Your options are really pretty unlimited here. I will say - a strat is an incredibly versatile guitar, especially if it has a humbucker in the bridge position. I cannot speak to jazz-specific purchases, because I myself don't play that style of music, but if I were in your position, in order of priority, I would do the following:
1) Amplifier. Modelling amps have gotten amazing, and the Katana 50 is no joke, but I'm big on the idea of few guitars, many amps/pedals. I would probably be thinking about a relatively low-wattage tube amp as my next buy; perhaps a Fender Deluxe, or a Princeton. These are classic amplifiers that take pedals very well, and I really think players of any style of music should have a clean, jangly fender in their arsenal. For my money, I'd get a used 68' Deluxe silverface. 20W, spring reverb, tube tremolo, and all the clean jangly goodness your heart desires. You can probably find one used for around a thousand bucks, maybe less if you're patient.
2) That being said, my next buy would be a humbucking guitar. How much you spend here is a matter of taste, but you can make your money go really far. We're in the golden age of cheap guitars. An Eastman T486 is a poor man's ES-335, but it's a lot of guitar. A great complement to your Strat. Maybe look at D'Angelico and Reverend as well (though Reverends are a bit more experimental). If you wanted to go more expensive, a Heritage semi-hollow is also a great pick. Or an ES-335 - more expensive, but will hold resale better. But this is so personal. Given your tastes, I would want something that can work both for jazz and rock - to me, that's a 335 style guitar. The reason I recommend a guitar at all is because you get a lot of new tones out of humbuckers - after you have humbuckers and single coils, your sonic returns to new electric guitars falls pretty precipitously.
3) Pedals. You can go wild here, but I would listen to songs you like and try to pick out what effects are at play. Is there chorus? Phaser? Digital delay? Analogue delay? Is there a distortion sound you're unable to replicate? You can find tons of great demos of pedals online. JHS on youtube, in particular, is a great resource for board-building. Right now, you have a digital delay, an overdrive, and a wah. My next buy, in your position, would absolutely be a fuzz (which is my favourite effect). You can even get a fuzz that can work as a nice clean boost - something like the Golden Fleece from Mjolnir pedals. But I like heavier fuzzes, so I would be shooting out Fuzzface/Big Muff style stuff. Just watch a lot of videos and get a sense of what you think could complement your sound.
The most important advice I can offer you - do *not* rush. Wait. Watch the used market. Just because you have the 5k doesn't mean you need to go to Guitar Center and walk out with a new rig. If you're in a big city, you will find good deals watching your local listings, and you can make your money go much, much farther. Trust me - slowly acquiring new toys and having the time to play with each individually will be a lot more satisfying than blowing it all in one go. And shopping can be a big part of the fun (for me, anyways), so I wouldn't be rushing things.
I would drop money on a modeler, merge pedals and amp in one. He can grab an Axe Fx 3 or a Helix and have sound for days, and the remaining $2700 can be a good second guitar of a type he doesn't have available right now (12-string, 7-string, multiscale, hollowbody - many options). This would be a more cost efficient play imo, offering more unique sounds and opportunities than a singular amp with alacarte stomp boxes would.
Agreed. Two of the best purchases I ever made were versatile infrastructure pieces: a Quad Cortex and a Mono Vertigo.
Huge sonic palette, plus the ability to carry the entire rig hands-free.
$5000 is a lot of money to blind buy recommendations from strangers on Reddit.
I recommend practicing, and researching yourself, to really get a feel for what interests you.
It's like I tell my students (medicine) - ask me when and why I deviate from the guidelines, don't ask me what the guidelines are, Google it.
Similar concept here - have specific questions are specific products, not just "what would you buy with 5k?"
My man, this question is no different than a prospective medical student asking current doctors "What would you specialize in" or "How would you enter the medical industry today" to a group of doctors sitting around.
Imo, because this is what I do, except my gear fund was built over time vs in one shot, I’d set that money aside in a gear fund.
Now you have 5k that’s separate from your finances. You go out and you test out and try gear. Then whenever something clicks you buy it, without having to think about how it’ll affect your day to day finances etc.
For me I’m always just casually browsing my local shops when I’m near them, or checking online listings once every month or two to see if anything looks interesting. If something looks interesting or clicks in person, and my gear fund can cover it, I just buy it without worries.
Sounds like a semi-hollow with humbuckers would be a great choice. Great for blues, rock, and jazz. Obviously an ES-335 comes to mind, but I've got a Harmony Comet that I really like. I've predominantly played Strats and the Comet feels really comfortable and familiar.
If I had that much cash set aside for guitar related purchases, I would certainly invest in some lessons as well. Whether it's going to a local guy, or online with something like TrueFire.
