Your fiscal 2022 year-in-gear roundup

[Gone Fission]

Not just for Secret Satan participants—I want to creepily know what all of you are up to. So many of us have become pretty self-reliant on figuring out where we’re going and how we’re refining things that we don’t report in as much. So what have you been up to since this time last year?

I’ve got two major things happening: I’m doing a lot of acoustic stuff and I’m fine tuning a fixed but flexible small pedalboard setup that I can mostly stay inside the lines of.

So I got my second new acoustic in two years, a Recording King JTE that has some similarities but differences to my first and now long gone Harmony-built guitar. It does this odd, syrupy semi-resonator voice that you have to play to on its own terms, and I’ve been playing it in open D lately. That’s adding to the Epi J-200 “inspired by Gibson” that I got last year and is just easy—easy to play, easy to improvise on, easy to decode songs and learn them. I’ve even been getting out the old Seagull 12 string more than I usually do. I keep having ideas of recording multitracked acoustic shoegaze with them, but I would need a recording setup. But really, I think it’s mainly the ease of picking up a guitar and playing without worrying about anything else around it working or not.

I’ve also been trying to stuff my little 12x18 pedalboard with a fixed setup that I can stick with and do enough with that I’m not always swapping stuff out. There is a lot of Eventide and Cooper Fx involved. I got a Blackhole pedal this year for Tubescreamer money thanks to a GC used price error, and I’m loving just mining that one algorithm, since there is a lot in there. That and ye old Pitchfactor are covering a lot of ground in the two loops of a Cooper Signal Path Selector; typical operation is in parallel, both running full wet, with the dry signal provided by the SPS . . . or not. I can also do series and flip the order, but parallel works very well most of the time. Right now I have the Cooper Gen Loss v2 running after for a light not-quite-chorus and the spectral hold mode on the aux switch. Not upgrading to the new CBA because it doesn’t have the hold mode last I heard.

Still in progress on implementing the rest. Just got a Source Audio Soleman MIDI controller that won’t live on the board, so I am thinking about an aux controller board, likely with a SA Dual Expression and SA Vortex permanently installed—the dual plugs into the Soleman and runs as set per the scene the Soleman is running, and the MIDI out runs to the Vortex which merges its on MIDI transmission into the Soleman’s. That’s going to feed a CME MIDI hub under the board that controls everything on it.

And that’s going to include a Cooper Expression Generator (that I still need to do a deep dive into) that feeds expression inputs.

Including the CBA/Zvex Bliss Factory’s expression port. The pedal is kinda made for this setup, but man has it been a bear to deal with. I really need to woodshed the hell out of it, because I know I’ve gotten brilliant sounds out of it, but it’s a fight. If I can’t come to terms, it’s probably gonna be an auxiliary fuzz board, and there goes the compact and self-contained universe concept. Or I might try to figure out the internal trimmers to give myself a bit more controllable range.

Next year’s goal: hopefully Fryette finally releases the v2 GPDI, which should fit nicely between the board and my core rack, principally running Eventide Orville and Lexicon PCM-80. When I get my front end palate down, my major woodshedding goal is working the bejesus out of the long delay and looping capabilities of those two.

[Chankgeez]

fiscal?

[Gone Fission]

US government runs on a 10/1-9/30 year rather than calendar year. Just grabbed on to that since it’s early for our typical “My Year in Gear” sort of thing.

[qersty]

I dont know exactly what pedals but i got a few, not remembering is probably a defense mechanism... highlights include bob hund pedal (i mean hopefully... it is still sitting boxed up at ma's), reverse fuzz factory, fender volume tone (like it doesnt sound exciting but having a tone pedal is super nice), several bosses: ps-2, ds-1 (for elk stacking), finally getting an ls-2, fixing my frequency analyzer was one of my hugest things this year i did not know how much i missed it, also has kinda been a verb year for me cause i got both a surfyverb and an atmosphere both very soothing to my distaste in reverb pedals. also got a sunny day delay so my drsci park is growing healthily. probably something more i have forgotten.

