Advice on accessories required with electric guitar.

[audidoody]

Get a Compressor pedal.

He'll be able to play at a reasonable volume without killing the neighbours (it evens out the volume output from the pickups)

[Chicken Chaser]

For amp, Blackstar fly? Tiny but impressive. 2 make a stereo pair.
More expensive would be a Yamaha THR10 which can take bass also.

[13m]

Chicken Chaser said:

For amp, Blackstar fly? Tiny but impressive. 2 make a stereo pair.
More expensive would be a Yamaha THR10 which can take bass also.

Some of the guys above had doubts about an amp ddoinng both. Does that Yamaha definitely do it?

I saw a Fender Champion (20 I think) at our local shop, which seemed visually to be okat at abut £100.

[dojo]

What bass amp does he have? For sure you can run guitar through a bass amp. It might sound a bit heavy and poss muddy but if he is rocking out could be super cool!
If he has a decent bass amp a reverb pedal and a drive pedal with a decent EQ and should be able to get a decent sound which he can then transfer across to the guitar amp if he gets one down the line!!

A fender bassman is an absolute classic guitar amp and was originally designed for bass as were the early Marshall plexi amps... Don;t get stuck in pigeon holes!

[13m]

dojo said:

What bass amp does he have? For sure you can run guitar through a bass amp. It might sound a bit heavy and poss muddy but if he is rocking out could be super cool!
If he has a decent bass amp a reverb pedal and a drive pedal with a decent EQ and should be able to get a decent sound which he can then transfer across to the guitar amp if he gets one down the line!!

A fender bassman is an absolute classic guitar amp and was originally designed for bass as were the early Marshall plexi amps... Don;t get stuck in pigeon holes!

It's only an Eden practice amp. When he performs he has access to proper kit.

What do you think about the Fender Champion 20 as a little practice amp?

[dojo]

13m said:

It's only an Eden practice amp. When he performs he has access to proper kit.

What do you think about the Fender Champion 20 as a little practice amp?

Never used one but looking online it looks really tidy. The Fender stuff always seems to be pretty decent.

Has a nice set of a modulation effects (reverb, chorus etc) and can set to different classic amp settings (tweed/blackface etc) so lots to explore and he can develop his preference.

Also looks like its laid out a lot better than a lot of other modelling amps. Only downside I can see is there only seems to be one channel which means can't switch between clean and overdrive sounds with a foot switch. (although could easily buy him a pedal (Rat or similar) down the line if he needs this for exams/band/concerts).

How old is he? Is he planning on taking to school? a decent gig bag might be worth a thought, they can protect a guitar better than a cheap hard case and be easier to carry.

Edited by dojo on Tuesday 29th November 12:03

[13m]

dojo said:

Never used one but looking online it looks really tidy. The Fender stuff always seems to be pretty decent.

Has a nice set of a modulation effects (reverb, chorus etc) and can set to different classic amp settings (tweed/blackface etc) so lots to explore and he can develop his preference.

Also looks like its laid out a lot better than a lot of other modelling amps. Only downside I can see is there only seems to be one channel which means can't switch between clean and overdrive sounds with a foot switch. (although could easily buy him a pedal (Rat or similar) down the line if he needs this for exams/band/concerts).

How old is he? Is he planning on taking to school? a decent gig bag might be worth a thought, they can protect a guitar better than a cheap hard case and be easier to carry.

Edited by dojo on Tuesday 29th November 12:03

Ah, can you expand upon the gig bag thing please? Intuitively I'd have thought a hard case would keep the guitar safer. He is eleven and a clumsy bugger.

[dojo]

Maybe budget hard cases have come along way since I had them but I remember them just been a bit of ply and not much padding - every knock was transferred to the guitar.

I then bought a hiscox (on checking cheaper than I thought) and it offered LOADS more protection but I remember it been a real drag to carry as weighed a tonne and was a drag to carry it!

https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/STDEF/hard-cases/his...

I now use a Mono gig bags which are awesome but aren't cheap

https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/M80EG/gig-bags/mono-...

They also do a cheaper sleeve case but they don't offer as much protection.

https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/M80-SEG-ASH/gig-bags...

I would look at a hard foam case TBH - offer good protection, are lightweight and can be carried on back, only downfall is they're a little bulkier.

http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Protecti...

[conkerman]

I have one of these

https://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_egitarren_koffer...

Inexpensive and not broken yet.

Blackstar HT-1 for an amp.

[andy-xr]

The THR10 will take a bass guitar just fine. But then you're probably going to take his bass amp away or something. It's really good on guitar, but it's not actually an amp as you know amps. I love mine, I use it for shed practice, for recording and allsorts, even as a music player/hi-fi.

You're the one who's going to have to listen to it though, so kind of your call.