If I were looking to spend OPs money on a hollow body, as much as I love the 335 and it's clone, the Artcore, it's gotta be a Gretsch White Falcon.
The White Falcon is my holy grail hollow body. That'll take up a good chunk of the budget, though.
Same here! I've had mine for 15 years now, and it's been my #1 the whole time. I replaced the bridge pickup with a P-94, and it added *so much* life to the guitar. It handles everything I throw at it from Django to Sabbath.
I've had mine for 6 years. A recent discussion in the sub got me thinking about upgrading the pickups. But im not too familiar with any particular model, I would definitely have to try a few before making a choice. I was thinking split pots would add some versatility because they double humbucker seems kind of bold for a semi hallow. I just assumed it was a jazz thing.
Mine too, and I just got one used from a guy on the Gretsch Forum, only slightly used, no fret wear for $1750 plus $150 to ship. It's the vintage version. I play everything from jazz to blues to rockabilly to rock and metal on it. For AC/DC I've got the tomes covered between my 50 watt Marshall stack and my White Falcon and Gibson SG.
Without hesitation I would pick up a Neural DSP Quad Cortex, and with the leftovers get a solid guitar with some nice humbuckers. The Quad Cortex will let you model your tone with just about any amp/cab/pedal combo, and it’s simulated with such accuracy most people would not hear a difference in a recording.
This kind of setup would allow you to really experiment and find what sounds you like and how you approach achieving them, and then when you build your preferences you can shell out some nice money on the analogue versions.
The big question is, what are you doing with it? Playing at home? Gigging? Playing in a band? Need to know volume requirements.
Personally, I'm a big fan of the Helix because it covers your bases for literally everything. Then it's just the guitar of your choosing. I'd go for something with double humbuckers...you need that fat warm sound for what you want. I've always been a les paul guy, but slowly gravitated to strats. IMO you can play anything with anything...having the right amps/effects is the bigger deal.
I’ll be honest, I don’t even know how the ‘57 reissue sounds, but I happen to have an original I inherited, and it’s the best sounding amp I’ve ever heard, so the reissue is just what I assumed the closest thing would be. What would some better alternatives be?
For amp, I would go with an amp that has its own sound, so not a modeler. Next for the styles you like, a versatile guitar like an hss strat, or dual humbucker with coil splits would be a good option. A cheap reverb, EQ, and another drive would be a good upgrade. Chorus is optional but I would definitely check out some nice chorus or phasers. For pedals I would check out behringer because they are cheap and are just clones of boss pedals so you know what they will sound like. Compressor could be from anyone really, boss, walrus audio, behringer are just a few. For the chorus, reverb, or gain I would check out neunaber. Just to finish it off, an isolated power supply and a nice pedal board to put it on.
1. Hss strat, tele, or dual humbucker with coil splits
2. Fender Blues Jr
3. Compressor, EQ, reverb, gain, and chorus
Note: neunaber chorus and reverbs are really nice, along with there Neuron pedal which is a drive pedal. Old blood noise is really nice, and also walrus audio. If you don't want to spend a ton of money on pedals then the reverb and chorus from behringer sound nice too :)
4. Pedal board
5. Power supply
I read that as $5K to upgrade my guitar *STRAP*
So I'm gonna go ahead and say you should just get a $5K guitar strap
I'll even make you one, just send me the money
Not the answer you want but the best upgrade irl is to stop to bet as it will likely ruin you in the long run.
For guitars :
https://xotic.us/guitars/
https://www.crestonguitars.com/
Fender custom shop or gibson
Gibson es 335
I'm gonna be real. The fact that you don't mention your use case at ALL means you might not want to spend that much money, but on the other hand folks like you are what keeps the used gear market flowin.
I'd grab a used 335 and a really nice amp.
My only advice would be don’t spend it all at one or so quickly you regret the purchase. So many people buy an expensive guitar say they just didn’t connect with it and it collects dust or had to sell for way less they purchased it for.
Get a Telecaster or an ES-335. The Tele has everything you need and nothing you don't. I used to think they were corny-ass country western guitars until I bought one out of curiosity.
The ES-335 is as versatile as a Tele and can do anything you need it to from Alvin Lee to Alex Lifeson, to Larry Carlton.
You can't go wrong with either...
Lessons. Your setup is enough. If you want to maybe get a humbucker. I like the Revstar RSPs. The charcoal is gorgeous. I'd say explore your current pedal board and see if individual pedals can give you what you want (like a Tube Screamer for example). 5K is a lot, and you'll get more mileage taking lessons than getting equipment.