I got a guitar and a bass, red lacquer jag and a yamaha broad bass. I feel bad about not having used the jag too much. I got it to mod but i never got around to it and have therefore also gotten to indecisive about that. Also got some upgrades for my other stuff. The tort guard for my white jag is obviously the best one and has improved my playing thousandfold. I also got a geeky wal clone preamp for my warmoth bass and also had the pickups sent back to finland for getting rewired to stupid silly.

Built an IVP clone and got me to have the diy bug again. i have some mask pcbs unbuilt i need to finish but drilling got me nervous about approaching it. but whatever i learned how to use CAD software for pcb design which is sick as hell!

I also blew way too much money on speakers building a beyma liberty 212, its nice but i doubt it was worth it. i also busted the dustcap on one and now it needs to be replaced also my DRRI got busted again so kind of in an amp pickle that is too tempting to solve by getting a new amp. stupid

I wanted to get a nice acoustic this year but got to sidetracked, partially due to me realizing i know nothing about acoustics, partially from depression regarding my lack of songwriting skills manifesting as problems in real life.

Also been trying out a lot of strings this year which has been a fun experience.

I havent sold much at all. the only things i remember were my ms2000 and lexicon vortex, and two trashy diy pedals.

It has been an alright year. I have been feeling very content with my tone for a long time now, more frustration from not being able to get a terrible enough sound than things not being "just right". I have buyed way too much tho. i now keep pedge until santas. if i get any more gear it gotta be some studio stuff or a pedal in a nice big sheet metal box

[crochambeau]

Fiscal, hahahaha. My fiscals have been backwards this year, more out go than in come; but in terms of an off kilter 12 month span...

Last December I bought an Akai DR4d rack mount digital four track recorder on facebook marketplace. It had a 200 MB SCSI hard drive in it that sounded like a small jet engine, allowing a total time (to be shared across the tracks) of around 20 minutes or so. I have since ousted the spinning disc for a totally silent ZuluSCSI SD card based HD emulator turning the Akai into my favorite purchase in a very long time. All of the untethered to a computer immediacy of a 4 track recorder without the cost of tape, and I happen to like the early/mid 1990s Akai A/D D/A conversion sound.

Over the course of this year I have purchased an E-mu ESi 4000 (fully upgraded) in marginal/inoperable condition. That one took me about a month and a half to sort out, being hit with a bunch of false starts that tricked me into thinking it was fixed when it wasn't. (the display PCB had a faulty ground reference that was hanging the boot cycle). I've yet to really dive deep into this machine on the operating front, but it is inspiring me to record more material to chop into bits and hardware mutliate, so I rank this as another good buy.

A JL Cooper MSB+ in untested condition that was damaged in transit turned out to be a somewhat straight forward fix, and is a welcome addition to my MIDI routing woes.

I bought a set of EEPROM flashed with Tauntek firmware for Kawai SX-240, making that synth a thousand times more useful. I have my eyes on more Tauntek firmware (VX90/AX73), but that can wait until 2023.

A Kenetek T4 opto for my old compressor that only proves it is currently in operational disarray and needs some loving.

Finally I impulsively bought a basket case Akai S900 sampler and later a mostly complete front panel switch PCB for the same. This one is still awaiting an uninterrupted block of time to really dig into.

On the trade front I wound up with a pile of karaoke stuff, a broken rack mount CD player, a Roland digital piano (which would be a cool control keyboard if they saw fit to include modulation or bend controls), a Korg KMX-122 (that had some dodgy channels), and some truly Frankensteinian projects/parts piles I have yet to summon the courage to explore (a friend was moving out of state and I was awarded a car-full of cast aways).

In retrospect, I don't think I have purchased a single pedal this year.. no, wait, not true: I bought a broken MXR Carbon Copy from a friend.

