# Best and most disappointing acquired gear of 2019



## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 6, 2020)

What is everyone's best gear they've acquired in 2019? Could be a guitar, amp, pedal, modeller, etc. Also what is the most disappointing piece or pieces of gear you've bought in 2019?

For me, the best would have to be the KSR Ceres + CAB M. Both are really awesome. The Ceres sounds modern, but can do 80s, 90s, and beyond. The CAB M has a lot of options, is small, and sounds great. The cabs and mic sims it comes with kick ass. You'll notice this is short compared to the disappointing gear below, but I don't think much needs to be said about either piece of gear. They do what they do well and neither take a ton of tweaking to get to the finals, and yet tweaking offers some great rewards. Shit just works.

The most disappointing piece of gear I've acquired has to be the Mad Professor Loud N Proud. They promote this gigantic pile as a LITERAL Marshall in a box (from input to speaker out, not just the preamp). I dunno how likely that is, but whatever it is or isn't, it certainly doesn't sound good with my setup. The YouTube demos sound killer, but as a preamp into the CAB M and Headrush 112, it is a disappointing, frustratingly difficult pile of crap to dial in. A Joyo American Sound with some pedals sound better. As such I won't be likely to buy any Mad Professor pedals in the future. 

I thought this might be THE pedal to get all of those 70s and 80s tones (just boost with a TS Mini, Rat, DS-1, Guvnor, etc. for those 80s hair metal tones)! That couldn't be further from the truth. I found it never truly sounded good, and was one of the few pedals that sounded worse the more I tried to tweak the pedal itself and the CAB M. At one point, I even tried damn near every 212 and 412 the CAB M has on it stock, cycling through the mics in an attempt to get it to sound decent. Never happened. Mushy bloated low end, weird highs with scratchiness and harshness, strange in the mids, etc. It is a certified turd.

It wouldn't be so bad if it didn't just work for me, but the fact I was so convinced it would be great coupled with the fact the pedal never ONCE had something about the tone I didn't like really pissed me off. Now I gotta try and get a refund via return through Prymaxe on Reverb. Do NOT buy.

Anyways, what pieces of gear were best of 2019, and which were major disappointments?


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## Flemmigan (Jan 6, 2020)

Best: Dunable R2. Possibly the sexiest guitar known to man. Sorry for the huge picture. Kinda. Still pretty kinky.



Most disappointing: Nobels ODR-1 overdrive. This is a somewhat obscure but well-made German pedal and I read in some thread on Reddit that it's the perfect pedal for boosting clean two-hand tapping riffs on a Tele (oddly specific, I know). After experimenting a bit, I found that I preferred the sound from just my Port City Salem Boost into whatever clean amp sim I was playing. This pedal is cool and unique, but for this use it kind of low passes and rounds out the attack a bit too much. Maybe if I play with it some more I'll find the optimal setting that makes it sing, but so far it gets an "okay, not amazing" from me. Luckily, I got a good deal on it on Reverb.
Honestly probably not fair to label it most disappointing, but I bought like 3 pieces of gear last year so it sort of loses by default.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 6, 2020)

That guitar is ugly in a good way.

I know what the Nobels ODR-1 is. I have a Mini version which is a decent pedal, but the footswitch is weird. It sounds like a stapler when you click it. Also, I wouldn't say it was all that well-made. At one point, they screwed up and wired some controls backwards or something. Plus the pots, jacks, and switches are apparently dodgy enough over time to warrant people charging hundreds of dollars to rehouse them. Still though, it's a decent, interesting pedal.

The Mini version has a bit less low end, but overall, it too is on the for sale pile.

Another pedal I bought last year that wasn't exactly disappointing, but wasn't what I had hoped was an Ibanez Mostortion clone. I think the pedal would be better with a higher high pass (I think it's at like 268hz pre clipping), and a lower low pass (I dunno where it is at, but the pedal can be both too bright and boomy at the same time).


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## Flemmigan (Jan 6, 2020)

Haha, well beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that. The curvaceous Explorer type body isn't for everyone, but it plays really well and I love it.

I did read about some issues with the Nobels mini and ended up deciding against it based on that. So far no technical issues. My main coming is it just unbrightens the tone a lot, although I do like what it does to the low end.


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## diagrammatiks (Jan 6, 2020)

I'm old and the years are bleeding together now. 

Disappointing 
Bkp Ragnoraks - I thought these were going to be like super charged warpigs. They aren't. Eh.
Fluence Moderns - These are super meh.
strandberg salen - i really want to like this guy...but maybe i'm not a low output pickup guy anymore. Need to change the pups again.

best 
Fluence classics - these are super good
bkp blackhawks - easily my new favorite pickup.


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## Vyn (Jan 6, 2020)

Best - Orange PPC-412 Cabinet. It's just a fantastic sounding cabinet, highly recommended.

Don't have a worst for 2019 - was lucky enough to avoid getting any lemons. 2020 might be different though, planning to try a whole heap of new stuff haha.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 6, 2020)

Vyn said:


> Best - Orange PPC-412 Cabinet. It's just a fantastic sounding cabinet, highly recommended.
> 
> Don't have a worst for 2019 - was lucky enough to avoid getting any lemons. 2020 might be different though, planning to try a whole heap of new stuff haha.


Inb4 the lemons.


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## DudeManBrother (Jan 6, 2020)

I have been very pleased with the UA Apollo Twin I bought this year. It sounds great and works great. My Presonus rack interfaces and LXii console have been very reliable, but the Twin is very convenient, being just me recording through 1 or 2 channels at a time most often. 

I don’t think I was disappointed in any gear this year, so I’ll just say I’m disappointed in all the UA email blasts about sales on their plugin family. I don’t really feel like “pick any 2 UA Plugins for only $249!” is much of a bargain. Plus the “Limited Time...hurry hurry” approach seems disingenuous when I get an email almost every morning since Black Friday for the same sale prices.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 6, 2020)

DudeManBrother said:


> I have been very pleased with the UA Apollo Twin I bought this year. It sounds great and works great. My Presonus rack interfaces and LXii console have been very reliable, but the Twin is very convenient, being just me recording through 1 or 2 channels at a time most often.
> 
> I don’t think I was disappointed in any gear this year, so I’ll just say I’m disappointed in all the UA email blasts about sales on their plugin family. I don’t really feel like “pick any 2 UA Plugins for only $249!” is much of a bargain. Plus the “Limited Time...hurry hurry” approach seems disingenuous when I get an email almost every morning since Black Friday for the same sale prices.


Tell your email that shit is spam and let it go where it belongs.

I really hope I don't have to hound Reverb to get on Prymaxe's case about this pedal.


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## Bearitone (Jan 6, 2020)

My best piece of gear for 2019 is definitely my Randall RG200D combo.

All it needed was a speaker swap to become an amazing modern metal amp. 

It’s great at bedroom and gig volumes, it has parametric mids on the gain section, it allows me to connect an external 412 (So 6 speakers total being used!), has a great clean channel, and 8 reverbs that all sound as good as a HOF. I don’t understand why it isn’t recommended more especially on this forum.


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## ElRay (Jan 7, 2020)

Best: Roland JC-40 (Jazz Chorus)
This is crystal clean Stereo Combo amp with a phenomenal chorus due to the stereo output. If desired, I can run the stereo out from a modeler/pedal into the effect return and use it as a clean amp/cab. It even has stereo-in, so that if I had a mag/piezo guitar I could run both outputs into the pre-amp side.

Worst: Roland JC-40 (Jazz Chorus)
A number of folks have reported that their pre-amp developed a hiss. But a lot have had no troubles. After two semesters of school Jazz Band, ours started hissing. Not a true problem, because it can be worked-around by using a pre-amp pedal or modeler into the effects return or a pre-pre-amp/effects-loop noise gate like a NS-2, just annoying to have happened in the first year.

EDIT: We also have to bid a loving (likely) Farewell to my semi-ancient Crate GFX50 (Two-Tone). It's semi-death is what prompted the purchase of the JC-40. It's mostly OK, but too many of the mini-pots are finicky and if they're not in a "good spot" one or both of the inputs (two independent channels into one master power amp/speaker) goes silent. To borrow a SciFi Trope, it's in stasis until I can re-pot it, or rebuild it with modern components.


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## DudeManBrother (Jan 7, 2020)

ElRay said:


> Best: Roland JC-40 (Jazz Chorus)
> This is crystal clean Stereo Combo amp with a phenomenal chorus due to the stereo output. If desired, I can run the stereo out from a modeler/pedal into the effect return and use it as a clean amp/cab. It even has stereo-in, so that if I had a mag/piezo guitar I could run both outputs into the pre-amp side.
> 
> Worst: Roland JC-40 (Jazz Chorus)
> ...


The JC40 probably has cold solder joints somewhere in the power supply, probably filter caps, if I were to guess. If you’re handy with a soldering iron you can probably fix it in an hour. 55 of those minutes will be getting the board out of the chassis. You’ll probably have to remove every knob and washer, which is annoying and time consuming, but not too difficult.


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## sleewell (Jan 7, 2020)

best:

5153 50w
bkp war pigs
Jackson DKAF7 MS
Jackson JS32-7
Industrialectric RM-1N


worst:

KHDK dark blood: i mean it wasn't terrible but nothing i needed to keep


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## vilk (Jan 7, 2020)

best: Electronic Audio Experiments Model feT 
This thing is a Sunn Model T style preamp, and it makes absolutely any kind of fuzz/distortion pedal you put in front of it sound incredible, and then you can use the EQ to tweak it and the gain knobs to fill it out. The clean tones are amazing as well. I use this with my practice amp, and since I've gotten it I never play without it on. 



most disappointing: Pigtrontix Philosopher's Tone Germanium Gold Mini
A pedal that can be both compression and germanium grit sounded like it would be right up my alley, but this pedal absolutely needs the treble control that is on its full-sized counterpart. This pedal eliminates so much attack you'd think it's a Boss Slow Gear. This pedal would be really great if it had controls for treble and attack, but without them it's pretty worthless. I love the knobs/pots on it though for whatever that's worth. Wish more mini pedals would get on with this size of knob.


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## Edika (Jan 7, 2020)

Best gear Acquired in 2019:
- Randall Diavlo 100 crushing amp with lovely clean.
- Egnater Vengeance 120 again crushing amp with lovely clean.
- Fender PM3 Deluxe a great electrocaoustic especially for the price.

Most Disappointing:
- Korg Pitchblack Custom not true bypass as it sucks tone and noisy when used with battery. Plus the Strobe function never settles and is headache inducing.
- AMT F1 not bad for what it was but it is too noisy and the tone suck using it in the loop of the 5150II was not worth it.
- Seymour Duncan Black Winters. They were not what I expected, they didn't sound thick and level sounding to me and there was an annoying midrange that annoyed me after a while. I actually bought them for my bright sounding Les Paul and I tried them in another guitar too. I think they would be great for dark sounding guitars but they were regular spaced while all my other guitars were F-Spaced. I'm not knocking them but they didn't sound at all how other people hyped them to sound.

