Let's talk gear that blew you away from the first note!

[andy474x]

When it comes to gear we love, I'd guess that most of us have some that we needed some time to get acquainted to, and some that just sounded and felt right from the very first time we plugged it in. Of the former, maybe some things were good but not immediately great, maybe you hated it until you discovered how to make it sound best.

But, I want to hear about the gear that just nailed it right out of the gate. What did you buy and instantly fall in love with, and has stayed that way ever since? Why?

I've got my picks, certainly, but I didn't come here just to tell y'all about it. I'll chime in later, I want to know what YOU loved from the first note!

 

[SinSir]

Easy one.. my 2011 Cu24 10top. I knew right a way and it was all I could do to not show my excitement to the seller!

 

[Mark Ray]

Train Wreck Express. At the last official "PRS Forum Event Jam."

My guitar has NEVER responded with an amp to that degree even remotely before or since.

 

[veinbuster]

Boogie Mark III
Dirty 100
Violin prototype
Laskins

 

[Moondog Wily]

McCarty 594 HBII Wood LIbrary. Received it Feb '21 and I have not put it down since (I would estimate ~4,000 hours of play time so far and some of the frets agree). Within a few months after that I purchased two more PRS, but they have not won me the way that one did. They are great and I have no intention of ever selling them, but due to them weighing over 2lbs more, I don't play them nearly as much.

The other item is the Axe FXIII MkII Turbo. Received it Dec '21 and from day one, it produced tones and effects I never could have even imagined, and it has become even better the more I learn about it. Add to that the fact that the company improves it almost weekly at no additional charge and it just blow me away day to day!

 

[Greywolf]

any PRS or Custom Gibby fit that bill for me

 

[dmatthews]

2018 PRS 594 soapbar.
Immediate success, and a great player that continues to be high in rotation, and often the #1 at a gig.

 

[Max Headroom]

Easy.
From the very first note it was Ol 85.
Well road worn 1985 Standard 24 with original T and B pups.
The very first power chord reminded me of the Back to the Future scene where Marty hits the chord on the Docs rig and gets blown through the wall.
Yeah well I have a good imagination

 

[Dirty_Boogie]

My Mesa Mark V - literally, almost blew me through the wall on the first chord I hit.

 

[dogrocketp]

My triple soapy. It had some screws missing, some hardware store screws on it, and was unbelievably filthy. I had to start by scraping the fingerboard with a sharpened credit card. When I hit the rusty strings ( I bought it on eBay ) I knew. I also have an amp that was custom made, based on and old Fender Tweed pro from the early fifties. One volume, one tone, 6SC7 tubes. I plugged in at an open mike, hit a chord on my S2 custom 24, and that was it. It kept blowing up, which is why the owner sold it to me at a steep discount. Pete Cage of Cage Amplification reworked it, and my other amps just collect dust.

 

[DISTORT6]

94 Custom22 - My #1 from first chug 24 years ago.
Soldano SLO-100 - I believe I said WHOA followed by some colorful expletives and then “I’LL TAKE IT!”

 

[Brad Lawson]

First time I played through my Carr Mercury V. All of my guitars sound great through it but there is something about my soapbar 594 going through the Exotic boost and the Duke of Tones pedals... It was like I finally found the sound that I had had in my head all those years.

 

[dmatthews]

First time I played through my Carr Mercury V. All of my guitars sound great through it but there is something about my soapbar 594 going through the Exotic boost and the Duke of Tones pedals... It was like I finally found the sound that I had had in my head all those years.

594 soapy FTW!!!

 

[László]

The HXDA made my hair stand on end the minute I plugged it in.

It was 'Live at the Fillmore."

Unfortunately, while the amp has the tone, I do not have Duane's chops.

"You don't deserve that amp, Laz."

"True enough! But I'm keeping it anyway."

 

[Prs Mods too]

The awesome sounding LP I mentioned in the recent tone wood thread. Even after swapping every component possible it still sounded awesome compared to the other one so I knew for a fact that tone wood really does matter, regardless of the disbelievers.

 

[Tony M.]

Mid '60's ES 355 Plugged into an early '70's DR 103.

 

[opnoob]

Probably twice:

1. Trying a Sustainiac, on the high octave harmonic mode, for the first time in my Schecter
2. PRS SC Trem at the guitar store on a Bogner stack, the first twang shook my damn soul

 

[bodia]

West Street Limited….hands down

 

[gush]

2011 cu24 5909s
1989 cu24
1986 cu24
8515 neck pickup

 

[Gtrbldr]

I think my plainest guitar: opaque black McSoapy Korina. That one is special.