What matters more, guitar or amp??

[aristotle]

One of the difficulties of this kind of discussion is that even when played clean, some amps are simply more transparent than others. The results are necessarily going to be skewed all over the place.

But take, say, a PRS, a 335 and a Strat. Play them through a clean amp, and they're not going to sound the same. The personality of the guitar will of course come through even a relatively bad amp.

So to a greater or lesser degree, it's a two-way street, guitar and amp. You're hearing both. You're supposed to hear both. Otherwise, what's the point?

As I think about it, I really should have qualified this on the guitar side of the equation. Sure, a strat will sound different than a 335. Question is though, will the cheapest MIM strat sound all that much different than a $5K custom shop strat?

So, maybe the question should be re-phrased this way....

Pick your favorite PRS guitar in the $3.5K range and pick your favorite PRS Amp. In my case, let's say it's a nice decked out DC Ted and the HX/DA. Would I rather have the Ted and whatever amp PRS has in the several hundred dollar range, or the HX/DA and....say....an SE Santana? It's not a perfect comparison because I don't think that PRS has an amp in the $600 range, but I'd argue (just because it's fun to argue) that I'd be happier overall with the lower cost guitar and higher cost amp. Throw in the fact that I can experiment with pickups on the guitar, and I'm pretty sure that's the case for me.

BY the way, I don't actually behave this way, so it's more of a philosophical question I guess.

 

[László]

Would I rather have the Ted and whatever amp PRS has in the several hundred dollar range, or the HX/DA and....say....an SE Santana? It's not a perfect comparison because I don't think that PRS has an amp in the $600 range, but I'd argue (just because it's fun to argue) that I'd be happier overall with the lower cost guitar and higher cost amp. Throw in the fact that I can experiment with pickups on the guitar, and I'm pretty sure that's the case for me.

BY the way, I don't actually behave this way, so it's more of a philosophical question I guess.

Actually, this is a really interesting point, and well worth discussing. I can't actually answer the question either, since I only have higher end guitars, too. It's very well worth considering, that's for sure.

 

[jfb]

I play hard rock and beyond most of the time. I find I am more particular about my amp. This is due in part perhaps to the fact that I genuinely dislike the sound and feel of dirt / boost pedals. I simply prefer amp gain.

 

[darktone]

Amp matters more, but you need to match it to the right cab/speakers.

guys like david lindley play cheapo guitars thru dumbles........& sound awesome. of course he & others like him have some good guitars too. as much as i like guitars........amps are the fascination. and yes......speakers make or break:wave: