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Thanks Phil(your guitar sounds too buzzy)bymon, you got me thinking, if, i want to find MY guitar sound, like really search for a set up that i can create my sound with, not just buy a strat and a marshall (spit sound) how would one go about this, i've been using the same setup for years, Rocktron Prophesy Pre-amp, Mesa Boogie 50/50 power amp Marshall vintage cab for years, where on earth do you start?? to be honest the nicest guitar i ever had was an Ibanez Jem7v, long scale, alder body, Dimarzio Evo pickups AWESOME thing, but how in all of the world of amplifiers do you start auditioning amps for long enough to get a true idea of what you can do with it? it's daunting which is why i've stuck where i am for so long. Unless guitar shops are willing to let you borrow an amp for at least weekend it's just guess work... Suggestions???

I didn't notice any buzzing? Perhaps I missed that? What I did notice as I said in that post that your style isn't far removed from that of early Paul Weller material. No mean feat.

(Where's your signature?).

Iain Hamilton wrote:Thanks Phil(your guitar sounds too buzzy)by, you got me thinking, if, i want to find MY guitar sound, like really search for a set up that i can create my sound with, not just buy a strat and a marshall (spit sound) how would one go about this, i've been using the same setup for years, Rocktron Prophesy Pre-amp, Mesa Boogie 50/50 power amp Marshall vintage cab for years, where on earth do you start?? to be honest the nicest guitar i ever had was an Ibanez Jem7v, long scale, alder body, Dimarzio Evo pickups AWESOME thing, but how in all of the world of amplifiers do you start auditioning amps for long enough to get a true idea of what you can do with it? it's daunting which is why i've stuck where i am for so long. Unless guitar shops are willing to let you borrow an amp for at least weekend it's just guess work... Suggestions???

I'd take my axe everywhere & try out different amps until I found one that matched my ear well. Also, there's a TON of effects pedals out there, if you wanna go that route. maybe a modelling amp or pedal?

I'll shut up now, & wait for JW or jimmy or Shredd to answer this one. They're the guys with good tone.

The best sounding amp I came across was the Laney VH100,



I currently use the Carvin MTS3200 which is good.

I tried one of those laneys when they came out about 15 years ago! sounded awesome if i remember, have to check it out again, got anything i could listen to that was recorded with one..

Cant do motto thingy, might just put "buzz buzzy buzz buzz" at the end of all my posts

Iain Hamilton wrote:I tried one of those laneys when they came out about 15 years ago! sounded awesome if i remember, have to check it out again, got anything i could listen to that was recorded with one..

Sorry friend but I do not. Everything I have was recorded through Marshalls and Carvin.

One of these days I will save enough money to get a Laney. They are quite expensive here in the USA and only sold through select vendors.

Why not just change yer nic to "Buzzy?"

you're crackin' me up, Iain!



I'm ALMOST sorry i said anything about it!

Ian, first off I love the song Open Hand, it kinda has a Alice In Chains feel to it those harmony vocals in the middle.

Im not sure what Philby is talking about, other than maybe some of your rythym sections just sound a little too gainy maybe. I love raunchy ass guitar sounds and you have that, but when ever I go in to do recording projects that arent mine, the engineers always cut my gain back slightly. The louder I play live Ive learned to gradually cut the gain back.

I use a variety of amps. Live I use a Triple Rec with a 4x12 80% of the time, a 2x12 Roadster 10% of the time and a Subway Rocket 10% of the time. These are all Mesa amps, but the tone I try to go for when Im noodling is a Marshall JCM 800 sound, think Slash GnR, thats what I want. I want to play easy on the guitar and clean it up then push harder and get some breakup if that makes sense.

I also use a POD PRO preamp a lot for recording set ot a JCM 800 sound.

I use a pair of Gibson Classic 1960 Reissue guitars and a bunch of effects in a pedal board.

I personally dont hear much wrong with your guitar tone. Some of those big open chords could be a little less gainy and i think thats what Philby is alluding too.

