How far have you/would you go for your ideal/dream kit?

[Progrockabuse]

there's a lot of these dream gear threads, but how many have took the plunge.

have you just gone fuck it, i'm having it?
have you gone, can't get the exact one so i'll get a clone or something in a similar vibe?
have you gone down the digital route and got a multi fx or similar to get that sound?
or have you never got it or close to it and just not fussed about it anymore?

for example, i've always loved tape echo units. whenever i was recording or had a multi-fx i'd used the tape delay mode. i had the danophope reel echo for ages and always lusted after an echoplex. many times i've thought, shall i just get it or maybe get a watkins copicat. end of the day i had to factor in sound over cost and the headache of looking after a tape echo. so it'll be a sim when recording if i need it.

[Mike]

I've definitely tried out cheaper imitations such as the Jaguar and Mustang reissues to satiate desire for "the real thing" and then later on had a "fuck it, I'm getting it" moment when I go and purchase something like my Jaguar or Mustang which I don't really need but have always wanted. In both cases I've been really glad I did take the plunge and go for it as I love those guitars and can't ever see myself being dissatisfied with them or wanting something else.

I bought a JCM800 aswell, something I'd always wanted to whilst I loved it, it was definitely a different reaction - I could definitely get close enough as I wanted with my Crunch channel on my 6100 and retain a clean channel for live use - and since I got it for a good price, I sold it without remorse.

I'm quite lucky that the couple of things I've really lusted after don't really command top dollar on the second hand market.

[timhulio]

I did start building myself a Maestro Filter Sample/Hold about six months ago. It's a colossal effort to build something nice for myself when there's other pedals to be built.

Occasionally there might be things I want a bit. Like that Framus DC Hollywood reissue, but mostly I'm not too fussed about gear these days. I like stuff cheap, effective and portable.

[wwrrss]

Have you just gone fuck it, i'm having it?
have you gone, can't get the exact one so i'll get a clone or something in a similar vibe?
have you gone down the digital route and got a multi fx or similar to get that sound?
or have you never got it or close to it and just not fussed about it anymore?

I've thought fuck it, i'm having it about pedals, but not really about Amps, guitars or basses. All of them were just around and available when I had the money, and now I can't imagine really wanting a Gibson Les Paul, but if a good copy appears at the right moment I'll snatch someones arm off.

I've just always wanted to be really loud.

I wanted a Zvex Machine and got Mike to build me one.

I wanted Dwarfcraft so bought it. So yeah and no. Abit.

[Mike]

Occasionally there might be things I want a bit. Like that Framus DC Hollywood reissue, but mostly I'm not too fussed about gear these days. I like stuff cheap, effective and portable.

Park me here - everytime I think I want something like a Fender Princeton Reverb I stop myself and think "way too expensive for what they are, you have Champ, get on with it you tart"

[Progrockabuse]

i find the same with gibsons. as much as i'd like or think i'd like a proper les paul, it's just so hideously expensive. plus i'd probably end up going back to the tele after a week anyway lol.

[Fran]

Rob.. I once had a WEM Copycat and a Carlsbro Echo Unit, in the early 90s they sold cheap because everyone wanted Boss or Rackmount. They were seen as cumbersome, out dated and unreliable, sat gathering dust at the back of the guitar shop. They're cool and worth a go but overpriced now.

In the past i've said "fuck it" and bought lots of stuff, i spend a lot of my life at work so why should'nt i? Fuck it, indeed.
But what is really worth pointing out is a lot of the things that i thought were my dream gear turned out to be disappointing. The best gear i have owned is mostly stuff i stumbled across or bought out of curiosity.
What i also found was from a financial point of view, if you do your homework on gear its difficult to lose money on it. Most things i bought over the years have been investments, i use something for a year or two then sell it- never at a loss (unless i do bro dealz here). There are always 'keepers' though of course.

Live today and go buy that Tape Echo, look for a fair deal though then next year you'll probably make a tenner on it if you no longer want it

[Progrockabuse]

Live today and go buy that Tape Echo, look for a fair deal though then next year you'll probably make a tenner on it if you no longer want it

lol knew you'd say that fran-a-lot. though if i was gonna do that i'd go for an echoplex

[Dannymec]

Dream gear changes so quickly, it would be too hard to keep up. Right now the only thing I'm lusting after is an AC30. And when I'm not playing in a band, I really don't have any use for one in my small apartment.

[Gabriel]

Well I would really love a Benedetto or a D'angelico, but I couldn't realistically afford either. Also an amp like a polytone would be sweet.

To be honest though I'm happy with my setup, would like a couple of nice overdrives though.

