2012 Year in Review -- did we already do one of these?

[Eric]

I think I'm safe since we're barely a week into 2013, but I always liked these gear retrospectives at year's end. What did you get or get rid of in 2012? What do you like the best? What gets the most use? What was a bad purchase? Here's mine. Let me know how it was for you.

Purchased:

Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 bass head
SWR Goliath III 4x10 bass cabinet
Tech 21 Sansamp Bass Driver DI bass preamp/DI box
Zoom G3 multi-effects
DiMarzio 36th Anniversary PAF pickups
Harbinger 12" powered PA speaker
Audio-Technica ATH-M50 headphones

I may have bought some other stuff that I have already sold too. It was a year of cleansing, which means...

Sold:

Squier Classic Vibe Custom Tele
G&L ASAT Classic Bluesboy (Tele-ish)
Agile AL-2000
Squier Hello Kitty Strat
Crowther Hotcake overdrive
Digitech Bad Monkey overdrive
Boss DD-6 delay
Hardwire RV-7 reverb
Tech 21 Boost DLA delay
Boss RC-2 looper
Ernie Ball Jr. volume pedal
Dunlop Crybaby wah
ProCo Turbo Rat distortion
Tech 21 Sansamp GT2 preamp
Korg Pitchblack tuner
Tech 21 Trademark 60 amp
GFS VEH humbuckers
Live Wire DI box
Boss FS-6 footswitch
Pedaltrain Jr. pedal board
Dunlop DC brick power supply
Godlyke Power All power supply
Presonus Audiobox USB audio interface
AKG K240 headphones

My best purchase was getting rid of a bunch of the inventory I had. I am happier now than I was before, and I kept the one electric that I always went to before, but now I never feel any conflict about not playing others.

My best actual purchase was probably the Audio-Technica headphones. They're sweet. Everything else that I bought was a bit more utilitarian.

My worst purchase was the DiMarzio pickups. They're for sale on this forum, and I never even opened them up or installed them. I believe they'd be great if I put them in, but I've learned through this whole thing that if I don't have a complaint, there's no reason to start tweaking. It was an impulse buy of a good product, just a completely unneeded one.

 

[Retro Hound]

Now that I think about it, I had more activity than I first guessed. You'll notice the Behringer Super Fuzz is on the purchased and sold list. That thing was awful to my ears. Love the Fuzz Face that replaced it.

Purchased:
Fender Vibro Champ XD $75
Dunlop Fuzz Face $50
Dunlop Crybaby Wah $35
Behringer Super Fuzz SF300 $15

Sold:
Roland Cube 15x $65
Way Huge Pig Foot fuzz pedal $400 (purchased it for $30!)
Behringer Super Fuzz SF300 $17.50

 

[Tig]

Bought:

• Fender Super Champ X2 Head
• Gretsch G5435t Pro Jet
• Taylor GS Mini spruce
• Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass Short Scale
• Acoustic B20 1x12 bass amp
• Catalinbread RAH
• Hardwire Supernatural Ambient Verb
• Wampler Ego Compressor
• Big Muff Pi with Tone Wicker
• Electro Harmonix Neo Mistress flanger
• Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive
• TC Electronics Gravy Tri Chorus & Vibrato
• EarthQuaker Devices Hoof Reaper Octave Fuzz (finally showed up yesterday)
• Zoom B3 Bass Effects and Amp Simulator (back ordered...)

Sold:

• Pod HD500
• Art & Lutherie Spruce dreadnaught
• Carl Martin Plexitone

Gave:
Squier Deluxe Telecaster and Peavey Vypyr 15

The only thing I'm really gassing for is a keyboard. I remember one of the Idaho Steve's owning a Yamaha DGX-640 or similar, and the one I demo'ed was great sounding.

 

[NWBasser]

Let's see here....

Bought or received:

Ibanez A/E Bass, not sure what model.
G&L M2500
Aguilar TH500
Hartke Bass Attack pedal

Sold:

Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.0 (not to Eric though)

Cripes, I'm up to six basses now. Something had better go.

 

[marnold]

Very light year for me. I didn't sell anything, but I got new tubes for my Jet City and a Turbo Tuner. Beyond that, I only got strings.

 

[Eric]

Hartke Bass Attack pedal

What do you use that for? How do you like it?

 

[R_of_G]

Bought: SX Telecaster

Sold: Squier Strat

Obtained free: Takamine acoustic

Pleased with all three moves. I don't particularly miss the strat. I love the tele, and the acoustic is always within arms' reach in my living room and gets played daily. It now feels like my acoustic, not just an acoustic that I own.

 

[tjcurtin1]

Geez, Eric, you've been a busy guy! You should open a shop!

Bought:Voodoo Labs overdrive, Epiphone Traditional Pro LP, Crybaby Wah (first guitar in several years - due to a sudden and frenzied GAS attack in the summer)

Sold: Washburn HB-30 DL (the one in my avatar - seems I should change it, but then no one would know who I was...

