Beginner gear guidance

[mttn3]

Hey guise, so i am just learning to play guitar now (in my mid thirties, never too late ) and i have no idea where to begin with what kind of effects pedals and amp to start with.
Preferably i would like something second hand for good cheapness:quality ratio, but... i don't know where to start! I presume some kind of overdrive... and... other than that, i don't kniw what goes on in the signal chain of your average guitarist. I was figuring it would make sense to buy a multi-effects pedal so i could have some common options there in front of me with minimal faffing around.

Currently my only amp is a cheap Peavey keyboard amp i had in the back cupboard. It doesn't sound amazing by itself. I don't need a real quality sound or anyhing; i can only barely play a few major chords at this stage

I have a Vox 33 guitar and i like an alt-rock-punk-classic 90's kind of sound, i guess.

So um, what could you recommend for me so i could get a basic electric guitar sound to learn how the various effects affect my tone?

[jeremyb]

I'd grab the flyrig and you could rin that into the keyboard amp and it would probably sound not too bad as they're more of the kinda amp you want to use with a sansamp or similar modelling unit

Plenty of us in christchurch with lots of pedals you can try out, but it's a slippery slope, hide your credit card!!

[Les_Paul86]

A multi effect would probably suit. Keep an eye out on TM or here for a boss me50 or a zoom 707, something like that. It'll be able to produce pretty much anything, try to get one with an expression pedal. That should fulfil all of your needs for now.
Do yourself a favour though... don't worry bout the gear yet, learn to play first. Getting caught up in "tone" and pedals etc will halt your learning progress massively. Get the playing right first, then worry about what you're using.

[Delayman]

Because your amp is a keyboard amp, it's designed to amplify exactly what goes in - like a PA. Guitar amps change the incoming signal, not just making it louder. So what you'll need as part of your effects chain with a keyboard amp is something that emulates what a guitar amp does. I agree with the Flyrig recommendation as a starting point as it has an inbuilt amp emulator. The one for sale on the Forum is a good deal.

I recorded a rough demo of my flyrig to show sounds. All the lead guitar sounds are straight out of the flyrig. Here it is http://www.nzguitars.com/forum/viewtopi ... =2&t=28276 .

One thing to watch for is some multi-effects units do millions of sounds but they all sound pretty 'processed' rather than doing a few good ones. If you're into punk you probably won't be happy with some units where everything sounds like the eighties drenched in effects.

[mttn3]

Great, thanks for all the quick advice Especially about learning to play being the most important thing.

I can't listen to the audio sample just now due to being at work and surfing on my phone, but i'll check it out later.

The flyrig sounds good to me too, and it's actually a surprising bonus that my existing keyboard amp would be suitable for the purpose.

Cheers!

[Lostininverness]

I've got a Digitech RP250 multi-effects unit (with expression pedal) which has a heap of peal and amp settings up on TM at the mo which doesn't close off until Sunday night.

I'm in Christchurch as well, so you can either come around over a weekend and give it a go - you might want to bring your amp to make sure the pedal plays well through it - to see if it suits, or maybe you can borrow it for a few days, give it a crack and see if you like it.

[Cortez]

My advice would be to forget about effects/amps etc and focus on playing - sorry forumites. Your keyboard amp will be OK and your guitar is better than most guitars I've owned over the last ten years or so. Even if you weren't considering picking up an acoustic, they are pretty damn handy to have lying around. I currently have five guitar amps in my living room (just did a quick count) and still reach for an acoustic most of the time. Guitar gear is exciting, but I only started collecting pedals once I had a rough idea what to do with them. Jamming with people is the best thing you can do to get better - worked for me. Good luck!

[TmcB]

My first thought is to get a nice cheap little tube amp, a Tubescreamer, a cheap delay, and a tuner. The question is, what's your budget?
Not a tube amp but you could snag one of those Vox Pathfinders for not much outlay that sound awesome.

I think it's important to have your gear make nice sounds so you get more inspired to play more.

A good intermediate step might be a pocket pod; they do effects and amp modelling that will go well with a Keyboard amp.

Yeah, you could get a multi-effects unit I guess but I think they end up a waste of money, I'd hit up some of the dudes on here in chch and see if they'd be willing to point you in the right direction with pedals.