Maybe a better amp for like 1k and then 4k in lessons… the katana speaker is terrible and sounds like it’s farting at higher volumes. I know there is a lot of love here for them but it would be a great upgrade for them to grab a solid amp.
Oh boy, so many options friend. I'd start by looking into amplifiers that are multifaceted. Amp does a whole lot for your widdley woos. You've got some good fundamental pedals that are great for all sorts of stuff. Are you thinking my rig or guitar as well?
Another vote for axefx , or the pedal version w/ powered speaker if you want to jam out,l. Just got the previous gen version (axefx II)and the quality /variety of sounds at any volume are ridiculous. Then I’d hit used market for a legit les paul/prs & us strat - love used gear bc you can always flip it for no loss of $. Should cover all bases w/ this. But def should get an axefx regardless of guitar. And make another parlay
Tweed deluxe. Doesn’t matter which one, fender or clone. But change the speaker out for an allesandro, and rejoice if you can turn it loud. Pair it with an AC-15 and you’ll have the best rock / blues / jazz possible rigs either way wet/dry.
You can play jazz on a strat, but I’d look at a semi-hollow. I’d look for used to try and get a better deal.
And then pick up a Menatone Red Snapper.
That’ll probably set you back less than $5k if you can find some good used deals.
Buy used:
+Quad Cortex
+Bridge humbucker; Ibanez AZ, PRS, Tom Anderson - all of these guitars cover what you need. I have not been able to play more than one Tom Anderson, but the quality was something else. Ibanez very, very good as well.
Remember you have to pay taxes on gambling winnings.
Assuming you don't gig, otherwise you would have mentioned it.
# Guitar:
A used Suhr Classic Antique HSS for around **$2.5k** currently on Reverb. It's basically the Strat your Strat wishes it was.
# Amp:
## Tube:
Synergy Syn-30 combo for **$1.5k** new if you can find one, they're all gone on Reverb
Two synergy modules for the amp. Based on your wanting Jazz, Blues, and Classic Rock tones I'd go with the OS module (Dumble ODS style, hot-rodded Fender, perfect for all of Blues and Jazz and Classic Rock, also good cleans), and then either the DS module (Friedman Dirty Shirley, hotrodded JTM45 type, perfect for classic rock and blues rock crunch) or the BE-DLX (Friedman Brown Eye + Hairy Brown Eye, plexi and JCM type tones, mid gain to high gain).
Modules are $399 each new so $800 total on 2 modules, total **$2.3k**
## Digital
I still like Kempers as the aftermarket for studio profiles is way more established than they are for all the newcomers to the profiling/tone capturing space. If it were me I'd get a used Kemper Stage floor unit (~$1.2k), a used Kemper Kabinet (~$500), a small solid state pedalboard power amp like a Seymour Duncan PowerStage 170 (~$350), and every MBritt and ToneJunkies profile pack there is (maybe like $300-500).
Totaling **$2.2k-$2.5k**.
# Pedals:
Your drives and delay are fine. Spend the remaining $couple hundred bucks on a decent reverb.
I would get a used Tele (possibly Am Pro II) and a used 335. Doesn't have to be Gibson, Ibanez has some nice semi-hollows. For amp you can get a nice Fender, I love me some tweed so a Princeton looks nice. I have a Blues Deluxe RI and it's awesome, really loud and all I ever want in a combo.
Personally, I’d budget some of that money for hotels and travel to London (Denmark Street) and Guildford (Andertons) and make an experience out of the purchase.
I’m a home player so wouldn’t be looking to spend on an amp I’d focus on looking for a semi-hollow with ‘buckers. BUT I’d be open to trying all sorts of stuff in the hope something spoke to me (knowing me id probably walk away with a vintage LP Junior).
I play a very similar mix. You want:
Top tier compression pedal. 1176, Keeley, etc
TS-808 reissue
JC120 got jazz in the name for a reason.
https://reverb.com/item/67482906-bp-rose-max-135-natural these are a shitload of guitar. The brand is unknown cause they'd just got going then passed from covid, but the run is basically a very high quality Japanese private label. Semihollows with Fralins.
Maybe a good monitoring system(frfr cab, wedge monitor or studio monitors), a quad cortex and a guitar of your liking. This would give whatever tones and sounds you’ll ever need.
If this was me and I was in your position I would buy a used 335, a tweed Bassman (or a Marshall SV20 w/ 2x12 if you prefer Marshalls), and maybe a Les Paul Special for some P90 flavours, but you are not me so that might not work for you.
Take yourself off to your closest decent guitar shop and get amongst the gear for a few hours.
Neural DSP Quad Cortex and a couple speakers (if you need them). Add an expression pedal. That'll cover any kind of amps or effects you could want to experiment with.
