How would you spend $5K on gear to rock the 80s?

jchrisf

jchrisf

Well-known member
I feel like spoiling myself a little this year. I'm an 80s hard rocker (Dokken, XYZ, ACDC, Queensryche, Ratt, The Cult, etc as diverse examples). How would I best spend this money to get complete satisfaction in gear and tone?
 
JMP or JCM 2204: about $3k?
Marshall 1960AX: about $700?
SD-1: $50?
The rest on the nicest Charvel you could find?

$5k seems like a lot but old Marshalls got kind of expensive. Buying a clone or modern Marshall like an SC20 or JVM or Vintage Modern could save a lot of money for the rest of the rig.

Patience on finding a cab would be key to keeping the price down. An AX might be the most authentic but the AV sounds killer too.
 
Top tier:
SLO and matching cab for $5g. Different cab will save some $ that you can spend on a great delay like the Strymon DIG, and a cheap chorus.

Mid tier:
Master Volume Marshall 1979-1984, Soldano HR50(or+), Splawn Comp 50, can be found around $1500-$2g. Any good cab $500, Superstrat $1-2g, good boost pedals.
 
I
jchrisf said:
I feel like spoiling myself a little this year. I'm an 80s hard rocker (Dokken, XYZ, ACDC, Queensryche, Ratt, The Cult, etc as diverse examples). How would I best spend this money to get complete satisfaction in gear and tone?
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I would probably tend to buy fewer but nicer things and I would start looking now to get a good base knowledge of the item(s) and get a feel for real prices. Then wait for more layoffs or even the ‘impending slight recession’, prepared to pounce.
 
LPMojoGL said:
Top tier:
SLO and matching cab for $5g. Different cab will save some $ that you can spend on a great delay like the Strymon DIG, and a cheap chorus.
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So you like the Soldano cabs? I was thinking they weren't very good.. what makes them so expensive?

SpiderWars said:
I would probably tend to buy fewer but nicer things and I would start looking now to get a good base knowledge of the item(s) and get a feel for real prices. Then wait for more layoffs or even the ‘impending slight recession’, prepared to pounce.
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I agree and believe there will be more hard times coming.. hopefully prices will drop considerably and I'll be ready to pounce.. hopefully this happens sooner than later.

Findthetone1 said:
In the true style of the 80's, I'd have to go rack. ADA MP-1, VHT or Mesa power amp and a good multi-effects unit. Guitar wise, Chubtone.
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SoooRad said:
What do you currently have? Depending on what you have right now different things could be suggested.

The ADA+poweramp suggestion is definitely a good one for "amps".
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I have an FM3 now.. I would think that might be as good or better than the ADA?

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Wizard amp yet.
 
jchrisf said:
I have an FM3 now.. I would think that might be as good or better than the ADA?
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Possibly. Is there a MP-1 profile? I was thinking actual 80's gear but there is modern gear that has no problem doing the 80's thing.
I have a SLO30 so I have most of the 80's covered and I'm into the the same guys you mentioned. I still want an MP-1 for some reason though.
 
To be clear, wanting something that will do 80s is very different from wanting something 80s. I would also say that complete satisfaction doesn't exist.

Do you want an amp?
Do you want a cab?
Do you want effects?
Do you want a guitar?

The more complete the answer the closer we can get you to the promised land.
 
I think no one mentioned Wizard because it would wipe out the entire budget and I'm not really sure it's "80s". It could do it, but a JMP or ADA would be the real deal.

We all could buy an FM3 and just be done with it for less than a grand for basically any tone as long as we could refrain from endlessly fussing with the controls. But I gather that's not the point of the OP.
 
SoooRad said:
To be clear, wanting something that will do 80s is very different from wanting something 80s. I would also say that complete satisfaction doesn't exist.

Do you want an amp?
Do you want a cab?
Do you want effects?
Do you want a guitar?

The more complete the answer the closer we can get you to the promised land.
Click to expand...
I don't care if the gear is brand new or from the 80s... digital or analog... I'm just curious how the hard rocking guys here, that are into that music, would do it or want to do it.

So how would you get to the promised land?
 
jchrisf said:
So you like the Soldano cabs? I was thinking they weren't very good.. what makes them so expensive?


I agree and believe there will be more hard times coming.. hopefully prices will drop considerably and I'll be ready to pounce.. hopefully this happens sooner than later.



I have an FM3 now.. I would think that might be as good or better than the ADA?

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Wizard amp yet.
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The new cabs are rear loaded with v30s, quite a bit different than the older cabs.
The straight 4x12 has more detail, less mid punch than my Bogner os2x12. Sounds more vast, overall. I like both for different things.
 
jchrisf said:
I don't care if the gear is brand new or from the 80s... digital or analog... I'm just curious how the hard rocking guys here, that are into that music, would do it or want to do it.

So how would you get to the promised land?
Click to expand...

For myself in that price range, with that list of influences, I'd probably go;

ADA MP1
Rocktron Intellifex (bypassed for ACDC or Cult)
Power amp I would be cool with something like a Peavey Classic 60

I've already got a 412 cab I like a lot, and a Captor X I use most of the time anyways

I could spend the balance on a Les Paul or SG and a superstrat/shredder of some sort, and have everything covered.
 
cragginshred77 said:
Pink taco V2 with a Koko boost is about as 80's as it gets




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What's funny is I remember the video you did of the V1 PT and liked the tone better on that one. I was actually looking forward to hearing these new vids of the V2 PT from you because I like your style and your videos best capture the AITR tone over many others. But was surprised to hear that I preferred the original you did a while ago. I might have a totally different opinion if I was actually playing them though.
 
Assuming you have a guitar you like and cab.

Master vol Marshall $2500
Roland jc120 $500
Power station $700
Maxon 808 $100
ABY box $100

Remaining $1100 on your choice of delay and reverb or cab. Rack stuff could be cool but a lot of it’s insane, like 2k for a mesa studio or 2800 for a quad.
 
cardinal said:
JMP or JCM 2204: about $3k?
Marshall 1960AX: about $700?
SD-1: $50?
The rest on the nicest Charvel you could find?

$5k seems like a lot but old Marshalls got kind of expensive. Buying a clone or modern Marshall like an SC20 or JVM or Vintage Modern could save a lot of money for the rest of the rig.

Patience on finding a cab would be key to keeping the price down. An AX might be the most authentic but the AV sounds killer too.
Click to expand...
What he said.
Stock, modded JMP or JCM, same era cab with GBs, 65s, 75s….couple pedals and a nice Charvel/Jackson preferably USA made.
Done.
 
Chubbs said:
Assuming you have a guitar you like and cab.

Master vol Marshall $2500
Roland jc120 $500
Power station $700
Maxon 808 $100
ABY box $100

Remaining $1100 on your choice of delay and reverb or cab. Rack stuff could be cool but a lot of it’s insane, like 2k for a mesa studio or 2800 for a quad.
Click to expand...
Man, I had a Dual Rec with a 4x12 and a JC120 that I used with an A/B/Y box in the late 90s and it was such a cool setup. I never gigged that way because it was too much shit to haul around but I loved that rig at home.
 
JCM2000 ( 90's model or early 2000's) on the "crunch" channel. -800-1000$ or cheaper I'd imagine.

Rack unit ( 200$ - get anything that has delay and verb)

BOSS pedals - SD-1 and Chorus - maybe 140$ used?

A Charvel with a Floyd or a Kramer 1984.

Money left over to buy power tools at Home Depot.
 
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