leftybassman392

Thanks for that Skank. That really is oldschool! Sounds good on the demo though, especially the Strat.

Oooohh! That's nice. It is a bit outside the window on several counts, but might be worth a look.

Cripes! Is it that time of year again already? Think I'll start another 'what's so great about The Beatles?' thread.

Thanks for that. Very interesting. High gain seems to be almost de rigueur for this type of amp - appealing to the inner child in most guitarists I guess. Of the amps that have been suggested, the one I'm most looking forward to testing (for a variety of reasons) is the Cornell. Unfortunately the 'mean' channel is something I'm unlikely ever to use. I'll no doubt play around with it a bit - why wouldn't you? - but not really my priority. Interestingly, Cornell do make amps that - on paper at least - do more of what I'm after, but they're £800+ and will in all likelihood weigh almost as much as the Cornford. Next in line will probably be the Blues Junior and one of the Blackstar 10W jobbies (if only to see if they sound as much like Marshalls as people are saying). With great respect to everybody who's taken the time to post here, I'll be surprised if I need to look beyond those three. As I go through this process I need to keep reminding myself that I'm no longer a gigging musician, and resist the temptation to go for something just a little bit bigger, just a little bit more powerful and just a little bit more expensive. I need an amp with which to indulge my passion at home. If I can have a bit of cash in hand after selling the Hurricane then so much the better.

Thanks again for all the replies. Couple of matters arising 1.Having done some further research (read as: watched some more YouTube vids):- The Cornell does indeed sound very good to my ears although either a built-in reverb or an effects loop would have been nice; The Ibanez is an interesting idea (especially if you like the sound of the tube screamer - personally I wouldn't buy it just on the strength of the TS but I can understand that some would) although its looks would take a bit of getting used to - a critical assessment might characterise it as form over (or at least competing with) function. Spring reverb is a nice touch though. Hmmm... 2. The Cornford has to go for the reasons I set out in the OP. This has already been decided. 3. Selling it separately remains an option, but I tried that already. I may look at dropping the price and trying again. We'll see... 4. Yes, it does have to be a combo, but thanks for the suggestion. Looks like I'm going to be setting up some auditions. Nottingham is my nearest Cornell dealer so I feel a journey - maybe more than one - somewhere in my future.

Nice! This is one of the amps I'm interested in so it's good to hear an opinion from somebody who uses one. Thanks for posting.

Mkay, point taken, but I've done the modelling amp thing as well. I had a Line6 AX212 at one point (absolute monster of an amp but a front panel that could have come from the starship Enterprise - not to mention a footswitch panel from the same school), and I still have an original Pod (the kidney-shaped one) that I haven't used in years. No, I've reached a stage in my life whereby I want an amp to enjoy without the need to update any software. If it helps, another amp that I find interesting (admittedly for slightly different reasons than the Blackstar) is this. Probably a bit too spartan - and too loud - even for my needs, but you get the idea. Blackstar make a range of 10W amps that I'm also looking at and which are almost as spartan as the Pro Junior. Tone is everything, and with no disrespect to your suggestion I've never used a modelling amp that I find properly convincing in that regard. Nothing against the technology you understand, just not for me is all.

All opinions are equally valid at this point, Stub. Having said that, I'm going to commit sacrilege myself by saying that I've never been a fan of the Vox sound. Not entirely sure why, but I've never been able to get on with them. My loss I'm sure, but there it is.

Dunno if I should have said this sooner, but I don't need high gain. I'm looking for fairly clean (I do love the sound of lightly compressed strat), through to a bit of bluesy grind with the 335. Barring a miracle it's all for my own pleasure anyway. I know most modern amps can do high gain, but I'm really more interested in basic tone so I can just plug in and play.

Thanks for the replies so far. Blues junior might be worth a look. Bit more power than I was really looking for, but good for size and weight. Video was very interesting. Thanks for posting @Cato. I'll have a proper listen through my in-ears in a while. I've had quite a few Marshalls at one time or another. It's a very specific sound, and TBH I'm not so sure it's a sound I want any more. Peavey is a great amp (I had the good fortune to have the use of its big brother the 50 for a while some years ago), but just too much for my needs. In an ideal world I'd keep the Cornford because without wishing to be unkind to any of these amps it's in an altogether different league IMHO. Simple fact is that I haven't used it in anger for some years and can't see myself doing so again anytime soon. At 30Kg or so it's a major mission to hump it around from place to place these days if I'm not using it. Also, if things go to plan over the next little while we'll be moving to a new house that's a bit smaller than the one we're in. Keeping the Cornford would be an indulgence that I can't justify. Hence, and with some reluctance, this thread.

Welcome. @Lololita , meet @Silvia Bluejay There's a few of us lefties around here. Mostly not girls though...

The current Cornford Hurricane is too big, too powerful and waaaaay too heavy for my anticipated future needs. That said, I don't want to skimp on build quality and tone. Sooooo.... I'm in the market for a small valve combo that I can PX the Cornford in against at something close to a straight swap. This suggests a value in the ballpark of £500. (Yes I know the Cornford is worth a lot more than that in a private sale, but the last time I put it up, everybody loved it but nobody wanted it. ) As an indication of the sort of thing I'm after, a quick dig around t'interweb has coughed up this Blackstar. I know them by reputation but don't recall ever plugging into one. This is currently at the top of a list of about two. Opinions about this amp and its close relatives, plus thoughts about possible alternatives, are sought. I don't need power (been there, done that - 10w max), I don't need separates (small, simple, portable and as light as can reasonably be managed for a valve amp is the name of the game here). I've played guitars since I was about 12, and over the years I've had any number of Marshalls, Fenders, Laneys, Mesa Boogies and the like, and have a pretty clear idea what I'm after. All I really need is some advice as to the state of the current market in small, quality valve combos. The rest I can do for myself. Feel free to begin your responses with "If it was me..."

