overrated gear :D

[thegame]

Preamp tube covers

 

[Mokaccino]

"Overrated" to me is when I see folks buying gear in the hope of "nailing (put your favorite musician's name in here)'s tone... And I mostly buy used gear, so nothing gets "overrated", I let the first buyer take the big bite and then that's where I come in... I'm lucky I'm gigging quite often these days and the people coming to our gigs don't give a hoot about what kind of gear is on stage, they just wanna get entertained, have a blast and drink some beer while dancing with the ladies.

No offense to guys who can afford super high end gear and show up in a bar with a Diezel or Suhr but I don't see the point in doing so. This past weekend I gigged with a $200 Ibanez and my LP, 1st set with the Ibby and the 2nd set with my LP. No one gave a shit about what gear I was using. I play covers, I'm an entertainer, I'm nothing special, my job is to make ppl happy and keep them partying and buying beers.

 

[PeteLaramee]

IMHO - from amps that I've owned the Bogner 101B and the Soldano Decatone are way overrated.

 

[Gooseman]

Most Mesa's. I can appreciate that they are hand-wired, but I hardly believe that makes them special.

Mesas aren't handwired. Either way, I knew this company would make the list though.

I get that they cram possibly too much into their amps, instead of allowing their amps to completely excel in one or two areas. I also get that their fixed bias can make some of their amps seem stiff -- but in terms of price point value, practicality for gigging, versatility, flexibility, customer service, warranty, and quality, I can't say that they are truly overrated.

Although, with the latest price increase I am starting to agree with you.

 

[Gooseman]

Preamp tube covers

Oh no, no again!

 

[killertone]

This post should be called overpriced not overrated...something can be overrated and not highly priced...and killertone is a Diezel hater..

Nah, man. Definitely not a Diezel hater, I think what I posted was extremely polite. I didn't say it sucked or sounded bad, just that it was overrated. And you are right, Diezels are overpriced.

 

[AmpliFIRE]

Gotta agree about the Herbert. Don't care for the VH4 either. Diezel's ear is not mine, that's for sure.

+1

I've spent extensive time with the Herbert, VH4 and Einstein...and they just didn't jive with me. Peter is definitely a great guy...but his amps are just not for me (no matter what the price point)

 

[killertone]

I can say that the most overrated piece of gear I have actually owned is hands down the Diezel Herbert. Not saying it is a bad piece of gear because it's not, but definitely overrated.

Big claim, mate... I'd be interested to hear the full story on this one

V.

No joke. Maybe you bought one used and the tubes were going out or something else was wrong with it? I can see saying-"not my kind of thing" but not, "the most overrated piece of gear I have actually owned."

Man, not sure what to say about this...besides that it is absofuckinlutely ridiculous. Herberts are exclaimed by many people to be the be all end all amp, just read the Diezel forum at any time! I bought one based on countless remarks just like that on this and other forums. I also played one before and thought it was cool. Wanted to spend some time with it to make up my own mind so I bought one. It did not live up to the hype, hence, it was overrated. It's fairly simple really.

I changed tubes countless times in it, finally settled on 4 EL34s and 2 6550s. Sounded good, not great. I even called another Diezel owner and friend of mine who posts here to ask him if I was missing something. My opinion is not based on some sort of conjecture, but actual research and experimentation by me. Owned the amp for 6 months.

Never have I ever said "it sucked" or that it was "bad." I wouldn't say that about the amp because it is not true. It just did not live up to its hype.

Specifically, the amp did not live up to the hype about the tightness of the low end. Before and after I bought the amp I went on the Diezel forum and people told me "not sure why you would need the low end any tighter than a Hernert. It is one of thightest amps out there." A surgically tight low end is paramount for me and the Herbert doesn't have it. I actually think a VH4 on Ch. 3 is tighter and is actually more my thing. I have an amp in my arsenal that totally dominated the Herbert in the tight low end department.

It is hilarious to me that when you offer an informed opinion about an amp in a thread where an opinion is specifically asked for that you are a hater, or, and this is my favorite, "maybe you didn't know what you were doing and had bad tubes." Um, nope. I know what I am doing just fine, thanks.

