bringing amp to college

[hneaz]

im going to college this year and i wanna start a band during my free time. im not sure if i should bring my 2x12 150 watt line 6 amp to my dorm. my dorm is one of the biggest in the campus and i can fit it nicely and use it as a tv stand. as long as i dun blast it loud and use headphones in the dorm, the RAs wont mind.

what do u guys suggest?

 

[MutantBeef]

Bring one of these:

http://img55.photobucket.com/albums/v169/ztrowbri/Recto.jpg

 

[Muffin Man]

I suggest getting a better amp, xD! There's not really much to suggest, is there? You say you'd be able to bring it, so why not?

 

[Shift]

Yes, but you need to find the band members first though lol. Its hard amogst the large amount of people to find others who play instruments and follow your style of music. I mean I only start my band around two months back, and we were immediately hit with problems, no drummer and nowhere to practise. Its still the case at the moment, but shall be resolved soon.

 

[hneaz]

I suggest getting a better amp, xD! There's not really much to suggest, is there? You say you'd be able to bring it, so why not?

are u talking about my line 6? i used it for shows and it was loud enough. im bringing the amp to college but i wanted people's opinions about starting a band in college.

 

[DreamThrall]

louder != better...

anyways, i'd try and find out if people get stuff stolen from their rooms a lot.

 

[hneaz]

i will stay at a private dorm that has 2 rooms connected together and there is no lock on the bathroom which is in between the rooms. i hope the people on the other side wont come to my room and steal stuff... so far, i heard nothing about stuff getting stolen, but im still being cautious.

 

[Markdude]

Don't bring your amp, because nobody wants to hear a crappy Line 6. If you're going to bring an amp, at least bring a good one.

 

[leib10]

I'm bringing my PA system along with my 3 guitars, even though my dorm room is a bit small.

 

[Pulse]

I'll be taking this little gem to Uni with me in September. If all goes well I'll probably lug my Vox AD50vt down to seriously piss off my flat mates when I start playing Slayer drunk at 4 in the morning.

 

[Shift]

What you need is those cute little Marshall amps that you can clip onto yourself, they certainly pack a punch for the size of them too D:

 

[co05]

Don't bring your amp, because nobody wants to hear a crappy Line 6. If you're going to bring an amp, at least bring a good one.

QFT

 

[hneaz]

Don't bring your amp, because nobody wants to hear a crappy Line 6. If you're going to bring an amp, at least bring a good one.

They are not that bad. i get the tone i want, like a killswitch and all that remains sound. u just haven played around it enough. if u make some adjustments, they sound great. plus, i dun have enough money to buy another amp.

 

[Markdude]

Believe me, I've played with cheap, solid-state modeling amps plenty of times. If you are serious about playing in a band with one, it's going to sound terrible. That's basically how all modeling amps are. They sound great on their own at bedroom level volumes, but throw one in a full band mix and it's awful. I wouldn't advise against bringing it for a practice amp, but if you want to sound good in a band, save up and get yourself something a little nicer (preferably something tube).

Although I don't play in a band any more and I don't plan on doing it any time soon, I have a small rig consisting of a Marshall JMP-1 preamp (about $300 used), a Carvin T100 tube power amp (also about $300 used but a little harder to find), and a Mesa 1x12 widebody cabinet (about $250 used).

That's a little short of $900 which really isn't that much for a great rig, especially when you compare it to spending even more than that on just a big-name head or cabinet by itself. I'm a sucker for Mesa stuff and I always wanted a Mesa cabinet, but if that's still much to you, you could buy a cheaper cabinet by Crate or Peavey or something.

If you have a job, it's really not going to take that long to save up around that much for a decent rig. I'm not sure if you've played in a band before, but trust me, you're going to want to ditch the Line 6, modeling amps, and probably just solid-state amps in general.

 

[Zeus]

There's nothing wrong with the line 6 spider (assuming its a spider), its good for small gigs and stuff like that. But if you want to get the band serious I would recommend going with a tube amp. They're expensive but the sound quality is worth the money. I personally use a Line 6 Podxt Live (plugged into computer through USB when I practice) and it's great.

But back on topic I say bring the amp and a pair of headphones and you should be fine..