Meh or not sure yet gear:
- Jackson RR24XT-7. I've upgraded the electronics quite a bit and the sound has improved but it is really really bright guitar. Which is good for clarity on the lower strings and does give a great Thrash sound. We'll see how things go with this.
- Dimarzio Dominion set. I got them for my Jackson KE2 as I wanted more bight and better bass response but these things are all mids and nothing else. I'll put them in another guitar that's tuned to C and I'll decide as in D they get a bit annoying.
- Blackstar S1-200. Nice clean sound and crunch but I haven't found a sound I truly like on the OD1 and 2 channels. It really requires an unusual EQing. When I get a sound I like and try another of my amp heads I'm like "Oh that's what I was missing". But it does cut through really well. We'll see.
- Zilla 2x12 pro fat bottom with a V30 and a GK100. So much bass and it is way smoother than my ENGL V30 2x12 cab. I love it's bass response but sometimes it sounds a bit muffled.


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## GunpointMetal (Jan 7, 2020)

Wow, the only new pieces of gear I bought last year besides breakables was a pair of EV ZLX12P speakers to use as my guitar monitors with the Helix and a second Behringer XR18 mixer, neither of which is disappointing in any way. Highly recommend the ZLX line if you're looking for full-range monitors for guitar modelers. These things SMOKED the Headrush/ALTO, Yamaha and Mackie speakers in the same class and were more or less tied with the more expensive JBL and Yamaha offerings in side-by-side comparisons. With that, if you really wanna piss of the Pro Audio guy at GC, tell him you wanna hook up 8 different 12" powered speakers to a Helix and play open chugs on an 8 string for an hour and 20 minutes.


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## thraxil (Jan 7, 2020)

I've been focusing elsewhere in my life and bought very little gear this year. Pretty much just a couple pedals.

Best:

* Earthquaker Speaker Cranker, DOD Looking Glass OD. Two really great sounding ODs. Speaker Cranker is very "set it and forget it" and the Looking Glass is really flexible but sounds good pretty much everywhere on its range.
* EHX Op Amp Big Muff. Solid Big Muff, really does the Smashing Pumpkins thing.
* Behringer SF-300. Electric Wizard in a box. Not something I use all the time, but fun to have.
* Peterson Strobostomp HD. I'm just a sucker for their tuners. Not cheap, but it's super accurate, tracks well and fast, easy to read, and I love their "sweetened" tunings.

Meh:

* EHX Superego+. Honestly, I just haven't spent enough time with it yet. I love my Freeze pedal for ambient drone amusement and this is a better, more powerful version that also doubles as a general all-purpose mod pedal. It just hasn't blown me away yet.

Disappointing:

* TC Electronic Eyemaster. It's a cheap pedal that's supposed to do the dimed HM-2 Swedish metal tone and nothing else. Bought more just to have it rather than use it (I have a perfectly good HM-2). Honestly, I just don't feel like it nails the HM-2 sound that well and doesn't really sound very good otherwise.


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## narad (Jan 7, 2020)

Best:

5150 (block letter). I'm considering price in this too -- bought a ton of amps in the past year, but this can definitely punch at any price range. Other amps are as good or maybe better, but not for the price of a fancy delay pedal.

Good:

Vh4 / Schmidt / Pitbull UL / Dual Rec / Wizard MC / Badcat Lynx
T's Arc Standard / Steinberger Klein

Disappointing:

Aristides 060s. I'm beginning to think Aristides are a bit limited tonally. There's just a certain character to their sound that over time is becoming annoying to me. In the same way I used the Axe II for years, but after a while, I started to pick up on a certain aspect of its sound, sold it and went back to amps. Great craftsmanship, and playability, and a good fit for many SSO guys I'm sure, but the only guitar I bought and then later sold this year.

H&K Warp T. Costs more than the 5150 and seems to sit in an awkward spot: not as recto as a recto, not as 5150 as a 5150. It's not bad, but I prefer either.

Waza MT-2w. Eh, I knew what I was getting into. But why, I ask myself.


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## efiltsohg (Jan 7, 2020)

I'm actually completely pleased with everything I bought in 2019 (some used amps, a new Kramer, various overdrives, Proco Rat)

Most disappointing: still living in an apartment where I have to keep the volume low



Bearitone said:


> My best piece of gear for 2019 is definitely my Randall RG200D combo.
> 
> All it needed was a speaker swap to become an amazing modern metal amp.



Which speaker are you using? I have an old RG combo with a Celestion 70-80 that could stand an upgrade


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## MASS DEFECT (Jan 7, 2020)

Best: Mesa Boogie JP2C.
A really, really versatile amp. You can get any sound you want with this... yes, even something close to modded brit territory. It can be dry and aggressive or it can sound gainy, saturated and more aggressive. And it sounds huge live. I dont even need pedals for it. I was going to get the Triple Crown, but the JP can do the Triple Crown sound and better. 
And to top it all off, Sweetwater sold me a return for cheap but when it arrived it had a big damage to the shell. So, they replaced mine with a brand new one for the same price. Win. 

Worst: Mooer Black Truck
Cool idea. Bad execution. Has a lame copy of the Tight Metal to boot. Noisy, flimsy, and overall cheap. Well, it is what it is for the price. But the pedal was just hissy and every knob and switch is not gig-worthy.


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## StevenC (Jan 7, 2020)

Best:

Eventide H9000 hands down. It's just amazing how much it can do and how good it can sound. Only issue is most of the gain stages sound quite digital to my ears through an amp and cab, but that's not really their intended use. I'd do a NGD for it, but I don't know how I'd ever get through enough of it to actually be able to tell anybody anything about it. Altogether, living very happily in quad.

Good:

Mesa Boogie Twosie. Played one in 2018 and needed one, things aligned and I was able to get it. It's a Boogie and it sounds like a Boogie. It's not the most versatile thing in the world, but it's a sound I love and it can cover most of what I like.

Redstuff 1987 is the preamp pedal everybody should try. Very powerful controls and loads of great sounds.

Disappointing:

Diezel Big Max. It's a cool amp but it's just not for me. Not really enough gain to scratch that itch and the low channel just isn't my kind of sound. Didn't help that I played a Two Rock SSS shortly after getting it that floored me. I'd love this amp if it were 1 input, switching, same footprint and layout but sounded like a Lil Fokker.

Fortin 33, again I like it and can get some use from it, but I basically never use it. My Strandberg has Lundgren M8s in it, and between the pickups and this pedal you'd need to have a really loose and flubby amp, which isn't what I go for. I found I was just cranking the bass and depth while cutting all the gain to get back to the same place with this pedal. But I'm not really a boost guy.

Abasi Pathos. Another one that I really enjoy in some ways but it just seems so weird to me and has a narrow window. Sounds good when you get the settings to where you want, but nowhere else really. Very fine balance between thin, pedal sounding and completely unusably loose on the bass knob. Maybe I'll try it with the 33 some time.

Other stuff:

Eventide Powermax was so good it convinced me to buy the H9000. Haven't gotten around to trying the D&M Drive because of busy holidays and being sick. Leqtique 10 Band EQ is a 10 band eq and is very pretty. Oh I've been playing a Marshall 9200 that confirmed to me that my problem isn't with EL34s, but with gold things that say Marshall on the front.


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## narad (Jan 7, 2020)

MASS DEFECT said:


> Best: Mesa Boogie JP2C.
> *A really, really versatile amp.* You can get any sound you want with this... yes, even something close to modded brit territory. It can be dry and aggressive or it can sound gainy, saturated and more aggressive. And it sounds huge live. I dont even need pedals for it. I was going to get the Triple Crown, but the JP can do the Triple Crown sound and better.






StevenC said:


> Best:
> Mesa Boogie Twosie. Played one in 2018 and needed one, things aligned and I was able to get it. It's a Boogie and it sounds like a Boogie. *It's not the most versatile thing in the world*, but it's a sound I love and it can cover most of what I like.



Fight!


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## Descent (Jan 7, 2020)

Best:
Mesa Boogie 5:50 Express +
TC BH250 bass amp head

The Mesa turned out to be a beast. Great headroom, with a few tube swaps and a front end boost this amp really opened up and is my favorite at the moment. 

The BH250 turned out to be a little monster. Great tone and via the Toneprints I managed to dial my perfect bass tone. I am super impressed with this one. Only complaint - tuner only handles 4 string standard. 

Worst:
TC G-System
Line6 G30

The G-System turned out so unstable for US electricity and it refused to work right in several clubs that had bad power, I had to switch to pedals.
The Line6 G30 battery compartment came loose after 2 months and is becoming useless for live gigs.


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## Decipher (Jan 7, 2020)

Here's my list for 2019.
*Best:*
Rivera KS312 - _For the better part of 2 years I have been gently suggesting to someone I know to sell me this cab. It's a 2x12 on top and has a Sub 1 (powered 300W 12" sub) in the bottom. He finally caved and sold it to me for a great price. F'n love this cab, just needed to swap out the V30's (as I'm not a fan of them)._
Celestion G12H Redback speakers - _Bought these for the KS312 cab. I'm a big fan of the K100's but the description of the Redback's was VERY intriguing so I took the chance and I'm glad I did. They go great in the cab and I quite enjoy them for my sound._
Electro-Harmonix Attack/Decay - _Was SO excited to get one of these when they were announced. Got it for my birthday (July). Super fun auto-swell pedal. Love it._ 
Guitar setup/Repair tools - _Bought a bunch more to add to my bench. MusicNomad Grip Puller, Skyscraper Guitars Trem wedge, Stewmac Fret cutters and slim wrenches. All GREAT purchases! _
KGC Killer Claw_ - Milled Brass trem claw. Bought it on sale. WAY more mass than the standard/stock. Made a noticable difference in sustain in my favorite guitar. Was very pleased with the purchase. Gonna get them for my other 2 Ibanezes. _

*Disappointing:*
Fortin 33 - _I get why people over-the-top rave about it. It was a neat pedal but I couldn't jive with the Clank it gave my tone. Would much rather get either the Blade or right now I'm looking at the Airis Effects TS Preamp so that I can have the low and high controls to dial to my liking. The 33 being at that fixed EQ point just didn't do it for me._


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 7, 2020)

A good acquisition, though I didn't buy them, was the T75s I was gifted by @DudeManBrother, which I forgot to mention. Thanks again.


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## rexbinary (Jan 7, 2020)

The best thing that happened in 2019 was finding the rig I really wanted. The one where I'm 100% happy. I started off buying lunch boxes and small cabs in spite of the fine advice I kept reading here at SSO and wasted a lot of time and money. I plan to spend more time getting better at playing guitar rather than flipping gear in 2020.


