The best tone you ever had from gear you no longer own..

Exorcist

Its probably been done before but worded differently, but I'm curious as to the best sound people have had from a guitar and/or amp, clean and/or overdriven. But to remove any rose tinted glasses, its got to be gear you do not own. Either because you moved it on or had borrowed it. So particularly guitars and amps rather than effects. If you did move it on, what was the reason? i.e. too loud, too quiet, great clean but terrible gain.. etc.

For me, its an amp. A Fuchs 4 aces gain channel (using an LP Junior.) Just heavenly but had to be brutally loud to get there, (and I'm a home only player at the moment) so the Amp was sold. I do miss it though. A lot.

Wazmeister

I had two amps that were awesome live...

1.) A Redplate Blackverb
2.) Carr Slant 6v

I moved both on to pursue the 'next' thing.. foolishly.

peteri

Back as a young man, in 1987 I got my first credit card.

Couple of days later I got a 25/50Watt Jubilee Marshall head, and a couple of 4x12s.

Running a Boss BE-5 in the loop for delay/chorus and a Marshall Guv'nor in the front for boost.

Turned up very loud, like 6-7 on the MV.

Just the sound of rock!

Moved it on 2-3 years later when I realised that I would never, ever be allowed to play that loud in practice, and I heard some neighbours 5-6 doors down arguing over the guitar noise (not realising it was coming from me).

Still searching for the sound today, Fractal has got me very close.

Still have the Guv'nor tho!

ICBM

Fender '64 Bassman into 4-ohm-wired Marshall '72 straight 4x12" with G12M-25s.

Just the absolute tone of God when it was cranked up... but far too big and impractical, and although the clean tone at low volume was very good, it wasn't outstanding enough compared to something a lot smaller and lighter to justify the hassle of moving it. So I sold it - which I sometimes regret.

slacker

60s  Kelly head kept breaking down sold it for parts
Wem 60s  head broke down too many times gave it away
Vox ac15ri sounded wonderful the five minutes it worked

My old strat was particularly amazing traded it for a ric 360 in 2008 now looking at strats.

Teetonetal

I really enjoyed my days of playing in an alt rock band, generally my Les Paul into Marshall 100w 30th Anniversary head into a 4x12 stack with greenbacks. It was loud as hell, sounded great. no pedals except a tuner.

Sold because I gave up the guitar.

Since then I have moved to Teles with Brunettis and I'm equally as happy.

guitars4you

Guitar wise - an all original 59 Esquire

Amp wise a 64 Deluxe Reverb

didn't own both at the same time

However I would like to add that other guitars I've previously owned and sold, that sometimes you see them again, so with fond memories you check them out - many times the reality of trying it again, along with the fondness/memory that you remembered and often they are not often the same

JohnPerry

Kingsley Jester into Carr Rambler. Actually don't now regret selling either but the combination was monstrous 

Kebabkid

I had a stereo MIDI rack system in the late 80s/early 90s that was fabulous.

The main tones came from an early numbered, and fabled, ADA MP1 Preamp. I've heard others, and Jonathan from Feline will testify to this, but they just didn't sound as good as those early ones. Great clean and overdriven tones.

Effects came from Alesis Quadraverb, or Art Multiverb or later Rocktron Intellifex and the switching was courtesy of an ADA Midi footswitch

Power came from a Marshall 80/80 and speakers were a pair of EV 1x12s but I later swapped  them for some Thiele, Celestion- equipped Mesa Boogie 1x12s.

I used to love dialing in signature sounds and naming them and always had lots of compliments on the sound and it was massive and very Lukather-ish.

I sold it all and at a later date, attempted to revisit a similar set-up with the Marshall JMP-1 as the brain but it didn't sound as good. I've never tried a Triaxis but I would imagine they'd have sounded good.

EDIT: as good as it was, it doesn't beat my current set up of pedals, a Divided by 13 JRT 9/15 through a 2x12 Tone Tubby cab, but it was a great and versatile set up for a long time and was of its time.

stimpsonslostson

SG Jr->Bad Monkey->Marshall 
SO loud. SO good. 

Twinfan

PRS DGT -> Bogner XTC Classic with matching 2x12

Fabulous sound, just way too loud for the pub gigs I play    The DGT was replaced with better sounding PS guitars but I still fondly remember how good it sounded with the Bogner.

p90fool

63 Strat into a 1977 50w Superlead and 8x10 Marshall cabinet, both volumes on 8, boosted a little by a 1981 Tubescreamer.  

That was my gigging rig for most of 1982, but bands were loud then, and although attenuators are handy it just really isn't the same. 

For some gigs I also had a 100w Superbass and 4x12 on the other side of the stage. 

When I tested the whole rig at home it brought both florescent strip lights down off my kitchen ceiling. 

CHRISB50

My old 93 ebony LP custom into my old JCM900 4100 head into a JCM900 1960A.

impmann

2 x early 1960s Vox Ac30s as backline. Loud? Pardon? Hell, yes. Sounded epic. Then kick in a third one for a solo boost at big gigs... excessive? Definitely. Fun? Hell yes. It sounded great on stage but I think I pissed the engineer off so FOH might have been a touch different.

1980s Telecaster Custom (Jap) - bought with a Picasso-alike paint finish that I stripped to bare wood and waxed, and fitted with unknown age OLD Fender pickups. It sounded gorgeous... then I had it refretted and it was ruined. It never played properly again. So I sold it. Knowing what I know now, it could have been revived. Dammit.