[Gone Fission]

Last December I bought an Akai DR4d rack mount digital four track recorder on facebook marketplace. It had a 200 MB SCSI hard drive in it that sounded like a small jet engine, allowing a total time (to be shared across the tracks) of around 20 minutes or so. I have since ousted the spinning disc for a totally silent ZuluSCSI SD card based HD emulator turning the Akai into my favorite purchase in a very long time. All of the untethered to a computer immediacy of a 4 track recorder without the cost of tape, and I happen to like the early/mid 1990s Akai A/D D/A conversion sound.

This sounds awesome! I’ve had passing thoughts about SCSI2SD adapting an old HD multitrack deck with a similar goal—tape workflow without the tape.

[crochambeau]

I’ve had passing thoughts about SCSI2SD adapting an old HD multitrack deck with a similar goal—tape workflow without the tape.

Highly recommended. There were far fewer hoops than expected that I needed to jump through to pull it off, and so far it's been a dream to use. As I understand it, unless you're dealing with a large track count like 16 almost any of the versions available should work fine. I think the ZuluSCSI sits a little faster than SCSI2SD v5, with SCSI2SD v6 remaining top dog with respect to data transfer rates. Last I checked availability of the v6 is an issue

Nothing I do even remotely comes close to hitting those limits.

With respect to my machine, final transfers still need to go into the computer/whatever - but the immediacy of transport buttons to record in the moment has been a massive life improvement.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Pedals, I'm pretty set and looking at things mostly functionally for once. Mostly. I have a solid board for one band, and just use other stuff as and when I want it for other projects or jamming at home, and I'm not trying to force some one-size-fits-all setup or do anything complicated, continuing to focus mostly on playing.

NSFW: show

I bought two pedals this year, BAT Crown of Horns after trying an op amp muff I was muling for an international pal. Turns out the IC muff seems to be the keeper one for me, and now I've resolved to just keep this around forever so I never flip it then need another muff some time And Fairfield Meet Maude which was an impulse buy when goroth sold it because I've wanted to try that since it came out. This is good, I sold more pedals than I bought which is nice. I'm still trying to look hard at my pedal collection and slim it down because I know that what I like is to use small boards, and why have so many around that I rarely touch... Particularly fuzz, I think I've got what I need, the thing that is still my always quest is getting the perfect high gain tone and buying a big amp is probably the best answer but my quilter is light and convenient and crucially already here, so I'm wondering about EQs, debating boring graphics vs fun parametrics (I've regretted flipping a PDF-1 for years). Things feel fairly settled though, the pedals do what they do.

Synthwise, the big change has been finally making the jump from Digitakt to Octatrack, for the increased sampling capabilities. No regrets with the switch, other than I have been too tired and busy to learn the new thing as well as I'd like. But I am still having fun with it and it does what I want. I also "optimised" the euro case a little with a few swaps. I'm trying to leave that as very, very close to finished, just have one last spot to decide on. Some more modulation and also distortion I think would be good, but there's too many damn options.


I am always tempted by amps, I have once again resisted the urge to buy one all year (vindicated by the fact I don't think I've played outside my small flat once all year ). Stay strong.

[friendship]

Made some practical purchases for the home studio: monitor stands, a little submixer for my synths, a MIDI splitter, my first big-boy power supply for the pedals, and a Zoom R20 to replace my aging R16. I'm still a little annoyed that the R20 doesn't have full combi inputs like R16 does (I wouldn't need the submixer if it did ), but the preamps sound noticeably better even to my tin ears, and the workflow is incredibly smooth.

I bought a couple rack things I absolutely don't need but were going for cheap.
- An ART DR1 reverb from the 80s which has weird percussive-flange and resonating reverb modes, plus a footswitchable infinite reverb hold.
- Roland JV880 which I haven't even gotten guts deep into yet. I'm on the fence about selling it or keeping it and spending quality time programming massive, evolving pads.

The most exciting thing I got was my first Moog, a Minitaur. The moment I started playing it I thought, "ah, there it is. that's the sound." Did you guys know Moog filters sound fuckin awesome? It's a well-kept secret.

I have to move in a couple months so I actually need to get rid of a lot of shit. I'm mailing some stuff to friends, donating three cheap electric guitars to a local nonprofit, and will probably put a few pedals up for sale here soon. I spent a lot of the year wiring my studio up in many different ways to try to Optimize my options, but it turns out I don't really need or want the amount of options I was giving myself. So it's a good opportunity to streamline, I think.

