Tell me about the equipment you prefer to use, Guitars, amps, pedals, strings, pick thickness, etc. The reason why I've started this thread is because While I can play well, I stil have no idea about preferences in equipment except that I know I like Ibanez Guitars. In all other above mentioned aspects, I have no Idea. But this can also be about helping anyone else out who needs it.

Well i got an LTD Ex 260 guitar, Digitech Death metal distortion pedal and an Line 6 spider II 212 150W amp. Usually i use GHS TNT strings and allways JAZZ III picks (simply the fucking best)

I dont know if this is what you meant but in case it is, i got the same problem. While i think im quit "good" at playing (your never really good, you just aint!) i dont know shit about the equipment and how it works. Well i guess you dont have to know all that stuff as long as you sound good.
I've heard a lots of shit talk about the Spider and while yes it does have a little of that disturbing edgy "modern digital piece of shit amp" sound i think with just taking some time spining does knobs around and searching for "your sound" you can get an really nice distortion from it. And for me it has served good as an band practise amp and it has an lots of power (so you can easily play small gigs with it) and its relativily cheap.

The Ex 260 is an really nice guitar and from day one when i took it to my hands i just got that feeling that this is an guitar to fucking rock with. And it sound really good too for an little cheaper guitar so my next one will propably be an ex 400 or just the change of pickups. I dont know if the thing that i has a little shorter neck (22 freets) makes any different, somehow for me it just feels like im getting a much better grip of this one thatn those with 24 and it feel easier to play.

The death metal pedal was acctually a little disapointment now when i think about it. I think i have should bought a Metalmaster instead that has more options for the gain ( this one has none ) but the price counted and the death metal was much cheaper. It just didnt give such an distortion that i really was expecting, you know the story... first when you play it you think it sounds amazing, after an while you just discover that it wasnt really so great.

Written by A.J Thunder on 07.05.2007 at 13:38

Well i got an LTD Ex 260 guitar, Digitech Death metal distortion pedal and an Line 6 spider II 212 150W amp. Usually i use GHS TNT strings and allways JAZZ III picks (simply the fucking best)

I dont know if this is what you meant but in case it is, i got the same problem. While i think im quit "good" at playing (your never really good, you just aint!) i dont know shit about the equipment and how it works. Well i guess you dont have to know all that stuff as long as you sound good.
I've heard a lots of shit talk about the Spider and while yes it does have a little of that disturbing edgy "modern digital piece of shit amp" sound i think with just taking some time spining does knobs around and searching for "your sound" you can get an really nice distortion from it. And for me it has served good as an band practise amp and it has an lots of power (so you can easily play small gigs with it) and its relativily cheap.

The Ex 260 is an really nice guitar and from day one when i took it to my hands i just got that feeling that this is an guitar to fucking rock with. And it sound really good too for an little cheaper guitar so my next one will propably be an ex 400 or just the change of pickups. I dont know if the thing that i has a little shorter neck (22 freets) makes any different, somehow for me it just feels like im getting a much better grip of this one thatn those with 24 and it feel easier to play.

The death metal pedal was acctually a little disapointment now when i think about it. I think i have should bought a Metalmaster instead that has more options for the gain ( this one has none ) but the price counted and the death metal was much cheaper. It just didnt give such an distortion that i really was expecting, you know the story... first when you play it you think it sounds amazing, after an while you just discover that it wasnt really so great.

Well, thanks for the Info, and yes it did help, but you know mare about this than me. You see, you can still at least name your models, preferences, pedals, etc. I can't tell a 20 watt amp from a 40 watt amp. The only thing I can tell apart in equipment is guitar body types. I also know I prefer Ibanez over say fender. But I don't know shit about pedals, amps, pickups, strings, (Well, I know gauges, but I don't know about difference in quality) pick thickness, etc. I am a poor clueless bastard. But coming to this thread if not for anything else to mention what equipment you use, is just fine.

let's see.....

