What gear do you like but others hate?

This can include pedals or pickups of amps or speakers or anything. I chose the Guitar Shop just because it seemed the broadest.

Use as loose of a definition for "like" or "hate" as you want.

Like could mean something that you love or something you just find useful.

Hate could mean something that is shunned by society or just kind lf misunderstood.

Some examples of mine are:
Boss DS-1
It gets knocked as a really cheap and common dirt pedal that sucks warmth sometimes, but I think it works really well for a lot of 80s-present rock, especially with cleaner bass heavy amps that could use the lows tightened and a little more dirt. Steve Vai and Kurt Cobain were able to blaze a few trails with it, and if you can find one of the MIJ versions then that's even better.

Way Huge Swollen Pickle mkII
The instructions are not totally clear on how to dial this in, and 2 internal knobs can be a pain when you need to adjust them, so people have a hard time getting sounds they want out of it. It takes time, but I find the time spent getting everything in the goldilocks zone totally worth it. I think this one often gets misunderstood rather than totally "hated."

Danelectro guitars in general
Sure they've always been cheap and are no Les Paul Standard, but I've always thought they were great. I liked the concentric pots on some of the earlier models and it's one of those guitars where everything is really bright and detailed, so it encourages you to play with the knobs more, which some people view as a nuisance but I find a blessing. I mean Page recorded In My Time of Dying with a similar guitar. Really unique stuff.

Mesa Nomad 55
These things are infamous among the Mesa community because they do not sound like a typical Mesa, but I think they sound pretty damn good! It's certainly not the typical tight and scooped Mesa sound, but I don't think it was meant to be. Channel 3 was pretty fizzy and overly distorted but 1 and 2 were great. It's default tone was fuller and a bit warmer than other Mesas, but adding that much gain on channel 3 smushed it around too much. Channel 1 or 2 could do anything you want though. This thing was designed with versatility in mind, hence the name Nomad referring to a wanderer. So the dudes that didn't like Mesas didn't buy it because they associate it with the rest of the Mesa amps, and they dudes that do like Mesas didn't buy it because it didn't sound much like a Mesa Rec. That and they had a recall and awkward knobs that you can't see very well so it commercially failed. Go figure.

Gibson 57 classic
This thing seems like the Nickelback of guitar pickups around here. I agree with many people's opinions of the thing sounding relatively flat compared to other vintage pickups and they are WAY overpriced for what they are, but I never once have picked up a guitar with these pickups and thought they sounded bad. Overrated? Overpriced? Not very unique? I'd say yes but in no way do I think they are bad pickups. There is not some overbearingly loose and huge bass or some obnoxious twangy honk or shrill icepick highs (not calling out other pickups here, just general complaints). No, it's just pretty neutral and a chilled out pickup with not too much character. In some cases, this could be the exact pickup you WANT in your guitar actually. I can see them coming in handy for Jazz guitarists that need that clean and mellow tone that doesn't need an exaggerated eq.
 
Re: What gear do you like but others hate?

Boss MT-2. Enough said.

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Re: What gear do you like but others hate?

Floyd Rose ,if it's gotta have a trem it's gotta be a floyd \m/
 
Re: What gear do you like but others hate?

parker guitars, I see my friends and people on the internet bash them all the time but I'm very interested in trying them out.
the idea of the skinny headstock is actually pretty cool to me.
 
Re: What gear do you like but others hate?

I love Ceramic Magnets in pickups such as the Gibson 496R and 500T. Not quite hated, but I know a lot of guitar players who don't care for Ceramic Mags.
 
Re: What gear do you like but others hate?

Jazzmasters!

Lots prefer the normal fenders to the offset ones, and i get it because teles and strats are plenty versatile, look good, and sound great in the right hands. The Jazzmaster has a "weird" switching system that takes a moment to get used to, with 1meg pots that will make the "always on 10" crowd shy away from the brightness, and those harmonics coming from behind the bridge on some notes that can annoy some, combined with a wonky vibrato system and strings that jump out of the bridge saddles, and noisy pickups that don't sound like a strat or a tele or a p90...
but if you get used to them you may find that nothing sounds like a jazzmaster and they fit in a wide variety of music.
 
Re: What gear do you like but others hate?

Active pickups in general: some like 'em.. some bash them like they came to life and somehow did them wrong.. To me.. im impartial and actives are just another tool in the ole toolbox.. I have 6 guitars and 2 are loaded with actives.. an late 80's EMG 85 and H and some Iron Gear Volts..I dont use them alot but occasionally, a song just needs them:).. The guitar with the volts is tuned down to C .. Has a floyd so it will stay at that tuning

Gibson T TOP: some like and most dont.. I lOVE THEM!!! well.. the one I have anyway lol. mine is very creamy, and harmonically pleasing to the ears. They are great for 70's rock and 80's metal.. I was doing some googlin about them and one of the links led me here LOL one person I wont name said they cant do metal and arnt worth $50 if my memory serves me correct.. I was like "really?" Well they can do metal just fine and is proof that a medium output pup can do metal.. I dont agree with some of the prices people charge for them now.. To me they are worth $100 to $125.. maby 150.. DEFINITELY not the 275 + people are asking.. Mine came out of an LP back in early 90's and stayed in a box until 2008..The day that was installed changed my life. no BS here .. Turned a rarely played guitar w/uninspired sound into my most favorite guitar which all my guitars are compared to.. this guitar has some real mojo/soul.. almost feels alive and the ttop has played a pivotal roll in this.. hard to explain but when you have a guitar that feels like that, you will understand.. as soon as money allows, ill have the SD boys or girls make a custom ttop clone.. maby a tad hotter as long as the tonality isnt adversely effected.. with an engraved gold cover and 4 conductor wiring:)

