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Hi all
I posted this thread in an overseas forum too.
I have decided that music and playing guitar is going to be my life ? WOOHOO

Well, now that that is said and done, I'd really like to get some tips from some session guitarists and anyone else who'd like to chip in.

Basically, I would really like to know what kind of amp and guitar/s you would suggest I look at?
I want quality, and I don't mind saving up for something. I want versatility but not at the expense of quality. I will literally be playing anything from Jazz all the way through to Hardcore Rock and sometimes full on Metal.
I was looking at the Mesa Boogie Mark IV and the Dual Rectifier Roadster amps. They seem to have a lot of flexibility and they have quality tone. What do you think of these amps?
Can you suggest something better?
I'll be playing in studios and in church and in pubs and in large 10 000+ events so it can't be TOO loud although I will consider buying a power soak anyway.

Then, I realize that I'll probably want 2 guitars, one single coil and one with humbuckers. Once again, I don't really want to be spending TOO much over $2000 (and anything cheaper would be welcome). So if you had to choose only 1 guitar for now (that can do Hardcore music particularly well but can also clean up really nicely), what would it be and why?

I do realize that this is a very broad and subjective topic but any bit of help I can get would be most welcome.

Thanks in advance.
    No one guitar and no one amp will nail everything you want to do. Some will claim to do it, and a few may even get close, getting a variety of sounds, but nothing will get every tone you may need. Many features that contribute to a specific tone are mutually exclusive - bolt-on vs. set neck, EL34s vs. 6L6s, humbuckers vs. single coils...

    I spent 12 years trying to get one guitar to do it all and succeeded fairly well, but at the end of the day, while I had a couple of great sounds and a wide range of tones that "did the job", I ended up going back to a range of guitars that could do fewer jobs, but do them better.

    On the bright side, if you are planning on a studio career, most producers and studios will have access to a range of amps and guitars in the studio. You'll go in, learn the parts and in all likelihood they will then pull out the amp (and maybe even guitar) they want you to use. They are rarely going to expect you to turn up in studio armed with a brace of guitars and a stack of amps.

    With the limits placed air travel these days, musicians are increasingly travelling with instruments only - even for festivals and multiband concerts, the backline will be supplied because they don't want to have to mic up different amps for every band anyway. Because of this you're going to have to be familiar with all kinds of amps and know how to get the best out of whatever you are given.

    Having said that, you should build up a collection of guitars and a few amps. You don't have to have everything under the sun, but you should have a representative range (Strat, Superstrat, Tele, LP, semi and full hollowbody at least). If you're flexible and good, you're going to end up subbing on all kinds of live gigs too (unlikely you'll make a living completely out of studios) - maybe even be put into a gigging band for the latest "singing sensation" and sent out on tour. So you should have something that will work for each of the genres you're likely to end up playing, Jazz, Rock, Blues, etc.. In some cases it's going to have to be something that looks the part too.

    All very much IMO, etc. Maybe not what you hoped to hear, but that's how I see it.
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