Obey Me!

[DuncanCE22]

The original question was what is more exciting. and for me that is definitely the guitar. everything from the looks, build quality, playability and sound excites me. When I go to a guitar shop the first thing I do is start drooling over the guitars asking to have a go on all the ones that take my fancy. Amps are an after thought. personally I don't think they look exciting or I've never really found an amp that has exquisite craftsman ship (not on an aesthetic level anyway). Which is more important is a different question all together, They're probably as important as each other.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

Get yer monkey wrench out of the works here.

What else am I gonna use to twist your nipples? :box:

 

[ozboy]

Well an acoustic guitar without an amp is like a fish without a bike. I would sell my amp before I'd sell the guitars but I the end neither matters as much as the musician, so this is a conversation for people with too much time and we should all really be off composing some great songs.

 

[HANGAR18]

"What's more exciting to you, a great guitar or a great amp?"

I couldn't answer the question until I'd gotten at least one of each. Luckily I have and it's a fairly easy answer for me. I've played a poor guitar through a very poor amp. I've played a great guitar through that same poor amp, and I've later played the same great guitar through a great amp. There is no question for me, the amp trumps the guitar. The best guitar in the world sounds like crap through a bad amp.

It is true that a bad guitar sounds good through a good amp and a good guitar sounds bad through a bad amp. Amps are seriously important in everyone's tone equation.
However... the question was what do I get more excited about... and my answer is a great GUITAR!
I'd like to present the court with Exibit A. I have MANY more guitars than amps.
My amps are not just good amps but they are GREAT amps. But being the thrifty SOB that I am, I have assembled a small collection of great amps which all combined cost me less than half of what my last PRS guitar cost me.
Amps are important but I get more excited about a new guitar.

 

[László]

What else am I gonna use to twist your nipples? :box:

Vibrating nipple tassels?

 

[László]

so this is a conversation for people with too much time and we should all really be off composing some great songs.

I dunno about you, but I compose music for a living, and already finished up my work today.

But don't let me discourage you from writing a great song. Please post a link to yours when it's ready.

As for "too much time," if you feel yours was wasted by participating in the thread, then my advice would be to avoid reading any more of mine, since they're all pretty much time-wasters (creating them is my way of having a little fun).

 

[ozboy]

hmm a few lyrics exist, just need a melody and some harmony. lets talk about vintage amp prices compared to vintage guitar prices. What does say a vintage Marshall sell for compared to say a collectible electric guitar. Maybe that's better expressed as price appreciation.

 

[ozboy]

Apparently a 1958 fender twin is about $14k and a 66 marshal super lead around $10 k. A 58 strat in mint condition is apparently $50 k and I would guess that's higher appreciation relative to cost

 

[sergiodeblanc]

....already finished up my work today.

You're done? I'm still auto-tuning "T-Pain" vocals.

 

[László]

hmm a few lyrics exist, just need a melody and some harmony. lets talk about vintage amp prices compared to vintage guitar prices. What does say a vintage Marshall sell for compared to say a collectible electric guitar. Maybe that's better expressed as price appreciation.

You can buy a great Dumble Overdrive Special for a little north of $100,000, and an average one for $55,000. An original Trainwreck amp will set you back only $35,000-$40,000, so that's kind of a bargain.

Garrett Park Guitars is selling a freaking 2004 reissue offset Marshall head and matching cab for $4995. That's about the range a real '68 Plexi goes for in halfway decent shape!! A 2005 reissue JTM45 stack is going for $6,000 at Groovy Guitar.

All of these amps are worth more than my vintage '65 Gibson SG Special, and worth more than my son's '65 Gibson that's all original.

A dealer in Nashville is asking $100,000 plus for an original very early Marshall head.

Then again, a vintage violin sells for ten times what a sought-after vintage electric guitar does, so draw your own conclusions as to what any of this proves. The price of things only proves the price of things And the vintage guitar market is wildly variable - often something becomes valuable because it's the current fad, and it loses its value very quickly.

Most vintage guitars don't sell for all that much, and most vintage amps don't, either.

A perfect used PRS Private Stock sells for a fraction of its original price, unless it's a Dragon or was owned by some famous dude. To my mind, these things are one-offs that should increase in value, but they don't. Yet.

What does that prove? Nothing.

The average layman knows a '58 Les Paul is worth a lot. Or that 1965 was a good year for Fenders. A collector can hang a guitar on a wall and brag about it. It's harder to hang an amp on a wall, and most of them will be covered in beat-up tolex, that doesn't really serve the purpose of objet de desire.
You want to talk about utility and importance to the art of playing music? I'm into it. Prices of collector stuff? Has no real meaning for me.

 

[Pinch]

I've played a poor guitar through a very poor amp. I've played a great guitar through that same poor amp, and I've later played the same great guitar through a great amp. There is no question for me, the amp trumps the guitar. The best guitar in the world sounds like crap through a bad amp.

I have to agree in my experience. The amp for me has the biggest impact on the final tone. It is not however the thing that makes me want to play in the first place. That, for me, is determined by the guitar. The way the guitar feels in my hands and the way it makes me feel just to own and play it is the biggest contributor whether I will play it or not. I will play that guitar every day through a crap amp even though it my sound bad. So for me the guitar comes first in terms of the playing experience and the amp comes first in terms of the tone. If I have to choose I take experience above tone.

 

[Bluesboy998]

My first guitar was a Sears silver tone with the amp in the case I thought I have arrived.Then i saved up and bought a fender deluxe reverb from a pawn shop that old silver tone guitar never sounded so good, so I realized early on that a good amp makes a huge difference.and I also realized that you have to play the amp just as much as the guitar the amp is always more important to me.

 

[László]

Those who agree with me speak the Absolute Truth. :top:

As for the rest of you, I will calmly react as follows:

 

[ozboy]

How many magazines are there with titles like "premier amplifier" or "vintage amplifier" or "amplifier player". Here at prs which came first the guitar or the amplifier?

of course this doesn't prove much either, but I didn't realize that proving things had much to do with what's put into these threads.

 

[Bluesboy998]

I don't know about anyone else but my paisley and maple custom 50 and paisley anniversary get me excited quit beautiful but that's just me I guess.

 

[László]

of course this doesn't prove much either

Correct.

but I didn't realize that proving things had much to do with what's put into these threads.

It has nothing whatsoever to do with what's put into these threads, especially my threads.

'Course, if you can't prove things, you're going to have to accept my conclusions as Truth.

I don't know about anyone else but my paisley and maple custom 50 and paisley anniversary get me excited quit beautiful but that's just me I guess.

They give me a paisley woody. And that's a very special kind of woody.

 

[Mr Paul Caruso]

I can play a guitar without an amp...an amp by itself is pretty damn useless, not matter how great it sounds. It's like this- guitar=penis, amp=vagina. I can use the "guitar" without the "amp" but it's much more enjoyable together. :vroam:

 

[rugerpc]

often something becomes valuable because it's the current fad, and it loses its value very quickly.

For sale: pet rock and mood ring carefully packed in an air fern for shipping.

 

[John Beef]

I have had an amp I feel is great for so long that I take it for granted in a way. I appreciate that I have almost zero amp GAS. So, guitars are my lust objects.

 

[Bluesboy998]

Les I enjoy reading all your threads but a paisley woody I don't know.