Current & Past "Hot Gear"

[Robert]

Remember the Squier '51, the Epi Valve Jr and the Vox Valvetronix amps? I thought the Epi Valve Jr sounded terrible, so I never got one. The other two I had though.

Those are three examples I can think of regarding "hot gear" in the past, at least on TheFret.Net. Many purchased these things, and many probably still have them. I still regret selling my Squier '51.

What other "hot items" can we recall? Maybe the Crate Powerblock? Squier Vintage Modified, but that's a whole series of guitars.

So what are the current hot items on the scene? I was expecting the VHT Special 6 to be the next hot thing, but I don't think it really took off for some reason.

I have been waiting for more software-based solutions to become popular, but that doesn't seem to be happening. The Kemper Profiling Amp is a killer solution, no doubt. I loved it when I tried it, but it's too expensive for most people.

 

[Eric]

Good question. Most of my gear is comprised of the 'it' gear from one time or another. I guess I'll start with that:

Agile LP copy
Jet City amph
Fender Mustang amph
Zoom G3 (does this count?)

Other stuff that I can remember:

Classic Vibe teles
Bad Monkey
DVM Zonkin Yellow Screamer
Joyo pedals?
Pod HD500?

Uh...anything else? Surely there are more fads that have passed through.

 

[marnold]

I obviously still have my Squier 51. That and the AD30VT were the big things right about the time I joined here. I'm glad I never got rid of my 51, although I did find the need to mod it. I think you hit on the big ones.

 

[Robert]

Jet City amps were pretty hot for a while.

Bad Monkey! Yeah, that was caused numerous nods for sure. I forgot about that one. Cool pedal.

Classic Vibe Telecasters, yeah that's true. Most of all the Vintage Modified Squires are great.

There was an "SX" moment too... I bought a couple of SX guitars from Rondo. Dirt cheap and quality was so-so.

The Egnater Rebel was popular too, I remember. Marshall Class 5 was hot too, but I disliked the one I had. Perhaps the newer versions are better.

So what's Hot'n New these days?

Fender keeps updating their Stratocaster line quite often. They seem to all be very, very nice guitars, but I can't keep the models apart anymore... there's just too many!

Gibson? Dunno about them - they are off my radar.

 

[mrmudcat]

I think the new it guitar is The Hell line with B.N. pups for the coin thats alot of guitar!

 

[piebaldpython]

Way back in the day......there were Palomino 8W tube amps that got a lot of love around these parts.....Palomino made a 32W version too I think. IIRC, Crate bought out Palomino.

I 2nd the vote that HELL guitars makes a bad-a** git. Serious GAS for those babies, especially with a 16" radius which is great for slide work.

 

[Tig]

Reverend Guitars. They have stepped up their designs lately and the quality has always been solid.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Yeah revs seem hot. I think Classic Vibes are still hot too in the budget category.

 

[Radioboy950]

YES!!! These are some excellent instruments. You get a lot of guitar for the $$$.

Reverend Guitars. They have stepped up their designs lately and the quality has always been solid.

 

[Radioboy950]

WHAT?!? You mean you never had a Hermida Zendrive on your board??
I remember that being the "hot" pedal of the day. I got sucked into the hype.

 

[duhvoodooman]

For the well-heeled and borderline insane cork-sniffer: ORIGINAL Klon Centaur pedals ($1000 and up) :thwap

For the more fiscally responsible and mentally stable player: "Klone" pedals

Speaking of pedals, I'd put almost anything from Strymon in the "hot" category. Those people are just flat on fire....

 

[Robert]

Of course a famous pedal with the letters ZYS had a moment of fame too...

 

[duhvoodooman]

Of course a famous pedal with the letters ZYS had a moment of fame too...

Moment? MOMENT????? :mad

 

[Ch0jin]

.....Speaking of pedals, I'd put almost anything from Strymon in the "hot" category. Those people are just flat on fire....

Given I own both the Flint and the absolutely unbelievable El Capistan, I wholeheartedly agree. These will be as rare and expensive as the equipment they emulate some day.

But yeah on topic. Perhaps anything by Zvex? Are they/he still a thing? I have a clone SHO I made a few years ago. Really useful little pedal that one.

Oh and the Boomerang III. Dunno if they were a hot item when they came out, but they should be. I've blown mine up twice (my own fault, dodgy power supply I built) and rebuilt it twice. So in effect, I've bought the same pedal three times. (I actually just bought the boards and repaired them, but you get what I'm saying). That's how good they are.

