Which purchase, based on my current set up, will improve my guitar tone the most?

[BillMurray]

Hi there,

Currently for my guitar tone I use a Pod HD desktop and a six string Gibson epiphone with stock pickups that is close to, maybe even over, 20 years old.

Question: What in your opinion will have the greatest positive effect on getting a decent djenty/metal guitar tone: a) an Axe Fx with my current guitar, b) a brand new guitar (six or seven string) in the price range £600 - £1000, or c) save a bunch of money and just get really good new pickups in my guitar.

Assume I have to pick one of the above options.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Random3]

The Axe-FX will have by far the biggest improvement on tone IMO.

You won't know for sure unless you try your guitar through an Axe-FX, but generally speaking, the amp will have a much larger impact on tone than anything else.

Personally I would forget the pickups. Not to say that sticking some Bareknuckles in won't improve your tone, just nowhere near as much as getting something like an Axe-FX.

 

[Drezik27]

Agree with @Random3

An Axe FX or Kemper would be the biggest difference. I purchased an Axe about 2 years ago and was blown away by the difference. I had been using TSE x50/Revalver mostly.

 

[Airhead]

IMO you have everything to get a decent djenty/metal guitar tone.
If you want to get a good to excellent djenty/metal guitar tone, then get an Axe Fx. If you still not satisfied, change the guitar with a 7 strings, and finally you change the pickups.

 

[Drew]

Disagree with Random3.

Bulb used various Pods for years, and his tone didn't change THAT much as he went on to other gear. It's not my personal taste in gear or tone, but dialed in right it'll work for djent.

Meanwhile, how many "djent" bands use 24.75" guitars with vintage voiced humbuckers and mahogany bodies? I'm not knocking your Epiphone - it'll probably do metal just fine if you want a thick, chunky, heavy tone, but that's not what you're really after, and with the scale, body wood, and pickups, you're going to struggle with definition for lower tunings. I'd keep your current guitar, use it for different sounds, but grab something else with at least a 25.5" scale, possibly with seven strings, that'll give you a brighter and crisper guitar tone.

 

[Lemonbaby]

New PUs instead of the cheap stock ones will make a huge difference. With less than 200 bucks, that's the first thing I'd do. You can also reuse them when you get a new guitar at a later point...

 

[KingAenarion]

Yea honestly I'd say replace the POD last, and honestly, I'd on-sell it. Use an interface and some good software plugins. Work out which you like from like Thermionik, Amplitube, Line 6 Helix, Bias... you have so many options these days.

Then it comes down to - are you actually going to get a nice 7-string guitar? A halfway decent one? Is there any point in buying pickups for a 6-string guitar if you're going to 7-string anyways?

 

[LiveOVErdrive]

A new guitar would help, but an EQ in front of the amp will get you 95 percent of the way there. Throw an EQ in front of your preamp in your pod and bring up the mids and some of the highs. Then throw a boost in there. Then some kind of metal amp model. Then another EQ to scoop out 800hz and boost 1200hz.

Then djent away, friend. Djent away.

 

[BubbleWrap]

It all depends on what you want to spend. Making a low cut with the parametric eq just beneath your lowest note and using a hard gate are the easiest options. A decent ceramic bridge pickup would next in line, followed by a new guitar. The pod hd works alright for djenty tones, so I wouldn't worry about that unless you're wanting to throw down serious cash, but then you'd still need to upgrade pickups or guitar.

 

[schwiz]

I think Drew made the best point so far. That Epiphone has a 24.75" scale. If you're trying to 'djent' with that thing and throw on some heavy strings, it will probably just end up flubby and nearly impossible to intonate. Not to mention the stock pickups aren't that hot, and they are stock. IMO you don't need to spend near 2k on an AxeFx when there are all sorts of sofftware options. The POD really is just fine.

I'd say to source a used 7 string guitar and put some aftermarket pickups in it. Use the remaining money to get an interface if you don't have one already, as well as some plugins. IMO you don't need an AxeFx yet.