Advice for a beginner re pedals and patches

[dave robinson]

The pedal Hank used was called a De Armond Volume/Tone pedal, model no. 610. I believe these are still available (but a bit pricey, the last one I saw for sale was over £150).

It goes up and down for volume, and rocks side to side for tone. I believe Jimmy Page used it for The Crying Game.

You are of course right, Hank did use a DeArmond 610 back as far as the mid sixties until the early seventies, but not for Cavatina. That tune was recorded with the Morley Volume pedal and he later switched to a Boss Volume pedal. The volume pedal on the Zoom does a great job on Cavatina so you don't need to go to the expence of a separate volume pedal, I know because I have two redundant Morley pedals and an Ernie Ball one. I just sold my DeArmond 610 to one of our members because the Zoom does the job.

[dave robinson]

Hi Dave,

It was thanks to hearing your track and hearing what the Zoom can do, that's helped me make up my mind, especially as l've found out l can buy the G3x and patches for under £200, which l think is quite a good bargain considering what it can do. l know you didn't suggest it so l could listen to you play, but l like to give credit when it's due

After considering your recommendations on amps, l've been doing a bit of thinking. l know l've got a way to go learning wise, but l'm trying to get a balance of really good gear at sensible money and thinking towards the future. So amp wise something that l can use at home and possibly play in small venues in the future. It's my better half's son actually that plays and if l master the guitar he'd like to maybe do some small gigs for fun.

it'd be good to hear your thoughts on the latest Vox amps if you do manage to get the chance to try one, and which amp you think might be the most suitable. Budget wise l'd like to be under £300 for the amp, but could stretch to around £400 if needed.

Regards

Russ

OK Russ I'll check out what's new on Monday. For under £400 you can get the Vox AC30VR which looks exactly like the regular AC30 but is a transistor power amp with a valve reactor pre-amp and has two 12" speakers. I have one and it does sound 'right'. There's also a fifteen watt single 12" version of the same amp. You can Google for more info. The VR series are not as heavy (nowhere near) as a normal valve AC30 and they are not quite as loud either, but you can get the sound out of them, but I imagined you wanted something smaller.

[bridev]

Hi Russ,
Welcome to the forum. For what its worth I got a Zoom G3 after reading Dave's review of it a while ago and am very happy with it. For the price you can't go wrong in my opinion.
I am not "techie" by any means and Dave and Derek gave me loads of help and advice on how to get started with it, and it really is easy to use.
Hope this helps

Cheers
Brian

[GrahamH]

Hi Russ

I'd like to endorse Dave's welcome to this community, and you'll be hard pressed to find a better source of advice on equipment than him.

I'd also like to add to his suggestion that you visit a club if there is one within reach of you. Please don't be put off by the thought that there will be better players than you, which if you are a beginner will almost certainly be the case. I've attended three clubs over the years (though not in your area) and at no time have I sensed any kind of "one-upmanship" or competitiveness. Everyone is there purely for the enjoyment of the music and the companionship of like-minded people. Any criticism or advice that the more accomplished players offer is always constructive and helpful. Give it a go, you won't regret it.

Graham

[gambler]

Hi Brian and Graham,

Thank you for the welcome to the site. Thanks to Dave, my mind's now made up regarding the pedal. l'll be buying the Zoom G3x , just got to wait on new stock arriving at the shop offering the best deal. l'll also be using Ross Hall's patches recommended by Dave. And also thanks to Dave l pretty much know l'll be buying a Vox Vt amp, just don't know which one yet but it's between the 80 and 120. It's great to see that your thought's also "echo" Dave's thoughts on the pedal etc. Sorry, couldn't resist that one

Russ