It also seems that more than a few people feel the same in this here thread. More haters and people who have no clue how to dial in an amp?

I still get positive emails fairly consistently about the Herbert video that I made. It has gotten close to 6,000 views and I think it has actually sold some Herberts. Would a hater do that?

 

[dfrattaroli]

Everything is over-rated. And everything is the "best" to someone. You could change the title of this thread to "What's the best gear you've ever owned?" and the answers wouldn't change. They'd just come from different people.

 

[EchelonEngineering]

A few names come to mind when I think of overrated: Mesa Boogie, Diezel, Bogner. I can get killer tones comperable to these other manufacturers out of an old marshall, couple pedals, and middle of the road guitar with good pickups.

 

[jcj]

At the end of the day, everything comes down to one qualifier....."for me"

I like the Axe and the Quickrod. Some people HATE both.

It's all about what works for you in a given context.

For me it all comes down to feel; that's a pretty personal thing.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

Gosh there's so much I don't know where to begin.

I even own some overrated stuff admittedly.

 

[Shiny_Surface]

Man, not sure what to say about this...besides that it is absofuckinlutely ridiculous. Herberts are exclaimed by many people to be the be all end all amp, just read the Diezel forum at any time! I bought one based on countless remarks just like that on this and other forums. I also played one before and thought it was cool. Wanted to spend some time with it to make up my own mind so I bought one. It did not live up to the hype, hence, it was overrated. It's fairly simple really.

I changed tubes countless times in it, finally settled on 4 EL34s and 2 6550s. Sounded good, not great. I even called another Diezel owner and friend of mine who posts here to ask him if I was missing something. My opinion is not based on some sort of conjecture, but actual research and experimentation by me. Owned the amp for 6 months.

Never have I ever said "it sucked" or that it was "bad." I wouldn't say that about the amp because it is not true. It just did not live up to its hype.

Specifically, the amp did not live up to the hype about the tightness of the low end. Before and after I bought the amp I went on the Diezel forum and people told me "not sure why you would need the low end any tighter than a Hernert. It is one of thightest amps out there." A surgically tight low end is paramount for me and the Herbert doesn't have it. I actually think a VH4 on Ch. 3 is tighter and is actually more my thing. I have an amp in my arsenal that totally dominated the Herbert in the tight low end department.

It is hilarious to me that when you offer an informed opinion about an amp in a thread where an opinion is specifically asked for that you are a hater, or, and this is my favorite, "maybe you didn't know what you were doing and had bad tubes." Um, nope. I know what I am doing just fine, thanks.

It also seems that more than a few people feel the same in this here thread. More haters and people who have no clue how to dial in an amp?

Screw that fanboi crap I love reading honest opinions that's what makes forums useful to read imo.

 

[thegame]

I was the first guy in Canada to own a Herbert in 2003. I sold a Wizard Metal to fund it. People have committed suicide for lesser crimes. Hows that for honest ?

No but seriously, the Herbert had cool clean and lead tones but for ANY type of rhythm, my friends and I found it abysmally bad. The mid cut was voiced so poorly that it gave the amp a very hollow, metallic grating tone that made it sound like it was being played in a tin garbage can.

 

[leib10]

GIBSON.

This. And although I'll probably get flamed for it, I stand by that statement, especially considering the higher-end Gibson models. I've played a lot of Gibsons, and none of them (except maybe the Studios) are worth even close to their price. I think a lot of people buy them because of what a big name Gibson is in the world of guitars.

What about SG standards? I think those are some of the best guitars for the money.

In my opinion overrated = PRS

I would agree with this. The problem is that it is apparently much easier to complain about an entire brand than it is to be more specific about a particular model.

I was specific, about the Les Pauls. And I believe a lot of people (my ex-roommate being one of them) who liked Gibson because it was Gibson, not because the guitar itself was good.

 

[TheMagicEight]

PRS, Axe-FX, boutique OD pedals (they'll never replicate a tube!!!)