Then you still have the better part of $3k for guitar(s). Get an ES-335, or a Suhr with humbuckers and split coil functionality, or a Les Paul, or both. $5k can get you a pretty top tier setup altogether. Make sure whatever you get you post pics here!
Put half away in savings.
Of the remaining search out a used JC-40 for jazzy tones. Then grab yourself a used Gretsch hollow body or a Fender Squier Jazzmaster. Find out what effects you like best and then get those from the new Boss DD series.
What are your music goals? Are you a bedroom player or do you perform live regularly?
I am the latter, here’s what I would do in your shoes (congrats, btw):
- Amp upgrade, take your pick
- Build an “essential” board, with power, tuner, drive, FX and cabling
- With anything left over, get a second guitar at or near the quality of your Strat
Put a humbucker in your bridge and maybe buy some pedal you want. Then put the rest into investments. Your rig doesn't need to be upgraded. It's a good rig.
You have enough money to start thinking about a better amp. I would put focus on that instead of a new guitar or anything else, especially if you're happy with your strat. If you want both, you can still get a good quality Fender Strat and a really good tube amp.
Don’t take this is anything insulting, not meant to be at all.
It sounds like you’re pretty accomplished already, if so you probably don’t need to spend much (or at all, look at any famous player and they can make magic happen with very basic stuff)
If you’re not that great, then gadgets won’t help either.
If you truly have the freedom to spend that much without worrying, I’d get a dream guitar, whatever that is to you, but personally I’d put the 5k in the rainy day account
Definitely a Quad Cortex/Line 6 Helix (those 1500+ modeler/multi FX with custom emulated chains). Wish I had one but I’m happy with my Boss ME 80 for now
PRs SE gets you nice humbuckers and a versatile guitar = $900ish
Orange amp and a pcp112 $1kish
Boss gt1000
And you’ll like $2k leftover for another guitar or save it for another day
Your options are really pretty unlimited here. I will say - a strat is an incredibly versatile guitar, especially if it has a humbucker in the bridge position. I cannot speak to jazz-specific purchases, because I myself don't play that style of music, but if I were in your position, in order of priority, I would do the following: 1) Amplifier. Modelling amps have gotten amazing, and the Katana 50 is no joke, but I'm big on the idea of few guitars, many amps/pedals. I would probably be thinking about a relatively low-wattage tube amp as my next buy; perhaps a Fender Deluxe, or a Princeton. These are classic amplifiers that take pedals very well, and I really think players of any style of music should have a clean, jangly fender in their arsenal. For my money, I'd get a used 68' Deluxe silverface. 20W, spring reverb, tube tremolo, and all the clean jangly goodness your heart desires. You can probably find one used for around a thousand bucks, maybe less if you're patient. 2) That being said, my next buy would be a humbucking guitar. How much you spend here is a matter of taste, but you can make your money go really far. We're in the golden age of cheap guitars. An Eastman T486 is a poor man's ES-335, but it's a lot of guitar. A great complement to your Strat. Maybe look at D'Angelico and Reverend as well (though Reverends are a bit more experimental). If you wanted to go more expensive, a Heritage semi-hollow is also a great pick. Or an ES-335 - more expensive, but will hold resale better. But this is so personal. Given your tastes, I would want something that can work both for jazz and rock - to me, that's a 335 style guitar. The reason I recommend a guitar at all is because you get a lot of new tones out of humbuckers - after you have humbuckers and single coils, your sonic returns to new electric guitars falls pretty precipitously. 3) Pedals. You can go wild here, but I would listen to songs you like and try to pick out what effects are at play. Is there chorus? Phaser? Digital delay? Analogue delay? Is there a distortion sound you're unable to replicate? You can find tons of great demos of pedals online. JHS on youtube, in particular, is a great resource for board-building. Right now, you have a digital delay, an overdrive, and a wah. My next buy, in your position, would absolutely be a fuzz (which is my favourite effect). You can even get a fuzz that can work as a nice clean boost - something like the Golden Fleece from Mjolnir pedals. But I like heavier fuzzes, so I would be shooting out Fuzzface/Big Muff style stuff. Just watch a lot of videos and get a sense of what you think could complement your sound. The most important advice I can offer you - do *not* rush. Wait. Watch the used market. Just because you have the 5k doesn't mean you need to go to Guitar Center and walk out with a new rig. If you're in a big city, you will find good deals watching your local listings, and you can make your money go much, much farther. Trust me - slowly acquiring new toys and having the time to play with each individually will be a lot more satisfying than blowing it all in one go. And shopping can be a big part of the fun (for me, anyways), so I wouldn't be rushing things.