[harveysj]

I think your right, if you can get closer to the sounds in your head you will be more inspired to play. I somewhat agree with the multi effects like the boss etc. I guess that's the good thing about the fly rig, they are essentially seperate pedals but in one enclosure.

[HackSaw]

Probably not the most popular opinion, but I found a cheap-ass irig with jamup/amplitube etc to be a really cheap way to explore a ton of different tones. I've used the Mac versions of these to really try out a ton of different sounds, and then bought the real deal based on what I liked. Might not be the best approach for all, but it has saved me "Molly-ing" my way through amps!

(Apologies to Molly, I don't know you well enough to be a smart-ass, but some things come naturally )

[Danger Mouse]

Another option for a basic practice amp, with some effects to play with, the Roland Cube is a great all-in-one to consider, the 10W is all you need (favourite of guitar teachers the world over).

The skimpy top and cleavage is up to you.
http://www.roland.com/products/cube-10gx/

[mttn3]

Wow there's heaps here for me to look into now eh. I might've gone for the multi-effects with expression pedal if I'd seen it first, but I'm buying Harvey's flyrig instead. Using a real pedal at the same time as trying to strum and hold frets would probably be too much for me at the moment anyway!

I had seen a little pocket unit at the shop when i bought my guitar. It was a cute idea, just a unit sitting on the output jack of the guitar and modelling amp sounds out to headphones, and it was the cheap option, but this Flyrig seems like it'll be pretty future proof and, if worst comes to worst, will have some resale value anyway. If I ever did outgrow something like that I'll have no regrets about it, I'm sure.

My budget is more of a balance against the looks i get from the gf when i waste money on current whims, but as long as i enjoy what i get and it keeps me motivated then it's ok by me. Having said that, the "couple of hundred" range is about the maximum outlay I had in my mind, so the one Flyrig unit has to last me for a while.

I am a bit too self conscious to just go around to someone's house, or a guitar shop for that matter, to try out any equipment or have a jam. That kind of thing can wait until i can at least reliably strike a few chords in a row without buzzy frets and/or wrong strings.

[Slowy]

Running with the 'Learn to Play' theme, make sure you have access to good backing tracks. Nothing will teach you faster than an hour noodling over a rhythm track and watching gems rise out of the dross. If, like me you have an ancient computer with an OS powered by Newcastle coal, then get a looper; I never realised playing with myself could be so rewarding.

If you really want to try a range of pedal sounds, a multi effects board is good but I think it's fair to say most folks here outgrew them pretty quickly. (Holds breath and waits......) Edit: I see this comment is now redundant!

[TmcB]

Wow there's heaps here for me to look into now eh. I might've gone for the multi-effects with expression pedal if I'd seen it first, but I'm buying Harvey's flyrig instead. Using a real pedal at the same time as trying to strum and hold frets would probably be too much for me at the moment anyway!

I had seen a little pocket unit at the shop when i bought my guitar. It was a cute idea, just a unit sitting on the output jack of the guitar and modelling amp sounds out to headphones, and it was the cheap option, but this Flyrig seems like it'll be pretty future proof and, if worst comes to worst, will have some resale value anyway. If I ever did outgrow something like that I'll have no regrets about it, I'm sure.

My budget is more of a balance against the looks i get from the gf when i waste money on current whims, but as long as i enjoy what i get and it keeps me motivated then it's ok by me. Having said that, the "couple of hundred" range is about the maximum outlay I had in my mind, so the one Flyrig unit has to last me for a while.

I am a bit too self conscious to just go around to someone's house, or a guitar shop for that matter, to try out any equipment or have a jam. That kind of thing can wait until i can at least reliably strike a few chords in a row without buzzy frets and/or wrong strings.

Good choice actually, it's a combination of all the suggestions when I think about it; modeller, delay, dirt, multifx without having the stigma or uselessness/over-complication of an actual multifx unit, and of course resale. Nice!

[mttn3]

^ I made the decision based on the forum advice so you're congratulating the members who said it was a good idea really, but thanks I hope it helps me to keep enjoying learning the guitar.