Anything with EL84s. I can't stand them and don't know why anyone would use that tube rather than the far superior 6V6. IMHO of course.

 

[killertone]

Man, not sure what to say about this...besides that it is absofuckinlutely ridiculous. Herberts are exclaimed by many people to be the be all end all amp, just read the Diezel forum at any time! I bought one based on countless remarks just like that on this and other forums. I also played one before and thought it was cool. Wanted to spend some time with it to make up my own mind so I bought one. It did not live up to the hype, hence, it was overrated. It's fairly simple really.

I changed tubes countless times in it, finally settled on 4 EL34s and 2 6550s. Sounded good, not great. I even called another Diezel owner and friend of mine who posts here to ask him if I was missing something. My opinion is not based on some sort of conjecture, but actual research and experimentation by me. Owned the amp for 6 months.

Never have I ever said "it sucked" or that it was "bad." I wouldn't say that about the amp because it is not true. It just did not live up to its hype.

Specifically, the amp did not live up to the hype about the tightness of the low end. Before and after I bought the amp I went on the Diezel forum and people told me "not sure why you would need the low end any tighter than a Hernert. It is one of thightest amps out there." A surgically tight low end is paramount for me and the Herbert doesn't have it. I actually think a VH4 on Ch. 3 is tighter and is actually more my thing. I have an amp in my arsenal that totally dominated the Herbert in the tight low end department.

It is hilarious to me that when you offer an informed opinion about an amp in a thread where an opinion is specifically asked for that you are a hater, or, and this is my favorite, "maybe you didn't know what you were doing and had bad tubes." Um, nope. I know what I am doing just fine, thanks.

It also seems that more than a few people feel the same in this here thread. More haters and people who have no clue how to dial in an amp?

Screw that fanboi crap I love reading honest opinions that's what makes forums useful to read imo.

Exactly. As an owner of 4 LPC's, I am huge fan of LPs. The hate is strong in this thread for Gibson (and on RT as a whole) but you don't see me telling people, "Wow, that is a bold statement. You must not know what you are doing." It is totally fine that people think they are overrated. Doesn't bug me a bit even though I love them. I think people personalize some of this shit and that leads to emotional responses which can be fairly ridiculous.

 

[steve_k]

A few names come to mind when I think of overrated: Mesa Boogie, Diezel, Bogner. I can get killer tones comperable to these other manufacturers out of an old marshall, couple pedals, and middle of the road guitar with good pickups.

You might get killer tones with an old Marshall and some pedals. But, not the same tone. Its all about the tone you want. I have been through them all, sold them all, and have bought them back. Agree on the Marshall as that is the one thing that stuck. The occasional Mesa came back. I don't think any of the Mark series was over-rated. IIC+ was maybe, as I much preferred the early III's. I will leave the Herbie alone as it stands out for what it does. There's a few Bogners that I don't think are over-rated at all. But, that's just me and my opinion. Like an asshole, everybody's got one.

Truth be known though, Jim Marshall was the least innovative, but most successful amp maker around. He was in the sweet spot with his Bassman - UK version. But, it is tough to beat an old Marshall, especially one that has had a little work done by a select few.

Too each his own............

Steve

 

[JakeAC5253]

boutique OD pedals (they'll never replicate a tube!!!)

You'd be surprised, you can actually get a very tube like sound and feel from a stompbox, but I agree, it won't come from anything advertised as being "boutique"

 

[thiswaythatway]

This post should be called overpriced not overrated...something can be overrated and not highly priced...and killertone is a Diezel hater..

I'm a Diezel hater as well according to you right? And who cares anyway, unless it bothers you that not everyone shares your love of Diezel amps.

What's a hater anyway? I can see calling someone that who never played or owned a Diezel and blindly trashed them. For me, i bought an Einstein and couldn't sell it fast enough. But i don't waste my time trying to convinvce half the board to avoid Diezel's. I've seen more hate thrown at Mesa probably. I own a Mesa and if someone doesn't like Mesa, fuck em, what do i care.