2011 year in review: a gear retrospective

[Eric]

We have just under a week to go in 2011, so it might be a fun time to recap the year we all had guitar-wise. What was your best purchase/sale? Who bought the most guitars this year? Any big disappointments?

As I was recapping this in my head, I realized that I've had a busy year gear-wise. Of the 7 guitars I own, 5 of them came in 2011:

Ibanez Prestige bass
Squier CV Custom tele
Agile AL-2000
Squier Hello Kitty strat
G&L ASAT Bluesboy (still haven't met this one though)

Along with a couple of amps:

Jet City JCA2112RC
Fender Mustang I

And some pedals:

Crowther Hotcake
Boss DD-6
Digitech Hardwire RV-7
Digitech Bad Monkey

Wow. I had no idea I got so much stuff. Some of it came in trades, but that's still impressive by my standards.

How about you? Best? Worst? Let's hear it.

[DeanEVO_Dude]

Great post Eric, lets all look and see just how much money we spen this past year! LOL

For me I got quite a few:
Guitars:
'08 Gibson Les Paul Studio (sold it)
'01 Eipiphone 58 Korina Explorer
Stagg Strat copy
'08 Epiphone G-400 Vintage SG (sold it last night)
Xavier Strat from GFS
Epiphone Les Paul Special I P90
LTD EX-50 (sold it)

Pedals:
MXR Custom Badass 78
MXR Carbon Copy
MXR Phase 90 (used)
Rogue Analog Delay (sold it)
Rogue Analog Chorus
Rogue Compressor
Rogue Tremolo
DOD FX67 Stereo Turbo Chorus (2nd one, first had problems)
There is probably more, just can't remember which ones...

Amps:
Peavey Windsor Studio
Jet City Picovalve
Kustom 1x12 extension cab (replaced the speaker with an Eminence The Governor)
Crate Vintage Club 50 212 (sold it)

That's a prety penny worth of stuff! Kinda makes me cringe when I think about it and how much I spent...

Scott

[Eric]

How do you like that Jet City Picovalve? I tried one of them out once at a GC next to a Blackstar HT5 and thought it was pretty cool.

[marnold]

Beyond strings, I only had one purchase. That was my ESP LTD Surveyor-414 bass, and the resulting sale of my Spector Performer.

[DeanEVO_Dude]

I like it, doesn't do "sparkley" clean but it does the overdriven thing well. Plus you can change the sound based on the type of output tube you put in it (and it'll take alot! 6L6, 6V6, EL34, etc). Also, not very loud when played clean, but crank it, over-driven heaven, real nice. For those "can't play so loud" times, it's got a 5w/2w switch which dumps the volume tremendously in 2 watt mode. I got it for under $200 at GC.

Scott

[sunvalleylaw]

Hmm. Purchased my CV Tele Custom in the spring, which has been a nice addition. Got a Snark clip on tuner that has been good. And got a couple new straps. That's about it!!

[bcdon]

Well, I've been busy! :dude

Everything I purchased I am super happy with.

Guitars:
Hell Zerodot (My first strat-style guitar, easy to play and looks/sounds awesome)
Hell Bender (Bad a-- and super fun to play.)
Godin Icon Type 3 (I love the P90s. This is a great guitar.)

Pedals:
Strymon El Capistan (Totally awesome!!)
Boss Loop Station RC-3 (Loads of fun.)
TC Electronic Polytune (Super useful.)
Morley Steve Vai Bad Horsie 2 Contour Wah (Pretty sweet when in the mood.)
Visual Sound 1-Spot (This is okay, but not so great with the RC-3 -- too noisy. I'm going to buy a Voodoo Lab - Pedal Power 2 Plus)

[markb]

Well, what with moving back to the UK I dumped a ton of gear to lighten the load. I'm left with:

Gibson J45
Fender Strat
A cheap Crafter acoustic that will be up for sale soon
A tenor ukulele
A fiddle (I'm not sure why)
Two melodeons

Of these, the uke and one of the melodeons are 2011 purchase.

I suppose I'll need an amp before long.

