atomicfishin83

First off, I know that this is labeled a "beginner" guitar - but if you don't know how to play, isn't EVERY guitar a beginner model?? Anyways... I spotted this at a pawn shop for $30. Bought it, with intentions of flipping it to make a quick thirty bucks. Took it home and cleaned it up big time. After a full set up (fret polishing, restringing, intonation, nut filing and lubrication, machine head check-up, etc.), I plugged it in and was pleasantly surprised. The humbucker is vintage voiced and quite nice sounding. There are some AL4042's out there that have a volume and tone control, but mine only has a single volume knob. I think this may add to the clarity in the humbucker, as I would imagine that they are using bare bones junky tone pots. But who knows? Overall this guitar sounds and plays great. It is very lightweight, and feels good to hold. It really reminds me of an old Mosrite I had many years ago. The frets needed a little love, but it wasn't too extreme. I've played $200 Squiers with FAR worse frets. The only thing this guitar desperately needs, is a new set of tuners. That being said, the ones that are on it are functional. Just be prepared to tune up after every song, if you are heavy handed like myself. Still, after only spending $30 on this guitar, a new set of tuners doesn't seem so bad. I would highly recommend the First Act AL4042 to anyone who likes comfort and simplicity. Just be prepared to put in a couple hours of work, to get it on a functioning level :)

I feel like every guitarist should own one of these. Listening to The Smiths a lot, my whole life, it was only a matter of time that I would try playing their songs once I got really into playing guitar. This has proven to be essential for covering Johnny Marr's riffs...and has become a mainstay for me in writing and experimenting. Try one, you'll love it!

I have two different capos. A Kyser and this. For whatever reason, this one works extremely well with my acoustic...yet I always have trouble with it on electric guitars. Either way, I don't know what I would do without it!

The title says it all. I could go on and on about this amp, but I will spare you the endless ramblings on sound and features. If you need an amp for at home, and you don't wanna break the bank, I highly recommend the Fender Mustang V.2

This pedal can go from a nice raspy boost, all the way up to some really high gain heavy stuff. The GAIN and the TONE knob work great. Very wide sweep for both. I have noticed that the LEVEL knob doesn't seem to be as responsive... but it's not that big of a deal, considering the pedal was $15. Overall, I'm very happy with it!

Works like a charm. Sounds pretty darn good, and costs less than two mixed drinks at a bar. Really can't complain about this one :)

I found this online for under $40 shipped, and had to give it a try. I'm super happy with the features and the sound quality. You really can't beat it for the price!

It's crazy (for me) that these only came out in recent years. These tuners are so convenient and they work so well. I remember the days of dragging KORG pocket tuners to jam sessions and practice, or shelling out big money for pedal tuners. Not that there is anything wrong with those products, but I have happily replaced them with this bad boy :)

Having previously owned the ME-50, I had really REALLY high hopes for the ME-80. I'll keep this short and sweet. Maybe I got a dud? Who knows?? Features-wise, this thing is jam packed to the gills with everything that you could ever need in the studio, or at a gig. It's super easy to use and extremely versatile. Tone-wise... it left much to be desired. I remember my ME-50 sounding crisp and clear, and very close to the pedals it was emulating. The ME-80 however, sounds more boxy and compressed on nearly every setting. Like I said, maybe I got a dud. Here's to hoping I did. For $300, I expected better sound quality. Would be nice if BOSS included an AC Adapter. Hell, even if they upcharged for it. Still would be better than having to run out and get one when you realize there isn't one in the box. I sent mine back, and built my own pedal board for half the price...

After my AMS $10 birthday discount coupon, this pedal cost me a whopping $15. It's a very easy to use modeler of three types of very popular distortion. The Boss DS-1, MXR Distortion+, and the ProCo RAT. All great pedals in their own ways, and this modeler does its best to try and emulate them. ***The following is my PERSONAL review on the sounds. Just my opinion.*** The DS-1 model is unusable for me, but then again, I also hate the Boss DS-1. I've always found it to be thin and "tinny" sounding. Sterile, really. The Distortion+ and RAT models are both very cool. Do they sound like dead-on, faithful reproductions? No. But they are usable and fun to mess with. I mostly use the RAT model. It sounds a lot like the distortion from Nirvana's album In Utero... which I love. There are two issues I have found with this pedal. 1- The gain sweep is minimal at best. From 0 to 9, there is very little variation in gain increase, then from 9 to 10 it is a HUGE increase. This doesn't bother me so much, because I always keep the gain dimed on this pedal. 2- When the pedal is turned off, you can still hear distortion. It is extremely faint, but enough to drive someone nuts, who is determined to have a pure clean tone, when the pedal is off. Even with those two issues, this pedal is still an overall good buy in my opinion. Would I recommend it for live use? No. Between the sound issues and the plastic enclosure, I don't think it would be a good fit on stage/tour. Is it a fun, inexpensive pedal, great for home use? Yes. It was cheaper than a Fender footswitch and makes playing along to records that much more fun.