Out with the old in with the expensive?

Since I'm in the process of a complete rig overhaul I've been searching everywhere I can to find the best gear for the best value. Does this mean that the only way of achieving this will be to sacrifice an arm and an leg? ..Will I have to spend thousands upon thousands of precious hard earned American legal tender in order to find the best piece of gear which I feel is befitting? Who should I ask if I'm to buy "the right" gear for what I'm doing? These are all questions I'm going to need the answers to in order for me to make the best decision and get the most out of my money.

Now I know what style I'm playing, rock. Not necessarily over saturating distortion associated with metal, but definitely some good smooth chunky rock distortion I can get from a head a good high gain amp which could also pull of some metal. I've looked around and have discovered some pretty damn enticing amplification companies such as DAR and Fortin and even Axe FX.. very djent friendly amps but not really needed for just rock sounds, my sound. I don't really care about guitar effects and having a different amp for each song, so I guess that rules out the ever so popular Axe FX by Fractal Audio. I'm more of the less is more ("How can that be? MORE is more" -Yngwie) hehe.Yes a simple rig is what I aim for. A head, 2x12 cabinet and some pedals. Done.

Some of the ways I go about finding out what else is out there (brand wise) is by sithing through the Internet for related forums. I found out about so many more guitar/amp builders out there than major companies such as Guitar Center and Musicians Friend care to incorporate in their catalog. I can't believe the amount of painstaking precision some of these builders apply, to name a few, Mayones Guitars and Black Machine guitars, unbelievable craftsmanship. Their are many more. As well built as these beautifully hand crafted guitars are, they'll definitely put a whole in your pocket. Be warned, these incandescent beauties will draw your attention and lure you in with their 3-ply acrylic pearl binded thin bodies like Siren's to lonely sailors. If you're looking to blow well over a grand, you may want to look into these.





I thought it would be a great idea to downsize from a 4x12 Marshall 1960B Lead cabinet to a 2x12 cab .. I was thinking Mesa, Engl, Orange or maybe even.. Avatar? YES, these almost unheard cabinets are actually quite popular among working musicians, come equipped with great speakers and their customizable! Well, If Guitar Center and Musicians Friend websites don't have them listed, they're customizable, privately owned, really well built and have a great reputation then that usually describes the symptoms a very expensive name. Well ..no, Avatar is actually very affordable, it's surprising to me and it eases me to know that there are companies out there that know that musicians aren't normally ..the most wealthiest people in the world.