# Best gear purchase of 2020?



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

If you bought any guitar gear this year, what *one* purchase stood out for you personally? Something that lived up to the expectations you had, maybe even surpassed them. Either way, you were and remain glad you bought it.

Pick one.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

Olight flashlights

Not guitar, but I was very impressed with them. 

Before the pandemic hit, I was looking at some Neumann studio monitors that impressed me in a live demo, but that all fell by the wayside when things closed down.


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## Kerry Brown (Mar 31, 2014)

Both of these came late in the year. The bass has inspired me to really look at the structure of a song. That inspired me to investigate jazz, thus the guitar.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Hard to say. These are my acquisitions in 2020


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Only thing I got in 2020 was this 70th production shop Broadcaster. It’s the most badass guitar I’ve ever owned. Just this and my 2018 Les Paul Jr is all I need for electrics.


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

This guitar and amp. The two most expensive pieces I ever bought.


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

This was an unexpected purchase that turned out to be a complete game changer:


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

The jazzmaster rabbit hole has bit hard. Been very happy with the two I bought this year, but still have the "ideal for me" JM in the back of my head. The plan is dont do anything stupid until I get to play more often.


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## 1SweetRide (Oct 25, 2016)

Hmm, I’d have to say it was the Fractal FM3.


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## HolttChris (Aug 10, 2020)

1960 Gibson ES-345 purchased from fellow forum member bluehugh. This has been a dream guitar since watching Back To The Future as a kid!


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## jfd986 (Nov 22, 2010)

The Mooer!

The GE150 is the one piece of gear out of Many purchases I've made mostly over 2019 and then some over 2020, which has successfully done two things:


Decreased my negativity toward the complexity and random problems associated with electric guitar
Objectively increased the overall amount of time per week I have actually spent practicing, versus time spent trying to figure out where all my gear goes, why I'm having signal chain issues, where the noise is coming from, and whether or not I'm "getting good tone". It's fine, turn it on, dial it in, it works. Learning curve, yes, but well worth it.


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## Griff (Sep 7, 2016)

I bought a '66 Vibrolux Reverb in early February and serviced it myself.

Great amp.


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Budda said:


> Been very happy with the two I bought this year, but still have the "ideal for me" JM in the back of my head.


Apparently there's some kind of tap test for tone woods. Near as I can figure the test requires that you take your guitar and hit yourself on the back of your head until the guitar you have sounds real good and all that ideal for me guitar stuff doesn't matter anymore ..lol


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

None, first time since the early 90s.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

For me it was a Bogner and an ESP Horizon that are for sure keepers.


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## Brian Johnston (Feb 24, 2019)

Thinking about a Quad Cortex, but that has yet to happen and we're now 2021. In regard to 2020, nothing in particularly, since many items have impressed me, including:

Music Man Majesty
Briere Drive Factory
TL Pedals Honker
Kali Audio IN-8 monitor speakers
Hagerman pedals (his tube OD, but also his treble boost and phaser)
Quilter Toneblock 202
Dr. Scientist Dark
Various plug-ins/soft synths (Dystopian Guitar and Biosphere come to mind)


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## Brewhouse (Mar 6, 2017)




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## Brewhouse (Mar 6, 2017)

These two. I was late to the table with Knaggs. Read so much about them, finally took a chance and liquidated a few pieces to pay for these. Best decision of my life as far as music gear goes. I've stopped searching for the next best thing thanks to these two.


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## MetalTele79 (Jul 20, 2020)

For me it's a tie between a 5f6a/JTM45 clone and an Ampeg AMG100. Both are a blast to play and sound great.


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## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

Built this Tele and bought these amps.
I am very happy about them.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Not a purchase - I traded a Traynor Acoustic Master Custom for a Vox AC10 thinking it would be easier to sell the Vox. I didn't think I would like it as I previously had an AC30 that I didn't get along with, but it is definitely a keeper.









Sent from my SM-P610 using Tapatalk


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Wardo said:


> Apparently there's some kind of tap test for tone woods. Near as I can figure the test requires that you take your guitar and hit yourself on the back of your head until the guitar you have sounds real good and all that ideal for me guitar stuff doesn't matter anymore ..lol


It's actually nothing to do with tone (both the american pro and the capsule custom sound great to my ears), it's aesthetics, bridge type and truss rod access location.


