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Full Version: Slejhamer Gets An Axe!
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As I've mentioned previously, I had been thinking about getting an electric guitar and was pleasantly surprised when my wife gave me the go-ahead.

I shopped around for a while, played many shapes and styles, but kept coming back to two things I liked: the warm bluesy tones of a semi-hollow body, and the feel of a Les Paul. Wouldn't it be great if I could get both in one package?

Seek, and ye shall find!

Behold, the Ibanez Artcore AXD81 in Violin Sunburst:

[Image: AXD81VLS.jpg]
http://www.ibanez.com/guitars/models/AXD81VLS.jpg

In my opinion, the stock picture doesn't do the guitar justice. I'll take some better shots soon. It is simply a work of art!

The finish is actually very glossy (they must have used a polarizer and very diffused lighting to control the glare.) The neck has real abalone inlays which look very cool. The wood grain is subtle and it's not as dirty brown as what appears in the picture - the color is a bit warmer. Love the lighting bolt on the headstock too.

Easy to play, much lighter than a LP, but with similar styling. Nice sound too!
Big Grin
Awesome! From the photo, it looks amazing! It must be even better in real life! Smile

So how much did you pick it up for?
Ah.

I cant see the picture, but just hope it isnt one of those brown f-hole things with two knobs and a switch.
Everyone knows about the TERRIBLE problems with those!
Anyway, I'm sure it isnt one of those, is it? Big Grin
ST: Got it for US$300 (the hard case was another $70 but it's a perfect fit.) Bought it online - searched the web and found a low-ball price from a questionable seller, then was able to get a reputable dealer to match the price. That was the top of my budget, and comparable "brand name" semi-hollow LPs cost much more! Ibanez has a decent-enough reputation though.

Rufus: it's not brown, it's "violin sunburst"!
Tongue
Ibanez has a decent-enough reputation though.


Seriously:

Yes. Excellent. My friend Alan, is very fond of Ibanez.
Smile
Woohoo! New axe!!! Well done slej! I'm feeling very left out now, with all you guys getting new axes.... Tongue

How about a Les Paul Standard for Christmas eh? Big Grin
So how is it going, SleJ?
Rufus Wrote:So how is it going, SleJ?


How the heck do you get your calluses to stop shredding? :x


Meet my wicked-cool amp:

[Image: spiderII_30lg.jpg]
http://www.line6.com/spiderII/about_30.html

Finally tweaked it so that the clean and crunchy channels sound the way I want - less bass, more mid, ringing treble. Not going to be mistaken for a Vox, but it's got a nice vintage tone now. Cool

It came down to this or the comparable Behringer, and I got this one discounted as it was the open-box display model. Sounds MUCH better than the Crate amp the salesman recommended.
How the heck do you get your calluses to stop shredding?

Mine dont. I think you just ent 'ard inuff mate!!! Big Grin

So, what is the output of the amp? Why didnt you like the Crate? Give us more info!!

More!!!

:o
Rufus Wrote:So, what is the output of the amp? Why didnt you like the Crate? Give us more info!!

The Crate literally sounded like a crate. Or maybe it was more like a cheap car speaker in a shoebox. Gutless. Maybe it was a bad sample because a lot of people like Crate, but I thought it was cheap and plastic-sounding.

The Line 6 is a 30 watter with a 12" speaker. Quite loud for my purposes - if I have the guitar volume at 5 and the amp at 4, it's just loud enough that I can't hear my wife yelling at me to turn it down.

It has four built-in amp models: clean, crunch (emulates a '68 Marshall Plexi), metal (emulates a Mesa Boogie), and their proprietary "insane" amp which is pretty wild. The crunch model is by far the most useful, though all of them can be customized and saved.

Comes with a bunch of effects: Phaser, Chorus/Flanger, Tremolo, Sweep Echo, Tape Echo, and Reverb. I'll use just a pinch of reverb, and maybe a little chorus now and then.

Also has a CD/MP3 input jack and a headphone/direct line out.

Some people criticise Line 6 because it uses digital modeling (I think the Behringer uses analog.) The same people probably think vinyl sounds better than CD, film is better than digital imaging, etc. Rolleyes

Gotta go work on my calluses now...
Big Grin
Hmmmm, looks good. I know very little of Line 6, very little indeed. Please keep the info coming!

Now, I need to talk to you about this statement:
".......... if I have the guitar volume at 5 and the amp at 4, it's just loud enough that
I can't hear my wife yelling at me to turn it down
".


That just ISNT THE RIGHT ATTITUDE. You should turn it SO LOUD that she just CANT say anything to you!

Big Grin
Congrats on the Line6 slej!

And it's not on if all your knobs aren't at 10! Big Grin
Fortunately for me I've got a nice set of headphones (Grado SR80.)

Unfortunately for my wife they are open-air design so they're not especially quiet. Big Grin
You win some, you lose some.... Big Grin
On the topic of headphones.. I've got a pretty dumb question to ask...

Will headphones work if I plug them directly into the guitar? Or does it need some sort of powered amplification?
shuttertalk Wrote:Will headphones work if I plug them directly into the guitar? Or does it need some sort of powered amplification?

It needs some sort of powered amplification, but this doesn't mean an amp is required. Most multi-effects boxes have a headphones jack, and they can probably plug directly into a stereo auxiliary jack and give you some cool amp modeling through your regular speakers.

(I'm wondering why I bought an amp now ... :| )
The best way is to try ST. I think you can get a weak signal if you plug your earphones straight into your guitar, but I've never tried.

And don't worry slej - you haven't wasted your amp money. Headphones can never replace a good ol' amp. The amp is designed to specifically handle electric guitar frequencies, whilst your headphones are not. This is why the quality of sound via headphones will never match a cranked up amp! Big Grin