My rig isn't that impressive, but it's great for a beginner guitarist like myself:
First of all, my one and only guitar is an Ibanez RX-40. It's equipped with two single coil pickups, one at the neck and one in the middle, and a humbucker at the bridge. It has a 5-way pickup selector and a volume control and a tone control. Although I'm not really an experienced guitar player, after 4 years of playing I've figured out some of the pros and cons of the RX-40.
- Reasonable weight
- Pickups offer a variety of sounds
- High quality guitar considering the price
Pros:
- Neck isn't quite fast enough(Or maybe that's just me?)
- Guitar goes out of tune easily
- Lacks some tone
Cons:
After reading my list of cons, you're probably asking, "Well, what does he expect from a beginner guitar?" The cons listed weren't to so great an extent that it's unacceptable. Infact, Ibanez probably puts out higher-quality beginner guitars than most of their competitors.
The output from my Ibanez then goes to my Zoom 505 guitar effects pedal. This pedal is a compact multi-effects pedal with 24 effects total and the ability to use up to 9 effects simultaneously. The pedal can store 24 different patches, or a combinations of effects resulting in one sound. It includes digital effects and analog effects. For the number of effects available through the 505 it's definitely a good deal.
To see a list and description of all of the effects go the
Zoom 505 Effects page.
I do recommend that you power it with an adapter instead of a battery though. The first night I had it I went throught one 9-volt battery. It's good to keep batteries handy though incase something goes wrong with the power adapter. (For example, the wire on mine got ripped off just from me wrapping it up constantly).
The Zoom 505 has a stereo output and a jack for the FP01 pedal, which is bought separately from the Zoom 505. The FP01 can control the volume, make wah effects, and raise or lower the pitch, but not all simultaneously. I have the FP01 accessory, but I rarely use it.
Next is my amp, a Peavey Rage 158. It's part of the Transtube series, in which they try to emulate a tube-driven amp with transistors. Since it's my only amp, I couldn't tell you if they were successful or not. This amp is ok considering its size.
If I'm not using my Peavey, I usually use a completely different output. From my Zoom 505 I'll take the output to the line-in on my soundcard, run the sound through my computer and out to my stereo. My stereo has a Sony STR-DE705 receiver, which puts out 120 watts per channel. I have two Cerwin-Vega VS-120s and a subwoofer hooked to my receiver. I use an AudioSource 10-band stereo graphic EQ to attempt to equalize the input. Not exactly a conventional or ideal setup, but it let's me hear each frequency, as apposed to the limitations placed on my Peavey amp.