[Eric]

I suppose I'll need an amp before long.
Wow, no tele either? You really did get rid of a lot of gear. What are you thinking about WRT amps?

[NWBasser]

Oh my, where to start?

2000 Fender USA Jazz Deluxe replaced by G&L Tribute SB-2.

Squier CV Jazz added to make up for lack of jazz bass sounds. I actually like it better than the DLx. Jazz.

Squier Classic Vibe Strat - came and went.

For amphs and whatnot:

Fender Mustang I. Still really liking it.

New Ampeg PF500 head.

Avatar 410 replaced by Avatar TB153 (3-way cab).

Hartke Hydrive 112.

Bergantino HT 112.

Boss Bass Limiter/Enhancer - recently gone all wonky and will need warrantee if it's still covered.

[Eric]

This thread has really made me think about my current setup. I'm living out of a suitcase right now, so it's not really a fair time to assess my needs (if you want to call them that), but I would like to purge a little bit after this year of binging. I guess it's the ebb and flow of gear that makes this whole journey interesting, but there's no way I could honestly give 7 guitars a reasonable amount of playing time, so I'll have to look into that a bit.

NWB, I've also found the Mustang I to be a pretty sweet purchase. Definitely near the top of the list in playing time for this year, anyway.

[Katastrophe]

All I did was add a Fender Mustang I this year.

Best $99.00 my wife ever spent on an amph. Of course, it's the only $99.00 she's ever spent on an amph, too...

Looking to add something in the new year, but don't know what yet.

[piebaldpython]

My custom Southern Belle 6-string lap steel with a Tele Neck Custom Blues in the neck and a Hot 90 in the bridge. Silky smooth to snarlin' and growlin'.

[tjcurtin1]

I was proud to be GAS- and new gear-free this year (actually, almost a year and a half!) - until.... I bit at the stupid deal of the day yesterday on a Rogue mandolin for $42 - actually, I started out ordering one for my brother's upcoming birthday but looking at the order form it made so much sense to order myself one while I was at it...:cool: I love mandos, but had sworn I wouldn't throw anything else into the mix so that I could concentrate on geetar. Oh well!

[Radioboy950]

I don't buy lots of gear, but I did pick up a couple goodies this year.
1) Fender Deluxe Lone Star Strat (MIM)--It's a helluva guitar, looks great, plays great, sounds killer, stays in tune.
2) "Brownie" from CMATMODS--Light overdrive to gained up Marshall, and everything in between. Covers all my needs.
3) Boss Chromatic Tuner pedal--It does what it's supposed to do.
4) "Reaper" 12" speaker from Warehouse Guitar Speakers. Fantastic all-around speaker, especially when used in a 1X12. Described as a drop-in replacement for the Celestion G12H30 70th Anniversary speaker.

[Commodore 64]

This year was a year of divestitures for me.

I got rid of:
'94 MiM Strat Squier Series
Ibanez Artcore AF85
SX Tele
94 MiM Strat
Boss FZ-5 pedal
Single loop bypass pedal
Digitech Bad Monkey
Vox Pathfinder 15R

I purchased:
BBE Supacharger to power my pedal board
Lovepedal Amp50 (Traded the Pathfinder 15R for it)
1993 Pro Jr. which required a lot of work, and also had a blown speaker. I repaired the tear, but has a bad voicecoil rub. I'm bummed about that, so might have Weber or Parts Express recone it.
Just yesterday I purchased about $300 worth of stuff to build my own 5E3 Clone, using the PCB at PPWatt.com.

Current Stable:
Taylor 110
94 MiM Tele
Samick JA25 (Jazzmaster w P90s)
'90 Jackson Soloist Pro
LTD Vypyr (low end, bolt-on)
Fender Pro Jr.
Epi Valve Jr. (in pieces, chassis to be reused for 5E3)
Peavey Classic 30
Peavey Bandit 112 (Sheffield, Black Box, transtube)
pedals:
BYOC BBOD
Allum Modded BD-2
TC Electronics Polytone
Lovepedal Amp50
Marshall Jackhammer

[Tig]

My only purchases were the Fender Mustang I, and a Snark headstock tuner.