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## KnightBrolaire (Jan 7, 2020)

best: 
revv 100p- extremely versatile amp that can cover pretty much any sound I desire.
prs archon- basically a recto but better imo.
aristides 070- massive sounding with the M7s. Very well made and easily one of my favorite guitars that I own at the moment.
abominable evil ned- a versatile and simple take on the hm2. I really love using it as a chainsawy boost.

worst:
amt r2- felt super boomy and nothing like a recto imo
vht pittbull- the complete tonal opposite of what I like. Super boomy/dry with a kind of fizzy high end. the gain structure just isn't my thing.
fishman classics- I hated these. the huge midrange spike just didn't mesh with my amps. It's a shame because I quite liked the moderns.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 7, 2020)

Best
G&L Superhawk: Needed a pickup change but ended up being my best sounding guitar. And best playing. I love the maple body, and the wide-as-shit neck is surprisingly awesome. 
EMG 66: Fuuuucking sweet neck pickup. now I see why Devy used one of these with the 81.
Dean Baker Act: Great mid-high output passive. Probably the best JB clone I've tried so far.
BKP Painkiller: Mean, bright, and tight as shit. New favorite passive with the Dean Baker Act and PRS Tremonti.
Hagstrom Super Swede: Was my #1 metal guitar until I got the G&L Superhawk. Now it's like.. 1.5 or 2. Still a great guitar and fucking love it. 
Peper's Pedals Dirty Trees: Oof, now I see why people love the TC Integrated Preamp. I honestly love this thing more than the Airis Savage Drive, which I considered my #1 OD pedal for awhile. 


Disappointing
EMG 81X: Was expecting a brighter, lower output EMG 81, but it was just... more mellow in general. And like half the output. 
Fishman Fluence Modern: Tried 2 different sets. Nope. Don't get the hype. Much prefer the Classics. 
Bareknuckle Rebel Yell: Was bright, but wasn't super tight or mean. Expected more from this.
Valeton FP10 (Based on the Boss FA1): Was told this would be a great alternative to the TC Electronic Integrated Preamp. Nah. Didn't tighten the sound or make it more aggressive. Either was a subtle effect or just was very narrow. It's great for cleans and a transparent lead boost, but that's not why I bought it.


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## narad (Jan 7, 2020)

Oh, should have also added EMG retro-active 77s as a win. In retrospect, maybe the purchase I'm most happy with. Just exactly what I wanted in a pickup.


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## ElRay (Jan 7, 2020)

DudeManBrother said:


> The JC40 probably has cold solder joints somewhere in the power supply, probably filter caps, if I were to guess. If you’re handy with a soldering iron you can probably fix it in an hour. 55 of those minutes will be getting the board out of the chassis. You’ll probably have to remove every knob and washer, which is annoying and time consuming, but not too difficult.


That's my though, especially since this started after being hauled back and forth to school for concerts. Time's the factor right now and I wouldn't want to get it to a state where it sets for weeks unusable. Best bet is to wait until the kids are done with their school concerts for the semester. $55 for a used NS-2 is worth my time right now.


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## MASS DEFECT (Jan 7, 2020)

narad said:


> Oh, should have also added EMG retro-active 77s as a win. In retrospect, maybe the purchase I'm most happy with. Just exactly what I wanted in a pickup.


Did you do a thread/review about that? I'm curious to put one of these in my one humbucker guitar for a bit of a looser and more rock and roll sound.


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## Bearitone (Jan 7, 2020)

efiltsohg said:


> I'm actually completely pleased with everything I bought in 2019 (some used amps, a new Kramer, various overdrives, Proco Rat)
> 
> Most disappointing: still living in an apartment where I have to keep the volume low
> 
> ...



I threw in a governor/swampthang mix and it was quite the upgrade over the stock seventy/80 pair it came with.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 7, 2020)

Bearitone said:


> I threw in a governor/swampthang mix and it was quite the upgrade over the stock seventy/80 pair it came with.


In fairness, just about anything would be an upgrade over the 70/80s. That said, the Governor is a pretty cool speaker.


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## narad (Jan 7, 2020)

MASS DEFECT said:


> Did you do a thread/review about that? I'm curious to put one of these in my one humbucker guitar for a bit of a looser and more rock and roll sound.



Don't think so -- not sure what to say for pickup NGD to be honest. I wouldn't call them a rock and roll sound per se -- maybe the 55s would be closer. The 77s are more like van halen at the tamest, and megadeth-ish more generally.


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 7, 2020)

narad said:


> Don't think so -- not sure what to say for pickup NGD to be honest. I wouldn't call them a rock and roll sound per se -- maybe the 55s would be closer. The 77s are more like van halen at the tamest, and megadeth-ish more generally.



I went back and saw you did. Hell I saw I even replied to it.


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## narad (Jan 7, 2020)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> I went back and saw you did. Hell I saw I even replied to it.



Wow, it's just all of us. Did we get Tyler Durden'ed?

https://www.sevenstring.org/threads/npd-emg-retroactive-77s.334368/


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## FancyFish (Jan 7, 2020)

Best: HX Stomp. Actually makes me want to play guitar everyday plus it works great with my synth.
Worst: Mooer GE200. I think I might have gotten a lemon, but there was a super annoying bug with my unit that it turned me off immensely and decided to get the Stomp instead.


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## Wolfhorsky (Jan 7, 2020)

Good: 
TrueTone One Spot CS6 - slim, insulated, efficient and quite light power supply for my pedals.
HX Stomp with Sinmix Metal and Producer Packs.
NK headless - after rounding fretboard/frets edges and polishing the frets and after putting decent pickups - is, to my surprise, great player.
Skervesen Lupus II - very very very good guitar. I will post my late-NGD soon. I always make NGD after initial honeymoon period, so soon...

Kinda bad:
TC Hall of fame mini - simple one knob, that can be assigned to control up to 3 parameters at once - within desirable values. Small and simple. In theory perfect. BUT it is nowhere the quality of Strymon (I'm spoiled). Not even the same galaxy.
HX Stomp on factory cab sims 

Bad:
Steel Panther (Satchel) - "Poontang boomerang" delay. I hoped for analog tape-ish sound, but this is bucket brigade style delay. I don't like the sound of it and the way it fades. Noisy. On battery is less noisy, but still... meh.... Not my cup of tea. But YMMV.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Jan 7, 2020)

The TrueTone power supplies are all legit. I may need to get a CS6 or a 2nd CS7 for my rig.

As for the Steel Panther pedals... yeah, it's more like focused more on making something to ride the controversy of the toneprint issue rather than... make decent pedals. 

Like the Pussy Melter. I saw people fucking tripping over themselves calling it AN AMAZING DISTORTION PEDAL HOLY SHIT, when it sounded like a goddamn Boss Mega Distortion.


----------



## MASS DEFECT (Jan 7, 2020)

narad said:


> Don't think so -- not sure what to say for pickup NGD to be honest. I wouldn't call them a rock and roll sound per se -- maybe the 55s would be closer. The 77s are more like van halen at the tamest, and megadeth-ish more generally.



Ahh the hot 70 and super 77 confuses me. I already had the 77. That is why I was thinking of a "rock n' roll" sound. I was thinking of the hot 70.


----------



## Boofchuck (Jan 7, 2020)

I've had the same gear for years now and this is year I was given a computer, bought a 50w 5153, Archetype Nolly, Parallax, and EZDrummer. It's been awesome. No bad gear for me!


----------



## Splenetic (Jan 7, 2020)

Best: $50 CAD random find of a mint Digitech IPB-10 .....It's exactly like a c63 GSP1101 (which I also own and love), but better when used with an amp and 4CM (7CM in my case. Dual amps, both preamps accessible through it) due to several factors. Plus what used to be the weak point of this unit when it came out - needing a gen 1 or 2 iPad to use it - became one of the strong points by now.....replaceable UI screen for like 30-50 bucks if the old iPad2 should break. Plus I get a kick out of having a solid use case from an otherwise completely obsolete piece of tech like the ancient iPad2. Suck it Apple, I'm making your planned obsolescence work for me this time.


----------



## r33per (Jan 7, 2020)

I made the move from rack TC Gmaj2 to pedals in 2019. 
Best: Free The Tone Flight Time 2. Super nice delay.

Worst: EHX Pitch Fork. I mean, it's ok but it has made me realise that I just want an octaver, not a polyphonic pitch shifter. Plus it's noisy...

Surprise: MXR Micro Flanger. Stick that before the amp's dirty channel, set the rate and regen low, and everything goes all chewy


----------



## StevenC (Jan 7, 2020)

I got a Lehle Dual SGoS as well this year which I've used basically every time I've played through an amp since I got it, so that's in the best pile.


----------



## c7spheres (Jan 7, 2020)

StevenC said:


> I got a Lehle Dual SGoS as well this year which I've used basically every time I've played through an amp since I got it, so that's in the best pile.


 Lehle stuff is top notch. I've used the Dual, Parallel M, and P-Splits. The P-Splits are especially nice.


----------



## ThePIGI King (Jan 7, 2020)

Wow I bought more than I realized.

No purchases were bad soooo
Most Bestest - UV7BK and UV7S
- a 96 and a 97, these things play and feel ever so different for identical specs really. Both are amazing. The BK makes me wanna shred and the S really inspires chugs and hard hitting rhythms.
Bestest - Helix. A clear upgrade from my HD500. Takes my recording and playing to a new level. I enjoy playing more than ever because it sounds great as an ENGL.
Best - RG852. An awesome 8. Really slick and great for leads. Competes with the UVs for play time.
Great - RG7PCMLTD. So it's likely the pups but it underwhelms me in terms of sound. Feels superb however. Would buy another if was pushed however.

All in all a great year for me. Hoping 2020 has just as few bad gear.


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## Shask (Jan 7, 2020)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> A good acquisition, though I didn't buy them, was the T75s I was gifted by @DudeManBrother, which I forgot to mention. Thanks again.


How you liking those? I am thinking about grabbing some of those G12T-75 speakers. Hopefully I can find some cheap ones since no one seems to like them, lol.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 7, 2020)

Shask said:


> How you liking those? I am thinking about grabbing some of those G12T-75 speakers. Hopefully I can find some cheap ones since no one seems to like them, lol.


A mid heavy amp might react better than a semi scooped amp.


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## Shask (Jan 7, 2020)

I bought quite a bit this year, but I cant say anything was disappointing. My Peavey XXX was probably the best because it has become my go-to office amp for low volume playing, and running pedals and racks through. My second best was probably a Digitech CR-7 Chorus pedal. Not just because of the sound, but it also made me realize I have been looking for digital sounds, not analog. That changed the way I bought pedals, and eventually more rack units later in the year. I started buying more pedals, like Source Audio, and also grabbed a G Major 2, and Intellifex, and I love them both.


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## Shask (Jan 7, 2020)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> A mid heavy amp might react better than a semi scooped amp.


I recently picked up a Peavey XXX Cab, which is like Mid city. The speakers are some sort of super middy V30 type. I thought 2 T75s might balance it some.

I am thinking about a V30/T75 X pattern, or Swamp Thang / Texas Heat X pattern, but my other cabs have Eminence, so I think I have decided on Celestion for mods on this cab.


