Try buying used dude, you can get great deals if you look around and be patient.

I wouldn't recommend the Ibanez and the Laney, played both, and while the Ibanez has suprisingly nice distortion, there are better amps for the price. The laney just plain sucks. Horrible overdrive/distortion, sterile cleans. No wonder they are so cheap even new.

The Marshall MG30 is decent if you buy used. They are decent as a practice amp but not for jamming (MG series do not cut at all)

Another option is the Behringer modelling amp. Really great stuff for the price. I played the 15 watt version before and I was honesly suprised at the tone. There are bigger watt versions.

Noisetrigger is right....... decide FIRST on if it's going to be a practise amp, or a bigger amp that you're going to be using for practise.....

Remember that a practise amp, while cheap and decent enough on it's own, Will never be good enough for a giging job. For a minimum, you'll need at LEAST a decent 50w amp for small gigs and stuff like that. A great practise amp does not mean it's going to be an average gigging amp. Remember that.

Yes, power DOES matter if you're gigging.... (it's kinda ironic because I never gig and I'm STILL getting a 150w amp later in the year..... just in case)

Currently practice is more of a priority, so 10-15 watts perhaps? How would a Line 6 Spider II 15W fare?

Just went to the Line6 web and listened to the samples, and im kinda curious why there are variations (i.e. Crunch, Crunch variation 1, Crunch variation 2)? What are they? And how far are the samples true?

This post has been edited by Clavicus: Sep 4 2006, 07:01 PM

i have a line6 spider 2 (15watts), and i got it for rm580 (promo)...honestly, it's more than enough for practicing...if for gig, i dun think the sound can cut through...the built-in effects are cool to mess around with, but not as versatile as stompboxes...

it's always better to try those amps yourself rather than sampling through the net...btw, the effects on the line6 should be more than enough to give you a kickstart...

how bout the roland cube-30? loud enuf to play with a band in a small place. the built-in effects are quite good also..

Sadly its too pricey. RM990, am i right?

i owned a ibanez 270 and 370Dx,
personally, i think the quality of the guitar is great, and i also tried the LTD model u mention in Mid-valley 3rd floor....
well, i think 370DX is far better in terms of neck, design, pickups and the bridge compare to LTD, and the basswood give u better sustain.

i not sure about the price in Malaysia, but my ibanex was bought in US last year at the price of USD 285 (about 1083 ringgit) after a discount and price beat.

the later INF pickups give us a heavier tone compare to the ibanez standard pickups used in 270DX.
this is all i can tell u~

If you ask me, I'd say start cheap & easy first and maybe upgrade bit by bit along the way. I'm currently using the MH-50, but I changed the pickups & electronics within 6 months of buying that guitar and so far, it's been rockin'! Also, I completely redid the paintjob on my guitar, so that kinda upped my costs also. Nevertheless, I'd recommend my approach to anyone:

1. Buy a cheap guitar with the main tech-specs you're looking for, especially pickup, tone & volume knob settings. By this, I mean that the guitar should feel comfortable where the knobs & switches are and you can easily move around to execute volume swells & stuff. More important is that the neck should feel comfortable and the guitar has the right action. Never mind the ugly sound that the guitar probably produces for now! I bought my MH-50 in Singapore for SG$495 which is about RM1100. The only limitations I find to this guitar has been said by the others: that is, the tremolo isn't really built for raising the pitch, but I have had no problems pulling my notes up by half-steps or a full step (which is actually sufficient for me). The sound of the stock-pickups (ESP-100s) are rather muddy also.

2. Save money to buy new electronics, especially pots & pups. I personally spent about RM560 on my pickups & stuff. A DiMarzio X2N & Air Norton from eBay, Sigler Music cost me RM510 plus shipping. 2 Ernie Ball 500K Pots from BEntley's for RM25 each.

3. Buy your amps from Malaysia. Buying amps from Singapore and bringing them into Malaysia will subject you to a 30% tax. If you're really skint, just buy a mono-plughead converter and hook your guitar up into you computer soundcard or your parents' home-theatre system (via the karaoke mic jack)! Never buy any of those portable 3-watt toys. Save money and get better amps. I bought myself a Marshall MG15CDR which I have nothing but good things to say abt. That one cost me RM560 fro Woh Fatt. I was at Bentley's the other day and one of the guys told me that they're in the process of getting a dealership from Mesa Boogie, so if you can save up money and wait until then, I think it's really going to be worth your while.

4. Additional upgrades like a new paintjob are not recommended generally. I spent RM125 on a Duplicolor Mirage Kit (it changes color from purple to green!) from America, screwed up my guitar big time, and had to send it to a car-paint shop to get it redone professionally for RM380. Looks good now, though! All in all, the cost of repainting your guitar is a whole lot of heart-aches and cash. Nevertheless, it outlines the fact that you shouldn't choose a guitar based on it's "nice colours" as these can be altered.

Not counting my effects pedals, picks, straps & other miscellaneous equipment, my initial guitar investment is around RM2,500. End result?