Helped my brother buy a Martin-parts dreadnought kit in rosewood which is just awaiting finishing. He's an accomplished woodworker, and it's been really fun helping out/watching him put the thing together.

 

[NWBasser]

What do you use that for? How do you like it?

Hi Eric.

I use the Bass Attack in much the same way as a BDDI. It was a lot cheaper than a BDDI though.

I do really like the tone of it and sometimes use it for overdrive which sounds pretty good to my ear at least.

When plugged into the effects return on one of my amps, it's like having another different amp.

I also use it as a pre-amp for recording on my computer.

 

[Monkus]

Hey guys, been a while... life gets in the way sometimes.

Sold: Carvin AE185 Acoustic Electric Guitar,

Bought Eleven Rack, Tech 21 Power Engine 60, LR Baggs Venue DI, Takamine G Series Acoustic, boatloads of strings.

Gave Yamaha MagicStomp Acoustic, Ibanez Acoustic Nylon, Tubescreamer.

My Interface crapped out on me in Dec so just ordered another one, I guess that qualifies for 2013, I just can't figure out how a reverb and eq pedal ended up in the order.

 

[Brian Krashpad]

Bought: Aria MIJ Mosrite copy short-scale bass, Jay Turser Stingray copy bass, Crate B150 bass head, Gibson Les Paul Jr. Special (P-90)

Received as gift: MIK Epi Casino (modded w/Rio Grande neck pup, Bigsby, master volume, and locking tuners)

Sold: Jay Turser Stingray copy bass, Peavey USA Predator Strat, daisy Rock Retro-H 12-string electric, Schecter Tempest Special

I'll probably be selling the B150 head once I get her looked at, she has some issues I probably won't be able to fix with magic spray

 

[Eric]

I just bought a few more bass-cessories last week, so my overhead is growing once again. These retrospectives are strange to me, because it underscores how the flow of stuff in and out of my house is not really a static thing, much in the same way that life is not a static thing. I try to grab hold and come up with a "final" setup, but it's kind of a pointless thing, because life doesn't work that way. At least my life WRT music stuff does not.

 

[Eric]

Zoom B3 Bass Effects and Amp Simulator (back ordered...)

Did this bass MFX pedal ever come in? I'm curious to know how you like it.

 

[Tig]

Did this bass MFX pedal ever come in? I'm curious to know how you like it.

Several of the factory patches are really cool sounding. I've been meaning to play with it more, but life gets in the way! I'll dig in this weekend.

 

[ronbo]

Pretty big year for me this year. Basically sold off some equipment I'd been hanging on to for years, but rarely played and got the GAS bug bad and bought a bunch of new stuff:

Gave: my son my Fender DG100 Acoustic guitar. He plays it a lot and is getting pretty good

Sold
---------
1973 Rickenbacker 4001 bass - had it for 30 years, quit playing bass about 20 years ago - sold it to my boss and funded 2 guitars
1963 Ampeg Reverberocket Amp - bought it when I was 20, rebuilt it (new tubes, caps, pots) sounded really sweet, super clean tones with swampy reverb and great tremolo
1985 Fender MIJ Stratocaster deluxe - really nice axe, just never really bonded with it.
Recording King RO-07 000 acoustic

Bought
-----------
Reverend Reeves Gabrels Signature (put a Railhammer HV in it) - really screams and shreds - better guitar than I am a player
Reverend Pete Anderson Signature Hollowbody (PA-1) plays and sounds better than my old 73 Gretsch Chet Atkins Tennessean
Reverend Rick Vito Signature (in Blue) - one of the sweetest guitars I've ever owned
Hell Guitars No2 Tele Clone - what an awesome Tele and the Bare Knuckles pups really are all that!
Fender Supersonic 22 Amp - The best sounding amp I could find for under $1K - really versatile
Blackstar HT-5 low wattage amp - thought I needed a bedroom amp, but didn't really play it much, sold it last week
Recording King RD-316 acoustic - lovely guitar! with an Adi top and ebony fretboard and bridge
Recording King RNJ-25 acoustic - Maple bodied Gibson-type L00 - bluesy goodness...
Eastman AC512M all-mahogany acoustic - The sweetest sounding all-hog I've ever played, and beautiful, flame-y wood front and back!
Recording King RO-07 000 acoustic - really liked it but was looking at another guitar (RNJ-25) and a friend needed a guitar, so I sold it to him for a great price

This years already heating up - made a deposit last week on a special order Eastman E15SS, copy of a Gibson LG2. May end up selling the RK RNJ-25 soon since they will likely cover the same ground.

GAS is a tough mistress!

 

[Brian Krashpad]

... - better guitar than I am a player...

Haha, that goes for all but a couple of mine. :dude

 

[Tig]

I haz Reverend envy! :thumbsup