The royal consort

Advice is simple. Spare strings!!!! (NEVER FORGET THESE) New batteries in all effects. (Very important) + 1/2 spare anyway extention cable for amp power lead / effects power (used 3 times so far (dont under estimate)). Spare leads (guitar / patch). Extra strap.... if using a valve amp spare fuse/power tubes not a bad idea + a backup amp if you are really paranoid (I dont bring an amp but have fuses....) Dont leave your plectrums at home!!!! (I'm famous for this trick)

On a personal note I'm not talking about a rig that'd compete with a drummer just somthing to mic up and run through the PA. Power amp distortion would negate the whole point of the huge effects set up you have there. But valves do have a nice tone and a decent cab will also make things... Nicer.

Really nice rig... Evantide AND TC gear.... and great preamp.... My wife would NEVER let me spend that much. But I do agree with some of the other guys here. Amp and cab simulators anrn't as good as the real thing and with a rig THAT good it seems a shame. Someone must be able to point you at a good 20 / 40 w sterio amp and a couple of decent 1x10" or 1x12"s. Not much space and better sound. But your dead on about not needing 100 watts in most venues. I use a 75wat 1x15" guitar amp and cant get the thing above 4 on a stage without the soundman asking me to back it off a bit.... Even in decent sized venues.

Got a load of them here. Yes I know its a UK site but it'll show you whats avalable Just scroll down to Effect Switching. http://www.soundsgreatmusic.com/effects/default.asp Enjoy

Peavey gear is good if your on a tight budget. My old bass player used a TNT75 that did the business pretty well. Also they build stuff like tanks. If money is tight I also recomend buying 2nd hand. I've never bought a new piece of music equipment in my life and have no intention of ever doing so. Frayed Tolex does not a crap sonding amp make.....

Smooth Solo tone (in my world anyway) Sey hello to your neck pickup and roll the tone down a bit. If your using a very metal rythm sound an EQ pedal in the effects loop with a mid boost set into it is probably also not a bad idea. Reverb, chorus and delay.... if you like.... I like a touch of chorus on everything... Reverb is easy to overuse and muddy yourself, especially live, but it never fails to amaze me how much delay can be gotten away with... Pedal vs Tube overdrive... Well tubes are really better for this sort of thing... unless like me you use fender amps... Both my ProCo Rat and H&K Warp Factor can produce smooth tones without a problem...

My line would be Guitar ---> Tuner ---> Distortion ---> EQ ---> Noise Suppressor ---> Amp This allows you to reshape your sound for guitar solo's (classically adds mids to compensate for the mid-scooped sound of a typical metal style distortion unit (a mid scoops is great for riffing but not solo's)). Noise supressor at the end as High gain distortions and heavy EQ usage adds noise. Placing the EQ after the distortion allows for better reshaping of the tone. If placed earlier the distortion will override most of the EQing meaning you have to use more extreme settings to get the desired result and that adds ALOT of noise.

Note about borrowing a jigsaw. When cutting the blade tends to 'wobble' when cutting thick and hard wood. (thats what bandsaws cure...) so if your taking that route leave about 1/2cm outsite the the body shape an finish up with a template and a router. Yes its going to take more time but the last body I made I just cut directly with a jigsaw and then spent hours with files and spoke shaves evening up the edges. A template and router would have been faster, more accurate and alot less frustrating.

probably... it was 1 am when I put this post on... Forgive me!!!

Yes we'd love to see the build pics....

Back tracking a bit. You said you'd never heard of a guitar made of one type of wood and have hadpeople say its a bad idea. Gibson SG And I always quite liked them....

Hey If you looking for tone AND output AND treble Bareknucle is kinda the way to go. If your willing to krank your amp alot more Mules are an idea. To keep some of the output try Abraxis or Blackdogs On the high output side of things I get a little lost... I dont do that EDIT: Although after a quick review the Nailbombs have somthing really nice to thier tone (I like it anyway) And the Cold Sweats are quite nice For more of a 'Classic Grind' sort of thing the pain killers may be good (dont know about clean though)

Well I'm 34 Effectively married with kids.... and really begining to notice that I'm just not young any more... Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll has gradually given way to somthing a bit more Wine, Women and Song... And even the plural on that no longer really applies... But it is kinda cosy... Ye gods listen to me I'll be buying brown tartan slippers next... That does it I'm loading my guitar up with EMGs and buying a boogie...

Hiya I was watching a documentary on The Police just a minute ago and I noticed that he was playing quite a few guitars with a pick up combo that consisted of three coils in one pickup ring. After a quick googling its a standard humbucker with a starndard single... Does anyone know which pickup goes where and what wireing was used. Apparently Hamer used an odd value capacitor in the tone controls. anyone know about that? I always loved his sound but could never reproduce it... Maybe this is the answer... If nothing else it'd be a fun project...

I retubed my Fender a little while back... I liked it befor but choose the right valves and your in for a pleasent shock... Just remember if you use diatortion pedals as the main part of your sound you want tubes that stay clean....