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## mawmow (Nov 14, 2017)

Martin OODB Jeff Tweedy...
and La Parrie Concert.


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## beachbuminthesun (Nov 4, 2019)

I got a trinity tc15. I’m so, so happy with it. I’m interested in getting a few other trinity models but they don’t come up so often!


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Sloggin' the noggin here, besides strings I can't think of a single guitar related thing I purchased last year. It wasn't a good year. On an impulse that turned out well I did buy some Los Cabos drum sticks, both wood and nylon tips, I really like them so far.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Henriksen The Blu...all ~12 pounds of it!


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## NashvilleDeluxe (Feb 7, 2018)

Weber Nashie, a custom T-Style (but 25" scale length) from local luthier Joel Weber, @weberinstruments.ca
Just exquisite. Fralin Big Single pickups, Gotoh bridge, Grover lockers, and everything done by hand. Will, at La Grange Guitar Workshop (St-Lazare, QC)


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

1964 Epiphone Cortez. Amazing guitar. The guitar and I seem to have a symbiotic relationship. I did a fair bit of work to it but it was rarely played in its lifetime until now.


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## Merlin (Feb 23, 2009)

greco said:


> Henriksen The Blu...all ~12 pounds of it!
> 
> View attachment 343274


I did a livestream where the guitarist was using one of these. It mic'd up nicely and sounded great.


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## Merlin (Feb 23, 2009)

Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar. I think it was the only guitar I bought this year. New too.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I'm racking my brains to think of a guitar-related purchase I made in 2020, and I'm drawing a blank. I did buy a Korg NTS-1, that I'm hoping to use as a tone-generator with my Casio MIDI guitar, once I make a suitable cable for it***, but that's about it. Amazingly powerful little unit that you can expand with lots of free 3rd-party downloadable waveforms and effects. You can also feed it external audio and use it like a multi-FX pedal, with modulation, delay AND reverb simultaneously.
Do I include the tolex I bought from NextGen?








_***Korg uses a mini-TRS-phone-plug for MIDI. I made one for connecting the NTS-1 to synths and keyboard controllers, but it's way too short to use with guitar._


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Not a 2020 purchase, per se, but I started it in 1992, and made a promise to myself that I would finally finish it in 2020. And I did.....yesterday. The chassis is from something I was making for a friend and classmate in 1983 or so, but never completed before his interests changed. It's a Craig Anderton-designed PAiA Hyperflange+Chorus. I'm going to try comparing it with the Line 6 Liqui-Flange I have and big-box Deluxe Electric Mistress that I was repairing for a buddy, and see how it fares. Theoretically it has a big sweep - 88:1, compared to the 12:1 and less found on many commercial flangers. Plus there is variable LFO waveform, bass cut on the regeneration, and gobs of ins and outs. I'm planning to make use of the many holes on the rear skirt for things like envelope follower and triggered envelopes, as well as assorted engage/defeat remote switches. That's a project for the _*next*_ 28 years.


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## Abiguitar (May 28, 2009)

I picked up a Universal Audio Apollo Twin audio interface in March 2020 and it's been amazing. The plug-ins are top notch and overall, it has inspired me to get back into recording.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Not much in the way of guitar specific gear this year. I did buy a mandolin, but most of my purchases were recording and PA related. Lots of deals on PA gear right now - no surprise - so I've picked up a few things in anticipation of a return to live music. I've also picked up an entry-level, large diaphragm condenser mic (Art C1), a couple of Apex boundary mics, and a couple of DIs for recording and streaming.

My most used purchase of the year was my Scarlett 2i2 interface - I've had a lot of fun dabbling in livestreaming and recording and the interface was dead easy to connect and use, very intuitive.


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## DavidP (Mar 7, 2006)

Chase Tone Secret Preamp... It makes every guitar/amp sound better -- best way to describe is 'more'. My 'always on' pedal!!


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## ThunderLizard (Nov 25, 2010)

2 things stand out... my Behringer X18 that I traded for, and my SR405.


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## Analogman (Oct 3, 2012)

Only 2 purchases this year but both surpassed my expectations!





  








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Analogman


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Jul 8, 2020




Suhr Modern Plus


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## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

Wardo said:


> Apparently there's some kind of tap test for tone woods. Near as I can figure the test requires that you take your guitar and hit yourself on the back of your head until the guitar you have sounds real good and all that ideal for me guitar stuff doesn't matter anymore ..lol


I believe in the knock on the back of the neck test lol.