I listened to Open Hand all the way thru and kinda sampled across your other material. Your tone, song writing, vocals all sound great to me. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us here, and keep on rocking. In fact I like your tones better than some of my own! I also very much like the style of music you play. I think guitarist to guitarist we are always trying to improve on something that maybe cant be improved a whole hell of a lot, but the quest for tone never ceases.

Iain Hamilton wrote:but how in all of the world of amplifiers do you start auditioning amps for long enough to get a true idea of what you can do with it?

The amp is the starting point for your TONE. So that is where I wanted to start - I had to figure out which amp or amps possessed the tone I was after.


I started by paying attention to the artists I really liked and figured out what they were using. I didn't want to copy anyone's sound - but what I wanted to do was figure out what were the common factors among the guitarists that I loved?

After a time, I came to realize that of all the guitar players I really liked, a lot of them (not all of them, mind you) were using Mesa Boogie amplifiers. So that was my starting point.

From there, the next step was figuring out which Mesa Boogie was going to fit me. For my requirements, versatility was king, so I went with a Triaxis because it was midi-programmable. It has 8 separate circuits in it, so it's like having 8 amps in one box. It's all tube - another thing I learned about all the artists whose tone I really liked, they all played tube amps. So I had to have a tube amp.

The Triaxis fit my requirements. It was Mesa Boogie, so I knew the BASE tone was going to be close to what I wanted. It is incredibly versatile, so I knew I'd be able to dial in many different sounds to create a bigger canvas to work with. And it was tube.

The next step was getting a power amp to work with it (Mesa, again). The 2:90 is made to work with the Triaxis.

When I got those two items, I still knew I was missing something. This is where you get into effects to fill out the sound. I went after a TC Electronics G-Major because, once again, versatility and programmability. I can run my entire rig with one midi footpedal.


When it came to guitars, it was a trial-and-error process over the years. I knew I wanted Ibanez because I liked the way their guitars felt in my hands, and because I have smaller hands I like the thin necks. But it wasn't until years later that I realized what I really love is a neck-through, string-through design, and a harder wood, like Mahogany. Ibanez has made a few of those through the years, and when I finally got my hands on a neck-through, string-through I was in love.

However, Ibanez pickups suck, so I have tried many combos over the years. I was a DiMarzio guy for years (and I still have a pair of Evolutions in one of my guitars), but a local guy turned me on to Seymore Duncans. I love 'em. They're clearer, tighter, and they just sound better. So that's what I have in my neck-through guitars.

All of this gear suits my requirements in some way, but getting your own "sound" takes tweaking and experimenting. Part of it is your own fingers and the way you play, and no amount of gear can change that. But if you have the right gear for the sound you're after, you can go a long way toward getting that tone.


I think the trick is knowing what you are after BEFORE you start buying gear. Identify what it is in the sound that you like. I listened to TONS of guitar players before I finally identified that the tones I loved the most were the direct result of Mesa Boogie amps and preamps. When I realized that John Petrucci, Dougless Ott, Santan and Metallica were all using Mesa gear, that made an impression on me.

Mesa Boogie amps, to me, have a much different tonal quality than a Marshall, for instance. To my ears, a Marshall sounds "thin" - it lacks body. It lacks punch. I listen to acts like Megadeath and I compare them against Metallica - both bands from the same era and genre of music. Megadeath uses Marshalls, Metallica uses Boogies - and you can hear the difference. Metallica's sound is heavier, darker, has more body, more character and packs a bigger punch. That's the Mesa Boogie at work.


So, you, as a player, have to identify what you're after in the first place. Once you establish that, then start figuring out what kind of gear gets you that sound.


I just recorded our final rehearsal prior to a show we're doing tonight. I was pleased as punch with my lead tone on my solos. I was listening my tone and just thinking, "Wow - that is exactly what I wanted". It's take years to get there, but man... has it ever been worth it.

Iain Hamilton...I think your music sounds really good. Honestly, I don't hear anything wrong with what you have going on now. I'm usually pretty critical, but your stuff is some of the best I've heard on this site.

I just played an Ampeg Vh-140c head.

WOW! If you like that sound, it's a tremendous sound.

Vintage though? ewww The goldeness of the tone is in the ears of the beholder.