Your Gear of the Year

xSkarloey

Christmas is around the corner and I see the guitar mags are publishing their annual GOTY issues.

I thought between us we could compile something more comprehensive and user-friendly. Crucially, there is no obligation to give things five stars continually either.

So why not post about the best/ worst bit(s) of gear you've come by this year?

New/ second hand/ whatever. No need to limit yourself to things released this year either. Nods to older gear is just as valid.

TTony

Anything by @GSPBasses gets on my GOTY list.

That any my Tech21 British pedal.

underdog

I'm going to be predictable, I picked up a used Gibson lpj for £300 and it just a brilliant les Paul for not much money. All the les Paul sounds, Gibson on the headstock and for epiphone money in the used market.

hubobulous

I'll add some....

The Badger 30 is awesome and the accompanying 1x12 sounds HUGE. Along with the Koko Boost, I really get a tone that makes me smile. I'd also add the Corso here too....a great home amp, takes pedals very well and the DI is great for home recording.

The Rufus and Velvet Fuzzes are killer pedals. Still looking for a fuzz that retains a fuzz vibe into a dirty amp, but I love these two for other purposes than my live rig.

The H9 is great and I'm still getting my head around all the possibilities that are available with it

My basswood/burl maple Suhr Modern with blower switch. I adored that guitar until some asswipe stole it

....and whilst not gear I've bought, I loved the London GearFest and look forward to another

stimpsonslostson

Squier Trohman Tele... Good for £300... Bloody AMAZING for £140!! (Possibly one of the most widely owned guitars amongst forum members).

samzadgan

Mine is my '74 Super Bass...best amp I've ever had

Edwards LPC...amazing playing guitar and looks beautiful

Pickups from Oil City...not sure of the model names...the bridge is an A8 magnet super hot and extremely clear and thick.

In a few weeks I'm hoping to add another guitar to the list...

stimpsonslostson

Amp related- line6 pocket pod. £40 off gumtree. Runs off batteries, full of LOADS of (decent quality) sounds AND let's me play along with MP3s without driving the wife/neighbours nuts. It even fits in my gig bag in case of amp failure. Every home should have one.

xSkarloey

Didn't add my gear in the op so here goes.

Bad Monkey- like many people I had my head turned by the recent price mark downs and I've been won over. A very useful pedal.

TC ditto- really simple and great for everything I've tried with it.

Marshall DSL5C. Twin channel combo, small size, feature rich and switchable down to 1 watt. Compact but no way is it boxy sounding. Classic looks and classic sounds.

Boss BF-2 flanger. Had to get one. Tons of sounds and variation, from subtle to 80's classic tones to extreme settings. This is the only modulation pedal I now use.

ThePrettyDamned

My @juansolo delay pedal.

It's a recent acquisition but it's just a stunning sounding thing. I actually don't like switching it off.

speshul91

My Marshall mg15cfr. Sounds great. Can play with my headphones on and has saved me money as I really like the sound of my riks strat copy through it

Bucket

Quite a big year for me gear-wise.

Unquestionably at the top is my Mesa Mark Five 25. Stunning cleans and distortion, crammed full of useful features, superb versatility and user-friendliness, really convenient size and also just that sense of it really being a very high-quality piece of kit.

http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/af347/ConnorF1995/New Amp Day - Boogie MkV 25/20141017_134446_zps7073111b.jpg

My MJT Strat is great - didn't quite turn out how I expected but that's my fault for not taking enough care in speccing the neck, so it'd be churlish to complain about that. I'm super happy with the results anyway, it's really high-quality in construction, plays brilliantly and sounds great. And as an added bonus, it looks great... no, better than great. Perfect.

http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/af347/ConnorF1995/DSCF1996_zps00f008c0.jpg

Vintage VS6 Icon Jr - some issues with this. Set-up wasn't bad but needed tweaking a little, but the big problem was the pickup. It just didn't work properly, it had a fault which meant it was significantly down on power. New pickup and it's right as rain. Very light, nice big neck, resonates well and plays nicely. Balance is awful but that's to be expected from an SG shape. 

http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/af347/ConnorF1995/Vintage VS6 Icon Jr/20140812_103851_zpsf442fa26.jpg

The pickup problem I mentioned brings me to my next nomination - Oil City Pickups. I've bought pickups for the above two guitars from Ash this year, and received sterling service and absolutely top-notch pickups that sound wonderful (the Strat set in particular has won me many compliments from people who have heard them). And all for great prices. I've been recommending them left, right and centre and will almost certainly be buying from Ash again.

