brandon_adams

Trash 2 is perhaps the greatest production tool I've used. Most people see "distortion" and immediately put Trash into a box reserved for guitars and random drum or vocal effects. It isn't that simple, though, and this plugin really proves how versatile harmonic saturation can be. It's definitely possible to use too much and ruin a sound, but when used effectively, it can transform and give new excitement to otherwise bland or flat sounds.

This is arguably the "warmest"-sounding soft synth I've heard. It's fairly simple and straightforward to build sounds in, at least if you've used a synth before, and the presets are already good starting points for sounds. It's great for getting new takes on vintage analog synth sounds -- I'd say that's the strong point of Sylenth. I particularly like using it for harmonically rich bass and lead sounds, but also for synth drums (just because... come on, they're cool sounding) and arpeggiated leads.

This all-tube amp is the little brother to the famous Bogner Uberschall's and Shiva's and Ecstasy's (and these amps are famous for a reason - they sound tremendous). What's different about this amp is that it's a step back from the boutique, hand-wired glory of its bigger siblings, and instead focuses on ease of manufacturing and good tone at a lower cost. I will say that it doesn't sound quite as good as the other, more expensive Bogners (obviously), but it certainly delivers more than any other combo amp in its price range, with the ability to give great, sparkly cleans all the way up to hard rock and metal. I primarily use it to play prog rock, which is one of those genres that demands a pretty high level of flexibility from your gear when it comes to guitar tones. This amp handles pedals extremely well, and even has a buffered FX loop. Overall, you really can't beat this amp for the price. It has tons of great tube tone and a great-sounding speaker to go with it.

I got this cabinet very early on in my guitar playing years, and it certainly serves its purpose in handling loud amp tones. My issue with it is that it's a little too harsh tonally -- maybe it still needs some wearing in, as all these cabinets sound better as they get older -- but I do really enjoy mixing it with my Bogner amp cabinet, because I find that the two compliment each other very well. Overall, good cabinet for the price.

I got this pedal back when Blackstar only made pedals -- not the amps which I'm not particularly a fan of -- and I was intrigued by the concept of a valve-driven pedal. Not surprisingly, it sounds much fuller and fatter than just about any other distortion pedal I've used. That being said, it has a very distinct sound that doesn't exactly try to be anything else (no emulation or modeling here, really, whether that's on purpose or not). It has great medium to high gain settings, hovering somewhere between the tone of the old 5150's and the Mesa Boogie Mark IV, but almost more compressed and chunky with some settings. I use this all the time for rhythm and leads, and it works great when paired with overdrive or boost pedals to get a super-saturated sound.

This is an incredibly simple pedal, obviously, with the single knob controlling primarily speed, though I suspect it changes something about the resonance or feedback or something along those lines. I notice the tone of the phaser changing as the speed increases and decreases (in a good way, I mean). The only issue I've ever had with it is the volume boost that happens as soon as you turn the phaser on. I've fixed that with my pedal-switching controller now, so the output is the same when bypassed and when on. It also distorts a little with higher output guitars, but I kind of like the grit it adds to the guitar tone.

I played a Hagstrom (a Swede, not a Viking) a long time before I got this guitar, and loved the neck and fretboard. I remember it playing better than most other guitars I was used to (even high-end Strats and Les Pauls), which was astonishing given the significant price difference. I've always been a fan of the Gibson ES-335's and 355's, so I saw the Viking and decided to compare it with the Gibson versions. After a few shootouts, the Hagstrom definitely won in terms of playability and price, but may be a little short in terms of the sound -- honestly, changing to Gibson pickups would solve that problem. The thing that won me over is the fact that this guitar could seriously hold its own when compared to guitars that are 4 or 5 times the price, if not more. Plus it has a great, distinct style that makes people look twice when you bring it on stage :)