[Thom]

I've done it with amps many times - just gone fuck it, I'll worry about the money later. The height of my "folly" came when i bought a Rockerverb and JVM within 6 months of each other....ah good times... Recently though I have been pretty restrained, funny how your priorities change when you have a family

[othomas2]

I've kinda got my ideal setup....

I love Japanese guitars and my jag is at that price point where you don't need to be scared leaving it sitting around the lounge or modifying it. I love that fact !! I also have a vintage 61 Jazzmaster and the collector in me also likes that, leaving it sitting under the bed and bringing it out on days of depression leaves a smile on the face. Buying it back in the 90s... I know the longer I keep the more it'll rise in value. Somehow because I didn't pay the earth, I don't feel guilty owning it for the little use it gets. It'll always stay with me and be handed down eventually. But yeah, the Jag gets all the immediate love.

Pedal wise, I've never paid more than £90 for one unit. I've bought just about everything secondhand. 9 times out of 10 I'll get what I paid back in the worst case scenario. There's something quite rewarding about that... a free loan if you will.

My amp, is probably the best bang for your buck amp around; upgraded with a vintage 30... it sings !! I always thought I could do better but after having a long ongoing experience with many amps from low to high end... this one does it just fine without any flaws. A lot of amps grow old quickly and don't stand the test of time.... but I'm pretty content.

Despite being content, I have always craved for that JCM800 stack... but given that I'm not gigging, in a small flat there is no need. This is something I can look forward to i the future !!!

After may years of trying to achieve my perfect setup it's come together just fine.... and vintage guitar aside... one guitar, 6 effects and one amp, at just over £1000 I couldn't be happier !! I can't see myself really buying anything else now... there is a Gibson 60's Tribute SG at work which I adore but somehow weeks later, I know I'll just revert back to the jag... so whats the point ? I'll pass thanks...

[Doog]

I've become a lot more pragmatic with my purchasing and owning over the last 3 or 4 years, I can't ever see myself making a major purchase again without it being something totally unique and special. Borrowing James' WMD 'Geigercounter' lofi-bitcrusher-fuzz box made me realise so much of gearlust/GAS (well, for me personally) is just the anticipation of owning and the interest in reading about and hearing a piece of gear. Once I had it at my disposal, the novelty often wears off and while it's still a cool bit of gear, it wasn't worth all that money and buyer's remorse often creeps in.

Owning the Line 6 M9 and having tweaked my Valvestate combo to sound a load more pleasant, I'm spoilt for genuinely decent sounds without extra expense, fuss or maintenance required to keep them functioning.

To conclude all of this waffle: with renowned pieces of gear, you're buying into the image, ethos and legend as much as the physical product, if not more. I personally would much sooner own a cheaper version that does essentially the same thing and spend the saved funds on something else.

If the legend of this gear really captures your imagination and makes it a little magical for you, then why the fuck not, eh? I owned a Polychorus for a while, y'know.

[benecol]

I veer between pragmatism and "I don't care, I want it, and I'll hold my breath till I've got it". The M13 was a great buy - kicked all the modulation, delay and reverb off my board (actually out of my basket, but you take my point) - it covers all of that stuff with aplomb; lately I've been hankering after a DMM, but that's OK, and since trading the Vibrochamp away, I need a simple little standalone trem pedal for convenience's sake, but the M13 des all of it really well, plus loads of other things I wouldn't normally use unless I had them (silly synth effects, phasers, envelope filters etc) and then lets me control them with expression pedals. However, on the other, dafter side of the fence, despite already having lovely fuzzes, that's not stopped me shelling out for a couple of fuzzes I've been after for years (hello Hoof and Ernie) despite already owning two ace muffs, or my continuing quest to try all the flavours of octave fuzz (the Tone Machine is my favourite, by the way), or not being able to part with either of my flavours of Harmonic Percolator.

Amp-wise, the Minimat is great, and plenty loud enough for my uses, but a bit on the big side: I find myself looking more and more at Princetons and, slightly less so, AC15s. This last pair are a good example of the quandary Rob's pointed out: I like both amps, they both do fairly similar things, and the Vox is a good £200 cheaper. But knowing it has a solid state rather than a valve rectifier could very possibly bug the shit out of me... Daft.