----------



## ricky bobby (Jan 7, 2020)

Best: Orange ppc412 cabinet. I've been going through a phase of buying and trading off a ton of amp heads since I've never quite been content with the sounds I was getting. Turns out I was just not happy with any of my cabs.

Runner up: Orange Dark Terror. Really didn't think I needed a fourth Orange amp. Picked it up in a trade and was so wrong. 

Most disappointing: Orange OR50. Price was too good to be true. Poor fella turned into a money pit correcting all the abuse from the old owner. When cranked it's now a great sounding amp, but it's too damn loud for the house and doesn't get played enough to justify the money I've sank into it.


----------



## rokket2005 (Jan 7, 2020)

Best
PRS Semihollow Singlecut 594 - this is my 7th PRS and they just keep getting better
Gibson R7 - a Holy Grail of mine for years, finally scooped one up and it's exactly as great of an LP as I hoped
Axe III - For flexibility and convenience it's awesome, just to not have to mess around with fx loops or switching amps when recording.

Worst
Ormsby SX - Actually a pretty decent guitar, but waiting a year for it and then not being a huge fan of the fat fucking D neck carve initially means it's never really gotten into a solid play rotation amongst my 20 guitars. I have it setup in C standard, and I couldn't tell you the last time I wrote anything in C standard.


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## Shask (Jan 7, 2020)

ricky bobby said:


> Best: Orange ppc412 cabinet. I've been going through a phase of buying and trading off a ton of amp heads since I've never quite been content with the sounds I was getting. Turns out I was just not happy with any of my cabs.


That kind of happened to me. Not that I was unhappy with my cabs, but just realizing I have been using the same 2 cabs for like 20 years even though I have had tons of heads come and go. I decided I need to get some more cabs. Might as well, got the basement space, lol.


----------



## Choop (Jan 7, 2020)

Best: Maxon ST9Pro+ Overdrive. Easily the best overdrive pedal that I have owned, and a total monster when it comes to boosting an overdriven/distorted amp. It also sounds great on its own with a clean channel! 

Most Disappointing: Way Huge Blue Hippo Chorus! It's not even a bad pedal, and I really like chorus, but I personally haven't been able to implement it with my board in a way that feels like it belongs, or is contributing to my sound in a good way. Every situation that I try to use it, I find that I just like a delay+reverb combo more, and my Carbon Copy has the option for modulation anyways. This is kind of a cop out answer because the pedal is actually great as a simple chorus, but it just hasn't worked for me yet.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 7, 2020)

Shask said:


> I recently picked up a Peavey XXX Cab, which is like Mid city. The speakers are some sort of super middy V30 type. I thought 2 T75s might balance it some.
> 
> I am thinking about a V30/T75 X pattern, or Swamp Thang / Texas Heat X pattern, but my other cabs have Eminence, so I think I have decided on Celestion for mods on this cab.


T75 speakers should work then.


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## ricky bobby (Jan 7, 2020)

Shask said:


> That kind of happened to me. Not that I was unhappy with my cabs, but just realizing I have been using the same 2 cabs for like 20 years even though I have had tons of heads come and go. I decided I need to get some more cabs. Might as well, got the basement space, lol.



I've always been amazed with how different a cab can make your amp sound. I thought I had really great sounding cabs but there is just something magical about this 20 year old Orange 412. While I've spent hours tweaking knobs trying to dial in a good sound in the past, this thing has nearly been plug and play.


----------



## B.M.F. (Jan 7, 2020)

Best gear purchase of 2019: ENGL Fireball 100 E635 (100 watt head)
Killer metal sound right out the head, with nothing additional needed! Signal chain: Guitar -> Fireball 100 -> 2x12 cab, is instant death metal. But you can also use it for a post-rock or pop/funk gig, which just kills me. It's rare I come across an amp that doesn't get me satisfied until I break out the TS-9 in front and put an EQ in the loop. No need to on the Fireball 100. It even has a noise gate, and an adjustable effects loop that can do 100% serial (I hated the loop on the Triple Rectifier I had.) I like that it also has a great clean/crunch channel, making it surprisingly versatile and great with pedals. I happen to be using it more this way at the moment, to explore the gain and controls. Some amps you play, you don't even use 1/3 of the features to get your sound, but not with this ENGL. FB100 and the 6505+ are my two main go-to amp heads now. In my quest to try every 6L6GC amp head that looks cool for high gain, the Fireball 100 is highly recommended!

Worst gear purchase of 2019: Line 6 HD 147 (300 watt head)
This was by far, the dumbest gear idea of the year. Last year, many of us got sucked into the trend of finding gear you owned or wanted "back in the day", and checking them out to see if they were cool or usable in 2019. So along comes this thing for sale on Reverb, in all it's chrome glory. This was the top-of-the-line Line 6 amp back in 2003/2004 when I was playing out, and I never got to try one. I remembered I liked my old Flextone II HD head back then. Nostalgia and wonderment, struck, funds were exchanged.

As all things GAS, this one ended, when I realized the amp models on my Spider Classic 15 practice amp were far superior, and I preferred just playing those, vs this purple and silver spaceship glowin' thing from 17 years ago (I can't believe how slow the attack is on the high-gain amp models on the HD 147 - Big Bottom, the Rectos, Insane, none of them are even the same.) All the effects sound like they have a blanket over them, and the fact I had to drop it 3 inches off the ground to get it to work after I got it Apple iii style, just adds to the "almost vintage" fun. Line 6 you have come a long long way! (I wish they would still make a real amp head with an effects loop though.)

Hope everyone has a great year, and all the gear you get, rocks.


----------



## diagrammatiks (Jan 7, 2020)

Oh I forgot to mention. Absolute best
Set of string radius gauges. 

holy shit how did I go so long without a set.


----------



## broj15 (Jan 8, 2020)

Most impressive: Boss ODB-3. This pedal has been such a big help in getting closer to the tone in my head. And for $40 I really can't complain

Most disappointing: Sunn Beta Bass. Honestly the tone was solid, but it never would've been more than a back up amp for me, and it honestly didn't push as much volume as my other heads so I decided to flip it, and actually made a little money on it.


----------



## TheWarAgainstTime (Jan 8, 2020)

*Best:*

-Mesa Traditional 4x12  it's my third one of these and I love it. 

-Suhr Reactive Load. All-around good to have on hand for recording real amps. 

-Focusrite Scarlett 18i20. My first "real" interface, which has made recording a lot easier, along with Studio One 4 Pro 

-Audio Technica M40X. Nice to be able to switch between these and the M50X I've had for a while. 

-Wampler Tumnus Deluxe. Best Klon-style pedal I've tried so far. 

-Mooer Yellow Comp. The optical style is a nice change from the SP Compressor I used most of the time before this. Much more subtle and natural-sounding. 

-Line 6 HX Stomp. This replaced an M9 in my rig as a catch-all effects unit and it's been super handy in general. 

-ESP E-II M-I  I'm a huge Parkway Drive fan, so this was one of the best trades I've made in a while. 

*The "so-so"*

-Splawn Nitro SS 50w. Really cool modded Marahall thing in a small head shell format, decent cleans, good FX loop, etc. but not my flavor overall. My Twin Jet can do the modded Marshall vibe if I want, so it was redundant for me. However, I got a screaming good deal on it and ended up trading it for the M-I I mentioned above. 

-Horizon Devices Precision Drive. Probably would have liked this more if I didn't already have a bunch of other drives I like for different flavors. All of my amps are already fairly bright and/or tight already, so I really only liked the first two or three attack knob positions. The gate was okay, but I prefer using dedicated gate pedals. 

-Mesa 2x12 Rectifier cab. One of the best 2x12 cabs on the market, obviously, but I prefer 4x12s in general. Another "got a good deal on it and traded it away" situation

-Budda Superdrive V20 combo. Got this in trade for the Recto 2x12. Solid amp, not my thing at all  kind of a Fender Deluxe meets AC30 thing, which I don't really have a use for, plus it was the most ungodly loud 20 watts I've ever experienced.

*The Bad: *

-TC Electronic Skysurfer reverb. Just really bland and generic IMO, but I was able to flip it to fund some other pedals later on. 

-Fortin Blade. Just wasn't my thing, didn't really like where the bass and treble knobs were focused, so it was hard to dial in for my taste. I do like the Grind, FWIW. 

-EHX Small Clone. I'm a bit biased since I'm not a chorus guy in general, but I actually ended up getting several chorus units in various trades this year and this was the weakest of them all. Very small range of useful settings IMO.


----------



## Bearitone (Jan 8, 2020)

r33per said:


> I made the move from rack TC Gmaj2 to pedals in 2019.
> Best: Free The Tone Flight Time 2. Super nice delay.
> 
> Worst: EHX Pitch Fork. I mean, it's ok but it has made me realise that I just want an octaver, not a polyphonic pitch shifter. Plus it's noisy...
> ...


oooh making me want to try that microflanger


----------



## r33per (Jan 8, 2020)

Bearitone said:


> oooh making me want to try that microflanger


I mean, there are better quality flangers out there (it's quite a high noise floor), but for £45 on Reverb it does a great job.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 8, 2020)

I have an MXR flanger, and I've never actually messed around with the knobs. It is the EVH version, so I just set it to cruise control, and play.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 8, 2020)

r33per said:


> I mean, there are better quality flangers out there (it's quite a high noise floor), but for £45 on Reverb it does a great job.


I know you said "set the speed and regen low" but how low? 9:00-10:00?


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## r33per (Jan 8, 2020)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> I know you said "set the speed and regen low" but how low? 9:00-10:00?


Probably rate at 9 and regen at 10-11 - pretty much never at the 12 o'clock. I run it into the front of a Mesa Triaxis and when on Ld2 Yellow (the IIC mode) with a reasonable helping of gain (maybe 6.5-7.5) it just thickens up nicely.

It's not exact, but when it's on I end up playing the post-verse riff from Red Barchetta because it has that kind of feel. Chewy (like toffee, not like walking carpet...)


----------



## Wolfhorsky (Jan 8, 2020)

HeHasTheJazzHands said:


> The TrueTone power supplies are all legit. I may need to get a CS6 or a 2nd CS7 for my rig.
> 
> As for the Steel Panther pedals... yeah, it's more like focused more on making something to ride the controversy of the toneprint issue rather than... make decent pedals.
> 
> Like the Pussy Melter. I saw people fucking tripping over themselves calling it AN AMAZING DISTORTION PEDAL HOLY SHIT, when it sounded like a goddamn Boss Mega Distortion.


Pussy melter is actually very good overdrive/distortion. Very amp like. I use it for 60% on my gigs.


----------



## GoldDragon (Jan 8, 2020)

Most impressive of 2019? Dunlop Sharp 1.5mm white picks. These really helped evolve my technique, make it easier to play standing. Play very accurate, nice pick attack. After 25 years of using rounded picks these got my picking technique in top shape. Now its fundamental to my technique due to the fact I (have to) play in classical position.

Least impressive? I'm looking at my stuff and I don't think I bought anything besides a pack of picks. 