That's a nice story; really drives home the point about making a proper assessment of the student's needs.

S'ok bud. All part of the banter. The pale ales are on you though.

Actually it was Skank that hinted at it. All I did was confirm that it would be a valid way to go in certain circumstances. On a slightly more serious note, and just to be tediously repetitive for the hell of it... Chords on an electro-acoustic is only one of a number of ways the topic can be approached. If, for example, the young lad goes through a course at school, he'll most likely use something like 'The Guitarist's Way' series as mentioned above. If he does that then he won't be seeing any chords for a good while as it focuses on learning the notes and where to find them on the fretboard using standard music notation (so he'll be learning to read music as well as learning to play the guitar). Not classical as such, but definitely more compatible with the classical approach than the song-based, chord-based approach that many Basschatters will be familiar with, and very likely to require a nylon strung 1/2 size classical guitar. As I hinted though, not everybody wants to do it that way so knowing what sort of music and what sort of approach is anticipated has consequences for the choice of instrument (among other things). This in turn means that these kind of questions are important to ask (for me at least) before suggesting an instrument. Boring I know, but it's something I'd make a point of clarifying as much as I reasonably can with the parent of a new student at the first point of contact. In primary schools it's normally a routine procedure since most of it is laid down by the local music service (or at least it was where I worked). For private home-based tuition it's more of an issue that needs to be explicitly covered. This is just the way I'd do it and the OP is under no obligation to take any notice of it. Since I no longer teach there's nothing I have to gain or lose by offering the advice so I'm happy to give it freely.

Interesting that it's still used in primary schools. It was the standard work for tutors working in primary in my time, and is indeed an excellent series for youngsters starting out on the instrument.

That's one possibility, certainly.

I may have overreacted a bit there. Sorry about that It wasn't my intention to be critical - not at all. Just trying to make the point that every student is different.

What if the boy decides he wants to go acoustic in a year or so? Or classical? (Transferring skills learned on a mini-electric guitar to an acoustic or classical is harder than doing it the other way round.) Or worse, decides he doesn't like it and decides to stop doing it? Who made the decision about choice of music for your daughter? Has she tried anything else? Not saying you're wrong with your choice, but at this point we know nothing about the OP's son beyond him being 8, and small for his age. The assumption that he'll want to go electric rock from the get-go is a bit premature, don't you think? If the OP says he does then that's fine of course, but it also depends on which way the OP wants to go as regards tuition. Does he want to teach the boy himself or hand him over (so to speak) to a professional tutor? A lot of professional tutors won't entertain electric tuition for an 8-year-old, especially if they work for a local education authority in schools. In fairness, this information is a bit outdated so things might have changed, but in all honesty I'd be surprised.

*Sigh* I didn't really want to burden the main thread with this stuff, but if you insist (and in simple terms)... The following (in no particular order) are - or at least should be - relevant on any decision about buying a guitar for a very young student: 1. How committed is the student (parental assessment)? This will dictate how much you might be willing to spend on a first instrument. Not to say that it won't change over time of course... 2. What style(s) of music (if any specific) do you think the student will want to learn (if known - not a given just 'cos it's come up on Basschat)? This will help you decide what type of instrument to consider. There are other issues that arise here, but do you really need to know at this stage? 3. Do you have any expectations as to what type of programme the student might be following? There's more I would want to ask the parent at this point (and suggest depending on his answers), but at this stage I'm not going to. No, really. 4. Do you have any expectations of where you would like the student to be in, say, a year's time? Not a problem if you don't, but it might affect what you have to spend out on another instrument further down the line (which you will need to do if they really take to it). There are other questions I might want to ask, but you get the general idea. While I'm here, the questions are actually a bit interactive too. Oh, and yes, I'm well aware many kids won't have much of a clue about any of this at that age, but I think it's important for the parent to try to get as much of a feel for what's best for their child as can reasonably be managed. It has a bearing on much more than what guitar to buy them.

Try him out with a number of different instruments of the type that have been suggested here. That said, it has been my experience as a former guitar tutor of many years' experience that for an 8-year-old - most especially a small one - a full size guitar of any scale length is likely to prove wholly unsuitable on several counts; and in all honesty I would also respectfully suggest that a 3/4 instrument will most likely be barely any better. IME most of the advice given in this type of thread is based (and I mean no disrespect in saying this) on a confusion between the question "What would I like to see him playing?" (or some broad equivalent) and the different question "What will best serve his current needs?" (I'm assuming from what you say that he's a complete beginner, but if not then I'm sure you'll correct me.) To the OP: if you like I'll be happy to take you through the various considerations via PM. I mean no offence to other posters in saying this, but when trying to give professional advice on such matters, it can be a bit frustrating to allow everybody to have their say while having to compete with a wide range of 'If it was me...' responses. I say this in all humility, but from a teaching standpoint, there is a right way (and a whole bunch of wrong ones) to do this. It is not my intention to impose, so if this is not what you're after then please feel free to decline or ignore the offer.