There's technically nothing wrong with putting a guitar through a bass amp, but straight lead from guitar to amp, it'll sound a bit empty and not have particularly good tone. An effects pedal between the two would work, but the THR10 (x/C) has those built in as well.

[Mr Kitten]

My advice would be buy from somewhere that'll throw in a proper setup with the guitar - it'll make it much nicer to play and therefore your son will be more likely to stick with it.

Cheaper end guitars (and also not so cheap guitars!) can be come out of the box with pretty horrendous action meaning that they're not the nicest things to play. Have a look at www.rguitars.co.uk - I've bought several guitars from them and the service is great - looks like they've got a nice Cort Strat for £135 including a setup.

As for amps - those little Blackstars are great.

<edit> Just noticed you said you were after a Standard american strat - check out the G&L Tribute range, too - they make a damn nice strat.

Edited by Mr Kitten on Tuesday 29th November 14:44

[13m]

Thanks for the advice on cases chaps.

With regard to a guitar's action, on a Fender Mexican Strat is there likely to be a problem and if so are they adjustable?

[dojo]

13m said:

Thanks for the advice on cases chaps.

With regard to a guitar's action, on a Fender Mexican Strat is there likely to be a problem and if so are they adjustable?

Some will say yes, in reality it will probably be fine, played loads of squires out of the box which are absolutely fine.

All adjustments that would need to be made fairly straightforward with 2 Allen keys (and feeler gauge) but any guitar shop worth their salt would be able to do a basic set up for a small amount, seriously doubt it will need it though.

[Sheetmaself]

Dont forget that theres a pmt just opened up in nottingham well worth a look as both them and the drum centre will be selling same kit so maybe get best deal from both.

Fender mustang amp is quite nice an wont break the bank.

Also nip into nottingham city guitars if he would be okay with secondhand, normally have a few in arounf the £500 mark along with their more expensive offerings

[13m]

Sheetmaself said:

Dont forget that theres a pmt just opened up in nottingham well worth a look as both them and the drum centre will be selling same kit so maybe get best deal from both.

Fender mustang amp is quite nice an wont break the bank.

Also nip into nottingham city guitars if he would be okay with secondhand, normally have a few in arounf the £500 mark along with their more expensive offerings

Thanks, I had wondered what that place was!

[Sheetmaself]

Not bought from there but been in a few times, seems a really nice chap happy to spend time discussing things, the website for sale section only seems to have the more specialised stuff as the times ive been in there have been strats and the like at the lower end(for them) of the scale for sale but not on website.

[Chicken Chaser]

I really can't rate the THR10 (c in my case) highly enough. It is no good for gigging if that's what you want but it is an incredible practice amp. I've had several practice amps at the lower end, then bought a Fender Mustang 3 which was too much for home. You couldn't get it singing without it being far too loud in the room. I then found out about the THR, found a used one for a bargain price of £110 and sold the Mustang. I'd pay full price for the Yamaha as it really has excellent tone which can be found easily, the Mustang needed more work to get a good tone from it and it wasn't as good as the THR.

I do like the look of the Blackstars though, and the send return effects loop would be good if you're looking at going for pedals further down the line. YouTube and a good set of headphones is your best bet to get an idea, then try and get out and see them back to back in a guitar store.

[13m]

Chicken Chaser said:

I really can't rate the THR10 (c in my case) highly enough. It is no good for gigging if that's what you want but it is an incredible practice amp. I've had several practice amps at the lower end, then bought a Fender Mustang 3 which was too much for home. You couldn't get it singing without it being far too loud in the room. I then found out about the THR, found a used one for a bargain price of £110 and sold the Mustang. I'd pay full price for the Yamaha as it really has excellent tone which can be found easily, the Mustang needed more work to get a good tone from it and it wasn't as good as the THR.

I do like the look of the Blackstars though, and the send return effects loop would be good if you're looking at going for pedals further down the line. YouTube and a good set of headphones is your best bet to get an idea, then try and get out and see them back to back in a guitar store.

He is now talking about wanting a microphone and stand too. Presumably that will require a seaparate amp will it?

[HarryFlatters]

13m said:

He is now talking about wanting a microphone and stand too. Presumably that will require a separate amp will it?

He could probably get away with singing through his bass amp. It won't sound as good as a proper PA, but it'll do.

Sounds like he's skinning you for a full studio to be honest

And on mics, Shure SM58s are still pretty much the industry standard.

[Tom_C76]

HarryFlatters said:

He could probably get away with singing through his bass amp. It won't sound as good as a proper PA, but it'll do.

Sounds like he's skinning you for a full studio to be honest

And on mics, Shure SM58s are still pretty much the industry standard.

Might be better off singing through a hifi, but you'll need a mixer or some kind of interface really to connect the XLR output from the mic...

SM58 is great, I use one for live work, but the SM48 is 90% as good for half the price.