What much-hated piece of gear do you actually love?

Fez

ICBM said:

DS-1 as well. I just got one of the 40th Anniversary ones in black - superb. I actually prefer it into a clean or nearly clean amp - it sounds great, although I fully admit it has to be set ‘just right’ on the tone control... but it can be.

I also really like the much-hated Drive channel on the Fender Hotrod amps - a great vintage-type overdrive that will nail a Tweed Deluxe tone at controllable volume... I’ve proved that by directly A/B’ing them. But it won’t sound like a Marshall!

Another vote for DS1 I bought one for nostalgia then a couple of months later the black anniversary one came out cest la vie.
Also played a Hot Rod Deluxe a couple of times at a jam night and I thought the drive was great, as you say different from Marshall though.

57Deluxe

for their aesthetic and the fact that when buying my very first guitar in early 70s, the red corduroy strap came with one and a pick included...

Philtre

Kittyfrisk said:

Philtre said:

Any amp that sounds rather "horsehair horsehair".

OK, please enlighten me as to WTF 'horsehair horsehair' sounds like when it's when it's at home?? 

@Kittyfrisk

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/159394/

Kittyfrisk

Philtre said:

Kittyfrisk said:

Philtre said:

Any amp that sounds rather "horsehair horsehair".

OK, please enlighten me as to WTF 'horsehair horsehair' sounds like when it's when it's at home?? 

@Kittyfrisk

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/159394/

Cheers, much obliged 

jeztone2

Marshall TSL amps. I gigged them for eleven years and made an album with them. Aside from footswitch cable issues. The actual amps were more reliable than older Classic era Marshall’s like my 2553 or my Artiste. 

Stuckfast

ICBM said:

DS-1 as well. I just got one of the 40th Anniversary ones in black - superb. I actually prefer it into a clean or nearly clean amp - it sounds great, although I fully admit it has to be set ‘just right’ on the tone control... but it can be.

I also really like the much-hated Drive channel on the Fender Hotrod amps - a great vintage-type overdrive that will nail a Tweed Deluxe tone at controllable volume... I’ve proved that by directly A/B’ing them. But it won’t sound like a Marshall!

I'm with you 50 percent. Loved the Drive channel on my Hotrod Deluxe. Hated the DS1.

midlifecrisis

Sassafras said:

Rocker said:

Sassafras said:

Orange Micro Terror.
It needs to be dialled in fairly carefully but it can be made to sound magnificent.






Only joking. I don't think anyone can make them sound remotely listenable.

That amp only need a decent valve (in place of the totally rubbish valve fitted as standard) and an Orange 4 * 12 cabinet and it sounds more than passable my friend.   Of course that Orange cab makes any amp sound awesome. Pity it is not the easiest to transport or move around. 

Sort of defeats the object of having a tiny amp.

not really. as being so small the amp head is great to carry as a backup to plug your combos speakers in if the main amp fails. did this once at a gig and it sounded great....however dont take my word for it because i actually like boss katanas

Sassafras

I'm quite surprised at how highly people rate the DS 1. I pride myself on being able to get at least one decent sound out of any pedal you care to mention but the DS 1 completely defeated me. Must be an acquired taste or a hard rock kind of thing.

ICBM

Sassafras said:

I'm quite surprised at how highly people rate the DS 1. I pride myself on being able to get at least one decent sound out of any pedal you care to mention but the DS 1 completely defeated me. Must be an acquired taste or a hard rock kind of thing.

No, definitely not - I don't play (or like, really) hard rock, and the very first time I tried one I loved it... once I'd worked out that there's an extremely precise spot on the tone control where it sounds good, and everywhere else - especially above that - it doesn't. When it's right it's simply the definitive distortion pedal sound.