EDIT: I forgot the Hell No. 2 guitar in May!
Either this night shift is erasing my brain, or I have a tumor the size of a moon in my skull.

[Robert]

For me, well

3 Hell Guitars
Line 6 POD HD300
Porter Pickups - Vintage Tele

I think that's it. Kinda lame.

[deeaa]

I can't really remember when I got what.

I suppose the JVM, Amplitube 3 and the Epiphone SG are clear cases as is the full Cubase 6 version, other than that...I dunno. Really. Did I buy the Zoom R-16 in '11 or '10? Years just zoom by so quickly these days. When did I get the Stealth Pedal? How about the Yamaha shredder? No recollection.

I think I did also get the nylon-string back from the luthier in '11.

[riverrick]

Great post Eric. For me: Squire CV Tele (love it) Ric 620 ( very nice) Fender 60th Anniv. Thinline Tele (really love it) Gibson Les Paul Studio 60's Tribute (not so much....really disapointed on this buy) Epiphone Ltd. Edition Dot Royale ( this was by far the best bang for the buck) Line 6 M5 (was able to clean up some of my pedtal clutter with this) Strymon Blue Sky Reverb ( awesome) Danelecto Cool Cat fuzz ( just OK)

[bcdon]

Great post Eric. For me: Squire CV Tele (love it) Ric 620 ( very nice) Fender 60th Anniv. Thinline Tele (really love it) Gibson Les Paul Studio 60's Tribute (not so much....really disapointed on this buy) Epiphone Ltd. Edition Dot Royale ( this was by far the best bang for the buck) Line 6 M5 (was able to clean up some of my pedtal clutter with this) Strymon Blue Sky Reverb ( awesome) Danelecto Cool Cat fuzz ( just OK)

That Strymon Blue Sky Reverb looks awesome! If I didn't love the reverb on my boggie I'd get that pedal in a heart beat.. hell, I just might get one anyway! ;-)

[Spudman]

2011 was:

Ibanez ART100TR
Ibanez SZ320BK
LTD EC-256AHB
Washburn Idol I64TR
Squier Deluxe Strat
Squire Telecaster Thinline

Pocket Pod
Fender Starcaster Chorus
Marshall Gov'nor
Zoom Q3
Tascam DP-004
Digitech Studio S100
PV IPR1600
Ibanez AH1&2 pickups
Sony MRD7506 headphones
Ibanez TU20 tuner


sheesh!

[stingx]

Cool thread!

2011 had me dig into my pockets for:

- Laney Cub 12R
- Digitech RP500
- Custom built Esquire
- new recording DAW
- and a boatload of VSTi plugins (all paid for)

Bought and returned:

Fender Mustang III
Squier CV Vintage Blonde tele

[Radioboy950]

BTW--Those Hell guitars look very promising. That Zero Dot looks slick, and your demo sounds great.
They are one to watch, for sure.


For me, well

3 Hell Guitars
Line 6 POD HD300
Porter Pickups - Vintage Tele

I think that's it. Kinda lame.

[riverrick]

BTW--Those Hell guitars look very promising. That Zero Dot looks slick, and your demo sounds great.
They are one to watch, for sure.

I'm with you on that Radioboy. I thought for sure I'd have one this year. I'm really drooling over the Zero Dot!!!:drool
Does anyone know when these will be available???

[stingx]

I'm with you on that Radioboy. I thought for sure I'd have one this year. I'm really drooling over the Zero Dot!!!:drool
Does anyone know when these will be available???

No.

I've been jonesing for one since I saw it.

[bcdon]

According to this post (http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/12941-Hell-Guitars?p=218363&viewfull=1#post218363) things look like they're really moving along...I'm sure it won't be too long before you can get your hands on one.

No.

I've been jonesing for one since I saw it.

[stingx]

I hope so.

[helliott]

Very conservative year for me, in part due to financial constraints -- namely an university student son with great need. Was sorely tempted to buy a modded LP with the Peter Green pickup setup. But couldn't decide what to divest so that hasn't happened. The only new bit of gear was a Diamond Compressor, very solid and tasty unit made by a company in Canada's maritimes. Just the ticket for more sustain on the single coils.