[MaxMaps]

Man I have been on a binge this year.....

Were to start:

Pedals:
-Boss HM2
-Stomping Stones Custom Shoegazer
-Alexander Marshmallow
-Freedman BE OD Deluxe
-Bogner Ubershall
-Boss RC5
-MXR Carbon Copy Delay
-Fuzzlord fm7 -EQ
- Berhinger fm300
- Spectacular Tempest
- MAE Part Garden

Guitars:
Dunnable Yeti Custom ( Direwolf - Direwolf)
Gibson SG 1970

Other Stuff:
UA Volt
SM57
New Apple Macbook Air
Metro 18PB
Two high end instrument cables

_______________________________________________

Of the list here the Dunnable, BEOD, Spectacular Tempest, MAE Part Garden and Berhringer are all gone - I also eliminated some other items I had gotten in the year. As I have mentioned before I am just running out of space as I have to pack out / down every time I want to jam.

Its been a stellar year for buying gear as my job has given me a boon of a LOT of extra money - most of that has been put towards family trips and vehicles and I still get a fat pile to spend every month. Lessons every month 300.00 a month has been a huge luxury and a huge impact on me as a player. Keeps me honest and focused - with forward progression.

I really dont have a direction that I am moving towards for writing but its something I am working on - I know I say every year I want to record more but I always fail to do so. However my skills are improving so I hope too be moving forward to a new creative direction.

I will be getting another guitar soon and possibly listing my DE - I also traded the yeti I picked up for the most ultimate SG I have ever played ( played it today ) - I want to go back to floyd rose for the wiggly wahs but knowing me once I am ready to purchase I always end up with something I that was not on my radar.

[moozz]

For me some big things this year were moving to another country and starting to play live. When I moved I could only bring a few trustworthy pedals with me (Blues Driver clone, Death Metal, BOSS delay and reverb) but I wanted to keep practicing and recording so I bought another analog 4-track and some other pedals. I have now been slowly getting the rest of my gear to Finland.
Playing live means that I constantly go through setups and scenarios in my head and my practice sessions tend to be more like "hmmm, could I pull this off live?"
Some gear (not an exhaustive list) that I got this year:

Tascam 424 Portastudio

x1l3 Shard synth

DOD Buzz Box
Devi Ever Truly Beautiful Disaster
Anarchy Audio Chaos Star
Anarchy Audio Aftermath
Line 6 DL4
EHX 2880
EHX Green Russian Big Muff (the compact reissue)
Dreadbox Disorder
Magpie Möist
BOSS OC-3 Super Octave
BOSS TE-2 Tera Echo
Dwarfcraft She Fuzz
Earthquaker Arpanoid

Still getting to really know some of these, like the 2880 or DL4 I wouldn't dare to use live yet. Some day.... but then I will have something else exciting to learn (like the Gen Loss MK II I hope to receive still this year). It never ends, which is beautiful.

[Pepe]

BOSS OC-3 Super Octave

Good choice! Much better than the current OC-5.

[friendship]

BOSS OC-3 Super Octave

Good choice! Much better than the current OC-5.

Few know this, but it's because the OC-3 is a Super Octave, while the OC-5 is not Super, it's just Octave.

[coldbrightsunlight]

The most exciting thing I got was my first Moog, a Minitaur. The moment I started playing it I thought, "ah, there it is. that's the sound." Did you guys know Moog filters sound fuckin awesome? It's a well-kept secret.

Hahaha yeah I had the same experience with the Mother 32. "Oh damn, there's a reason people like these Moogs huh, it just sounds like all the good records"

[Pepe]

Good choice! Much better than the current OC-5.

Few know this, but it's because the OC-3 is a Super Octave, while the OC-5 is not Super, it's just Octave.

Yep, the "Super" is making the difference! My video helped quite a few people to decide if they should purchase the follow-up model or stick to the OC-3: