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What gear defines the greatest guitarists! – Even MORE budget Famous Rigs (Part 3)
Introduction
It is time for the final part of our budget famous rigs series! It would appear that you have all loved this series! So for this final part, I decided to pull out some pretty iconic guitarists and some very famous rigs! I am very excited for part 3 of this series! I have picked three of my favourite guitarists and their famous rigs! Players that have inspired me for a while now!
As with the other two articles (links below), I will talk about the artist and their sound and then go through their guitar, amp, and pedals and pick out some budget famous rigs for you. I will say it again that the aim of these articles isn’t to create the most budget-friendly and cheapest rig you can get. I want to select a rig you can actually use! Both at home and live for a gig!
So without any further ado, why don’t we dive right into the first guitarist, which we will cover in this article about famous rigs! The guitarist who is one of the reasons I play guitar! So you could say that this guitar and their famous rig is the reason that Gigs and Guitars is even a thing!
Slash – The Modern Rock Hero
How could we not go over the absolute legend that is Slash and his famous rig? You can’t argue that he isn’t iconic! Doesn’t matter if you think he is a good guitarist or not, everyone knows him! His rig is also fairly iconic as well! At the heart of it, Slash’s rig is fairly simple! I will take a look at his rig and see how close we can get to his tone (in some kind of way) without spending a huge amount of money!
Let us create a budget rig that is giggable but also can be used at home for practice! Firstly, we should start with the amp. Slash is famous for using Marshall amps. He even has his own signatures! However, they are expensive and hard to come by! So we will have to look at something!
Amp
When looking at amps to recreate that Slash tone, there is only really one amp I could pick! The Boss Katana! This amp has it all and will give you an amazing high-gain Marshall sound! They are super affordable, and the 50-watt version will give you everything you need! Coming in at around £250, this is a whole lot of amp for the money!
Thanks to the power controls, you will be able to get the same gig sounds that you love at a “at-home level”. This is super helpful for learning and rehearsing! This amp has everything you need, and for a digital amp, it doesn’t need a computer! Sure, you can plug it in and alter almost anything you want, but you can use this amp for years and never plug it in!
I do have a full review of the Boss Katana coming in the New Year, so stick around to check that out! I think you will all love this review as it attacks the Boss Katana from a different angle.
"Well, that is also what I am going to recommend! They are fairly affordable, built to last"
Guitar
When talking about guitars, there is only really one kind and shape you can get! The Les Paul! Slash is famous for playing a Gibson Les Paul! However, they are several thousand pounds, and we are after something more affordable! So my first recommendation is the Harley Benton SC-550 II! This is a guitar which is heavily inspired by Slash! It is also incredible value at £279! You get an insane spec guitar while being super affordable and looking amazing! The Harley Benton SC also comes in left-handed for the same price! Great deal for all you lefties!
The next option would be the next best thing after a Gibson! An Epiphone Les Paul Standard 50s. These are almost Gibson quality at a great price! Yes, they have raised their prices over the years, but they are still amazing value for the quality you are getting! The Epiphone Les Paul Standard comes in around £529. This includes a gig bag as well! Luckily, the Epiphone’s also come in left-handed and have a good range as well.
Pedals!
As I have selected a Boss Katana 50 for the amp, this means that a lot of the pedals I would pick for Slash’s rig are not needed! So instead, I have gone for something he uses but only every now and then. This means you will want it at your feet to turn off and on! That is a delay pedal!
Slash is well known for using a Boss DD-3 for his delay pedal. Well, that is also what I am going to recommend! They are fairly affordable, built to last, and are super easy and fun to use! Buying one new will cost you around £125, which is a lot for a delay pedal, but most likely will be the last delay pedal you will ever need! With its simple Level, Feedback, and time knobs, it is super easy to set up and dial in a wonderful delay sound!
It is always worth looking on marketplaces for the Boss DD-3 as they often appear for sale, and you can always find them and get a very good deal! However, if you want a brand new one then I have put a link for them below!
Links:
Angus Young – Keep it simple and ROCK out!
This is another classic guitarist! Classic rock tone and amazing riffs! As with the above, his rig is fairly simple, same as his outfit! It is also iconic, same as his outfit! I bet you are reading this and can picture his rig! We all know what is coming! So why don’t I dive right into it as this one should be fairly simple and obvious! As with the above, I will start with the amp.
Amp
For the Angus sound, you need Marshall! So keeping budget in mind I am going to recommend the Marshall DSL40CR. This is a 40-watt amp which will pack a punch! With several sounds from Clean, Crunch and ultra-gain you will be able to get a lot of tones from this 40-watt tube amp! For just £622 you will have an authentic Marshall amp, which means you will get that authentic Marshall sound.
The Marshall DSL40CR also comes with a double foot switch allowing you to change between sounds on the fly! While also allowing you to turn the digital reverb on or off if you need it! This is definitely going to help you get that raw rock sound that Angus Young is known for!
Guitar
This section is going to be very similar to the previous recommendations! Except instead of being Les Paul it will be SG’s. Firstly I will recommend the Harley Benton DC-580 CH. This is an SG copy with some amazing specs! All for £238. This will not only sound the part but also look the part! Dual Humbuckers with 4 pots giving you all the chance to rock out! However, if you are after something that looks exactly like an SG this might not be it. It does resemble an SG but is slightly off-set! However, if you want something that looks identical to an SG, then get an SG but Epiphone!
Famous Rigs: More on guitars
The Epiphone SG will be the closest thing to the Gibson SG as they are owned by Gibson! This will get you not only super close in sound but almost identical in looks! Which, if you are going for an SG, is something you want! With such an iconic shape, you will want to be matching! The specs and price on Epiphone SG’s are just outstanding! No need to go for anything fancy, just pick up the SG standard at £499. Good news for us left-handed players as most of the range comes in left-handed as well!
Pedals
This is a very easy one! Angus Young didn’t really use any pedals! His rig was just an SG into the front of a Marshall and crank it up! It is so simple and easy to do! Requires minimal gear, cables, and set-up! You can have a ready-to-go rig in seconds!
Now, if you are struggling to get that cranked sound at home, you should always grab an affordable boost pedal and push the front end a bit, which will allow you to bring the master volume down a bit! However, this isn’t needed if you are able to really bring the volume and gain up! Getting that classic rock and roll tone is so much easier than most people make it out to be!
I would opt for the Tone City All Spark boost or the TC Electronic Spark Mini. Both of these pedals can be purchased for around £40 and are super simple and just give you a nice volume push!
Links:
"To get this much gain from a tube amp you are going to have to crank it and you will struggle to get good sounds from a quiet tube amp."
Kirk Hammett – The Metal Master!
When you think of hard rock and metal, then one guitarist will come to mind! Kirk Hammett! A killer guitarist who is responsible for many amazing and famous guitar riffs! I think everyone knows at least one Metallica riff! His rig has taken on a few forms over his career with pedal and amp changes, and as we all know, his guitar collection is varied and a bit wild! However, I believe you can narrow his rig down to three key areas and recreate the core tone on a fairly affordable budget! Why don’t we give it a go, starting with the amp!
Amp
It’s hard not to pick the Boss Katana again for this tone! High Gain, lots of delay and reverb? There isn’t anything else in this price range which will come close! So for this rig I am going to have to go for the Boss Katana 50 again! The main reason I have gone with the Boss Katana is that we are going to need a lot of gain. To get this much gain from a tube amp you are going to have to crank it and you will struggle to get good sounds from a quiet tube amp. However, the Boss Katana 50 has an amp type that is perfect for these tones! Plus you can add one other effect if needed and save presets. All of this in a lightweight and easy-to-carry form factor!
Guitar
The Harley Benton ST-20HH is the perfect guitar for those Kirk Hammett tones! The Harley Benton ST-20HH has active pickups meaning you get that high output, compressed “EMG” sound that Kirk is known for! All of this for under £130 is such a killer deal! The ST range comes in various colours and also a few different specs but I would recommend the dual active Humbuckers and black finish. This will give you that Kirk Hammett tone and look!
"Kirk Hammett is famous (both seriously and as a bit of a meme) for using a wah"
Famous Rigs: More on Guitars
However, if you wanted something on the next level, a notch above shall I say then you should look at the Ibanez GRGR330EX-BKF (How wild are Ibanez’s model numbers). This is going to provide you with slightly higher specs than the Harley Benton. It does contain passive pickups but does have a locking nut and “Floyd Rose” like bridge! Thanks to the 5-way pickups selector you will have so many pickup configurations to pick from making the Ibanez GRGR330EX-BKF a very versatile guitar at a great price point!
Pedals
Kirk Hammett is famous (both seriously and as a bit of a meme) for using a wah, so when picking this rig I had to include a wah pedal! No, he does have a signature wah pedal; however, it is fairly expansive and buying it is a big commitment to wah. So I am going to recommend a fairly budget friendly wah, but one that sounds great and is built like a tank!
The Wah pedal is the Vox V847 Wah (Review Here). The Vox Wah is just a basic wah pedal. There isn’t anything special about it, no extra features! For this reason, it comes in at under £100. The Vox V847 Wah has a nice build and finish and comes with a nice carry bag. A perfect option for a wah pedal! I know this because it is the wah pedal I use in my rig!
Links:
Conclusion
That is the final part in my series on budget famous rigs and famous guitarists! I feel I have covered a wide array of guitars that range from a variety of music and playing types. If you want to check out the other parts, you can find the links for them below. Maybe in the future, I will revisit this idea and expand on it. Set the budgets slightly higher and allow more gear to be used.
If you enjoyed this series, please let me know; it is always great to get any kind of feedback! I aim to provide the best guitar gear and music-related content, so feedback is greatly supported! If you want to let me know your thoughts, you can head over to our contact page (Contact Page) and drop me an email.
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