Guitars:

Agile PS-900 with Seymour Duncan Distortion and DiMarzio Air Norton
B.C. Rich USA Gunslinger with Joe Barden S-Standard and HB
B.C. Rich USA Warlock with Joe Barden HB Two/Tones
Charvel CX-390 with EMG 81 and 85
Ibanez RG7620 with DiMarzio D-Sonic 7 and Air Norton 7
Kramer Striker 7-string with stock pickups
Schecter C-7 Blackjack with stock Seymour Duncan JB-7 and '59-7
Zion Radicaster with 3 EMG SAs

I'm also building a custom 7-string


Amps:

Ampeg VH-150 head
Engl Savage 120 head
Ampeg V-412TL 4x12 cabinet
Genz-Benz G-Flex 2x12 cabinet



that's my main stuff, i have a few more things also (i don't have any pedals, don't use any effects). i typically use D'Addario XL strings (.009-.042 on the Zion, .011-.048 on the Agile, .010-.059 on the 7-strings, .010-.046 on the rest, but DR Tite-Fit .012-.052 on the Charvel). i use the jazz-sized .88mm (green) Dunlop Tortex picks.

Wassup people, figured id bust my cherry in here... let you see what im packin in my little rig, and i have a question for the real gurus in here.

Guitars:
BC Rich Deluxe series warlock (relatively rare guitar)
Schecter C-1 Hellraiser (EMG 81/85 P/U's)

Amp:
Peavey 6505+ Head w/ valveking 4x12 cab (going to be switching to either a 6505 cab or a XXX)

Pedals:

Boss DD-6 Delay
Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble
Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive
Boss TU-2 Tuner
Digitech Death Metal (absolutely shit.... no really... that pedal sucks maximum balls)
Ernie Ball VP JR Volume pedal

soon to be adding:
Boss AC-3 Acoustic Simulator
Boss EQ pedal
Dunlop Crybaby from hell (dimebag model)
Boss Compression sustainer
Boss noise supressor
MXR Blue Box
MXR Wylde Overdrive
Boss Reverb OR Holy Grail Reverb
(and god knows what else)


so heres my question to all of you... for the life of me i cant figure out what dimebag used in the song "Walk" at the end of his solo... you know, the part at the very last note where the tone shifts pitch to this horrific sound... almost like a howling demon is tearing itself out of his amp.... what the FUCK makes that sound? or is it a combination of things? almost sounds like a chorus/delay/reverb + (unknown) kicked in all at once... anyone know what im talkin about?:noidea:

Written by [user id=24313] on 12.06.2007 at 07:37

Wassup people, figured id bust my cherry in here... let you see what im packin in my little rig, and i have a question for the real gurus in here.

Guitars:
BC Rich Deluxe series warlock (relatively rare guitar)
Schecter C-1 Hellraiser (EMG 81/85 P/U's)

Amp:
Peavey 6505+ Head w/ valveking 4x12 cab (going to be switching to either a 6505 cab or a XXX)

Pedals:

Boss DD-6 Delay
Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble
Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive
Boss TU-2 Tuner
Digitech Death Metal (absolutely shit.... no really... that pedal sucks maximum balls)
Ernie Ball VP JR Volume pedal

soon to be adding:
Boss AC-3 Acoustic Simulator
Boss EQ pedal
Dunlop Crybaby from hell (dimebag model)
Boss Compression sustainer
Boss noise supressor
MXR Blue Box
MXR Wylde Overdrive
Boss Reverb OR Holy Grail Reverb
(and god knows what else)

Damn dude you got alot of pedals.
Wish I could answer your question, but alas, I am a n00b with equipment, even though I've been playing for close to six years

i been playin almost 2 years... but ive been steady in the mix, always practicing, and i could bust out some chops on some of my friends that been playin almost 10 music is about the person, not the time... at 6 yrs you probably got more chops than some people have at 15... depends on how much heart you put into it.

as for my pedals... that aint shit dude (O_O) lol trust me... look at the ones i want to add... and that aint even the half of it, theres still:

the boss tremolo
boss dynamic wah
boss metal zone (strictly for variety... my amp has kickass distortion, but sometimes its too much, and rhythm isnt always enough)
boss fuzz
boss octave
MXR micro amp (for signal boosting through long lines in the effects loop)
and a boss flanger (for when im feelin the mojo....) lol

i plan on having everything necessary to do anything i can see possible in metal, and even a few cleaner songs.. take a look at my influences in my profile, you will see what i mean... and who knows, maybe even multiples of certain pedals, like the EQ and delay, maybe even the O/D... for performing, so i can have 2 pedals with different settings so i aint gotta change my shit from song to song... trust me... i aint got shit lol

pfff....nobody *needs* pedals. i'm all about guitar --> cable --> amp

well you do "need" them if you want to pull off certain sounds... for instance, short lived delays give you a nice full sound you cant achieve with the amp alone... its almost like playing with 2 guitars... chorus? not really a necessity in metal, but makes a lot of sets sound a lot better than without them... overdrive pedals work great for what they do, and you can use them as signal boosters for soloing or running long effects lines... i could go on forever, you dont NEED them... but you do if you want to have a sound thats more than ordinary.