2018 and 2019, all I bought was a 12 pak of Dunlop picks and a set of Floyd Rose replacement saddles.


----------



## Shask (Jan 8, 2020)

TheWarAgainstTime said:


> -EHX Small Clone. I'm a bit biased since I'm not a chorus guy in general, but I actually ended up getting several chorus units in various trades this year and this was the weakest of them all. Very small range of useful settings IMO.



I love my Chorus, and the Small Clone is one of my favorites! However, it is mostly useful for that underwater "Come as you are" type sound. I typically use other pedals as I use the clean multi-voice Chorus more (Thnk Deftones), but love pulling out the clone sometimes.


----------



## efiltsohg (Jan 8, 2020)

Shask said:


> I recently picked up a Peavey XXX Cab, which is like Mid city. The speakers are some sort of super middy V30 type. I thought 2 T75s might balance it some.
> 
> I am thinking about a V30/T75 X pattern, or Swamp Thang / Texas Heat X pattern, but my other cabs have Eminence, so I think I have decided on Celestion for mods on this cab.



I run my XXX through 4 T75s and prefer it that way (with KT77 tubes)


----------



## Werecow (Jan 8, 2020)

I only got one piece of gear in 2019, and it was a Fortin Cali. I love it even though i've hated every actual Marshall i've played before. It's even apparently completely cured my GAS for amps, in conjunction with my other amps anyway. I've genuinely not had a hint of GAS since May 2019. It's a weird but pleasant feeling


----------



## thrashinbatman (Jan 8, 2020)

I got an ESP V-II, which was my dream guitar for a while. Fantastic, love it. A Mesa JP2C too, which I don't even need to comment on. A HA-73 pre and KT-76 compressor which aren't amazing but more than good enough. The worst thing was an Epiphone Thunderhorse, which isn't even bad. It's actually pretty good, but just not interesting enough to keep my attention.


----------



## oracles (Jan 8, 2020)

narad said:


> Disappointing:
> 
> Aristides 060s. I'm beginning to think Aristides are a bit limited tonally. There's just a certain character to their sound that over time is becoming annoying to me. In the same way I used the Axe II for years, but after a while, I started to pick up on a certain aspect of its sound, sold it and went back to amps. Great craftsmanship, and playability, and a good fit for many SSO guys I'm sure, but the only guitar I bought and then later sold this year.



After owning 6-7 of these, I fully agree. I really started to notice this at the beginning of 2019, and it progressively bugged me more and more (to the point where I sold them all), and I hear it all the time now in them. Great playing and feeling guitars no doubt, but I cant unhear the sterility in them now.


----------



## Bearitone (Jan 8, 2020)

oracles said:


> After owning 6-7 of these, I fully agree. I really started to notice this at the beginning of 2019, and it progressively bugged me more and more (to the point where I sold them all), and I hear it all the time now in them. Great playing and feeling guitars no doubt, but I cant unhear the sterility in them now.


Maybe it’s just all the BKP pickups you don’t like?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 8, 2020)

Thankfully, perhaps my most disappointing purchase ever is getting returned for a refund. Thank god. Dreadful, dreadful pedal. Time to go back to the drawing board and make it usable, Mad Professor. I had two people message me elsewhere that the Fender version (Super Black or something) was also equally disappointing.


----------



## oracles (Jan 8, 2020)

Bearitone said:


> Maybe it’s just all the BKP pickups you don’t like?



Only had BKPs in one (080S), had Lundgren, Avedissian, BLK/TRI, Lollar and DiMarzios through my others. Hated the BKPs, liked everything else considerably more but still noticed it coming through. I swapped pickups between my Aristides, RANs and E2 and didnt notice any of it in the RANs and E2.


----------



## Rex (Jan 9, 2020)

Malevolent_Croatian said:


> Best: $50 CAD random find of a mint Digitech IPB-10 .....It's exactly like a c63 GSP1101 (which I also own and love), but better when used with an amp and 4CM (7CM in my case. Dual amps, both preamps accessible through it) due to several factors. Plus what used to be the weak point of this unit when it came out - needing a gen 1 or 2 iPad to use it - became one of the strong points by now.....replaceable UI screen for like 30-50 bucks if the old iPad2 should break. Plus I get a kick out of having a solid use case from an otherwise completely obsolete piece of tech like the ancient iPad2. Suck it Apple, I'm making your planned obsolescence work for me this time.


Has it the same possibilities as the gsp1101, load externals ir's and the others improvements?


----------



## Splenetic (Jan 9, 2020)

No external ir loader but I don't need that with 4CM/7CM as I'm using my real amps' cabs. Loading any kind of ir on top of that would sound bad. It does have all the amp models that the unofficial c63 update enabled. Other than that the advantages over the gsp are:

1. being able to change the order of the effects in the unit as I please.
2. full pedalboard, I don't have a Digitech Control2 unit for my gsp1101
3. being able to switch between the primary amp's preamp and the modeling amps on every patch.

I use it with two amps (thus the 7CM instead of 4CM), so I can do the switching as described above on every patch with one of the amps' preamps, but I can also set up another patch where I enable the 2nd amps preamp. it has two loops, one for traditional 4cm, and another for effects/additional preamp (the "stomp" switch). In the latter patches case I just have to make sure not to have any amp modeling on that patch, and to have either the amp loop or the stomp loop(2nd preamp) engaged one at a time, but not both at once as that would engage them both in series.


----------



## Drew (Jan 9, 2020)

Best is my blue Suhr Modern. Thing is unreal, the most resonant guitar I've ever played, even over my other Suhrs. 

That might have been my only music gear purchase of the year, aside from like strings and picks and whatnot. So, I guess maybe the Petrucci flow picks as the worst - totally fine, great for some applications, just a little thick for my tastes, but totally fine picks nonetheless (and they look awesome).


----------



## USMarine75 (Jan 9, 2020)

Flemmigan said:


> Best: Dunable R2. Possibly the sexiest guitar known to man. Sorry for the huge picture. Kinda. Still pretty kinky.
> View attachment 76244
> 
> Most disappointing: Nobels ODR-1 overdrive. This is a somewhat obscure but well-made German pedal and I read in some thread on Reddit that it's the perfect pedal for boosting clean two-hand tapping riffs on a Tele (oddly specific, I know). After experimenting a bit, I found that I preferred the sound from just my Port City Salem Boost into whatever clean amp sim I was playing. This pedal is cool and unique, but for this use it kind of low passes and rounds out the attack a bit too much. Maybe if I play with it some more I'll find the optimal setting that makes it sing, but so far it gets an "okay, not amazing" from me. Luckily, I got a good deal on it on Reverb.
> Honestly probably not fair to label it most disappointing, but I bought like 3 pieces of gear last year so it sort of loses by default.



did you call the Nobels ODR1 obscure?


----------



## Krucifixtion (Jan 11, 2020)

I didn't buy too much gear in 2019 honestly. 

1. Boss TU-3w
2. Fortin 33
3. Hipshot open gear grip lock tuners and TonePros bridge for my Gibson V

Just ordered some Guitarmory pickups for my Kiesel VM7, but that's technically 2020 gear now. 

I guess of those the biggest disappointment is maybe the TonePros TOM, because for some reason the nuts on the other side of the intonation screws aren't staying in place. I have to keep tightening them after adjusting and I don't recall this ever being a thing on my other guitar I put a TonePros on?


----------



## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 11, 2020)

Krucifixtion said:


> I didn't buy too much gear in 2019 honestly.
> 
> 1. Boss TU-3w
> 2. Fortin 33
> ...


Email TonePros about it. I have two on my guitars and they don't do that.


----------



## narad (Jan 11, 2020)

oracles said:


> After owning 6-7 of these, I fully agree. I really started to notice this at the beginning of 2019, and it progressively bugged me more and more (to the point where I sold them all), and I hear it all the time now in them. Great playing and feeling guitars no doubt, but I cant unhear the sterility in them now.



Yea, I could definitely justify having one as there is a niche for that sound and the playability was wonderful, but it's not a priority and one is definitely enough. I'm always tempted a couple times a year when a cool new finish comes out. Will probably feel the same after NAMM.


----------



## diagrammatiks (Jan 11, 2020)

narad said:


> Yea, I could definitely justify having one as there is a niche for that sound and the playability was wonderful, but it's not a priority and one is definitely enough. I'm always tempted a couple times a year when a cool new finish comes out. Will probably feel the same after NAMM.



played my buddy’s next to his jp bfr and wirebird. Definitely a little sterile. Dunno if it was the bkp custom set. Sounds like it might be the guitar. 

still buying a headless. I’ll buy anything if it’s headless.


----------



## JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo (Jan 11, 2020)

*BEST:*

*EVH 5150IIIS* - I can't believe I sold this. What a total fucking moron. But, I sold it because it has too much volume for me to even remotely use it. If a 50w version comes out that's a little more controllable in the volume department, I'm snatching it up. Feel and sound are perfect.

*Neural DSP Nameless *- When I can't make loud noises, I plug into the Neural. It's the best sim I've ever played through. Good tone, good feel, good cab sims. It's as simple as that.

*GOOD:*

*Ibanez RG2228* - I bought another 8 and realised soon after that 8 is basically just a meme to me. After some serious stress changing the pickups out to passives (including destroying a set of pickups so they wouldn't be accepted as a return; don't ask) I got a sick noise out of it, but as I said before, 8 strings are just a joke to me. My hands ain't big enough, and I really only want it for some Meshuggah jams when I'm bored. Good stuff, but pretty much wasted on me, may sell in future, but currently holding onto it.

*Bareknuckle Blackhawks *- Good shit! But for whatever reason I ended up changing them out. I can't remember what the reason was, but something has me wanting to get another set. Weird!

*Dimarzio D Activators* - More good shit! Currently fitted in my ESP. They seem to do the job just fine. Nice, thick metal tone, but haven't quite got me into a space where I have "my pickup".

*DISAPPOINTING:*

*Soldano Avenger* - Turns out the gain structure just isn't my thing. Interesting mid character, but a bit too flubby in the low end, even with an OD in front. Potentially fixed by cranking, I hear, but another one that is far too loud to be considered usable in a populated area. Where my master volumes at?! Made a profit on this, so nothing to be really upset about.

*Line 6 Helix Rack* - Really easy to learn, but the amp sims just don't cut it for me. They don't feel real, and far too much work to dial in a good sound compared to tweaking a few knobs on an amp. Sims just lack something for me, and Neural is so far the only one to provide that X factor.

*Seymour Duncan Nazgul* - Fizzy high end! Bit too hot, too.


----------



## Backsnack (Jan 11, 2020)

Most impressive:
RevivalDrive Compact. The hype for this pedal is deserved. If you already have a high gain amp and want to incorporate vintage overdrive into your setup without buying another amp or a modeler, this is the way to go. My only gripe is that for being labeled an “overdrive” pedal, the controls do take some reading to understand how they work.

It’s so good that I struggle to understand why people would buy high-end Klon clones for equivalent or more money when this pedal sounds and responds like multiple real amps in a box.


