What are the BEST hyped pieces of gear you have owned?

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Nigel

Well-known member
Now that we’ve detailed the WORST, what are the best?

Early 90’s Peavy Transtube Studio Pro 112 hung with a 5150 and Marshall 1960AV no sweat. $100 pawn shop amp with a Scorpion speaker brings the brootz to this day. Caps still good too.

SD JB really is the desert island bridge.

Mullard tubes are the holy grail.

Mesa OS 4x12 and V30’s are the sound in your head.

Marshall Sound Runner 238 strand OFC 10 gauge wire. From bedroom to full blast, it feels and sounds amazing. Thanks Reinhold!

Bring balance to the force by shedding light on your faves.
 
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Is the JB hype something recent? Feels like I´ve spent the last 25 years mostly reading threads about people not liking it 😄

But anyhoo, the first thing that comes to mind for me is the Eventide H3000. Lots of hype from just about anyone running old school guitar racks or outboard studio gear, and also lots of money these days, but I basically haven´t turned mine off since 2012 and probably won´t either.
 
Though I sold it, the Tom Anderson Drop Top I had absolutely lived up to the hype.
Any Griffin Analog pedal. Wayne's builds are top tier IMO.
WCR/Wagner Goodwood Pickups.
Wolfetone's Meaner P90.
My Bogner OS 2X12. I can't speak enough about how much I love that cabinet.
 
This Avatar g412 cab I got. They were hyped a lot back in the early to mid 2000's. It's perfectly balanced sounding, I like it even more than my Mesa OS 4x12.

Also, my Mark IVb, it's an earlier one, sounds excellent. I even dig rhythm 2 for some classic rock and light breakup tones. It's one of those amps I'll likely keep forever.

What else? Seymour Duncan pickups, especially the Distortion, and V30's. Ya I know they are overused, but they are for a reason, they just sound right. Any other speaker sounds too indirect, or too dark, or something I'll notice after time. They don't all sound spikey in the mids and they don't all have that fizz in the highs.
 
The Strymon El Capistan. I read hype on that for years after it's release and never paid any mind to it. Then I got a delay pedal in trade that sent me down a tape delay rabbit hole. I tried everything, and El Cap won by a wide margin. The hype was real.
 
Dave L said:
Is the JB hype something recent? Feels like I´ve spent the last 25 years mostly reading threads about people not liking it 😄

But anyhoo, the first thing that comes to mind for me is the Eventide H3000. Lots of hype from just about anyone running old school guitar racks or outboard studio gear, and also lots of money these days, but I basically haven´t turned mine off since 2012 and probably won´t either.
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Awesome.

Yeah I was one of those JB haters until I found the fine print before it was cool, which was the fact that the JB was designed to work with 250K pots in a Fender. Added a restistor from hot to ground that made the dual 500K pots load closer to 125 on the JB, and voila! Humbucking AND single coil tone TO DIE FOR!

It's almost a cruel joke to not have that information displayed CLEARLY on the box. Then again, there's only one Jeff Beck, and if you want to approach his tone, understanding this could be construed to be a real challenge to the initiate of the holy grail of tone: work, not complaint, works.
 
anomaly said:
This Avatar g412 cab I got. They were hyped a lot back in the early to mid 2000's. It's perfectly balanced sounding, I like it even more than my Mesa OS 4x12.

Also, my Mark IVb, it's an earlier one, sounds excellent. I even dig rhythm 2 for some classic rock and light breakup tones. It's one of those amps I'll likely keep forever.

What else? Seymour Duncan pickups, especially the Distortion, and V30's. Ya I know they are overused, but they are for a reason, they just sound right. Any other speaker sounds too indirect, or too dark, or something I'll notice after time. They don't all sound spikey in the mids and they don't all have that fizz in the highs.
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Facts dude. No Tool records without the Distortion and V30's. Even the non-Mesa spec V30's outperform other speakers.

Ian Thornley has probably tried everything, can have everything, and is surrounded by the greatest tone hounds on earth who have probably suggested everything, and he gigs V30's. Sometimes Greenbacks too, but V30's are his mainstay.
 
Nigel said:
Facts dude. No Tool records without the Distortion and V30's. Even the non-Mesa spec V30's outperform other speakers.

Ian Thornley has probably tried everything, can have everything, and is surrounded by the greatest tone hounds on earth who have probably suggested everything, and he gigs V30's. Sometimes Greenbacks too, but V30's are his mainstay.
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Yup, actually my best sounding V30's are chinese, and I've got a bunch of the UK made ones.

Ian Thornley has got some great tone, as well as Adam Jones.
 
Mesa rev F
ToneNerd Roxy
Lundgren M6
Maxon 808/MXR M77
DV77
Old Marshall's
 
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Exo-metal said:
Maxon 808
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Man those Maxon Tubescreamers are the shit, as good or better than the originals.

anomaly said:
Yup, actually my best sounding V30's are chinese, and I've got a bunch of the UK made ones.
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Oddly enough even the UK made V30 specimens from as far back as '93 and perhaps earlier were inferiorly constructed, much to the chagrin of Randall Smith and Steve Fryette, giving birth to the Celestion T4335 & T4416 coded original Vintage 30 spec preservation, and when denied to Fryette for OEM, the development of the Eminence P50E.
 
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Tom Anderson / Suhr / Koll / Luxxtone guitars
Wizard MCII 50 gain channel (cleans meh)
 
Wizard Modern Classic II
Wizard Hell Razor

Both amps are about as hyped as amps can get, and imo they’re underrated. They’re every bit as good as the hype and then some.
 
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There's some awesome calls here - V30s, Eventide harmonizers (I like the H8000 and Eclipse myself but they're all good), Anderson, Suhr, Bogner/V-Boutique OS2x12.

The Bogner Ecstasy in quite a few variations - in particular the 101B, Pandora, and 104BV.

The EVM12L (mostly forum hype - not industry)

The Bare Knuckle Holy Diver.

The EMG 57/66 set and in particular the TW variation if you can fit it.

The JP2C and all the recent Mk and recto reissues.

The Plek machine.
 
Marshall 2203, 2204, 2555x, 2466.

Mesa Dual Rectifier Multiwatt

Ibanez Prestige line ( Japan).

Two notes Captor X

Mesa Badlander ( I think they nailed this amp, it works, period).

Gibson Les Paul Standard
 
Nigel said:
Man those Maxon Tubescreamers are the shit, as good or better than the originals.



Oddly enough even the UK made V30 specimens from as far back as '93 and perhaps earlier were inferiorly constructed, much to the chagrin of Randall Smith and Steve Fryette, giving birth to the Celestion T4335 & T4416 coded original Vintage 30 spec preservation, and when denied to Fryette for OEM, the development of the Eminence P50E.
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The Maxon's are the originals. They gave license to Ibanez to use their circuits.
 
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