Maxon Fuzz Elements Fire - really impressed by this fuzz (a Roland Bee Baa-based circuit). Thick, sustaining and aggressive sound which can be turned into a snarling, scooped, octavey bark with the left footswitch. Shedloads of volume and gain too.

http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/af347/ConnorF1995/Maxon Fire/DSCF1769_zpsb6fc80f1.jpg

Ibanez ES-2 Echo Shifter - it's a fantastic delay pedal with a really cool design and feature set, including super-deep modulation and tap tempo (on an analog delay!), and a slider instead of a knob for delay time which looks cool and allows for some noise-mongering - I think it's more precise as a means of setting the time as well. Some really out-there sounds available if you push it, but it's also great at more conventional delays. HOWEVER - mine stopped working about a week or two after I got it. I still have no idea what the fault was, but it's an insanely complex circuit judging from all the wires inside it so I guess there's a lot that could potentially go wrong. Anyway, I took it back to Coda and exchanged it for another one, which has worked perfectly for a few months now.

http://i1022.photobucket.com/albums/af347/ConnorF1995/IMG_20140503_200529_zps229dc125.jpg

Hardwire Supernatural - knew I had to have one of these as soon as I saw the PGS demos, and finally snagged one earlier this year. It's great - bit much through the front of an amp but wonderful in the FX loop, and with lots of different reverb sounds available - all impressively cavernous. If you're a sucker for some crazily over-the-top reverb, this is ideal. No photos, sorry

underdog

stimpsonslostson;410729" said:

Amp related- line6 pocket pod. £40 off gumtree.

Runs off batteries, full of LOADS of (decent quality) sounds AND let's me play along with MP3s without driving the wife/neighbours nuts. It even fits in my gig bag in case of amp failure.

Every home should have one.

I got one about a year back on eBay for about 30 quid, have to agree it's great. I use it a lot when I'm learning something so no one else has to hear me repeat things for hours on end, as you also great to play along to music from mp3, phone etc

ThePrettyDamned

@bucket you have inspired more GAS in me than I thought imaginable. I want the Bee baa and the hardwire supernatural.

Bucket

ThePrettyDamned said:

@bucket you have inspired more GAS in me than I thought imaginable. I want the Bee baa and the hardwire supernatural.

Sorry!

I've been meaning to get a video up of the Nobels ODR-1 as well, hopefully it'll be soon!

strtdv

I've had a surprising amount of purchases this year, I think it's because I have a wife who encourages these things.

Chronologically:

Furch acoustic guitar. Think it's their base model with cedar top and laminate mahogany back and sides

Like: Lovely sound, well built, clever zero fret and graphite nut, useful soft case.

Don't like: would have preferred solid back and sides for £600

Overall 7/10

Fishman Matrix Infinity acoustic under saddle piezo pickup and preamp.

Like: dead easy to install, useful soundhole controls, very low feedback, actually sounds pretty good

Don't like: still some piezo quack (although much less than other piezo systems I've used).

Overall 7/10

Gibson SG Derek Trucks 2014.

Like: beautifully put together, no finish flaws, 1 piece body, 57 classics go really well with an SG, lovely colour, lovely dark even rosewood fretboard

Don't like: Pickups needed substantial setting up (a minor gripe really)

Overall: Best SG for the money IMO, 9.5/10

Laney Ironheart Studio head.

Like: 3 channels in a tiny box, good digital reverb, built in dummy load so can use headphones, direct USB out, DI out, Laney have finally come round to series effects loops, excellent high gain tones and pretty good crunch tones, footswitchable master boost.

Don't like: Cleans are quite sterile, push/pull switches on the knobs don't make a great deal of difference and actually make the amp sound worse in most cases. Doesn't have toroidal transformers like most other Laneys, and changing valves is a pain as you need to remove something like 12 or 16 screws.

Overall: great high gain tones in a compact package, very reasonable price 7/10

Marshall 1912 1x12 cab.

Like: solid build quality, good side handles, good sounds at volume, a surprising amount of bass response for a small cab

Don't like: Not very open sounding at low volumes, heavy for the size, odd speaker choice.

Overall: I paid £100 for it so I'm extremely happy. However at the full new price of £280 odd, it would get a 6/10.

TC electronic Nova System Limited.

Like: excellent quality delays, reverbs, modulation, noise gate and compression in a compact and quick to set up package. Analogue overdrive is good. Tap tempo and mute/tuner is good, as are the various options for inputs, outputs and additional pedals

Don't like: not a fan of the distortion, sounds like a DS1. Not 100% transparent when bypassed. artist presets are mostly useless and samey.

