Korean Job Discussion Forums

[hepcat]

After many acoustic years, I'm about to buy my first electric guitar (Cort M600).
I'll need a practice amp and don't want to waste my coin on just any old piece of crap. I don't need power, just quality sound at, I hope, a value price. Suggestions? Some good Korean makes?

[SPINOZA]

Don't worry about the make or the amp (assuming you're not a gigging 'pro') - just buy any old piece of *beep* and buy a standard effects pedal. If all you're gonna do is jam in your apt, buy anything you like the look of and is cheap.

[fruitcake]

I'm hooked on Fender tube amps now. Got a Hotrod Deluxe awhile back and haven't been satisfied with anything else since. Even Marshalls now have too much crunch, no warmth to 'em. The Line 6 amps are terrible...total transitor sound, no depth. 'Course, depends on what you aim to use the amp for, but I suggest paying a little more and getting something decent if you ever plan on using it for gigs.

[uberscheisse]

there is a line of fenders that are 1. cheap and 2. all tube.

ah, here it is. as fruitcake said, the hot rod series.

http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?section=amplifiers&cat=guitaramplifiersenclosures&subcat=hotrod

i'm sure you could get them at nagwon. the blues junior was only about 300 bucks in canada, and worth every penny. really basic, clear and loud (15 watts is enough to gig with) and built like a brick potty.

and if you want to play quietly, just turn it down and get a pedal. it'll sound beautiful.

[keithinkorea]

I bought a nice little practice amp a little while back.

A 'Hughes and Kettner' from Nakwon arcade, it's pretty small and has a really nice sound much better than the fender and marshall practive amps and cheaper too, it wasn't expensive maybe 220000 or so with a free lead and a fist full of picks. It's only 30 watts but it is tiny, looks cute with a nice backlit blue top and it's very warm for a transistor amp. The overdrive is crap but then you never get really good distortion sounds from a cheap tran amp.

Go to Nakwon and you'll find lots of nice stuff and you can usually haggle the price down and get something good for a reasonable price.

[eamo]

I don't agree about buying a tube amp in this situation. He wants to play quietly at home. If you can't turn a tube amp up to 11 and get those tubes singing then it's useless to buy one.

I have had many great tube amps. Fender Twin. Vox AC30. A Selmer 50w which was made in 1963, the best sounding amp I've ever owned. They all shared one characteristic. They don't sound special untill you turn them up past 8 or so. Then the tubes overdrive and give you that mellow crunch that guitarists love.

Just get a cheap transistor.

[Hollywoodaction]

[hepcat]

O.K. so I think the tube amp is out.
Any opinions on amp emulator app.s like N.I. Guitar Rig or Guitar Combo. I have a decent computer and speakers, so why don't I save the clutter and just just pipe my guitar through there to get the audio. I'm thinking this might be a good option as I get a feel for the sound/gear options. (I for example, have only faint knowledge of the various effects pedals, etc.--I'd love a wah-wah though! Fun to say, even--wah wah)

[skinhead]

[eamo]

You could put your guitar through your computer speakers with a bit of creative cabling but it would sound terrible. Flat and unresponsive. Get a decent transistor amp at Nakwon.

The Hughes & Kettner Keithinkorea got would be a good buy. Its a very respected brand.

[SPINOZA]

[Hollywoodaction]

You need to try them a variety of amps first if possible because you choice will depend on your own personal tastes and style of music you want to play.

In any case, if you need an amp to practice in your bedroom that won't burst your eardrums, you might want to consider a 10 watt amp. These amps aren't the most versatile on the market, but they are fine for fudging around. I recommend Rockers practice amp. I believe this is the Korean company that make amps for VOX. I got 2 of their amps, one of which is the Rockers VBM-1 (has to be for VoxBrianMay-1), their version of the Vox Brian May Special. They are probably the same amp because the only differences I could find between the Rockers and the Vox are the name plate and the grill. It could use a few extra controls, but it's a fine little amp for the price, nonetheless. I also have the Rockers VA-10R, which is a little bit more versatile than the VBM-1 because it has more controls, a clean channel, and reverb.


http://www.big1.co.kr/front/php/category.php?cate_no=295

[hepcat]

Thanks for the input.

After some more searching, I managed to find this lil' wonder, the Roland Micro CUBE:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/search/detail/base_pid/480196?src=HC004

Nothing but rave reviews all round for the Roland Micro Cube. Lots of effects, small, good sound, ultra-poratble, blah, blahblah, blah....

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Data/Roland/MicroCube_Combo-1.html

And available in Korea for about the same as in the US:

http://www.coremusic.co.kr/product_detail.php3?pid=3101122001

It looks perfectly suited to my needs.

I'm still going to use the Mac, as it's very easy to hook up a guitar (via an USB adapter) and play it through Garage Band and Guitar Rig.
But, that Roland is an easy call for me.

[Canadaman]

When playing gigs or in the practice room I play a marshall AVT-150. However this is obviously not suited for someone living in an apartment building. Go to www.mule.co.kr and check out the little 10 watt Aslin Dane they have. Thats what I use at home in my apartment. That along with my padal board I can get any sound I want without waking the nieghbors. 50, 000 new.

Canadaman

[Wangja]