----------



## Werecow (Jan 11, 2020)

OliOliver said:


> *BEST:*
> 
> *EVH 5150IIIS* - I can't believe I sold this. What a total fucking moron. But, I sold it because it has too much volume for me to even remotely use it. If a 50w version comes out that's a little more controllable in the volume department, I'm snatching it up. Feel and sound are perfect.



I use mine at home often and its maneagable. Add an EQ with a level control in the loop and it's even extremely maneagable. To be honest even without an EQ in the loop, it's not too different to using my 50W.


----------



## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 12, 2020)

That's because wattage is headroom more so than volume. You need like 5 times (or something like that) the wattage to double the perceived volume.


----------



## Avedas (Jan 12, 2020)

Best:

Kiesel Delos 6: I don't know how you make a $1300 strat feel as good as a Suhr Modern, but they pulled it off. Still going to dock points for the pickups though. Not awful but not great. Along with this to get a special mention is the BKP Mothers Milk set. The perfect strat set.

Good:

Dingwall NG-2: Love it, easiest 5 string bass to play that I've tried, does everything I need it to do, looks cool as fuck.
Neural DSP Parallax: This was the solution I needed to quickly make great bass tones, and it released at the perfect time.

Disappointing:

Ibanez RG8527Z: I actually really like this guitar. It looks sleek and plays amazingly with great craftsmanship. God I hate the bridge though. The Edge Zero 7 has a lot of features but feels over-engineered. It's a gigantic pain in the ass to adjust the springs as well since you have to try to turn this giant wheel with your thumb rather than just adjusting some screws with a screwdriver.

FGN Expert Jazz Bass: Also really liked this, but as soon as I decided I wanted to downtune the low string it was no longer the right tool for the job. The saddle doesn't have near enough room to adjust intonation, and the string-through bridge is pretty tight and doesn't really fit big strings.


----------



## USMarine75 (Jan 12, 2020)

*BEST*:

Samick Strat - not everyday you spend $300 shipped on a guitar and it sounds and plays like a $3k custom shop. Ultra-thin neck, heavily flamed maple (most likely Valley Arts leftover) fretboard and neck, upgraded to Fishman Fluence SSS (+$200), new springs, and the original owner upgraded the tuners.

G&L S500 Strat - How these sell for $350-500 new still blows my mind. Yeah their MII, but mine came flawless. Plays fantastic, looks killer, and the G&L MFD pickups with Treble and Bass Cut might be the best stock electronics in the game. At a 7 they sound like 50's Strat pickups, at a 9 it sounds like 60s, and dimed it sounds like there's an active boost like the Clapton electronics. The Treble and Bass electronics should be standard on all guitars - they allow you to cut the lows or highs. Cut the lows and your rhythm is tight and your leads cut. Cut the treble a bit and crank the bass and you sound round and fat like an old LP. The 2 and 4 positions are magical. And then you push/pull the treble knob to get either SSS or N+B... the N+B sounds just like a good tele and is prob my fav.

Tonejunkies Matchless Independence Kemper profiles - Vox AC sounding but with nice bass. Perfect for cleans and amazing with Boost/OD/Distortion in front. 

*GOOD*:

Tsakalis Audioworks 6 - Fantastic all-in-one pedal. 6 boost and OD choices in one pedal. Only downside is there's nothing magical about this pedal - it will never beat out my VFE Blues King or Kingtone Duellist. After 100+ OD pedals, I'm starting to think a lot of them sound the same haha.

*WORST:*

1994 Samick TV20 Blues Saraceno sig guitar - Rare blueberry fade (AKA "bluesickle") color in like new condition. Other than plaid, this was THE one I wanted. I paid top dollar to outbid someone, but I just don't jive with it. Doesn't have the same magical feel my purple-sickle one has. 

GGD All the Gain Kemper Pack - 17 very limited profiles. For each amp there are only two profiles - a rhythm and lead version. To contrast, when you buy a Tonejunkies pack you get 20-30 different versions of each amp - different settings, channels, speakers, pedals in front, etc. Plus, it's like they did their best to dial in every amp to sound the same. Basically, let's put our boost in front and tweak all the knobs to dial out everything that was "signature" and good about that amp and make them all sound similar. So... good if you want to have that certain Axe-FX over-processed and over-compressed distortion with no life or dynamics, but not for much else.


----------



## JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo (Jan 12, 2020)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> That's because wattage is headroom more so than volume. You need like 5 times (or something like that) the wattage to double the perceived volume.



This is true, but I've owned EVHs in every iteration besides the EL34 version and I found the 50w to be much more manageable. The Stealth is insanely loud, possibly even less manageable than a regular 100w but I've never owned both at the same time so can't compare. I'll put it this way, the S makes sounds at 0 and I don't remember the standard 100 doing that. Very quiet sounds but still, it would be much nicer to be able to touch the volume pot without about a millimetre of play before it gets so loud I'm bothering the neighbours. So if a 50w comes out, I'll buy and if needs be get an attenuator, too.

Then again, I wouldnt have to if I hadn't sold it like a total idiot. I got it such a stupidly low price too


----------



## USMarine75 (Jan 12, 2020)

OliOliver said:


> This is true, but I've owned EVHs in every iteration besides the EL34 version and I found the 50w to be much more manageable. The Stealth is insanely loud, possibly even less manageable than a regular 100w but I've never owned both at the same time so can't compare. I'll put it this way, the S makes sounds at 0 and I don't remember the standard 100 doing that. Very quiet sounds but still, it would be much nicer to be able to touch the volume pot without about a millimetre of play before it gets so loud I'm bothering the neighbours. So if a 50w comes out, I'll buy and if needs be get an attenuator, too.
> 
> Then again, I wouldnt have to if I hadn't sold it like a total idiot. I got it such a stupidly low price too



Totally agree. All other 5150s I own or have owned had a usable lowest volume setting. The Stealth just seems to start much louder. IIRC FJAMODs used to have a log taper master vol pot mod which helped tame the volume for bedroom players.


----------



## Se7enHeaven (Jan 13, 2020)

I'm liking a lot of gear I have, including the AMP1 Iridium (still dialing in the tones for best sound and now using the BluBox for IR... often the MESA setting. Nothing really disappointing with the other gear, since I knew what I was getting into (from YouTube demos, etc.). The Eventide H9 is one of the best pieces I have, but I've rarely used it (getting too much gear and doing demos, etc.). It's sitting there waiting for me.


----------



## godgrinder (Jan 14, 2020)

Best:


'79 LP Custom Silverburst
'60 Melody Maker

Most disappointing:


'96 SG Special which arrived with a headstock crack


----------



## USMarine75 (Jan 14, 2020)

godgrinder said:


> Best:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Oh I completely forgot about the five 2018 HP SG guitars I went through before I gave up. Damn shame, it sounded 10/10, played 10/10, and the case was ridiculous. But I just couldn't deal with all of the finish and QC flaws like a massive divot in the fretboard, an auto-tuning peg that bound up and broke, one that looked like it was used on tour for 44 days and then returned, one with a headstock crack (relic'd lol?), and one with no flame (supposed to be heavily flamed bodies), etc.


----------



## nightlight (Jan 14, 2020)

Great:
My standout purchases for 2019 were the Regius Core 7 and the Regius 6 I scored. The Regius 6 actually displaced my Caparison Horus HGS as the favourite guitar in my collection. The Regius 7 is equally mind-blowing, my first seven and convinced me to give up on eight strings (so the Strandberg Boden 8 is now up on Reverb). 

Pretty damn good: 
I'd have to say that the Marshall JVM410H I scored towards the end of the year is a pretty cool amp - four channels, does it all from clean to super heavy, midi controllable, independent reverbs, two master volumes. A Swiss army knife of an amp. Unfortunately, I'm on the fence about selling this as I prefer my VH4 more and could use the dough. 

Worst: 
The Caparison Dellinger II I got in a trade wasn't bad per se, but I think I fell over myself trading my Archon 50 for it, which was a bad move. It's already been moved on to a new home, at about what I got it for, so no harm. Just didn't need another six string.


----------



## Bentaycanada (Jan 15, 2020)

Best: Friedman Dirty Shirley Mini amp head

It really is the perfect mini JMP/JCM. It did Hendrix - Thin Lizzy - Ozzy - Metallica's 'Kill Em All' without breaking a sweat. All guitar straight into amp! With a boost out front it was thick, ballsy and percussive.

Worst: Victory V4 Kraken preamp pedal

Just couldn't get good tones out of this. I had the highest hopes, as all the clips sounded amazing. I ran it into the fx return of my 6505, channel 1 was not gainy enough and channel 2 was just noisy. In comparison my 6505 destroyed it. I couldn't get rid of it fast enough.


----------



## laxu (Jan 15, 2020)

Best (and only!): BluGuitar Amp 1 Mercury Edition.

As a fan of Marshall type tones, this ticks so many boxes for me. I bought it primarily to try as an alternative to my Bogner Goldfinger which is big and heavy. This is the opposite of that, being tiny and featherweight. But I was really surprised how great it sounds and the JTM-45ish Vintage channel is something my Bogner does not do.


----------



## TedEH (Jan 15, 2020)

I've realized that I haven't done much guitar-related gear this year. It's been all about acoustics and drum upgrades this time.

Good:

Martin D-15M - I got this last January so it's a year old now, but it was inside of 2019, so I count it, hah. This one comes from that sort of personal philosophy of "when you find a guitar you really gel with, that's the one you want". It sounds the way I want an acoustic to sound, it's easy to play, it's almost concerningly lightweight, and it's done a lot to get me playing acoustic more often. This, and an Epiphone explorer I bought a while back have been the go-to guitars for the past year, just because you see them and go "hell yeah" and want to pick them up, and when you do, they deliver. 

Tama Hyper-Drive kit - I finally got some drums that are worthy of playing shows or recording with. I had originally pieced together a kit from various starters and did the best I could to tune them up but there was only so much I could do. The new shells aren't anything suuuuuper amazing in the world of drums, but having something that sounds and feels the way it's supposed to goes a long way towards being drawn to play and practice and improve, etc. A friend of mine also lent out a cool zildjian ride that sounds noooothing like the one I had, and getting to know different cymbal options is also cool.

Bad:

Sabian B8 10" Splash - I got this for stupidly cheap, and while it's not the worst thing in the world, it definitely doesn't sound even close to as good as the other effect cymbals that I hear other drummers using. I feel like the last couple of years have taught me a fair bit about appreciating decent cymbals. This is not one of them. 

Various drum hardware - Turns out that drum hardware is kinda unpleasant to deal with if you don't get quality stuff, or stuff that matches. And both of those qualifiers make things expensive. Lots of just trying to piece stuff together to get extra stands in places that make sense. Lots of pieces that only half work. Nuts and things that follow different standards and don't fit. Things that drift when you hit them. Tom stands that don't want to tighten enough to actually hold the drum up. Felts and wingnuts that unwind and fly away.

Didn't really get anything exciting in the electric guitar side of things this year.


