Guitar vs Amp

joetele

Rocker said:

It really comes down to how you as the guitarist sounds or fits into a band situation. Hence my (ignored by quoters) statement that the guitar and amp should be considered as one entity. If you need a certain sound, how does that sound sit in in your band sound?

It has to be easier to use a synth to get synth sounds than by using a guitar plus pedal. The synth can have its own amp or be fed into the PA, thus sounding as good as it can be. Not compromised by going through a guitar amp.

For the record, I use no FX for bass playing and a SparkleDrive to give a touch of drive for guitar. The music I play is country (American and Irish), country rock (CCR, The Eagles etc) and what is described as camp fire songs.

Synth pedals are tuned for guitar amps - and for some of the more experimental guitarists, a) it's a pain to carry an actual synth and dedicated amp to practice, and b) it's just another way of finding new sounds, especially when you combine those synth pedals with other pedals (as many actual synth users do with guitar pedals). 

But I agree that the guitar and amp should be one entity, insofar as that they're both of sufficient quality to get the best out of each other and the player. 

Gadget

Plus let's remember, not all of us play in bands.

ICBM

The guitar and the amp are not one entity.

You can play a guitar without an amp - DI’d into a mixing desk/PA/recording software - and that includes without an amp modeller if you want, provided any distorted sounds you use have some sort of speaker emulation, or at least powerful enough EQ to do the job - but you can’t play an amp without a guitar.

downbytheriver

Just my view but.... fingers first - if you can’t create a good sound, no amount of equipment can put it back in. 

Guitar second - this is what the fingers act upon, again - lose anything now and no pedal or amp will put it back. 

Amp third. A great amp will make a great sound come alive,  but a great amp can’t make a crap guitar sound good. 

Pedals - depends but generally they are seasoning - your sound might completely depend on them but they will only sound best if you sort the rest of the chain out first. 

Or maybe that’s all bollocks. 

Shut up and play.