Overall: you won't get a better all in one package without getting a G System IMO. 7.5/10

Warwick Thumb 5 Bolt On (2004 handmade in Germany model)

Like: best build quality on any instrument I have ever seen. Sounds incredible, plays fantastic, good intonation and no dead spots the whole way up the neck. classic Warwick growl in spades.

Don't like: came with a gigbag rather than a hardcase. Seriously, its a >£2k bass, just give it a hardcase. Bolt on Thumbs are known for being a bit neck heavy, this one is no exception. 

Overall: the only bass I will ever need, sounds and plays incredible. 9/10 (would have got a 10 if it came with a hardcase and a slightly longer upper horn)

Warwick Sweet 25.1 amp (250 watts, 1x15, 1x8, treble tweeter)

Like: cheap as chips on the used market. decent power, fairly well featured, decent sound

Don't like: cab is too small for the 15" speaker, it gets woofy on the low B, too much inherent noise in the circuit.

Overall: If you were paying the RRP, 5/10. I got it for £100 as a stop gap until I can afford a Markbass head and cab setup, so I'm happy for now.

Pedals:

I think the only pedal I got this year is an EHX Soul Food which my brother bought me

Like: wonderful almost-clean boost, incredibly transparent and dynamic. Buffer is very transparent too and really excellent (it's a Klon buffer clone) which is part of the reason I bought it, to run it at the start of my signal chain.

Don't like: EHX subminiature build so if it breaks it'll be unfixable. With the buffer bypassed emits a loud pop when engaged.

xmrchi

The surprise this year has been the ibanez rg 2610 prestige , bought on a whim, but is a phenomenal player, I have never really liked rock guitars, but this one looks like evil and sounds like Satan!
Definately this year's most surprising guitar. http://i1370.photobucket.com/albums/ag268/mrmatthewharper/Mobile Uploads/20141110_182440_zps28091d9c.jpg

jd0272

The SVL Strat I haven't bought yet, and the way my Mrs spends, not likely to either  

On the upside, that's another parts-a! Sigh....

I'm still ragingly happy with my Egnater Rebel 30 head tbh.

matt1973

2014 Acquisitions...

Guitars:

Gibson Howard Robert Fusion III - unreal. Why did gibson discontinue these??

Gibson Les Paul Classic 2002 - preferred this to my early 90s Classics

Fender EJ Sig Strat - definately the best of the production fenders

Fender AVRI Tele - liked this, but a yen for a Les Paul made me loosen my grip pretty quick

PRS SC250 Artist - top drawer craftsmanship, but ultimately not me

Fender JV Squier - good strat, too heavy for me.

Amps:

Marshall Jubilee - one trick pony but what a trick it is

Diamond Spitfire II - practically unknown in the UK, probably the best sleeper amps around

Marshall Vintage Modern - nice cleans, good raspy leads, lacks versatility

Marshall JCM800 4210 - great but scared the shit out of everyone I play for. Heavy.

Ceriatone 18w TMB - love this. Beautiful tones, very touch sensitive and surprisingly loud.

Marshall Class 5 - forgettable.

FX:

Voodoo Labs Sparkle drive mod - has a few interesting features but ultimately meh

Voodoo Labs giggity - didn't get this one. Expected much, was disappointed.

Line6 M5 - good sounds, bad interface.

Line6 Pod HD500 - as much as I want to hate this and sell, it keeps proving me wrong. Reluctantl, I have to say this is a fine piece of gear with a large variety of uses and applications. If only it had latching/momentary switch outs.

p90fool

Top of my list is the '68 Custom Princeton, followed by Oil City's Cow-R-Tron and Mojo's Gold Foils pickups.

These three things have actually changed the way I approach playing the guitar after 35 years.
Old dog + New tricks = win

stickyfiddle

I've only bought 3 thing bits of gear this year. Gibson Dove (AMAZING), Laney Lionheart (AMAZING), Alter Ego X4 (Amazing sounds but not quite as flexible as I'd like). Now considering saying "fuck it" and ordering a Timeline

Stevepage

Charvel So Cal. Loved it the moment I picked it up. Still love it now though thinking about modding some bits.

Seymour Duncan Jb Jr and lil 59. Really pleased with these in my Strat. In turn I've played my Strat more this year than I have for a very long time.


Now for gear that's not mine. Hubobulous' Suhr guitars. Specifically his Modern 80'S drip and cocobolo necked standard? Loved both but fell in love with the Drip. Cracking guitars, GAS levels high.