----------



## ESPImperium (Jan 16, 2020)

BEST:
Schaller Original G-Series Tulip SR Top Locking tuners 3x3 Nickel 10490123
Actually a 2018 purchase, but took me 7 months to install on my Les Paul. Great addition, and the guitar actually stays in tune.

Gotoh SG381 Traditional Magnum Locking Tuners 3 x 3 (Chrome, 01)
My god, they are beasts, modern, but an easy retrofit on my PRS SE Mushock Baritone.

WORST:
No major guitar related purchase for 2019. 

STILL WAITING:
Positive Grid Spark 40W Amp
SMG Cock Blocker

Plans for 2020:
Get rid of my Ibanez 7 String - Get a PRS SE SVN
Get a small second pedalboard up and running, just 5 effects and a channel switcher
If i have time, a project guitar, probably a PRS S


----------



## NorCal_Val (Jan 16, 2020)

Not disappointed by any gear I bought in 2019. I was a little PO’d about the SL-X I bought, in that it had been “modified”(poorly) despite the Reverb listing saying it was “un-modified”.
My amp tech fixed all the issues, and it sounds killer.(with a 33 pedal out front, I can get early Megadeth/Anthrax tones)
I’m most stoked about the Friedman 4x12 and Suhr PT100SE I purchased at the end of the year. Just a kick aśś combination for rock/hard rock tones.

addendum;
Pretty damn stoked on the SoloDallas pedal I got at the beginning of 2019.
Not “Angus in a box” with my amps or how I play, but it has some sort of “magic” in there!


----------



## maggotspawn (Jan 16, 2020)

Best, Boss MS-3. This thing is killer, I've barely tapped into it's capabilities.
Worst, AMT E2. I probably should have went with the P2. Generic SS sound doesn't work for me.


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## Spaced Out Ace (Jan 16, 2020)

NorCal_Val said:


> Not disappointed by any gear I bought in 2019. I was a little PO’d about the SL-X I bought, in that it had been “modified”(poorly) despite the Reverb listing saying it was “un-modified”.
> My amp tech fixed all the issues, and it sounds killer.(with a 33 pedal out front, I can get early Megadeth/Anthrax tones)
> I’m most stoked about the Friedman 4x12 and Suhr PT100SE I purchased at the end of the year. Just a kick aśś combination for rock/hard rock tones.


Damn, this ain't half bad.



EDIT: Holy shit, that is mean when he uses humbuckers and an SD-1.


----------



## NorCal_Val (Jan 17, 2020)

Spaced Out Ace said:


> Damn, this ain't half bad.
> 
> 
> 
> EDIT: Holy shit, that is mean when he uses humbuckers and an SD-1.




SL-Xs are killer sounding amps. They have a poor reputation, because Marshall cut corners during production.
(Undervalued bridge rectifier that supplies voltage to the preamp tubes is the primary culprit)
Mine is a 100w/el-34 version; I can get so many classic Marshall tones out of it.
The 4th 12ax7 does give it a lot of hair when the gain is cranked, but that’s not the only thing it does.
And it responds really well to various OD pedals.(not just the SD-1)


----------



## efiltsohg (Jan 17, 2020)

I think they mostly have a poor reputation because every other amp that says JCM 900 on it sounds awful


----------



## Mourguitars (Jan 17, 2020)

NorCal_Val said:


> SL-Xs are killer sounding amps. They have a poor reputation, because Marshall cut corners during production.
> (Undervalued bridge rectifier that supplies voltage to the preamp tubes is the primary culprit)
> Mine is a 100w/el-34 version; I can get so many classic Marshall tones out of it.
> The 4th 12ax7 does give it a lot of hair when the gain is cranked, but that’s not the only thing it does.
> And it responds really well to various OD pedals.(not just the SD-1)



This...holy !!!! man....


----------



## cyb (Jan 17, 2020)

Best: Actually playing guitar again in 2019. I don't think I picked up a guitar even once in 2018, for various reasons.
Kemper. I think I've owned one of these 3 or 4 different times. Still sounds great for being so "old"

Good: Behringer HM300. I finally got to try out the chainsaw sound and it's been fun. Trying to restrain myself from buying a bunch of other HM2 clones, or even a MIJ.

Worst: my rust. Ho-lee shit do I have a long ways to go to get back to where I was...


----------



## Krauthammer (Feb 15, 2020)

This is a great thread. A nice heads up for positive and negative experiences with a plethora of various gear. 

Best: Orange tremlord combo. I've made it chug after some pedal work (tc dark matter) sounds great through it. Boss ds-2 sounds awful. But this amp is the best clean amp I've ever played. My Ibby M80m sounds really articulate with a nice crunch. The amp really shines with a nice single coil neck up. My old jagstang with seymour duncan? neck pup sounds incredibly warm and buttery smooth. Has excellent reverb for days, the actual trem sound is very nice. i only use it sparingly since I don't have a footswitch I didn't know i needed yet, lol. 

Worst: SP Compressor. I've tried all sorts of settings through my triple rec. Was looking to even the dynamics like a compressor should. It made the tone either too quiet or too loud. Couldn't find that sweet spot. That said I do have the EP Boost pedal and its amazing and always on for me. Great build and overall quality just didn't work for me.


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## vilk (Feb 17, 2020)

Krauthammer said:


> This is a great thread. A nice heads up for positive and negative experiences with a plethora of various gear.
> 
> Best: Orange tremlord combo. I've made it chug after some pedal work (tc dark matter) sounds great through it. Boss ds-2 sounds awful. But this amp is the best clean amp I've ever played. My Ibby M80m sounds really articulate with a nice crunch. The amp really shines with a nice single coil neck up. My old jagstang with seymour duncan? neck pup sounds incredibly warm and buttery smooth. Has excellent reverb for days, the actual trem sound is very nice. i only use it sparingly since I don't have a footswitch I didn't know i needed yet, lol.
> 
> Worst: SP Compressor. I've tried all sorts of settings through my triple rec. Was looking to even the dynamics like a compressor should. It made the tone either too quiet or too loud. Couldn't find that sweet spot. That said I do have the EP Boost pedal and its amazing and always on for me. Great build and overall quality just didn't work for me.


You do know about the internal dip switches in the SP, right?


----------



## sleewell (Feb 17, 2020)

bast: mono m80 double gig bag.

its a really well made case. carrying 2 guitars now feels like carrying 1 in a hard case plus there is lots of room for cables, picks, strings and one of my amps.


----------



## vilk (Feb 17, 2020)

broj15 said:


> Most impressive: Boss ODB-3. This pedal has been such a big help in getting closer to the tone in my head. And for $40 I really can't complain
> 
> Most disappointing: Sunn Beta Bass. Honestly the tone was solid, but it never would've been more than a back up amp for me, and it honestly didn't push as much volume as my other heads so I decided to flip it, and actually made a little money on it.



Were you using it for bass or for guitar? I play guitar through mine and use a 4x12, I can't turn mine past 3 without drowning out the whole band. Gotta keep it around 2.5. It's the loudest fucking thing ever. 

I'm also recently thinking about letting it go, though. It just doesn't let pedals shine. I thought my Ghoul Screamer was kind of a piece of shit in front of the Beta, then I put it in front of a Marshall tube amp and and it sounds beautiful. The distortion sound of the amp itself is fantastic, the clean sound is very 'solid state', but that's something many people want I guess, what with Metallica lugging around Roland JC's just for that. I think the beta pulls off that 'solid state clean' really well. 

It is an extremely convenient amp with a nice design. Two independent channels can be set up for two cleans, clean and dirty, or both dirty, or any combination simultaneously. Two separate FX loops, and then a 3rd 'master fx loop'. Not to mention that mine is MiA; it's a piece of history. The sound of Bleach, also Earth 2.

Sorry, I've been thinking about what to do with my Beta Bass for a minute and I couldn't not write about it after reading that someone else had gotten rid of theirs. I've nearly put up the listing a couple times and then chickened out. I don't know if I'm ready yet. My only complaint about it is that fancy ass pedals can only sound mediocre. You're right, it's a perfect back-up amp. I'll keep it for in case I ever need to play outside and be extra super loud, or if my tube amp ever shits out on me right before a gig. 

Thank you for coming to my TED talk


----------



## Seabeast2000 (Feb 17, 2020)

Best: barely used rgr652lmnop , the black one with the Edge.
Genz Benz 2x12 ported cab.

No worst for 2019 although I spent time reassessing some 2018 purchases.


----------



## broj15 (Feb 18, 2020)

At that point in time I was playing bass in a band, but I tried it out with both. I definitely liked it more as a guitar amp than a bass amp. For bass it sounded bland, but the tones I was able to get just plugging my guitar straight in were pretty solid. Honestly though my Peavey Musician 400 has that same solid state sound, although with more "character" imo and a better feel/response (both very hard things to actually describe or quantify, I know). I can definitively say that the Peavey smoked it in the volume department though. I can see where most people would consider the beta bass to be loud (and in reality it is) but my band is one of those obnoxiously loud blast beat/cave man riff/blast beat bands, so volume is kinda crucial. Plus the Peavey had more clean headroom and thus made it better for me, as I get most of my dirt tone from a pedal.

Considering the Peavey is worth about $150 on a good day (not even worth the trouble of trying to sell it imo) and I sold the Sunn for double what I paid for it, it just made sense to move on.

That being said, if it's been working for you then hang on to it. It doesn't look like the Sunn bubble is gonna pop any time soon so if you ever wanna get something different down the line you won't have any trouble rehoming it.

Edit: not sure if you've seen 'em, but Hilbish has been making Sunn beta preamps or full amps with class D Poweramps for king buzzo that might interest you. I've even contemplated building a rackmount rig based around of thier pre's and a tube Poweramp of some sort.


----------



## oneblackened (Feb 18, 2020)

Best: Equilibrium Guitars FT6. It's not often guitars are literally worth $4000 to me but this one is and more. 

Worst: Mesa Mark IV. It's versatile, yes, but it's immensely difficult to dial in and it just didn't behave the way I wanted it to, ever. It was also horrifyingly LOUD.


----------



## TedEH (Feb 18, 2020)

oneblackened said:


> Worst: Mesa Mark IV. It's versatile, yes, but it's immensely difficult to dial in and it just didn't behave the way I wanted it to, ever. It was also horrifyingly LOUD.


This kinda surprises me. It's got a couple of tricks if you're used to other amps, but it's not too hard to get a basic decent sound from it. It's also one of the better sounding amps I've tried at low volume.

You'd best get rid of it. If you send it to Quebec I can make sure it's disposed of properly.


----------



## HeHasTheJazzHands (Feb 18, 2020)

The Mark IV wasn't a pain for me to dial in at all. Treble high, bass low, pentode, mid gain, fat and bright on, treble pull, 750hz scooped... Worked for me.


