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Hi guys.

like the subject of the topic. Is it possible to get "THE" tone with little money. My first amp I built with scraps years ago, is still!! my favourite. It was built with scraps. It is ugly looking, and frankly not something i would post up on the forum, but is killer.

This amp here (not the one I just wrote about) I built for very little for a friend a few years back.
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One thing I know for sure for a great tone. Don't skimp out on the speaker.

What have you guys got thats cheap as chips but you wouldn't sell for a million?
    I think it depends on what kind of tone you're after - you're not going to sound like Eric Johnson on a budget, I figure, why try? but then I like bands with 'crappy' tone such as white stripes/black keys, so thats more the kind of sound I go for, and it's easier to get with cheap equipment.

    I have a 70's LP copy by ibanez that most people probably wouldn't want to play if I paid them but I LOVE it.
      i find SOME of the white stripes material has incredible tone..

      hmmm.. i struggle to let go of many an instrument but the one i wont let get away... my first proper guit and a tone mchine to boot.. my ibby artist300
        Many years ago, i did a recording while in Australia. Awesome 24 track studer analogue studio, super live room, great control room with every analogue piece of gear you could wish for (This was in the early 90's and digital hadny quite gotten to where it is today). The song i was recording was kind of pop/jazz, and after laying down all the tracks, i started mixing. In one section it was a bit empty and i realised that a bit of a guitar solo was exactly what was required. All the musicians had left and all i had in the studio guitar wise was a Fender Strat (Japanese) and one of those little Marshall combo amps that one clips onto a belt. More of a toy than an amp! Anyway, i placed an SM57 slightly off centre of the tiny cone and cranked this little thing balls to the wall. A freind of mine popped in to play the solo. I still marvel at the tone i managed to get and the way it sat in the final mix. I learned a huge lesson that day and that is that most of the tone came from the way my friend plays and his ability to adjust his playing to suit the song and sound we had available. So to answer the subject question, yes it is very possible! spend time working on your playing and less time shopping for gear or chopping and changing to find the ideal tone. The ideal tone start with your fingertips!
          I was reading an interview with Derek Trucks on the making of Already Free and on some of the tracks the kit is like really not high end stuff hey. For me the tone on that album is all so good.
            Jimmy Page recorded more than a few classic Zeppelin tracks on a little Supro practise amp. The same guy also used to use a Danelectro for slide and "acoustic" numbers. And he was a man who was not short a bob or two.

            I never had any really cheap, great equipment. But it can certainly be done. My Bassman's really messed up but it sounds great. I didn't get it for nothing though, although it wasn't crazy expensive either.

            A decent budget guitar with great pickups can sound phenomenal - Jack White's Airline, for e.g.. I'm guessing it doesn't have stock pickups in it.
              GavinSidley wrote: . The ideal tone start with your fingertips!
              +1 to that comment ......... words to live by in music biz...............

              and also it's how you use your gear ........... too many people don't spend enough time with their gear trying to get good tone...... and sure your transistor cube amp can't compete with a mesa boogie or legacy but it still has cool tones in it ..... which are very usable......... small things like pickup height and backing off on volume/tone (just on the guitar) makes a huge difference...... your input gain on the amp is also where it has huge effect ......and yes it's also in your fingers ....... and of course how you use(plectrum technique) and the thickness of your plectrum..

              so yeah if you don't have a budget ...... buy the best you can ...... and work with the gear and your technique till you find a tone you like......

              think of it this way to play music in most enviroments /genre's all you need is one good sounding clean sound and one good drive sound ......and then wait till when you can afford it then all the effects can come into play
                GavinSidley wrote: Many years ago, i did a recording while in Australia. Awesome 24 track studer analogue studio, super live room, great control room with every analogue piece of gear you could wish for (This was in the early 90's and digital hadny quite gotten to where it is today). The song i was recording was kind of pop/jazz, and after laying down all the tracks, i started mixing. In one section it was a bit empty and i realised that a bit of a guitar solo was exactly what was required. All the musicians had left and all i had in the studio guitar wise was a Fender Strat (Japanese) and one of those little Marshall combo amps that one clips onto a belt. More of a toy than an amp! Anyway, i placed an SM57 slightly off centre of the tiny cone and cranked this little thing balls to the wall. A freind of mine popped in to play the solo. I still marvel at the tone i managed to get and the way it sat in the final mix. I learned a huge lesson that day and that is that most of the tone came from the way my friend plays and his ability to adjust his playing to suit the song and sound we had available. So to answer the subject question, yes it is very possible! spend time working on your playing and less time shopping for gear or chopping and changing to find the ideal tone. The ideal tone start with your fingertips!
                Great story!

                And yes, I agree. You can get great tone on a budget. Careful gear selection (cheaper gear of course) and spending time dialing the tone in goes a long way to that end. Some cheaper gear does sound great. And of course some of it sounds like the aural equivalent of steaming turds - but then sometimes that's exactly what you want, especially on a recording. Time and discernment IMO. And just a bit of talent.

                The Squier Classic Vibe Strat or Tele, for instance, are a great example of entry-level guitars that are built well and sound great right out the box for not much money.
                  There are just too many people that buy gear on "Brand" and not on ear. I've always told people that the ideal would be to walk into a shop with a blindfold and pick up and play without knowing what it is before buying.
                  Years ago my friend bought a Starfire bass for his brother, and landed up using it for gigs instead. Some guy at one gig picked it up and played it and said it was very good, and he had only been playing vintage fender basses up till then.

                  But then there is the factor of how long a cheaper instrument lasts. Cheaper guitars wood sometimes warp. ☹
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