[R_of_G]

I had an extremely modest year for gear acquisitions. In fact, I didn't personally get any new gear.

The only two instrument purchases I made this year were a ukulele for my daughter's birthday and a recorder that we just got her for Christmas. Of course, I will play with both of those (I've already gotten much mileage from the ukulele) but they're really for her.

Other than that, the only gear I got this year was new strings here and there as needed.

[guitarhack]

I picked up a couple of used Peavey guitars, a Generation S-3 and a Generation EXP ACM, plus a DeArmond M-75T. I sold a Takamine a/e 12-string.

[duhvoodooman]

Quite a bit of gear churn for me this past year:

Guitars

Sold: Xaviere XV-870 Strat copy (to Monkus here); Epiphone Elitist Les Paul Standard

Bought: Gibson Custom Historic Series '59 Les Paul Reissue (R9); Squier Classic Vibe Tele Custom; Squier Classic Vibe '50s Strat

Amps

Sold: Egnater Rebel 20 head; Mesa Transatlantic TA-15 head (another sale to Monkus!)

Bought: Mesa Express 5:25 10" combo; Jeff Rubin Rocket head (Trainwreck Rocket clone)

Built: BYOC Champlifier (http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/19555-BYOC-Champ-6-watt-amp-kit-released?p=218558&viewfull=1#post218558) (Fender tweed Champ 5F1 clone)

Pedals

W-a-a-a-a-y-y too much to bother listing here....

[sunvalleylaw]

@riverrick: Is this the 60th Thinline tele? http://www.chorder.com/electric-guitars/Fender/60th+Anniversary+Modern+Thinline+Telecaster+3678/

Looks cool! I must have missed the thread when you got it.

[Mac Morganfield]

Yes, unintentional but it's been a busy year on the gear side for me. Lets see now:

'06 Gibson Melody Maker (came in and went out)
'10 Epiphone Dot Studio (came in and went out)
'00 Gibson SG Standard
'98 Gibson LP DC Standard
'03 Fender Stratocaster Standard MIM

Vox AC4TV10
Vox Lil' Night Train with 1X12 cab

More pedals than i can list came and went which leaves me with a T-Rex Alberta OD and a Boss CS-3

I also bought Gator hard cases for the SG, Dot Studio and the Strat, 5 sets of strings (DR Pure Blues nickel 10-52's and a set of 11-50's). I have also 'invested' in having all my guitars set up by a pro this year (The SG, Strat and LP DC)

I don't see it as a GAS problem, just the road to refining my sound.

The big question is this: Am i a better player than i was 12 months ago? Answer: Yes, a LOT better. Still not great but if i can improve like this year on year, i'll be able to become a full time professional musician.........by the time i retire aged 65!

What will 2012 bring? Well, i'm on a self imposed spending ban for the next 6 months at least but i'd like to get a set of Bare Knuckle 'Irish Tour' pick-up's fitted to the Strat when i can afford it and real life does'nt get in the way!

[riverrick]

@riverrick: Is this the 60th Thinline tele? http://www.chorder.com/electric-guitars/Fender/60th+Anniversary+Modern+Thinline+Telecaster+3678/

Looks cool! I must have missed the thread when you got it.

Yep that's it. You didn't miss the post....never posted that buy. I know you guys like to see some pics (I just just have a hell of a time putting up pics) Really love that guitar, it's light as a feather and plays like a dream. Only thing I did was swap out the pups. Put in some D. Allen Fat Cats.

[bcdon]

The big question is this: Am i a better player than i was 12 months ago? Answer: Yes, a LOT better. Still not great but if i can improve like this year on year, i'll be able to become a full time professional musician.........by the time i retire aged 65!

What will 2012 bring? Well, i'm on a self imposed spending ban for the next 6 months at least but i'd like to get a set of Bare Knuckle 'Irish Tour' pick-up's fitted to the Strat when i can afford it and real life does'nt get in the way!