 

[Muffin Man]

If you are serious about playing in a band with one, it's going to sound terrible. That's basically how all modeling amps are.

Wrong. Valvetronix and Cube amps are good examples of cheaper modeling amps that sound quite nice, and are fairly cheap. Not as good as a nice tube amp, but not nearly as much.

If you push a solid-state amp to the point where it will breakup in a band situation, then yes, it will sound like shit. That's why you get a higher wattage solid-state amp so you aren't struggling to keep up in the mix and not getting a horribly bad tone.

My lead guitarists dad (who is amazing at guitar) was, up until recently, in a classic rock cover band that gigged bars and hotel quite regularly. His amp is an old Marshall Valvestate model (read: solid-state with a gimmick), and his tone was always amazing. The amp isn't even all that great, but it sure sounded like it was.

Tube elitism for the lose. Do they sound better? Yes. But getting "the perfect tone" live is a lot less necessary than you'd think. And being a jackass about it is just pointless. Look at the Jazz Chorus if you want to see an example of a good solid-state amp. Solid-state are less "alive," if you ask me, but writing them all off regardless of price/application is just pointless. The being said, I think the Spiders are over-compressed rubbish; sorry, hneaz.

So, why the rant? I hate when people generalize like that. Oh, yeah, and he never said he was looking for a new amp. If he likes really high-gain stuff, perhaps he can get a tone he likes out of it. If he's happy with it, why get something new now?

In conclusion, stop generalizing and being an overall elitist prick. Nobody cares if you have some great $900 rig...

 

[Shift]

I dont bother with model names, and its specs because they bore me. I just see a guitar, look at it for a while, ask if I can give it a short test run. If it fits me perfectly, I ask the price and then buy it (if I can actually afford it).

In terms of amps? I go to the shop, I see a medium sized Marshall amp, and I know it wont let me down, and it never has. The recent guitar I got was a ?35 Fender imitation, I didn't even know that until I was told after I asked the price after I had took for a spin. It plays like a dream, and it was only ?35.

What im getting at is, its how you play the instrument that counts. No point spending hundreds of your own money on pricey guitars and amps unless you were in a successful band with a record deal that will pay for all the amps and guitars etc that you will need. Stupidly expensive guitars will not help you play better. I mean for pure example, Hendrix never used guitars worth loads, he just had your basic Fender with a wammy bar, and your basic amp, and look how he made it sound.

 

[DreamThrall]

Nobody cares if you have some great $900 rig...

Wrong.

Show up at a gig with one of these and you'll have the immediate attention of anyone who knows anything about guitar amps. :thumbs:

 

[Shift]

Yeah and for anyone who knows anything about playing guitars, they will realise that there is no point giving your attention until you hear actually comes out of the amp

 

[DreamThrall]

Whenever I see someone bringing in an orange, I think "OOOOOOH(/homer spotting doughnuts) I wanna watch this guy and see what he can do"

 

[Pulse]

No point getting a phat amp unless you are a substantial guitar player.

/thread

 

[DreamThrall]

No point getting a phat amp unless you are a substantial guitar player.

/thread

Well, given.

 

[Muffin Man]

Wrong.

Show up at a gig with one of these and you'll have the immediate attention of anyone who knows anything about guitar amps. :thumbs:

Show up to a gig with any amp that looks big and anybody who doesn't know anything about amps and/or think they know something about amps but don't will be impressed. Not that they'll really care except to try and sound smart by saying something like, "yeah, that's a Marshall half-stack. Marshalls are good amps." And if anybody has invested the time to learn about amps, they'll probably know enough about guitar to at least recognize a talented player, and care more about that than what gear they're using. Really, if people like your music, they won't care what kind of gear you have 99% of the time.

I stand by my original statement, . And, besides, a Rcokerverb with an Orange 2x12 cab would cost WAY more than $900. :O

 

[Markdude]

Wrong. Valvetronix and Cube amps are good examples of cheaper modeling amps that sound quite nice, and are fairly cheap. Not as good as a nice tube amp, but not nearly as much.