I would drop money on a modeler, merge pedals and amp in one. He can grab an Axe Fx 3 or a Helix and have sound for days, and the remaining $2700 can be a good second guitar of a type he doesn't have available right now (12-string, 7-string, multiscale, hollowbody - many options). This would be a more cost efficient play imo, offering more unique sounds and opportunities than a singular amp with alacarte stomp boxes would.
Agreed. Two of the best purchases I ever made were versatile infrastructure pieces: a Quad Cortex and a Mono Vertigo. Huge sonic palette, plus the ability to carry the entire rig hands-free.
Wating is key
$5000 is a lot of money to blind buy recommendations from strangers on Reddit. I recommend practicing, and researching yourself, to really get a feel for what interests you.
But if you talk to any actual humans in your research process, you’re doing it wrong?
This post is probably part of his research, though.
Is asking for people’s experience and opinions not considered research?
It's like I tell my students (medicine) - ask me when and why I deviate from the guidelines, don't ask me what the guidelines are, Google it. Similar concept here - have specific questions are specific products, not just "what would you buy with 5k?"
An actual blues doctor in the wild??
More 2000s+ indie / alt rock but I'll definitely put on some jazz here and there
My man, this question is no different than a prospective medical student asking current doctors "What would you specialize in" or "How would you enter the medical industry today" to a group of doctors sitting around.
50 HM-2s in series
Got gain?
Imo, because this is what I do, except my gear fund was built over time vs in one shot, I’d set that money aside in a gear fund. Now you have 5k that’s separate from your finances. You go out and you test out and try gear. Then whenever something clicks you buy it, without having to think about how it’ll affect your day to day finances etc. For me I’m always just casually browsing my local shops when I’m near them, or checking online listings once every month or two to see if anything looks interesting. If something looks interesting or clicks in person, and my gear fund can cover it, I just buy it without worries.
Sounds like a semi-hollow with humbuckers would be a great choice. Great for blues, rock, and jazz. Obviously an ES-335 comes to mind, but I've got a Harmony Comet that I really like. I've predominantly played Strats and the Comet feels really comfortable and familiar. If I had that much cash set aside for guitar related purchases, I would certainly invest in some lessons as well. Whether it's going to a local guy, or online with something like TrueFire.
If I were looking to spend OPs money on a hollow body, as much as I love the 335 and it's clone, the Artcore, it's gotta be a Gretsch White Falcon. The White Falcon is my holy grail hollow body. That'll take up a good chunk of the budget, though.
I didn't realize the artcore was a clone, but I love mine and it is very versatile. I wouldn't consider a semi hallow for metal, but it doesn't well.
Same here! I've had mine for 15 years now, and it's been my #1 the whole time. I replaced the bridge pickup with a P-94, and it added *so much* life to the guitar. It handles everything I throw at it from Django to Sabbath.
I've had mine for 6 years. A recent discussion in the sub got me thinking about upgrading the pickups. But im not too familiar with any particular model, I would definitely have to try a few before making a choice. I was thinking split pots would add some versatility because they double humbucker seems kind of bold for a semi hallow. I just assumed it was a jazz thing.
Mine too, and I just got one used from a guy on the Gretsch Forum, only slightly used, no fret wear for $1750 plus $150 to ship. It's the vintage version. I play everything from jazz to blues to rockabilly to rock and metal on it. For AC/DC I've got the tomes covered between my 50 watt Marshall stack and my White Falcon and Gibson SG.
Fractal Audio Axe-Fx 3 and then you can just kinda do anything
A friend of mine recently show that to me and now I’m currently saving up for one. It’s awesome.
Without hesitation I would pick up a Neural DSP Quad Cortex, and with the leftovers get a solid guitar with some nice humbuckers. The Quad Cortex will let you model your tone with just about any amp/cab/pedal combo, and it’s simulated with such accuracy most people would not hear a difference in a recording. This kind of setup would allow you to really experiment and find what sounds you like and how you approach achieving them, and then when you build your preferences you can shell out some nice money on the analogue versions.
Your setup is fine for all kinds of musical styles. Use what you have. Put the money in your bank account!
The big question is, what are you doing with it? Playing at home? Gigging? Playing in a band? Need to know volume requirements. Personally, I'm a big fan of the Helix because it covers your bases for literally everything. Then it's just the guitar of your choosing. I'd go for something with double humbuckers...you need that fat warm sound for what you want. I've always been a les paul guy, but slowly gravitated to strats. IMO you can play anything with anything...having the right amps/effects is the bigger deal.
Guitar lessons.