I think we are on the same trajectory! By the time I retire I'm going to be the shredder I've always wanted to be! :)
You won't be sorry with those Bare Knuckle pups.. I have an 'Irish Tour' / 'Nailbomb' combination in my Hell ZeroDot strat and it is wicked bad! :dude

[Brian Krashpad]

I'm broke from cancer bills so I didn't really buy anything this year, at least not anything big that I intended not to immediately flip. I bought an Epi SG bass that I woulda loved to have kept but flipped. Also a '60's Cordovox 2x12 cab with the original Jensens that I'm still trying to flip. Only thing I've bought not intending to resell is a Juice Box OD pedal, and I don't really need that. Oh, and a couple Snark tuners.

[kiteman]

Eric, what about the Godin? Did you get it in 2011?

(going through my receipts)

Blackstar HT408 speaker cabinet
4 used old stock tubes (2 preamp & 2 power amp)
Prewired strat pick guard from GFS (really weak pups)
Set of Carvin S60A single coil pups (to replace those weak pups)
Rolling Stone Early Rock to Late 60s tab book

[Eric]

Eric, what about the Godin? Did you get it in 2011?
Uh...I think I got that in 2010, but I'm honestly not sure. I flipped it for a CV tele and some cash this year. It was too noisy and something (e.g. scale length, bolt-on neck, etc.) made it something other than what I was hoping for.

[kiteman]

Shame as that was one pretty guitar. :)

[Eric]

Shame as that was one pretty guitar. :)
I agree, but I was hoping for a lighter Les Paul. Despite my best efforts, it ended up sounding quite different. It seems weird to say it, but I think it might have been due to scale length.

[Monkus]

Squier Classic Vibe in Olympic White, sweet guitar, couldn't get past the metal pick-guard, came and went,

Xaviere Surf Green XV-870 awesome purchase from DVM.

Carvin AE 185. http://www.carvinworld.com/catalog/guitars/index.php?model=ae185
...Couldn't help myself there...

Mesa Boogie Transatlantic TA-15, another excellent purchase from DVM. My go to amp :socool
Built a cab for it here: http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php/18735-Building-a-1x12-Thiele-Small-guitar-cabinet?highlight=thiele

Boss GE-7 Eq pedal.
Boss DD-7 delay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU8anRAMwpk

Boss BD-2 Blues Driver, pedals bought used....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po9K258e1y4

Zoom R16 Recorder, bought to catch performances from church...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGvUkNzQ5q8&feature=related

That's it (I think) .

[Spudman]

Monkus - that R16 seems like a really practical piece of gear. Have you spent any time with it yet? What is your take on it?

[Monkus]

Spud..
Its become invaluable. Our church is typical Presbyterian, Stuck in the 60's. The hymns are sung at hair growing pace. As the leader of the band I've decided to preserve the traditional and introduce contemporary worship music. So we do the normal hymns, in light jazz, celtic and acoustic modern. In order to 'advertise', I've recorded practices on the R16 and put it up on our fb page as 'marketing'. I bought the R16 after much research as I didn't want to lug my 21.5" iMac and a bunch of gear twice a week. Its easy to set up, lightweight and runs on batteries as well. If the recordings are good enough, I hook it up to the iMac via usb, and move the wav files into Logic for further processing.

here's a quick and dirty recording using just the external mics, no processing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQvg2drkXEc

Note: the real name of the song is "His Glory Appears" sung by Brooke Fraser. :thwap

[syo]

It was a lean year for gear but most notably added a nice Gretsch (6120 Setzer Hot Rod). Otherwise mostly recording software (Reason upgrade) and plug-ins (Amplitube upgrade, Amplitube Fender, A few more EZ Drummer kits, EZ Mix and a bunch of other software I bought on impulse and can't remember right now). Also some fun music "toys" like the Korg mini KP, Wave Drum mini, Zoom Rhythmtrack RT-223 Drum Machine. Oh and lots of luthier supplies thanks mostly to StewMac!

And just remembered the Akai LPK25. Really handy, compact controller/keyboard. I really like this little thing!