My guitars are really good too: the Jazzmaster is the guitar I've always wanted since I was fifteen, and is here for keeps [/westtexasred], the Jr. is a nice counter to the Jazzmaster's complexities and foibles, being an out-and-out hooligan guitar, and my baritele manages to simultaneously quench my thirst for a tele and a baritone and a semi-acoustic. That's not to say there won't be another tele sometime in my future, mind. I'll just be very particular about its spec. I've also got a Mustang now, which I traded with Reece - that's a bit of an ongoing project for me: I did a similar thing with a strat a few years ago - bought one to tinker with, to learn to set it up, etc. I really like the Mustang (it was playing Stewart/Mike's compstang, plus one in a local shop that spiked my interest), but some compatibilty issues between me and the trem (I bend notes against open strings all the time a la Joey Santiago, but the way the trem works means the open strings go flat) mean that it'll probably make it's way tot he Classifieds soon. So there's another borderline autistic part of gear acquisition: wanting to have a go on something to learn about it.

But no-one's getting hurt, eh? Some decent trades and some eBay luck in the past have meant this hasn't cost me a fortune, and as long as it keeps me off the streets etc.

[othomas2]

I've always wanted since I was fifteen, and is here for keeps [/westtexasred]

hahaa. !!
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EDIT: re:my previous post. I would really like to own new mustang bass so perhaps I still get the urge. Oh and maybe a rickenbacker 330, but this would be another long term acquisition just like the jcm 800. I think I'm still under control, just.

[Fran]

I've always wanted since I was fifteen, and is here for keeps [/westtexasred]

hahaa. !!

+1.

To be honest, i think i've about exhausted my gas. Been buying and swapping almost constantly for about six years and nothing really springs to mind that i want. JR Mosrite maybe but when would i use the thing?

[stewart]

i'm very impulsive when it comes to gear. not that i don't do my research, just that i'll decide i want something and go for it, and figure out how to pay for it later. as a result i now have the 3 guitars i'd always wanted, and pretty much all the pedal flavours i need. if i were to stray into the realms of sheer fantasy, it'd be nice to have a big orange amp and a 4x12, but it's possibly more just from seeing other bands using them than what would actually suit my playing. i've also had a hankering for a les paul or sg2000 recently, just to have for recording and a bit of occasional respite from the all-pervasive fender bridge pickup. some point in the future, perhaps.

[Ankhanu]

I veer between pragmatism and "I don't care, I want it, and I'll hold my breath till I've got it".

This is kinda where I sit too.
Any of the instruments I've purchased from the "oh man, I gotta have this" category were years in the making. It took me 4+ years to get my Aerodyne Jazz Bass, 14 years to get my Jaguar, about 5 before I could get my Twin Reverb... and making some minor compromises, like getting a silverface Twin rather than a black face, getting a Japanese Jag rather than vintage, buying a Schecter VI rather than spending $1k-10k more for a vintage Fender VI (that compromise was made after about 15 years )...

Effects wise, pragmatism tends to win out, I'm cheap and I'm patient... I'll go without effects at all until I find the one I want (or a clone) and can find it at a good price after that even.

But, I've also had some impulse "shit, I gotta get it" purchases, like my Aerodyne Telecaster. I didn't even know I wanted one until I picked it up at the last day of a sale... I considered it for a couple hours, then drove back out in a snow storm to buy it. I haven't regretted it in the least.

I'd still love to get a few items (aside from pedals), but they're a long way off, as they're all expensive and I'll never find one at a "deal" price; for example, I'd love a blackglo Rickenbacker 4003 and I'd still love to get a vintage Fender VI... but they're a long way off based simply on the price. I'd like to get a Jazzmaster and something with two humbuckers, but whether that's something like a Godin Montreal or a Toronado, I haven't really decided.

[Nick]

I agree with what Doog said about the "legend factor". To me the legend factor is being old and authentic.

I usually don't "take the plunge" because if I do I usually regret it. I usually wait around for awesome pieces of gear to fall into my lap for cheap. I got my '68 Ovation Tornado for $350. My '67 Hagstrom Viking was $200. My 1970 Silverface Fender Twin was a rental from a shop going out of business for $500. My 1970 Yamaha YC-30 combo organ was $175 at a yard sale through craigslist. My Rickenbacker was bought brand new at dealer cost through a phone in Musicians Friend special - yes this is the most I've splurged on a single piece of gear, but it was $1000 free shipping and was my dream guitar.

Have I tried to use cheaper gear to replicate more expensive sounds? Not as much as I used to. I used to like hot rodding cheap guitars but lately I just want something more/less original where I like everything about the guitar for what it is. If I find myself wanting to change out pickups or a neck or anything I'll just sell the guitar and buy something more my speed.

[paul_]

You can buy what you like and use it as you wish, that's the cool thing.

See: online gaming accounts, shiny jumpsuits you'd fall off your bike without, SLR cameras, etc...

All a bit wank.