@Warlock:Well, I'm not saying that I can't bust out some good chops, on the contrary, I think I can pull off some great chops (I know how arogant I must sound.) but what I was saying is with things like Pedals, I don't know the difference between something like EQ and Delay.

@warriorofmetal: Well, I am a person that likes a good distortion pedal, but I don't need anything super fancy. I don't like straight overdrive because you get too much feedback and the sound is not as distinguishable as it would be if you used a decent pedal. So even though I don't "need" a pedal, Having good one would still be nice.

if you want a really good distortion... you need to start at the amp... for me? tube amps provide the best... unless you want a wider range of variety for a cost efficient price, then go with a line 6 spider 2 or even 3. but if you want a consitently good sounding distortion, go with a good tube amp... marshalls, kranks, peaveys, riveras, and even some fenders have amps that produce heavy distortion... but, if you have the money.. and you want the best? mesa triple rectifier.....

as for pedals? if you want good distortion, stay away from digitech... some of their stuff makes decent effects, but i own a death metal, it was my first pedal... for running through a small combo practice amp it was good... but nothing beyond that... try the metal zone, or even just the standard boss mege distortion (if thats the correct name) also, running an overdrive is meant to be ran with distortion ontop of it... running it clean will give you some o/d, but it sounds best to me with a mild - medium amount of distortion ran through it... just a suggestion.

try out a chorus and a delay pedal... if you pick one up, im sure you will fall in love with it... try a semi long delay on a nice clean setting with a chorus ran through it... you will see what im talkin about... good thing about delay, for certain effects it can double as a plate reverb... of course, you are very limited to what you can do with it to achieve a "reverbish" sound with one... but try out the DD6... its boss' best delay pedal, with the most options... you can do anything you want delay wise with one of those... it even has a function that acts as a simplified, short lived loop station (i still havent figured a way to implement it into what i play... but someone may find it useful)

@Warlock: ok, thanks!

not a problem

Well today I got the Metal Master Pedal. It's really good, and I got it for around $80

Hey, regardless ov equipment you need a big heart if you want to play nice music. Remember that (:

i use ibanez!
ive got a new prestige which is amazin!
just now i use a line6 spider 2 amplifier
dunlop jazz 3 plectrums
planet waves lead
elixir strings

Right now I use a Fender Highway 1 Strat, Peavey XXX 60 watt, and Fender Heavy picks. I'm currently looking for a more metal guitar, but being left-handed makes it harder to find one I can test before I buy. My XXX amp is pretty good, loud enough for when me and my brother(drums) practice, and it has pretty good distortion and tone, but I'm also looking for something bigger for when we start playing little shows around the area.

Written by A.J Thunder on 07.05.2007 at 13:38

Well i got an LTD Ex 260 guitar, Digitech Death metal distortion pedal and an Line 6 spider II 212 150W amp. Usually i use GHS TNT strings and allways JAZZ III picks (simply the fucking best)

I dont know if this is what you meant but in case it is, i got the same problem. While i think im quit "good" at playing (your never really good, you just aint!) i dont know shit about the equipment and how it works. Well i guess you dont have to know all that stuff as long as you sound good.
I've heard a lots of shit talk about the Spider and while yes it does have a little of that disturbing edgy "modern digital piece of shit amp" sound i think with just taking some time spining does knobs around and searching for "your sound" you can get an really nice distortion from it. And for me it has served good as an band practise amp and it has an lots of power (so you can easily play small gigs with it) and its relativily cheap.

The Ex 260 is an really nice guitar and from day one when i took it to my hands i just got that feeling that this is an guitar to fucking rock with. And it sound really good too for an little cheaper guitar so my next one will propably be an ex 400 or just the change of pickups. I dont know if the thing that i has a little shorter neck (22 freets) makes any different, somehow for me it just feels like im getting a much better grip of this one thatn those with 24 and it feel easier to play.

The death metal pedal was acctually a little disapointment now when i think about it. I think i have should bought a Metalmaster instead that has more options for the gain ( this one has none ) but the price counted and the death metal was much cheaper. It just didnt give such an distortion that i really was expecting, you know the story... first when you play it you think it sounds amazing, after an while you just discover that it wasnt really so great.

