This might be a tad OT, but has anyone looked @ the new Fender Blacktops yet?

I must admit, a Jazzmaster for $450 has got me thinking, 'yeah, I do need another guitar...'

BK-- the Jazzmaster has an undeniable classic cool factor, doesn't it? The price makes it worth having "just because". I wonder how it stacks up to other Fenders at twice the price where the feel is concerned.

So what you're saying is that I should expand my Fender starter kit to at least three guitars?

Frodo wrote:So what you're saying is that I should expand my Fender starter kit to at least three guitars?

Well, I just dunno how any self-respecting genius composer/wannabe Beatle such as yourself could look themselves in the mirror if they didn't...


I have done a bit of Googling, and although they are pretty new to the market, the vibe seems to be pretty positive - apparently, fairly decent build quality for all the Blacktops.

Seriously, if the hype is true (basic, decent guitars, a couple of different models each of Tele, Jaguar, Strats and Jazzmasters, all for that low price) it is hard to say no. I mean, if they have straight necks and can stay in tune, it's pretty hard to come up with an argument to not get one.

Want that Tele sound (or pretty close anyway)?
$450.

Congratulation on your new friend sixstring, I never met a tele I did not like.

My wife has a Fender US made Music Master, it has a shorter neck but is a lot like a Strat.