 

[Lev]

Let's not forget 'V-Picks'!

 

[Tig]

Yep, Strymon just can't get it wrong. They really stand out in a crowded industry.
I'll add Wampler to the best original pedals category, too.

 

[Eric]

Kemper and AxeFX are both still pretty hot. Line 6 M13/M9 also had their day and are kind of a big thing still.

Perhaps also Scuffham S-Gear modeling software.

 

[Robert]

Eleven Rack?

 

[davewrites]

Past hot gear? I gotta +1 Epi's Valve Jr. I'll also throw in a nomination for Roland's Micro Cube.

I was an early adopter of the MC and adored its portability, features, effects, etc. I was also living in a cramped downtown apartment -- it arrived at the perfect time in my life.

But what quashed the MC's momentum was the arrival of the VJr. The VJr was refreshing, elegant, moddable, affordable, photographable, and IT HAD TUBES! I can't recall another amp getting more attention from 2005-2006. And I can't recall an Epiphone-exclusive product being the jewel in Gibson's crown. Everyone who knew anything about guitars had had one eye on the VJr.

I didn't pick up a VJr, although I test drove them constantly at Long & McQuade. I found the VJr too raw and surprisingly loud for my taste, but I was definitely attracted to its price, simplicity of design and IT HAD TUBES!

The arrival of the VJr meant my MC's days were numbered. By the time I dumped my MC, the VJr's success spawned a tidal wave of desirable bedroom amps. I ended up buying a refurbished AC4TV and I still play that today. In fact, I was noodling with it 20 minutes ago.

The AC4 was 'it'-ish for a couple of months, but it couldn't become a true sensation like the Micro Cube or Valve Jr.

Oh, then the Vox Night Train pulled into the station. It didn't make a tonal splash but it sure upped the ante for amp design overnight. Who didn't want a Night Train at first site?

Anyways...

 

[davewrites]

What about Vox amPlugs? How many did you buy? I had the Lead and the Twin. I've since replaced both with Vox amPhones (Twin w/reverb), which I whole-heartedly recommend as a major improvement over the amPlug.

I was also an early adopter of iGuitar technology, namely AmpliTube and the iRig. Although, like the amPlugs, I dropped the iRig for a higher quality second-comer: Apogee JAM.

Did you ever purchase a beer can amp? Or an Altoid's amp? A cigarette pack amp? Even if you didn't, you know you wanted too.

How close were you to buying a cigar box guitar in 2011? A cigar box amp? Cigar box stomp box? (Me = guilty x3)

[sigh] Fads. Am I right?

Has the compound radius hype subsided? I mean, I still appreciate them, but I don't lust them like I did 2 years ago.

As far as current hot gear... hmmm, these Reverend pics do illustrate a current design trend: pickguardless bodies. We'll see if that sticks around. Also, the "relic" fad hasn't subsided yet. I would love a Fano, but not at those prices.

Hey, do you remember when Danelectros resurfaced? Didn't you want a black and white U2 just 'cause?

What about the current hipster-vintage-junk-catalog-guitar movement? Have you combed eBay to "reinvest" in an authentic Harmony, Kay, Silvertone, National, Supro, Valco...? Or did you take the high road like me and pick up an Eastwood reproduction?

[double sigh]

 

[tjcurtin1]

Enjoyed those two posts, Dave - yikes, it does induce a little cringe to consider all of the things that one can be so easily induced to lust after (and, of course, sometimes convince yourself to shell out for...). Of course, sometimes it's something that you love and stick with, while others very soon lose their luster...(hmmm... there's some 'lust/lost/luster' wordplay to be worked with there). You have steeled me against the next 'must-have' or 'must lust for' item that is surely heading our way as we...write

 

[Radioboy950]

The Vox modeling stuff...AD50VT. Man, these were a hot product.
I probably couldn't give it away. But I'll tell ya...it's a great amp to have around the house.
I've used it in some band rehearsals...and I often bring it to gigs as a backup, if needed.

 

[davewrites]

All those Vox modelling amps are excellent, reliable rigs. Everyone should have one.

But, yeah, every second posting in Craigslust seems to be an AD50VT these days.

 

[guitarhack]

I also had the Squier 51, and also several DeArmonds, which got a lot of love on the message boards several years ago. I've sold all of mine but a Starfire Special. I traded some of the others for a G&L ASAT Classic S, which is an awesome guitar.