I happen to own the metal master. Its pretty versitile. people tell me it has really good tone. I just got it because it was on sale. i was going to get the death metal, but now thanks to you im glad i made the choice i did.

anyway, i play an ibenez solidtail RG through a little vox practicing amp. overall im pretty happy with my setup as im not in any bands or anything exept a one man black metal band known as lichspawn which at this point hasn't even recorded any songs.

What I like:

Ibanez guitars
Marshall amps
I use "9" thickness strings
picks from 0.75 - 1mm
i play in E tuning, though sometimes i tune down to Eb...

I dislike fender guitars and amps, not that i say Strat is bad, but basically I dont like thick necks.... I like thin necks with 24 frets, yeah.

I really don't have any preferances because I haven't gone through equipment. I just dont like cheap equipment, like stuff you get out of Wal-Mart (First Act lolz).

I currently have:
Gibson Les Paul Studio
Crate 65 Watt
1mm Dog Brain picks
G2 Zoom Multi-effects pedal
D'addario's

i have a Randall rh200 amp and a Morgan guitar with emg 81 pickups, and uses a zoom g2 multi-effects pedal and this works for me! i wan't a better guitar, but i like the one i use now also! i wan't one i can have tuned down alot

today i ordered my jackson king v x series KVX10 and marshall 50 watt amp and pedal, case etc. should be able to pick it up in a couple of days... cannot wait... heaps excited though

another question: would a noise gate be a good investment? do they work really well? need answer quick (theres one ending on eBay soon ) quick please! thanks.

guitars:
epiphone les paul standard (with emg85)
epiphone les paul studio
epiphone sg (don't know the exact model, it was very cheap, but it sounds very aggressive)

amps:
hiwatt super lead 100
marshall jcm 800
marshall dbs (bass)
marshall 3530 (bass)

cabs:
marshall 1960 4x12 (i believe)
ashdown 8x10 (bass)
marshall 7110 1x15 (bass)
swr workingman 2x12 (bass)

effects:
ehx russian big muff pi (2x)
ehx small stone
ehx octave multiplexer
ehx double muff (piece of shit)
ehx bassballs nano
boss chromatic tuner
boss dd-3 (or 5?)
jim dunlop crybaby 535q
...

i use 0.13 jazz strings and jim dunlop picks (0.73 - 0.88)

I just picked up a new pedal, BOSS MT-@ Metalzone distortion pedal. It seems pretty good, and is suppose to be a pretty top notch distortion for metal. I was sick of my Digitech RP200 (even though it gives alot of diversity and customization) and plug-ins just didn't feel true enough...although I still like Amplitube 2.

As for other equipment well, I have a few DW products for my drumkit, like a hi-hat stand, DW 5000 double kick bass pedal and all natural Maple signature snare and they all seem pretty damn good. Of course Zildjian cymbals are great, which I have a handful of, as well as some Sabians - all good stuff from my perspective.

Fuck you! You all have something neat. I don't have money for good equipment. All fingerpicks I own I have stolen with my own two hands.
But, anyway, this is my shit:
Ibanez GAX 30
Peavey Pacer SS100 (150W) amp
Metal Muff Pocket dist pedal
Picks from .73 to 1 thickness
D'Addario 9's
Some cheap ass cables I stole from a rock cafe

@filip: get yourself a job i don't believe that anyone here has got his equipment for free
no ... when i was in your age, i also had no money ...
but don't give up ... i know many (good) musicians who gave up because it was a too expensive hobby for them ...

Yeah, a bit of hostility there eh Filip. It's not so much what you have, but what you do with it.

Hiho.

At the rehearsal place I'm using my Peavey 5150 head and some 412 cabinet (soon it'll be a 412 Harley Benton with Celestion Vintage 30 elements - pure bestness! The elements).
I've got a Schecter Blackjack EX baritone scale guitar. Nice one.

I also have a bunch of Ibanez RG-guitars. RG2550 is worth mentioning.

At this point I'm not using any pedals, but I've been of getting a chorus and wah and some other basic elements in making the righteous guitar performance.

Guitars:
my main axe: Parker Fly Classic
Custom Jackson KV2
Custom Jackson DK
Schecter Jeff Loomis 7str
Ovation Acoustic

Amps:
Framus Cobra head
Marshall 1960B cab loaded with celestion vintage 30's
Peavey XXX combo

and a lot of various other things

i spent years putting all this stuff together, i can safely say i'm not in the market for any new equipment, though i need some recording gear