Your Gear of the Year

littlegreenman · November 2014

Easy one for me, I only bought one thing all year!

TC Ditto looper, great fun.

RaymondLin · November 2014

My Bogner Atma and PRS Stripped 58.

The PRS was actually totally unplanned. After getting my Custom 24 (which was a bargain itself), I wanted a single cut, was looking at Gibson and the like, then spotted a limited edition of the Zach Meyer SE, it is a single cut semi hollow, and user reviews for the normal one has been very good. However, I planned to change the nut and tuners to the PRS hardware, so that pushed the price up and in the same store in the states had this PRS, i looked deeper and found that it has the 57/08, and that it is a very rare colour. It spent a week in customs after it landed which drove me nuts.

The Atma was a long long time in waiting, Bogner stopped production of it, almost went for a lot of other amps but i am glad i waited. It is every amp that i ever wanted in a tiny package. From Fender tweed clean to Marshall gain and plenty of ground in between. It takes pedals effortlessly, 1W, 5W and 18W and it sounds like nothing you thought a EL84 should.

dilbert · November 2014

Digitech GSP1101 on a blowout from Thomann. At 200 sovs, these things are a steal. Sounds really cool, it's intuitive and easy to edit on the fly and with the X-Edit firmware. Only downside is the tuner, not that it's inaccurate or slow, I just can't read the bastard without my glasses ( \m/ eh !), so a rack tuner is on the horizon.

I haven't downloaded the Mustbebeta C62 patches yet, too busy getting to grips with the presets. As normal most are overblown but there are some gems to cut my teeth on. A friend has though, gigs with it straight to the board and sounds stellar.

FC1010B for Crimbo, methinks \:D/

racefaceec90 · November 2014

could i add my soon to have squier vintage modified jaguar also in white with tortoiseshell pickguard (to be fair any new guitar day is a big event for me,as they do not happen very often).

cannot wait :-)

capo4th · November 2014

Buffallo FX Evolution

MattG · November 2014

Swart AST 2 head and matching cab.

Quite simply the most stunning sounding amp i've ever heard its just break out tone through to full over drive sound fantastic, well balanced with a tight low end and a real high end sparkle it just sounds phenomenal no matter what you do to it!

That was my main purchase for the year and frankly it was everything i hoped for and more!

I tried it out next a 65 amps london pro and although that sounded fantastic it just sounded kind of dull in comparrison.

now pedals, after an epic clear out i restocked on these:

Rainger FX Dr.Freakenstien FRFF3: absolutely bonkers and out of the world, i've been told these can be abit of a handful and difficult to work into entire songs but as soon as my birthday gets here it'll be all over half the setlist, it just sounds like nothing else and reaal brings an extra element to my sound.

D.A.M Drag'n'fly: I wasnt keen on this at first but into an overdriven amp oh my god it just sounds perfect for anything abit old school and rude.

Swart Atomic boost: I had the amp so i just had to, its great for pushing my amp and for some really pushed fuzz face type tones or to really give a solo some life.

Way Huge Angry Troll: i've always wanted one of these and it did not disappoint quite dark sounding but it works well with everything else ive got and just gives me that extra dark sound in my tool kit, and again perfect for lifting lead lines and solos

Providence Stampede DT: just a fantastic distortion pedal, absolutely knocks my OCD out of the park! it even turns my Swart into a hard/Classic rock machine.

its become my dirt pedal of choice for everything from van halen to Franz Ferdinand!

Finally there is my Way huge Aqua puss: fantastic analogue delay that does the whole rockabilly slap back thing perfectly, unfortunately its got me wanting a caroline kilobyte now

On the list for next year are a caroline kilbyte and a Swart Atomic Boost

Loobs · November 2014

I dunno. I think the only bits of gear I bought this year are the ehx freeze and tc hof mini. Happy with both.

grungebob · November 2014

I bought a few things this year but the things that i've really enjoyed have been:

PRS SE 20 amp, a cheap purchase really at about £300 new but its proven itself to be a great buy and sounds lovely and nasty in all the best possible ways, my head has been turned by the new mini mesa mark V but realistically the SE is all I need and more, plus considerably less money than the mesa.

Ibanez S 770PB, this has been the biggest surprise this year for me. I dont like pointy guitars and this is only just verging on acceptable, but it feels great in the hand and is light as a feather yet its got a huge authoritative sound to it and sustains for days. I dont normally buy brand new guitars but after trying it on a whin in a local guitar shop I couldnt walk away without having it, played it every day since!

PRS McCaarty, Always loved PRS Custom 24's for their sound and playability so early on in the year I bought a SE Dave Navarro and installed USA Pickups, tuners and Nut. It sounded great but the painted neck didn't quite sit well with me so I had to pass it on. Got a good deal on a used late 90's McCarty that on paper is everything I dont want ( thicker heavier body, vintage output pickups, non locking tuners etc), but in the hand its a glorious alive sounding musical instrument that sits nicely with the Ibanez's more aggresive output on home recordings.

Apple iPad air, I know this isnt technically musical equipment but this iPad plus the iRig have made my life so much simpler, late night recording and practising is now possible and sounds good, plus with grageband I can quickly make drum patterns that fit my songs perfectly rather than having to make do, plus with all the other instruments on there my creativity has really sky rocketed.

Gassage · November 2014

I guess finding my dream guitar, and I really mean this, was a good one. I often thought that I'm too wedded to strats, teles and LP's just 'because' and wouldn't it be great to find a guitar that was really you? My CS356 is truly that. I'll save posting it YET again....but it's truly the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen.

drwiddly · November 2014

Blade RH-4 - I searched for a while for one of these and one came up on e-Bay at the right price. It's a gem!
PRS Custom 24 25th Anniversary - Bought from a fellow forumite. Lovely guitar with 57/08 pups that resonates like it's alive in your hands.
Axe FX II - Again bought from a fellow forumite as an upgrade from my Axe Ultra. Still getting to grips with it but it's serious fun!
Peavey 6505 - couldn't resist the bargain price from GAK. had some noise issues but seemed to have solved most of them now. The perfect amp when only brutal power will do! ;-)

thomasross20 · November 2014

I'm not going to say what is best, just state what I got! Here it is:

The guitars alone:

I always said when I joined a band, I'd treat myself. That coincided with turning 30 and having played for about 15 years now! So, I went a bit mental and bought some of the best gear I could find. I spent hours, and hours, and hours in guitars shops all over Edinburgh and Glasgow.

First I ended up with the Larrivee after scoping out a whole bunch of acoustics. £750 for an all-wood Canadian guitar is amazing, it's so loud and resonant! It outplayed the more expensive Martins and other guitars I tried. Got a good case with it, too! I got this because while I loved my Little Martin (which has now sold), I wanted a "proper" size guitar so I could maybe do solo slots with as the band thing wasn't happening at the time. It's best strummed - Martin still trumps it for fingerstyle but overall it's amazing.

Then I joined a band and got the pedals and pedal-board.
Distortion: Blackstar pedals were great but ended up spending 3x more on Suhr Riot Reloaded which is out of this world.
Tuner: Korg Pitchblack.
Delay: TC Flashback - great pedal though I only ever use one setting.
Boost: TC Spark Boost. Boost is one of my top pedals - so useful.
Chorus/flange/mod: TC Dreamscape. Only ever use the clean chorus but it's good.
Wah: Dunlop - classic.
Board: BCB60 - great though in future will get individual case + supply in case the supply goes bang.

I was getting a little tired of the tuning stability of my Ibanez SA (now sold) so went out looking for other guitars. Spent ages in GuitarGuitar Glasgow and the aim was to check out maple necks etc. Didn't get on with many of the PRS but LUCKILY picked up the 2013 Orange Fade Experience model - I say lucky because I completely overlooked it. There are SO many guitar models I believe you REALLY have to play them all and not skip on any one!!! Satin maple neck, ebony fretboard, pattern thin neck, 58/08 pups which sound killer distorted, ergonomic, looks great, stays in tune... enough said! I got the trem

I would have liked a Cu22 satin neck but they don't seem to do them? Satin ANY neck would be fine with me, rosewood, or whatever. LOVE satin necks. Cu22 has more pup definition (creamier neck settings due to pup distance) but I do like how the heel is reduced on the 24s - better fret access. Anyway, yes it was mental, but I bought a second PRS blind off Peach - the purple one. Practically the same spec as the orange one but with 59/09 pups which are a little hotter. Plays like a dream. Sometimes I think "hell, what a load of money I spent, could have used that elsewhere" but you only live once and whenever I play either of these, it's a dream.. so no, I don't regret it!

When I tried the Orange PRS it was a close one between that and a Suhr Pro S4... with ALL-maple neck!! I've ALWAYS wanted one of those. Sounded great, felt great, no volume knob right next to the treble E like on Fenders (an admirable mention goes to the American Deluxe HSS strat, though - great guitar but I'm not into the S1 electronics and the Suhr trem is better). The PRS did win in the end. But I spotted a used Suhr Pro S4 and went for it! Found out there was a green tinge to the neck and luckily Suhr say they are going to replace it free of charge even though it's used! Other than that the neck is great and the pickup definition is AMAZING - some great "QUACK" in there and although the PRS lead tone is better distorted, the Suhr wins hands-down for pickup definition and clean sounds.

I also got the Blackstar TVP260 amp & FS-10 footswitch. Sounds great at home levels, has decent FX (though I'll likely use my own), rugged as a tank no tube troubles, what more do I need? I demo'd it against several tube amps (Blackstar HT40 Club, Orange etc) and this sounded just as good to my ears. For £400 all-in it was a great buy and no punter would know the difference between this and valve. I've always spent more on the guitars ;D

thomasross20 · November 2014

andyoz said:

Wow!!

Loobs · November 2014

Gassage;411940" said:
I guess finding my dream guitar, and I really mean this, was a good one. I often thought that I'm too wedded to strats, teles and LP's just 'because' and wouldn't it be great to find a guitar that was really you? My CS356 is truly that. I'll save posting it YET again....but it's truly the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen.

Until next week.

Skipped · November 2014

Bare Knuckle Crawlers.

GavRichList · November 2014

Some big purchases for me this year. changed all of my guitars in fact. The cream of the incoming is obviously this:

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff193/guitarsforminnaars/Mobile%20Uploads/0AC2A625-B5F8-448A-B611-884FE4B3AB1B.jpg

1962 all original Jaguar - now with a Mastery bridge. The Mastery is worth mention - I started out a skeptic, but it's a wonderful thing.

Also a fair few pedals have come in this year too; the two most impressive (I cannot speak highly enough about them) are:

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff193/guitarsforminnaars/Mobile%20Uploads/079A81F3-B524-4B86-8BD7-23D02A740BE4.jpg

ZVex Instant Lo-Fi Junky - totally in love with the wonky it brings to the table. A recent purchase, but so much awesome.

and

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff193/guitarsforminnaars/Mobile%20Uploads/67012451-859F-4ABA-8067-59536636D53F.png.jpeg

Empress SuperDelay - Simply the best delay I've ever heard, and I'm a man with too many delays. And thats even before you get to the reverse mode...

GavRichList · November 2014

meltedbuzzbox said:

I have had quite a lot of stuff this year and sold a lot as well.
To summarise

Best Guitar - Custom Shop Jazzmaster (by a country mile)

Best Amp - Hiwatt SA212

Best Pedal - Too hard to call... I've bought lots of great pedals

Worst Guitar - Rickenbacker 610 - Its just shit. I can't even dress it up

Worst amp - Line 6 spider - was only £40 for funsies. I had no expectations to be fair.

Worst pedal - 2 way tie Fredric Mutant fuzz and Fredric Pocket Weasel

1. I want to play this Jazz

2. Totally agreed on the Riccy. I did warn you

Travisthedog · November 2014

Wampler Brent Mason Hotwired Overdrive

Charvel SoCal in Snow White - Unbelievable guitar for th emoney

My MJT Jazzmaster

Jalapeno · November 2014

Has to be my PRS SC-J Ltd Edition

xSkarloey · November 2014

@GavHaus and @Jalapeno ;

Two lovely looking guitars there.

impmann · November 2014

A HUGE year for me in terms of buying gear (so much come and gone, its not funny)....

Highlight guitars

Fender Jazzmaster AVRI 62 - fantastic guitar and the extra money *WAS* worth it

Fender Jaguar MIJ - one of my fave guitars in the world

Highlight amps

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Mk3 - just great. Does what it says on the tin

Highlight effects

Earthquaker Devices Dispatch Master - don't fuck about buy one

Langtronics Bone Collector - I might have bought it last year, I can't remember but it is incredible

Highlight others

Korg MicroPreset Synth - I've wanted one for years. Its great

Lowpoints:

Riccie 610 - disappointing guitar, if I'm honest. No jangle.

Squier Jaguar - poorly made, nearly put me off offset guitars

There may be more to add to this...

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Your Gear of the Year

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