My Cantrell Rampage Tribute

[pico peachy]

I recently purchased a brand new Tribute Rampage from my local G&L dealer. Just wanted to comment on it here. In short, it rocks. I have played, owned, sold and traded at least a dozen USA G&Ls over the last five years (both Leo-era and BBE) and never thought I would bother with a Tribute since you can score used USAs for around the same price. I have been playing the bass pretty exclusively for the last six months (a great sample of a L2000) and found myself without any six strings when the itch came back. Because of all the bass playing and because I have, for years, wanted to give up picks altogether, I decided to try a 1 3/4 neck. And this is the really the main reason I picked up the Rampage. The subtle but wider neck and wider spacing really makes a difference for my big hands. I custom ordered an ASAT a few years ago and wished I had been brave enough to order the wider neck then. I thought about it but it didn't happen. This Rampage was an affordable way to give it a shot (and still play a G&L). As far as the quality of the guitar, I can't complain. Well balanced, ebony board, rings clearly and stays in tune like a champ. I suppose some of the hardware could be better quality but I don't really care. The wider neck is what I am really excited about, I can hit some higher notes and chords that gave up trying to reach years ago. It really is a game changer for me and again, I wish I had done this sooner.

I got the ivory version. Yes, I know it doesn't exist without photos but I feel silly taking a photo of a guitar that can be found all over the internet.

Also, I needed a new amp to play it (I really downsized during my bass playing time) I just heard about and then purchased one of the Tech 21 Trademark 30 amps. If you don't like to mess around with pedals and don't have to have tubes, please try one of these amps. They really rock.

One more note on the Tributes-Something I learned about myself and my finances, even though I have owned many USA G&Ls, I guess it boiled down to that I couldn't really afford to keep them. I got a deal on this Rampage because I have purchased a few US G&Ls from my dealer. I am really happy with the quality and won't ever feel compelled to sell it because the resell value isn't worth it. This isn't to say I am going to go Tributes exclusively but I can't imagine how I could justify selling this guitar no matter how much I could use the money.

[Kit]

Hey Paul, who is your "local G&L dealer?" I drove by the Proguitarshop store front in the Pearl many times but never stopped by, they stock G&Ls from what I understand. Several years ago when they were still in a small industrial park space in Tigard I bought a pedal from them.

The Rampage has a volume knob and that's it, right? Do you find that a limitation to the tones you can get out of the guitar?

Kit

[pico peachy]

Hey Kit. Nice to hear from you. I am sorta in the market for a looper pedal, possibly the same model that I sold you way back when...if it happens to be collecting dust, let me know. Am also considering the bigger versions, the Boss RC-20 or the RC-500, but really didn't need all the bells and whistles. I loved the boomerang looper pedals but would like to be able store some loops which the boomerangs could not do.

Yes, one volume knob. I like it simple like that-no messing around trying to find the sweet spot, just plug in and play. Lately, I have been of the mindset that your choice of tones are mostly limited by the amp and pedals you are playing through. One of the reasons I picked up the Tech 21 Trademark 30 is because it has a lot of variety. I am not an expert on the analog technology of this amp but there is nothing digital, Line 6ish sounding about it. Very warm and alive sounding in a very small, lightweight package.

hope all is well...and I hope Spring arrives soon!

[pico peachy]

hey Kit, forgot to mention, I consider my local G&L dealer as Apple Row Music, mainly because I live two miles from there but they also introduced me to G&L way back when I walked in the doors with the idea of buying my first brand new Strat. There were having a sale and I got 10 percent knocked off the asking price even though they still had to order the Ivory version for me. Nice surprise for me.

I have been to the Pearl Proguitarshop. The guys there let me try several different chorus pedals before I settled on one. I know that shop has been talked about a bit here because they tend to get some interesting variations on the standard models. The Pearl shop is a bit unusual-very sparse and open spaced. More like an art gallery or museum.

[louis cyfer]

that tech 21 trademark is a great amp, despite not being tube.

[jayochs]

congrats on the rampage! i've got the same exact one. i love it.

some words of advice though, go check out my topic on the gouging in the kahler:
http://guitarsbyleo.com/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=5459

i'm sure you know how to use a kahler since you've had G&L's before (perhaps), but don't mkae the same mistake i did! make sure you get the right strings, and they're on there correctly!

i love the guitar. i've had it for 3 months now and i play the hell out of it lol