Randall RH200: OK ALOT donot like this amp which is evident by the low resell value and the various things i have read about them IMO.. In all seriousness, its not really a bad head IMO.. It has some drawbacks but has a few positives as well.. Biggest positive is the clean and the separate EQ's for clean and distorted... NOW channel 2 and 3 arnt bad but arnt good either... I generally just use the awesome clean and either run my rat or SGX in front.. I really need to build a footswitch for this amp. Was hoping to find a diagram on the net but no such luck thus far

all i can think of
 
Re: What gear do you like but others hate?

B.C. Rich guitars

The company started out making quality acoustic guitars. Then moving to creative electrics. The metalheads in the early 80's took a liking to the body shapes of these and only then did B.C. Rich become known as metal guitars. Founder Bernie Rico had a thing for motorcycles and created accordingly.

But, for some reason guitarists associate B.C.Rich guitars with cheap quality, EMG pickups, and teenaged fantasies. Kerry King being BCR's top artist probably doesn't help either (sorry, Kerry).

Active pickups

I prefer them over passives because they are clearer-sounding, particularly under high-gain and have a consistent sound no matter how hard or fast you're playing. Plus, actives are less susceptible to loading effects and long cable runs.

I can feel free to create without the fears of being my vision being largely altered somehow.

Solid state amps

I like them because they are versatile and much like active pickups, they produce a consistent sound. They excel at high gain tones and can remain tight. And they have legendary clean tones!

Thick-gauged plectrums

Apparently, I'm one of the few guitarists that swear by thicker picks. Anything pick under 2.00mm is TOO THIN.
 
Re: What gear do you like but others hate?

I love a JB in a Les Paul.. That's really frowned upon in this forum but I love them in a Les Paul.
 
Re: What gear do you like but others hate?

I like a lot of stuff with "mixed reviews".

H&K Tubemeister 18
Danelectro Pastrami overdrive
Celestion G12-T75
VHT Melo-Verb
Tech21 NYC Comptortion
Boss DS-1
Gibson 500T/496R
 
Re: What gear do you like but others hate?

Electro-Harmonix Screaming Bird. I've not heard anyone else say anything good about it, but even as stock it's easily one of my favorite treble boosters. That said, it does benefit from a change in pot taper, and I did add a switch that selects between the stock cap and a less extreme one. They are still great stock, though.

It used to be the Ampeg V-4, but in the past ten years the desert-metal hipsters have jumped on board with them, and they aren't such a hidden treasure any more. I used to get looked at like a weirdo for touting their many benefits over other guitar amps from the same era. That annoyed me, but it also meant I could find them in sweet shape in the Recycler classifieds for $200 to $400 bucks all the time, with the original 7027A tubes (worth $150 –$200 on E-Bay – I'd flip the tubes and install 6L6's, which are direct drop-ins and sound identical). Now $400 – $600 examples are usually thrashed, and a clean one might run as much as a grand. I'm glad I still have my original one; I also regret selling my favorite of the ones that I owned over the years.

Traynor YGM-III. I never should have sold it, ******! Great little amp. Similar to a Deluxe Reverb, but somehow better IMO. Nobody ever looked twice at it, except to turn up their nose at it.
 
Re: What gear do you like but others hate?

ADA rack mount delays
Yamaha SPX reverbs
They make sounds that pedals and other effects gear just plain doesn't. Particularly when you stack several of each in series.

I have no problem with a JB in a Les Paul. Or a 59N. They aren't my #1 go-to, but I'll play 'em out. I don't know what this boomy and/or scooped mid complaints are about. If I move the pickups up and down I can fine tune the response well enough and get what I want out of it. I'm also willing to change my amp settings to balance things again after a pickup swap or even between guitars. That's what knobs are for.

Year back I had a Heathkit amp I used to love to use as an ocean effect. It put out so much static and noise, by turning the bass and treble knobs in sequence I could create a synthesized ocean.

I love and use Rickenbackers.

I love and use 12-string guitars

I love and use a SansAmp PSA-1. It's the one emulation that actually nearly matches my real amps, side-by-side.

I love and use a Marshall JCM-900 SL-X. The right tubes in the V1 and the power stage totally gets rid of fizzy distortion and imparts that old AC/DC Plexi-like sound.

I love and use an Emery SuperBaby. Great platform for using my orphaned vintage tubes, and at home at bedroom levels.
 
Re: What gear do you like but others hate?

Swimming pool route Strats. They get bashed alot. I like the 2 I have just fine.
 
Re: What gear do you like but others hate?

parker guitars, I see my friends and people on the internet bash them all the time but I'm very interested in trying them out.
I love mine but since they stopped producing the old-school Fly models (along with closing the US factory), I've started looking at Strandberg as a current production, weird-looking, super lightweight (5 lb) guitar. :p

Also, digital modelers. A lot of them are junk but the good stuff is way more convenient and consistent than tubes. I have one more tube amp to sell off, along with my tube stash and bias meter.
 
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