I think it’s a good sign if a gentle knock on the back of the neck resonates well on the strings and body. Let’s you know it’s tight like a tiger.


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## soldierscry (Jan 20, 2008)

For me it was my Dingwall D-roc


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

soldierscry said:


> For me it was my Dingwall D-roc
> View attachment 343384


NIce! How are the three pickups actuated? Or are the three controls simply volume for each coil?

I've tried fanned fret guitars before and they feel far more natural than you'd think, looking at theme. But basses need to distribute the "fanning" differently, since they have so much more length to compensate for than on a guitar. That translates into fanning on the low frets as well as the higher ones. Fanning on the higher frets is not that disruptive. BUt I wonder about fret fanning on the lowest frets. Did it take you a while to get used to it? Just wondering.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

the best piece of gear i bought this year is not guitar related. it does have actual gears in it though.

behold the daiwa jdm sv light ltd casting reel. 










a casting reel that can throw tiny, super lite weight lures with accuracy and distance. it's a japanese domestic market piece. it was expensive, but sooo worth it. it is designed by toshinari namiki, the "machine gun cast" guy. if you like fishing, look him up. he has developed casting techniques that will blow your mind. also, on the handle is printed "bass or die". it's the finest reel i've ever owned. i even like it better than the digitally controlled shimano i also have.
yes, that's right. there are casting reels that are controlled with a digital chip. but even those aren't as cool as the sv lite. it's a game changer.


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## Johnny Spune (Sep 15, 2014)

MC2 100. It’s allowed me to quite worrying about tone and focus on notes.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

I don't recall if I purchased anything in 2020 ...


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Frenchy99 said:


> I don't recall if I purchased anything in 2020 ...


I don't remember you mentioning anything here.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

Frenchy99 said:


> I don't recall if I purchased anything in 2020 ...


I've always admired your level of restraint.


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

keto said:


> None, first time since the early 90s.


Same. All I can think of is a new slide. Now 2019 - THAT was something 🥴


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

butterknucket said:


> I've always admired your level of restraint.


Maybe Frenchy misread the question as "purchases of things MADE in 2020"


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## Wardo (Feb 5, 2010)

Back in August my neighbor gave me a slide and a bar slide which had belonged to a friend of his who was a pedal steel player that he'd known since the late 60s when they were in the USMC. Only snag is that I ain't gonna live long enough to get good on slide.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

The great thing about slide, even though it is hard to master, is that being a beginner doesn't sound half bad, compared to, say, violin or saxophone.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

oh, also, i did buy another piece of gear, but i'm not allowed to take possesion of it until the 7th of this month










crackheads who threatened to shoot up my house, and kill my dogs recently, inspired me to upgrade my previous home defense tool, the 20 oz. sheetmetal hammer, to the ruger american .45
so far, they haven't made good on their threats. considering the good ol' ncics has taken nearly a month (so far) to do a background check on someone with no police record, no history of violence or abuse, and no documented mental health issues, i consider myself lucky. i'm hoping it only gets fired at the range, and the upcoming training courses.


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## soldierscry (Jan 20, 2008)

mhammer said:


> NIce! How are the three pickups actuated? Or are the three controls simply volume for each coil?
> 
> I've tried fanned fret guitars before and they feel far more natural than you'd think, looking at theme. But basses need to distribute the "fanning" differently, since they have so much more length to compensate for than on a guitar. That translates into fanning on the low frets as well as the higher ones. Fanning on the higher frets is not that disruptive. BUt I wonder about fret fanning on the lowest frets. Did it take you a while to get used to it? Just wondering.


The fanned frets didn't take too long to get used to but did mess with me a bit at first when I looked down at the fret board. The design and strap location make it extremely comfortable to play.

vol/pickup selector/tone
Pickup Switching
Position 1 - Bridge (CCW)
Position 2 - Bridge/Middle (Parallel)
Position 3 - Middle
Position 4 - Bridge/Middle/Neck (CW)


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

cheezyridr said:


> oh, also, i did buy another piece of gear, but i'm not allowed to take possesion of it until the 7th of this month
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I don't care to live in a neighbourhood were l have to carry a 45 To survive. Careful with that and be safe!


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## brokentoes (Jun 29, 2014)

Had a few come in last year, but this one slays.


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