If you push a solid-state amp to the point where it will breakup in a band situation, then yes, it will sound like shit. That's why you get a higher wattage solid-state amp so you aren't struggling to keep up in the mix and not getting a horribly bad tone.

My lead guitarists dad (who is amazing at guitar) was, up until recently, in a classic rock cover band that gigged bars and hotel quite regularly. His amp is an old Marshall Valvestate model (read: solid-state with a gimmick), and his tone was always amazing. The amp isn't even all that great, but it sure sounded like it was.

Tube elitism for the lose. Do they sound better? Yes. But getting "the perfect tone" live is a lot less necessary than you'd think. And being a jackass about it is just pointless. Look at the Jazz Chorus if you want to see an example of a good solid-state amp. Solid-state are less "alive," if you ask me, but writing them all off regardless of price/application is just pointless. The being said, I think the Spiders are over-compressed rubbish; sorry, hneaz.

So, why the rant? I hate when people generalize like that. Oh, yeah, and he never said he was looking for a new amp. If he likes really high-gain stuff, perhaps he can get a tone he likes out of it. If he's happy with it, why get something new now?

In conclusion, stop generalizing and being an overall elitist prick. Nobody cares if you have some great $900 rig...

Wow, if anyone is being a prick in this thread it is most certainly you. Sorry if my post offended you. It was not even a rant, I was trying to help the guy.

Yes, I will agree with you that there are decent solid-state amps out there. But for the most part, solid-state amps are geared towards bedroom players who just want to practice and play along to their favorite CDs. And for that purpose, they're great. Although I do agree with you that Spiders sound pretty terrible, my first post telling him not to bring it because nobody wants to hear it was a joke, but of course emotions don't convey too well on the internet. Should have used an emoticon or something.

I suggested upgrading his rig because he mentioned that he wanted to start playing with a band. If he had only wanted to bring something for dorm practicing, then sure, I would have suggested he just bring his Spider and leave it at that. He may be happy with it now, but I sincerely doubt he is going to be happy with his Spider once he brings it into a full-band setting. He doesn't have to take my advice and upgrade his rig, but hey, it's not going to hurt anything for me to make suggestions.

The Roland Jazz Chorus and Cube are great solid-state amps, like you mentioned. But the majority of solid-state amps I have ever tried has never cut it in a full-band setting. Sorry to generalize, but I have not had good experiences in them and I don't think they're ever going to be as applicable as a decent tube-amp. Modelers do work good for some things, such as practicing and direct-recording, but I have not found that they work well live. And for the record, I said "cheap solid-state modelers won't cut it in a band situation". If you want to spend a lot on an expensive modeler, go ahead. But why do that when you can buy a dedicated, better amp for the same price? Modeling is not everything, and there are wide arrays of tones to be had from single amps if you're willing to do some tweaking and they will usually yield much better results.

And I am not trying to brag about my rig, trust me. If I had a rig that was worthy of bragging about, it would be worth a LOT more than $900. Maybe if I had a Diezel Herbert then I would brag. But I was tallying the expenses on my rig as an example of how you can build a good rig for a relatively inexpensive price ($900 is really not a lot when you get serious about gigging, even though I'm not any more). My rig is great for my needs, but it is nothing mindblowing. It is very true that when playing live, nobody but other guitarists will really notice or care about the way a rig sounds. But hey, I don't know about you, but I'm a guitarist, and I like to be happy with the way I sound. And besides, nobody builds/buys their whole rig at once. I used to play with a solid-state combo, then I bought a preamp and ran it in the front of the combo. Eventually I bought a relatively cheap 4x12 cabinet and used that in front of the combo's speaker. And a little later, I decided to buy a power amp. And now I've replaced the 4x12 with a higher quality 1x12 since I don't gig any more. There's nothing wrong with improving one thing at a time, and it doesn't create a financial dent. If you get serious about gigging, it's easy to make more than enough to comfortably upgrade.

The original poster obviously does not have to heed my advice if he does not want to. I was just throwing it out there because I've been through the experience. He does not have to put any kind of investment into his rig if he does not want to. I am not an elitist, I invested in mine because I am an amp and recording enthusiast and it means a lot to me to have a rig that I'm satisfied with. If that's not his deal, then cool. I'm not holding a gun to his head.