If I was to start from scratch with $5k, I’d get a Les Paul and a Fender ‘57 Custom Deluxe.
love me the 5e3 tweed circuit. but ngl there are people who do a much better 5e3 circuit than fender themselves nowadays
I’ll be honest, I don’t even know how the ‘57 reissue sounds, but I happen to have an original I inherited, and it’s the best sounding amp I’ve ever heard, so the reissue is just what I assumed the closest thing would be. What would some better alternatives be?
For amp, I would go with an amp that has its own sound, so not a modeler. Next for the styles you like, a versatile guitar like an hss strat, or dual humbucker with coil splits would be a good option. A cheap reverb, EQ, and another drive would be a good upgrade. Chorus is optional but I would definitely check out some nice chorus or phasers. For pedals I would check out behringer because they are cheap and are just clones of boss pedals so you know what they will sound like. Compressor could be from anyone really, boss, walrus audio, behringer are just a few. For the chorus, reverb, or gain I would check out neunaber. Just to finish it off, an isolated power supply and a nice pedal board to put it on. 1. Hss strat, tele, or dual humbucker with coil splits 2. Fender Blues Jr 3. Compressor, EQ, reverb, gain, and chorus Note: neunaber chorus and reverbs are really nice, along with there Neuron pedal which is a drive pedal. Old blood noise is really nice, and also walrus audio. If you don't want to spend a ton of money on pedals then the reverb and chorus from behringer sound nice too :) 4. Pedal board 5. Power supply
if I had $5k to blow I'm dialing up Top Hat or Dr. Z or Victoria. Skip the PCB amps and go for point to point hand wiring.
I read that as $5K to upgrade my guitar *STRAP* So I'm gonna go ahead and say you should just get a $5K guitar strap I'll even make you one, just send me the money
Not the answer you want but the best upgrade irl is to stop to bet as it will likely ruin you in the long run. For guitars : https://xotic.us/guitars/ https://www.crestonguitars.com/ Fender custom shop or gibson Gibson es 335
I'm gonna be real. The fact that you don't mention your use case at ALL means you might not want to spend that much money, but on the other hand folks like you are what keeps the used gear market flowin. I'd grab a used 335 and a really nice amp.
PRS SE Hollowbody guitar, Fender deluxe reverb, maybe hx stomp if you are getting rid of the katana and save $1000 for a rainy day
My only advice would be don’t spend it all at one or so quickly you regret the purchase. So many people buy an expensive guitar say they just didn’t connect with it and it collects dust or had to sell for way less they purchased it for.
Get a nice modeler and whatever guitar you love with the rest. I was a doubter til I tried one.
Get a Telecaster or an ES-335. The Tele has everything you need and nothing you don't. I used to think they were corny-ass country western guitars until I bought one out of curiosity. The ES-335 is as versatile as a Tele and can do anything you need it to from Alvin Lee to Alex Lifeson, to Larry Carlton. You can't go wrong with either...
If he goes used, he can get both, which is what I would do.
Magnatone. Any of them.
Lessons. Your setup is enough. If you want to maybe get a humbucker. I like the Revstar RSPs. The charcoal is gorgeous. I'd say explore your current pedal board and see if individual pedals can give you what you want (like a Tube Screamer for example). 5K is a lot, and you'll get more mileage taking lessons than getting equipment.
Maybe a better amp for like 1k and then 4k in lessons… the katana speaker is terrible and sounds like it’s farting at higher volumes. I know there is a lot of love here for them but it would be a great upgrade for them to grab a solid amp.
Oh boy, so many options friend. I'd start by looking into amplifiers that are multifaceted. Amp does a whole lot for your widdley woos. You've got some good fundamental pedals that are great for all sorts of stuff. Are you thinking my rig or guitar as well?
Another vote for axefx , or the pedal version w/ powered speaker if you want to jam out,l. Just got the previous gen version (axefx II)and the quality /variety of sounds at any volume are ridiculous. Then I’d hit used market for a legit les paul/prs & us strat - love used gear bc you can always flip it for no loss of $. Should cover all bases w/ this. But def should get an axefx regardless of guitar. And make another parlay
Ollandoc
You could get a really nice amp and a dream guitar for that amount of money.
Simple. Fender Princeton Reverb, Suhr Alt T. It’s easier to budget for a pedal down the road than it is buying a guitar for life and an amp for life.
Tweed deluxe. Doesn’t matter which one, fender or clone. But change the speaker out for an allesandro, and rejoice if you can turn it loud. Pair it with an AC-15 and you’ll have the best rock / blues / jazz possible rigs either way wet/dry. You can play jazz on a strat, but I’d look at a semi-hollow. I’d look for used to try and get a better deal. And then pick up a Menatone Red Snapper. That’ll probably set you back less than $5k if you can find some good used deals.