----------



## lurè (Feb 18, 2020)

It's not that hard to dial in a decent sound and the manual really helps.
You probably won't have the same sound forever since you can tweak it to the bone and shape it at your liking and spend the rest of your life playing with the GEQ, but the best starting point is bass 0/1, mids as many as you want, treble 7/8, presence 5. Pull fat always, pull bright at will, mid gain for br00tz, harmonics for soloing.

Classic V shape for GEQ


----------



## thrashinbatman (Feb 18, 2020)

I can kind of get it, it took me forever to get my head around the JP2C. The Mark heads just don't respond like normal amps, and you have to play by their rules, so to speak. To get a tone I really like, I had to do a ton of stuff I wouldn't normally do in terms of settings. Not that this is bad, it's just a little wonky to get used to.


----------



## stevexc (Feb 18, 2020)

Best is my Gibson LP Jr Tribute, hands down. Best playing guitar I own and it sounds great. Other than guitars, I'd say it's a tossup between my Revv G3, my Sunn-T preamp, or my Nuclear Rodent (Life Pedal "clone"), the latter two I built.

Worst easily is the Zoom B1on. It just sounded bad and felt cheap. Should have just gone with the MultiStomp.


----------



## oneblackened (Feb 18, 2020)

Don't get me wrong guys the IV's not a bad amp, it's just not the sound I was after. I like the IIIs much better. I just found the 4 to be a bit... I guess "woofy" is the right sound? compared to the III.


----------



## sakeido (Feb 18, 2020)

lurè said:


> It's not that hard to dial in a decent sound and the manual really helps.
> You probably won't have the same sound forever since you can tweak it to the bone and shape it at your liking and spend the rest of your life playing with the GEQ, but the best starting point is bass 0/1, mids as many as you want, treble 7/8, presence 5. Pull fat always, pull bright at will, mid gain for br00tz, harmonics for soloing.
> 
> Classic V shape for GEQ



Any time somebody has issues with a Mesa you always gotta wonder if they read the manual. They're fantastic, and they aren't dry either... they're as fun to read as manuals get. Mark IV shouldn't sound woofy but ya never know. I could see how they wouldn't jibe with certain modern guitar pickups that have giant mid boosts in stupid spots.

best: Charvel DK24. Finally acclimated to Albertan winter with it's <2% humidity level so all the frets are sticking out... just about time to drop it off at the shop to get fixed up and swap the bridge pickup to a DiMarzio Fortitude 

worst: Peavey 6505+ combo conversion. Whatever mods the guy made to this amp ruined it... good thing it was cheap as dirt. None of the channels sound anything like they're supposed to and the lead channel is about 40% quieter than it should be. It's been sitting there gathering dust until I go to the trouble of restoring it back to the factory configuration.


----------



## Wolfhorsky (Feb 18, 2020)

Correct me if I'm wrong: the whole "Mark is different kinda amp to dial in" thing is just because the BMT controls are pre-gain and G-eq is post gain.


----------



## thrashinbatman (Feb 18, 2020)

And also because there are a million switches and none of the knobs do what you'd expect them to do.


----------



## TedEH (Feb 18, 2020)

Wolfhorsky said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong: the whole "Mark is different kinda amp to dial in" thing is just because the BMT controls are pre-gain and G-eq is post gain.


It's mostly this. I had trouble dialing stuff at first because it didn't occur to me to turn the bass knob down. Everything was flubby and I couldn't figure out why. I was of the mindset that everything should start in the middle and go from there, but that's not how this one works.



thrashinbatman said:


> And also because there are a million switches and none of the knobs do what you'd expect them to do.


Most of the options are pretty subtle though. A lot of it is set-and-forget. If you keep the bass knob down, and the GEQ in a vaguely V shape, you're going to be in pretty standard Mark tone territory no matter what you do with the rest.

All of that being said, it's got a voice of it's own that not everyone is going to gel with. It doesn't sound like other Mesas, or any of the trying-to-be-a-Marshall amps I've owned before. And for all it's versatility, there are some things it just doesn't do. If you were sold on the versatility but just don't like the basic Mark thing that it does, I could understand being disappointed in it.


----------



## oneblackened (Feb 18, 2020)

Wolfhorsky said:


> Correct me if I'm wrong: the whole "Mark is different kinda amp to dial in" thing is just because the BMT controls are pre-gain and G-eq is post gain.


There's that, and they're also just a very different voice (read: midrangey as fuck) compared to most other amps on the market, and they have a klajillion knobs and switches. IIRC my IV had somewhere in the ballpark of 5 different push-pull pots. 

The other problem I had was that I could get approximately 3 sounds I actually liked out of it, and it was "Metallica, Dream Theater, Lamb Of God". Cleans were okay but kinda nothing special, R2 was just generally not great sounding...


----------



## c7spheres (Feb 18, 2020)

^ 
It's almost inevitable one day you'll hear another one and are perplexed by the sounds coming out of it enough to want to try it out again thinking wtf?! : )


----------



## TedEH (Feb 18, 2020)

oneblackened said:


> R2 was just generally not great sounding...


Unpopular opinion -> Some of the best things the Mark IV can do come from R2. It's not a high gain channel. With the right tubes, pickups that sound good already, and a tastefully low amount of gain, you can pull some reaaaaally nice pushed "clean" and lightly crunchy sounds out of that channel.


----------



## SubsonicDoom99 (Feb 22, 2020)

I had a pretty good year gear-wise, not really much that wound up sucking bad and being regrettable, thankfully. Some standout purchases in a good way though....

GOOD:
Solar A2.6FB baritone- I didn't have much first-hand experience playing Solar guitars other than picking one up here and there for a few moments at NAMM and such, so I was nervous ordering one without getting to test-drive it, so to speak. Pleasantly surprised, a nicely balanced guitar with great tone, the Solar pickups are great and so far I've kept it all stock and it's gigged out just fine. Got a good deal on it too (about a hundred off the normal $$) so I can't complain at all.

Tone City Durple and Wild Fro pedals- Another blind buy basically, I saw these advertised in an e-mail and they were having a pre-order sale that was really cheap so I said, why not? I like the videos and tones that Danish Pete & Rabea get in most of their videos so I figured I'd give it a shot. Both pedals sound great and are pretty sturdy for being inexpensive mini-pedals. 

Seymour Duncan Dark Sun and Diamondhead pedals- I got to try out the Dark Sun at the beginning of '19 when it was first announced and I was surprised how nice it was, a lot of fun and lots of possibilities for creative sounds. As much as I like their digital delay and reverb pedals, I feel like Duncan took the best aspects of each of them and put them into one pedal (which is nice because those pedals are pretty big, so having them in one pedal saves me a lot of space now) and added a few cool new things to it. Same with the Diamondhead, it's turning out to be a pretty versatile distortion pedal and the built-in post-gain boost is excellent, so now I don't need an extra boost pedal on the board anymore. i keep trying to make my rig more compact while not sacrificing the sounds I need, so these pedals have been a big help so far.

DISAPPOINTING:
Luckily not much in the way of disappointing this past year, though I've had horrible luck with Mogami cables anymore it seems. The last several I've bought have wound up crapping out on me after relatively little use or travel. I don't know if just a bad batch went out at some point or some materials changed along the way or what. Always had great luck with them before?


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## Lemonbaby (Feb 22, 2020)

If this is about gear in general: JBL EON610 speaker. Holy crap, is that one noisy amplifier design. Doesn't matter in a rehearsal room with a drummer and two guitar stacks, but it's absolutely unusable in any environment without permanent background noise over 80dB. As I bought it for practising with my Helix at home, I had to send it back and spend a little more for a "proper active speaker" (TM).


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## TedEH (Feb 22, 2020)

I suppose something I didn't think of:
I can't remember if it was in 2019, but I think I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I like the JB and 59 pairing. And how much I really hated blackouts.


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## D-Nasty (Feb 23, 2020)

I had a killer year in 2019! I have dubbed it "The Year of Gear"! I had a few disappointments but mostly good.

THE GOOD:
Jackson Soloist SLX Orange Crackle
Ibanez RG752M Prestige
Revv D20
Revv G3
Revv G4
KSR CERES
Pepers Dirty Tree
Horizon Devices Precision Drive
Fortin Zuul
Fortin Roach
Rocktron Micro Hush
Two Notes Torpedo CAB M
TC Electronic Hall of Fame 2
Dunlop Crybaby From Hell
ISP Decimator X
Voodoo Labs Dingbat Medium with Pedal Power 2 Plus
Countryman Type 85
MOTU M4
Korg Pitchblack Rack Tuner
MESA Compact Rectifier 2X12 Cab
Studio RTA Producer Station

THE BAD:
Jackson Soloist SLX DX (Arrived with a factory defect. Bridge mounting stud hole was drilled too big. Returned)
Sterling by Music Man JP70 (Bought "New" from Guitar Center. Arrived with a big ass scratch on the headstock & the hole for the spring claw was stripped out. Returned.)
Radial J48 Stereo (Clipped my interface even with passive pickups & the -15db pad engaged. Returned.)
Mackie Big Knob Passive Monitor Controller (HUGE loss in volume & loud buzzing. Returned.)

2020 is looking good so far! I just picked up a Mesa Triple Rectifier with a flight case & I'm about to get an ESP EII-M-II! Maybe a Diezel 4X12 too!


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## BornToLooze (Feb 23, 2020)

My custom ESP. One one hand it's one of the best playing and sounding guitars I've ever had. One the other hand...




That's not a guitar you play anything on. I have to be in an 80s mood to play it. Also you pull the volume pot to change to the neck pickup. I still haven't figured out an easy way to do that while I'm playing.


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## TheWarAgainstTime (Feb 24, 2020)

BornToLooze said:


> My custom ESP. One one hand it's one of the best playing and sounding guitars I've ever had. One the other hand...
> 
> View attachment 77843
> 
> ...



HAWT  

It may be easier to do the pickup switch if you replace the push-pull pot with a push-push like this: https://www.warmoth.com/Push-Push-Pot-500k-with-DPDT-Switch-On-On-P732C74.aspx 

I have one installed in the guitar in my profile pic and it's a lot easier to manage than the push-pull that was in there before


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## BornToLooze (Feb 24, 2020)

TheWarAgainstTime said:


> HAWT
> 
> It may be easier to do the pickup switch if you replace the push-pull pot with a push-push like this: https://www.warmoth.com/Push-Push-Pot-500k-with-DPDT-Switch-On-On-P732C74.aspx
> 
> I have one installed in the guitar in my profile pic and it's a lot easier to manage than the push-pull that was in there before



I've put a lot of thought into putting a push-push in it, but it's one of those guitars that sounds so perfect I still use the string gauge that came on it instead of what I prefer. Even though I have enough confidence in my soldering skills, I don't want to change anything and risk screwing something up.


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## runbirdman (Feb 24, 2020)

Best: PRS CE24
It’s a ridiculously versatile guitar. The 85/15 pickups are the only stock pickups I have left in my guitars. It’s a satin model with the satin neck. Really an impressive guitar for what I paid.

Worst: Morley ABY
It does what it’s supposed to do but the switch is accompanied by a really loud pop that makes the pedal unusable for live settings.


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