2003/4 Les Paul Special - ex @McToot and @TTony. I gigged it solidly for a while and the bridge pickup started to get microphonic. I swapped the pickups out for a set of... Novaks, I think and didn't like it so much. I was playing The Goldtop a lot by this point and so sold it... and regretted it. Little tone monster, that one - wish I'd kept it.

 

jumping@shadows

1968 Custom Telecaster with a 1951 Fender Champion lapsteel flatpole pickup fitted, and a neck pickup I wound myself coupled with a ‘60 big box tweed Princeton run though a ‘60s blonde Bassman cav with Alnico Gold speakers  I would genuinely stop mid gig and stare deep into that rig like the eyes of my first born it sounded so outrageously good :-)

IvisonGuitars

I was having this conversation with a pal only yesterday. 

It was a CS ‘59 Esquire into a Matchless HC30 and 4x10 cab. 

Incredible. Sold both while tone chasing the next thing. What a tit.

ESBlonde

Back in the late 70s or maybe early 80s I went to a gig with a band because they were breaking up and myself and a singer were joining with a couple of them to form a new band. During thier set we were invited up to do a couple of numbers. Guitar was a newish cherry 335 into an HH ic100 through and impact 2x12 cab (that dates it). Club was huge and the backline was loud. We did a couple of Fleetwood mac numbers and the tone and sustain was a revelation to a spotty youth like me, so much that I recall the detail all these years later. that guitarists is no longer local and doesn't gig, but last i heard he still has the 335.

TTony

impmann said:

2003/4 Les Paul Special - ex @McToot and @TTony. I gigged it solidly for a while and the bridge pickup started to get microphonic. I swapped the pickups out for a set of... Novaks, I think and didn't like it so much. I was playing The Goldtop a lot by this point and so sold it... and regretted it. Little tone monster, that one - wish I'd kept it.
 

I still remember that one @impmann. ; I sold it because  I thought I only needed one twin p90 simple and raw rock guitar (and my JJ ticks that box more effectively).  Obviously I was completely wrong and should never have parted with that.  One of G's finest!

impmann

TTony said:

impmann said:

2003/4 Les Paul Special - ex @McToot and @TTony. I gigged it solidly for a while and the bridge pickup started to get microphonic. I swapped the pickups out for a set of... Novaks, I think and didn't like it so much. I was playing The Goldtop a lot by this point and so sold it... and regretted it. Little tone monster, that one - wish I'd kept it.
 

I still remember that one @impmann. ; I sold it because  I thought I only needed one twin p90 simple and raw rock guitar (and my JJ ticks that box more effectively).  Obviously I was completely wrong and should never have parted with that.  One of G's finest!

Last I heard @ChrisMusic has it.

peteri

ICBM said:

Fender '64 Bassman into 4-ohm-wired Marshall '72 straight 4x12" with G12M-25s.

Just the absolute tone of God when it was cranked up... but far too big and impractical, and although the clean tone at low volume was very good, it wasn't outstanding enough compared to something a lot smaller and lighter to justify the hassle of moving it. So I sold it - which I sometimes regret.

Actually I should add the same.

Best, best sound ever

I had a similar aged Bassman head - bought mid/late 80s for £25 from a disco equipment shop (those were the days!).

Absolutely flat out into a 4x12, with the Marshall Guv'nor in front pushing the crap out of it.

For ten glorious minutes - it was the voice of God (if not the fingers), then the output valves died!

Sold it to Mr Octatonic (after a service), believe he sold it later - for the same reason, sounded amazing - but unless you've heard a non-MV head flat out, you really don't know the meaning of loud

english_bob

• PRS Starla X (which I do still own) -> Boss RV-5 (modulate) -> Marshall 2104 (which had been liberated from its cabinet) -> Marshall 4x12" -  in a recording studio, where it sounded great through the monitors (and the walls!), but would have been unbearably loud otherwise.

• Fender Jazzmaster (my old '62-meets-MIJ mongrel) -> Vox Valvetone -> Zoom Power Driver -> Boss DD-5 -> Fender Twin. All traded away. Beautiful singing lead sound. 

• '79(?) ES-335 -> (dirt pedal?) -> Marshall JMP head (1959?) -> Marshall 4x12" - Borrowed from a bandmate for an evening. Basically the same as #1 except for a bit of air inside the guitar, but anyone who's been in a room with a sweaty Marshall will know why they're as beloved of rock players as they are.

Actually, the most eye-opening "great tone from gear you don't own" story I have is a bit of a role reversal- I'd been playing in church with a load of my "spare" gear- I played in a band as well at the time, and for some reason I couldn't use my favourite guitar, my Twin or my pedals so I had a Squier Strat (which I may or may not have put Fender Noiseless pickups in by then), an old HH transistor amp and a few pedals. I'd been struggling with it all morning and couldn't get comfortable with the sound- everything people hate about Strats- thin, shrill, no sustain. My head was full of ideas about how to improve it, most of which involved spending money.

A guy I knew asked after the service if he could have a play (it was a big room and the band would often jam a bit as people dispersed after the service) so I went to get a cup of coffee or something while he played. The sound of that guitar from the other side of the room was bloody marvellous. I don't know what he did- if he changed anything, or just played better than me, but it sounded amazing.