 

[Eric]

How about the Fullerton strats?

Someone mentioned the Hermida Zendrive and I agree with that one.

 

[ZMAN]

I keep a log of when I bought gear. I usually bought when they were hot. Interesting to see the dates.
Fender Deluxe Player Strat. 2005
Squier Ltd. Edition Cherryburst with mint guard 2005
Fender 60 ANN. mim 2006
Squier Deluxe Strat in Daphne blue and Pearl white late 2007 early 2008
Squier Classic Vibe 50s Strat 2008
Classic Vibe 50s Tele Custom 2010
Classic Vibe tele Butterscotch Blonde 2011
There were a lot of posts about these. I haven't had much Gas since then.

 

[Brian Krashpad]

I also had the Squier 51, and also several DeArmonds, which got a lot of love on the message boards several years ago. I've sold all of mine but a Starfire Special. I traded some of the others for a G&L ASAT Classic S, which is an awesome guitar.

I never got a Squier 51. Went and tried all the ones at the local large mom'n'pop, Lipham's (where Tom Petty used to work back in the day), and every last one of them had fret ends that'd slice a finger off. Easy fix, I know, but that poisoned the well for me.

I did, and do, like the DeArmonds. I started with a cheapo bolt-neck Indonesian-made Jet Star Special, which in fact wasn't very special. But on graduating to the MIK setnecks with the Fender US factory-made GoldTone pups, I found every last one to be a high quality instrument in terms of looks, tone and playability. In a perfect world I would've kept them all, just on principle, but since the ones I had all had those same humbuckers (I just never got round to getting one with the P-90 voiced 2K single-coils), they all sounded pretty similar. And once I got a couple Gibson Les Pauls, the M-series based on Guild's Aristocrat sorta became doubly redundant. All told I owned 4 DeArmond setnecks with GoldTones. Two M-series, an M-72 and an M-75. These were so similar that I sold the M-75 pretty quickly, as I preferred the stoptail on the M-72 to it's harp tailpiece, plus the M-72 had a beautiful burst and light flame, while the M-75 was plain ol' ebony. I kept the M-72 for quite awhile and only sold it after getting some Gibby Les Pauls. I also owned two of the much funkier Jet Stars. One I bought specifically to flip, because the money went to VH1's Save The Music charity. I ended up trading it for the M-75! I still have the other Jet Star, Ruby, my first DeArmond setneck. THAT one I'm keeping!

Dunno if it ever qualified as "hot" but I love love love my li'l Fender Super Champ XD.

Also fond of my Vox AD30VTXL. The regular AD30VT an AD50VT got a lot of love here, but the AD30VTXL sorta flew under the radar. Even if you didn't like the more high-gain models than on the regular AD30, the larger 12" speaker is certainly an upgrade from the AD30's ten.

 

[Eric]

Dunno if it ever qualified as "hot" but I love love love my li'l Fender Super Champ XD.

For sure. I forgot about those. I would probably also include the Egnater Tweaker series and possibly the Mesa Boogie Transatlantic amps.

 

[marnold]

I never got a Squier 51. Went and tried all the ones at the local large mom'n'pop, Lipham's (where Tom Petty used to work back in the day), and every last one of them had fret ends that'd slice a finger off. Easy fix, I know, but that poisoned the well for me.

Unfortunately, that plagues just about every Fender of every price range that finds its way to Wisconsin. It's a nuisance to find that on a $100 guitar. It is ridiculous to find it on one that costs over a grand.

The first batch of 51s were supposed to be bad that way. Mine had been actually overzealously filed at the factory in one place on the neck and they actually took off a bit of fret wood. This winter I took it in to a luthier to get it filed. There wasn't much sprout, just some mildly rough edges. It was just enough to be annoying. It wasn't that expensive to get fixed.

Neither my Jackson nor my LTD bass suffer from that. The Jackson has a bound fretboard which helps in that regard.

 

[Tig]

My Fender Super Champ X2 is a certain never ever sell. I'm sure I'd feel the same with the original XD.
There's a slight possibility the Tweaker 20 might go up for sale or trade some distant day, but the tonal range and quality would make that a not so smart move, especially when you can change tubes to shift it deeper into various territories, like Marshall and Fender.

I've realized more or different guitar gear won't do as much for me as I'd like, so I've become very happy with everything I have. Time to work more on the "engine" (me).

Ah, but a really nice keyboard, however... :socool