MH-50 (Black->Royal Blue Shifting Paint) with Dimarzio X2N Bridge & Air Norton Pickups, Floyd Rose Patented Bridge & Neck Locking

Marshall MG15CDR 15-watt amp: Enough to make your ears bleed and your neighbours scream!

This post has been edited by changhao: Oct 21 2006, 10:30 PM

With the amount of money you have spent on your LTD, you could have just bought a much better used Japanese.

RM2500 can easily get you within the range of used Japanese RG5xx and above.

If you are lucky, they probably already came with Dimarzios. If not, having a quality axe and tremolo is definitely more important than the pickups.

No offense, but you are probably going to upgrade your inferior tremolo to an OFR in the future anyway and that will set you back another 600 to 700. At than point more than RM3k has been spent and you could have actually gotten a NEW Prestige RG1570.

As for the amp, looking at used range, RM500 can get you loads of nice amps also nowadays. Or if you want new, the microcube at less than RM400 is a much better amp than your MG15.

That said, used is really the best way to go. Buying a cheap axe and spending more money on the upgrades than the guitar itself is just plain silly.



This post has been edited by noisetrigger: Oct 22 2006, 12:43 AM

I agree with noisetrigger. RM2500 can get you a MUCH better used MIJ Ibanez. In fact I know someone got a slightly beat up RG2020X Prestige plus DiMarzios for 750 SGD from singapore. I believe in getting the base right, which is the neck and body construction, and also the tremolo system if you want one (coz swapping trems is not a simple thing, you may have to reroute, replace the old stud anchors and studs etc). Electronics may be as crappy as it can get, I don't care, coz at least these are easily replaceable. But the heart of the guitar is essentially the body and neck.

*edited price

This post has been edited by MetalZone: Oct 22 2006, 01:13 AM

True, but I personally found it next to impossible to get a cheap guitar with a body to accomodate a 2-humbucker & floyd-rose bridge setting. Had to settle for the MH-50 but I think it's alright.

If you're talking about buying just the MH-50 plus pickups without the repainting I did & my amps, I guess it's possible to stick to a budget of RM1650, which is SGD$800 thereabouts.

The reason why I blew $2,500 was mainly due to my extravagances in getting a new paint job. That little escapade alone cost me about RM500!

This post has been edited by changhao: Oct 22 2006, 01:22 AM

As we had mentioned, buy second hand. The fact that you had access to Singapore makes it even easier (heck i never even had a passport).

This is what someone got for SGD750. Case not included. Comes with Dimarzio's, the bridge is one of Ibanez's best, the Double Lo-Pro Edge that has piezo's, a Wizard prestige neck, mahogany body...


Not to despise you honestly, I apologise if i hurt any of your feelings. Just to show how much choice you actually have out there in the second hand market for really good stuff.

You got to be kidding me. Loads of H-H guitars with FR out there. Ibanez, LTD, Squier, Cort, Yamaha...most of these can be had for less than RM1500 new, and less than RM1k used.

Someone is selling a used LTD M50 in Jamtank for RM700. He looks desperate and the price will likely go lower.

This post has been edited by noisetrigger: Oct 22 2006, 01:32 AM

That's one good-looking axe~

If that's the case, I have to say that either I was looking at the wrong places or really have no luck! But wait... my guitar itself cost me Rm1650 including 2 new DiMarzios. Do the other brands carry H-H models with floyd-rose for under RM$1100, cos' that's how much I paid for my LTD.

The M50 is different from the MH-50 and from what I know, the m50 doesn't have a floyd-rose bridge.

This post has been edited by changhao: Oct 22 2006, 01:36 AM

Opps, my bad, it is an MH50. Here is the link http://forum.jamtank.com/viewtopic.php?t=9...31df53f864ef0ee

Only FR guitars than you can get here new for less than RM1k are those china made stuff like SX or whatever generic name they put on the headstock.

But for around RM1500, can get new Ibanez RG3xx series which are really decent guitar for the price. The materials, build quality, and hardware are also better than the LTD.

That said, I will always encourage people to buy used eventhough those RG3xx series are pretty good deals for a new guitar.

I agree, noisetrigger. Nothing wrong with the second hands if they're available, but pay attention that there are no defects on them before buying. Bring an experienced friend along when inspecting the second hand axe if you don't know how to check for defects. Also, a lot of counterfeit axes out there these days, so have to be extra careful.

And gee, MH50 for RM700... for a second hand, it sounds like a good deal!

I bought all my pedals second hand. Saved hundreds. The only bad side to it is sitting at the computer everyday browsing through classifieds for the stuff you want...these things dont pop out at a good price frequently.

heard that the edge III is not that good and its made from cheap material..so i guess there is sum bad also about the value for money RG 370DX. its really hard to get a good guitar without high budget dude

The Edge III is better than the average licensed crap you will find on most low to mid end import guitars out there.

For about RM1500 new, it is hard to beat for the features and quality it offers.

Of course this is only the case if we are speaking in new guitars term.

Let's face it, we get what we pay for, it will be unreasonable to pay little and expecting too much.

Then again, there's the old adage that "The goods don't maketh the man".

Buy a cheap kapok/SX guitar and be the next Hendrix. Now that's what I call talent!