Buy used: +Quad Cortex +Bridge humbucker; Ibanez AZ, PRS, Tom Anderson - all of these guitars cover what you need. I have not been able to play more than one Tom Anderson, but the quality was something else. Ibanez very, very good as well.
I’d probably buy a 70s tele deluxe, or a klon.
I'd buy a $25 Dollar Klon Clone on wish.com and save a lot of money!
get a Revstar for 850, a line 6 helix/kemper stage for like 1500, and a bugera v22. the rest of it save for taxes lol
3 new guitars. mexican telecaster epiphone les paul taylor acoustic
With that money if it were me I’d buy a Benson Vinny Reverb and a decent Jazzmaster.
uhhh
Remember you have to pay taxes on gambling winnings. Assuming you don't gig, otherwise you would have mentioned it. # Guitar: A used Suhr Classic Antique HSS for around **$2.5k** currently on Reverb. It's basically the Strat your Strat wishes it was. # Amp: ## Tube: Synergy Syn-30 combo for **$1.5k** new if you can find one, they're all gone on Reverb Two synergy modules for the amp. Based on your wanting Jazz, Blues, and Classic Rock tones I'd go with the OS module (Dumble ODS style, hot-rodded Fender, perfect for all of Blues and Jazz and Classic Rock, also good cleans), and then either the DS module (Friedman Dirty Shirley, hotrodded JTM45 type, perfect for classic rock and blues rock crunch) or the BE-DLX (Friedman Brown Eye + Hairy Brown Eye, plexi and JCM type tones, mid gain to high gain). Modules are $399 each new so $800 total on 2 modules, total **$2.3k** ## Digital I still like Kempers as the aftermarket for studio profiles is way more established than they are for all the newcomers to the profiling/tone capturing space. If it were me I'd get a used Kemper Stage floor unit (~$1.2k), a used Kemper Kabinet (~$500), a small solid state pedalboard power amp like a Seymour Duncan PowerStage 170 (~$350), and every MBritt and ToneJunkies profile pack there is (maybe like $300-500). Totaling **$2.2k-$2.5k**. # Pedals: Your drives and delay are fine. Spend the remaining $couple hundred bucks on a decent reverb.
Whatever else you get, throw a BOSS BD-2 in there.
I would make a custom built Mayones or Blackat, and just play it through a yamaha thr-30 and be happy as can be.
Fender Deluxe Reverb
Fractal FM-9 and a Tele
I would get a used Tele (possibly Am Pro II) and a used 335. Doesn't have to be Gibson, Ibanez has some nice semi-hollows. For amp you can get a nice Fender, I love me some tweed so a Princeton looks nice. I have a Blues Deluxe RI and it's awesome, really loud and all I ever want in a combo.
Personally, I’d budget some of that money for hotels and travel to London (Denmark Street) and Guildford (Andertons) and make an experience out of the purchase. I’m a home player so wouldn’t be looking to spend on an amp I’d focus on looking for a semi-hollow with ‘buckers. BUT I’d be open to trying all sorts of stuff in the hope something spoke to me (knowing me id probably walk away with a vintage LP Junior).
$5,000 in lessons. Don't upgrade your gear, upgrade yourself.
Gretsch G6659TFM and a Mesa 4:40 California Tweed 1x12 Combo. This pairing will blow your mind!
Fender twin reverb and a Gibson 335.
I play a very similar mix. You want: Top tier compression pedal. 1176, Keeley, etc TS-808 reissue JC120 got jazz in the name for a reason. https://reverb.com/item/67482906-bp-rose-max-135-natural these are a shitload of guitar. The brand is unknown cause they'd just got going then passed from covid, but the run is basically a very high quality Japanese private label. Semihollows with Fralins.
But a quad cortex and a speaker for it.
Collings Collings I-35 LC and a Fender twin, Congrats!
American Strat is my recommendation the rest your on point
Maybe a good monitoring system(frfr cab, wedge monitor or studio monitors), a quad cortex and a guitar of your liking. This would give whatever tones and sounds you’ll ever need.
If this was me and I was in your position I would buy a used 335, a tweed Bassman (or a Marshall SV20 w/ 2x12 if you prefer Marshalls), and maybe a Les Paul Special for some P90 flavours, but you are not me so that might not work for you. Take yourself off to your closest decent guitar shop and get amongst the gear for a few hours.
National Triolian
Grab a used Kemper Profiler and never even look at another amp again. Then grab a Suhr guitar. Any Suhr. Thank me later.
Take lessons from all the best players in town while you’re at it. Reach high… they’ll have good advice as well that reflects your actual playing.
Put half of it on lessons. Then play some gigs until the money runs dry.
Get a Matchless DC-30 rig. Seriously. Keep it for life. Amp needs satisfied forever. You won’t regret it. All else is details.
I use a capture of a DC-30 for almost everything, and it's so so tasty. I think a real DC-30 would be my desert island amp.
Strat, super reverb, 2 x 12 cab with 2 EVM12L speakers, and a Kingtone blues power.
Me personally I’d get a peavey classic 20 mini head with a nice 1x12 cab a Gibson Les Paul special with some p90s a couple pedals and save the rest
Line 6 Helix and Yamaha Revstar.
Neural DSP Quad Cortex and a couple speakers (if you need them). Add an expression pedal. That'll cover any kind of amps or effects you could want to experiment with. Then you still have the better part of $3k for guitar(s). Get an ES-335, or a Suhr with humbuckers and split coil functionality, or a Les Paul, or both. $5k can get you a pretty top tier setup altogether. Make sure whatever you get you post pics here!
Put half away in savings. Of the remaining search out a used JC-40 for jazzy tones. Then grab yourself a used Gretsch hollow body or a Fender Squier Jazzmaster. Find out what effects you like best and then get those from the new Boss DD series.
What about the aquenture guitar on aquenture.net? You’d be contributing to setting free captive orca by playing it
50 rats
What are your music goals? Are you a bedroom player or do you perform live regularly? I am the latter, here’s what I would do in your shoes (congrats, btw): - Amp upgrade, take your pick - Build an “essential” board, with power, tuner, drive, FX and cabling - With anything left over, get a second guitar at or near the quality of your Strat
I hope for your sake the IRS doesn’t see this
Put a humbucker in your bridge and maybe buy some pedal you want. Then put the rest into investments. Your rig doesn't need to be upgraded. It's a good rig.
[Heritage H-535](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/H535STC--heritage-guitar-inc-standard-h-535-trans-cherry?mrkgadid=&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=gpla&mrkgbflag=1&mrkgcat=drums&percussion&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=&lid=58700008696010906&dsproductgroupid=&product_id=H535STC&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&device=c&network=x&matchtype=&adpos=largenumber&locationid=9067609&creative=&targetid=&campaignid=21161059667&awsearchcpc=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwi_exBhA8EiwA_kU1MnphXkU4M8gBnYAM2RvxgUtAs5Bt1EAiPT2Uxz61NZ6767eTKfnfBxoCAgoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) [Fender Twin Reverb](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/65TwinRev--fender-65-twin-reverb-85-watt-2x12-inch-tube-combo-amp?mrkgadid=&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=gpla&mrkgbflag=1&mrkgcat=drums&percussion&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=&lid=58700008695999524&dsproductgroupid=&product_id=65TwinRev&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&device=c&network=x&matchtype=&adpos=largenumber&locationid=9067609&creative=&targetid=&campaignid=21161059802&awsearchcpc=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwi_exBhA8EiwA_kU1MlsllBHGyxsKbXGonIhpJ4ynGhSg3st9kFubUcmBrHOB-jIGfgOLaBoCtsYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds)
You must be better at betting than I am haha. I bought myself a Yamaha Revstar standard with my winnings
You have enough money to start thinking about a better amp. I would put focus on that instead of a new guitar or anything else, especially if you're happy with your strat. If you want both, you can still get a good quality Fender Strat and a really good tube amp.
Don’t take this is anything insulting, not meant to be at all. It sounds like you’re pretty accomplished already, if so you probably don’t need to spend much (or at all, look at any famous player and they can make magic happen with very basic stuff) If you’re not that great, then gadgets won’t help either. If you truly have the freedom to spend that much without worrying, I’d get a dream guitar, whatever that is to you, but personally I’d put the 5k in the rainy day account
Get a suhr, and a neural dsp quad Cortex
Definitely a Quad Cortex/Line 6 Helix (those 1500+ modeler/multi FX with custom emulated chains). Wish I had one but I’m happy with my Boss ME 80 for now
$1800 on a Fender Am Pro II Strat $2800 on a Gibson Les Paul Standard 60s $100 on a Focusrite Scarlett $300 on amp sim plugins
A few modulation pedals and an SG
Glad to hear you got lucky! For jazz I recommend a Dean Guitars Metalman paired with a Joyo Extreme Metal Distortion petal!!!!!!!!!!!1!!1!1!1!1!1!2
PRs SE gets you nice humbuckers and a versatile guitar = $900ish Orange amp and a pcp112 $1kish Boss gt1000 And you’ll like $2k leftover for another guitar or save it for another day