Generally speaking you can play any musical genre with most guitar rigs. No matter what sound you are hoping to achieve most setups will have a basic clean sound for pop and roots based music and some form of overdrive or distortion for punchier, “rockier” styles. Many entry level “bedroom” amplifiers offer so much more these days than just two basic channels with onboard effects and even connectivity to handy apps helping you to produce your desired sound.

As you develop your playing and move into more specific sounds and styles you may find you will want to personalise your rig to suit a particular genre of music. The good news is putting together a genre specific rig to suit a certain style does not have to mean spending major dollars and the advantage being not only will you get the sound you want, you will also start to feel you have invested in and connected to your chosen musical style. We assembled a panel of dedicated Musos Corner product demonstrators who are very serious about their respective musical styles and asked them to put together two rigs, one for under $1000 dollars to suit someone who is upgrading from their first basic all round set up the second is most or less a dream rig where money is no object just to see what is possible. The caveat here is we are not just spending money for the sake of it rather putting together a pro rig that will deliver the right sound, feel and aesthetics and stand up to the rigours of playing night after night.

All the pricing we are working from are the approximate street prices at time of publication. (July - 2022)

Budget Rig

For the “budget” set up we have tried to make this as close to your first upgrade to your rig as possible, with this in mind we are not really specifying a professional rig meant for stage use. We are concentrating on getting you a rig with the sound, playability and vibe of your chosen style. As upgrading all of your rig in one go is a rare thing due to budget we suggest you swap out your equipment as necessary to your requirements. You will find depending upon the style that amp wattage (volume) will vary considerably as required by each style.  

Dream Rig

For the “dream” set up we have specified no budget, however, as specified earlier we are not just looking to burn money here like a rockstar but just meet our favourite requirements based on sound, playability, reliability, durability and vibe, this can be often achieved without just going out and buying the most expensive equipment available. As we are “the people’s music store”, you won’t find any boutique or overly exotic gear on these lists, just easily readily available classics that have stood the test of time. 

What's in a rig?

Hypothetically included in each rig:

  • We have hypothetically included all the leads and patch cables you will need for each rig
  • We have hypothetically included a clip-on tuner for the budget rigs and a pedal tuner in the dream rig. We have also included a power supply or power brick for all pedal setups.
  • The other proviso we have is we are hypothetically supplying a road crew for the Dream Rigs so space and weight is not a factor in these decisions as you don’t have to lug it so you can knock yourself out.
  • All the pricing we are working from are the approximate street prices at time of publication.

Budget Electric Blues Rig

for under $1000 (spec’d by ID)

Guitar - Squier Classic Vibe 60’s Stratocaster in Sunburst ($649.00)

The Squier Classic Vibe series of guitar and basses are highly recommended by our staff across the entire range. All models feel and play like the classic models from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s and as the name infers maintain the ‘vibe’ of the original models without auction like prices. The Stratocasters in the classic vibe range are no exception and any model is a good choice.

Personally I am going with a 60’s sunburst due to the Pau Ferro fingerboard in a homage to Stevie Ray Vaughan. In the true blues tradition I have spent $999.00 out of my $1000 so when I can spend more money it’s a brown or tortoise shell pickguard to replace the white one, however, there will be no engraving my initials, I don't need that level of responsibility.

Amplifier - Fender Frontman 20G Guitar Amplifier ($195.00)

This little combo is simply stunning value for money. The clean channel is not a classic Fender tube tone, however, it is very serviceable and great for low volume blues rhythms and chords. The overdrive channel will do the job as well with enough bite and sustain to get your bends wailing which will also clean up if you ride the Stratocaster’s volume. The EQ and layout is simple so you can concentrate on what is important and there is an aux in and headphone out for backing track jams into the early hours.

Effects - TC Electronics Hall of Fame Mini Reverb ($155.00)

Some form of reverb is always useful in this style to add space and depth to your lead lines or brooding rhythms on slower numbers. Fender tank reverbs from their famous series of valve combo amplifiers is desirable here, however at this price point the TC Hall of Fame mini will do just fine. The Hall of Fame range of reverbs are highly recommended and the big brother to the mini is one of our biggest sellers. Although the mini version is pretty simply laid out I can dial in subtle ambience to full blown swamp as required.

The Dream Electric Blues Rig

+$1000 (spec’d by ID)

Guitar - Gibson ES-335 Dot in Vintage Burst ($5499.00)

Gibson guitars have been associated with the blues since its inception and Robert Johnson’s L1 model is a legendary piece of the puzzle. The same can be said for Gibson’s ES series of guitars as the ES-335 provides hollow body warmth and depth with the centre block providing stability and reducing feedback at higher volumes.

The guitar is surprisingly versatile and has been used in a multitude of styles from jazz to hard rock, the palette of sounds is wide ranging from warm and woolly to pristine and bell-like clean and clear. Spanky rhythm sounds are achievable and there is definite enhancement in the depth and fullness of tone over a solid body instrument. The ES-335 is also very comfortable to play and the slightly shorter scale length than a Fender will make bending and vibrato easier.

I have gone with a vintage sunburst colour option rather than the classic cherry, after seeing the sunburst finish in the flesh it’s really, really nice.

Amplifier - Fender ‘59 Bassman Reissue ($2599.00)

For my amp selection I have gone with a trusty Fender ‘59 Bassman reissue which as the name suggests was originally designed as a bass amplifier for the new Fender Precision bass in 1952. The 45 watts was perfect for bass with the relative lower volumes of the day, however, as groups got louder into the 60’s and 70’s the wattage was found wanting to push low end bass frequencies out at the required volume without breaking up. Guitarist’s on the other hand found it a perfect amp for electric guitar due to its pure sound, reliability and simplicity.

Stevie Ray Vaughan notoriously used a variety of combinations for his amplification over his career including Fender Vibroverbs and Super Reverbs, Marshalls and Dumbles, however, he did settle on a pair of Bassmans with matching cabinets for his 1990’s tour so here we are. The Bassman will provide glassy, chiming clean rhythms and will take pedals incredibly well for anything more adventurous.

I am keeping this rig as simple as possible as I really just want to focus on my playing here other contenders include the Mesa Boogie California 6V6 which pays homage to the great Fender tweed amps and of course any classic Fender valve amplifier which is always a solid choice for any roots based style.

Effects - Strymon Flint Reverb and Tremolo ($489.00), Strymon MiniSwitch External Tap Tempo ($129.00) or Ibanez TS9 Tubescreamer ($155.00)

Ok this is a bit silly, however, there is a slight method to the madness here. Fender tank reverb and tremolo straight from the are hard to beat and this pedal is designed to capture precisely these classic sounds in a modern format. Given the Bassman has the format and sound I want, 45 watts with 4x10 speakers in a combo adding the Flint will add the space, rate and depth that I need for my blues tone.

A modern take on these effects will give me more options and unlike onboard reverb and tremolo I will be able to use the MiniSwitch for tap tempo on the tremolo and also use it to select a favourite preset if necessary. As the Bassman is a single channel amp the TS9 will be useful for providing a clean boost with the gain set down low and the volume up. The TS9 will also add some subtle compression and an overall tightening up of the sound.