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Which Discontinued Gear Do You Think Needs to Come Back?
- Thread starter A. D. Fairhurst
- Start date
Oh jeez, where to begin...
1) Rickenbacker 4002, preferably with the 4004 pickups...
2) Ibanez BTB 575. Basses that came in actual colors, without being overly-extravagant.
3) Neck-thru Jackson Concert Basses with 21 frets and a reverse-P+J pickup configuration.
4) Peavey Cirrus basses.
5) Aria Pro-II SB Elite basses.
6) Gibson EB Bass-- the one they released a few years ago, then discontinued before I had to funds saved up to get one! Seriously, I thought they were really cool.
7) Fender Precision Deluxe/Elite with the JJ-style bridge humbucker. Although I wouldn't mind if Fender made one with a Dimension-style humbucker instead! Scrap the midrange control, though, since it adds yet one more knob, and I don't find it terribly-useful without a sweep function.
8) Fender Jazz Bass Custom, with the single pickguard that replaced the pickguard/control-plate combination. Schecter did this a few years ago with their Diamond J bass.
9) G&L El Toro bass. Or at least SOMETHING with the 2 MFD single coil pickups!
10) The return of SUNN, at least as a brand name. You'll notice there aren't any amps on my list. That's because I can't think of anything old amps did that new ones made today don't do as well or better.
11) Schecter "Stargazer" basses. I thought the combination of Rick-like curves and modern electronics was a really cool idea.
1) Rickenbacker 4002, preferably with the 4004 pickups...
2) Ibanez BTB 575. Basses that came in actual colors, without being overly-extravagant.
3) Neck-thru Jackson Concert Basses with 21 frets and a reverse-P+J pickup configuration.
4) Peavey Cirrus basses.
5) Aria Pro-II SB Elite basses.
6) Gibson EB Bass-- the one they released a few years ago, then discontinued before I had to funds saved up to get one! Seriously, I thought they were really cool.
7) Fender Precision Deluxe/Elite with the JJ-style bridge humbucker. Although I wouldn't mind if Fender made one with a Dimension-style humbucker instead! Scrap the midrange control, though, since it adds yet one more knob, and I don't find it terribly-useful without a sweep function.
8) Fender Jazz Bass Custom, with the single pickguard that replaced the pickguard/control-plate combination. Schecter did this a few years ago with their Diamond J bass.
9) G&L El Toro bass. Or at least SOMETHING with the 2 MFD single coil pickups!
10) The return of SUNN, at least as a brand name. You'll notice there aren't any amps on my list. That's because I can't think of anything old amps did that new ones made today don't do as well or better.
11) Schecter "Stargazer" basses. I thought the combination of Rick-like curves and modern electronics was a really cool idea.
The Ampeg SVT 5 Pro, mainly because I have one but am a little anxious that if it dies on me I won't be able to replace it, but also because I think its a great amp with lots of useful features.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Have you tried the new [This invalid link has been removed], BTW? I believe, they're in shops for five years. (Announce from 2011).
If it was built before, just go buy a used one.
If those Acoustic 360/361 reissues are any indicator, it's just not cost efficient to manufacture those older designs. Iirc those sold for $10k.....that's a crazy price tag.
Ampeg Heritage Series stuff tends to be in the same category. Iirc their hand built, 99.9% faithful B15 repos retailed at $15k.
At least with amps, it's basically impossible to reissue older designs at a sane price point.
If those Acoustic 360/361 reissues are any indicator, it's just not cost efficient to manufacture those older designs. Iirc those sold for $10k.....that's a crazy price tag.
Ampeg Heritage Series stuff tends to be in the same category. Iirc their hand built, 99.9% faithful B15 repos retailed at $15k.
At least with amps, it's basically impossible to reissue older designs at a sane price point.
I'd like Fender to bring back three of the venerable names they own.
They directly killed both SWR and Genz Benz, mostly through total lack of product development, and they made a half hearted attempt to resurrect Sunn a while back, but didn't really follow through.
I doubt this will ever happen, mostly because bass amps aren't big enough volume for FMIC to be bothered, but also because they would compete with their own Fender branded kit. But just on a fantasy land trip, here's what I'd do if I owned the company (and didn't really care about profitability):
- SWR: Bring back as high-end studio focused gear, with top-notch tube pres, lots of recording oriented outs and filters etc.
- Genz Benz: Focus on lightweight portability and solid gear for gigging musicians. Lots of neo 112 cabs with big output, class D amps, quality DI options.
- Sunn: Old-school tubes across the board. Big transformers, simple tone stacks, lots of clean headroom, 100, 200 and 300 Watt options. 215 cabs, too.
They directly killed both SWR and Genz Benz, mostly through total lack of product development, and they made a half hearted attempt to resurrect Sunn a while back, but didn't really follow through.
I doubt this will ever happen, mostly because bass amps aren't big enough volume for FMIC to be bothered, but also because they would compete with their own Fender branded kit. But just on a fantasy land trip, here's what I'd do if I owned the company (and didn't really care about profitability):
- SWR: Bring back as high-end studio focused gear, with top-notch tube pres, lots of recording oriented outs and filters etc.
- Genz Benz: Focus on lightweight portability and solid gear for gigging musicians. Lots of neo 112 cabs with big output, class D amps, quality DI options.
- Sunn: Old-school tubes across the board. Big transformers, simple tone stacks, lots of clean headroom, 100, 200 and 300 Watt options. 215 cabs, too.
You have my vote for Supreme Commander of the Universe of all things that encompass Electronic music.
Im more the type that's usually looking forward. There's a lot of new gear I want that I can't afford at the moment. The tech 21 dug 1000 being at the top of that list. But I like gear that's made with original ideas and forward thinking. Some things I like to look old but sound new which is why I tend to buy ampeg classic cabs and swap out the speakers for higher output and a more modern sound when if I didn't care about looks I'd probably go with greenboy/fearless/fearful cabs . But as far as basses. My go to bass is still currently in production and probably one of the companies better selling basses. I can't think of anything I'd want brought back exactly the way it was. Everything id want brought back would be with some tweaks.
For example it would be cool if Conklin brought back the groove tools line but with EMG electronics, a significant cut in weight and some more finishes (blue or black please) , It would be cool if ESP would reduce their model lineup but increase their finishes even more. They have a bunch of basses where for example I like the ltd stream 1005 but don't like the finish, I'll like the finish of a cheaper version (the white or black for example) or more expensive model (transparent blue for example) but the cheaper one doesn't come with the same hardware or electronics and the more expensive ones are well more expensive. I do wish ESP would bring back Their Vintage series also. Make them a little bit more expensive but put a little more money into the hardware and electronics. And they need to get rid of the E-II line and just make LTD and ESP. If they want to differentiate their high end ESP with what is currently the E-II series do like ESP and ESP elite or something. Not that the E-II line aren't great instruments. They are nice but I don't like that I could spend 2K and I can't get ESP on the headstock.
For example it would be cool if Conklin brought back the groove tools line but with EMG electronics, a significant cut in weight and some more finishes (blue or black please) , It would be cool if ESP would reduce their model lineup but increase their finishes even more. They have a bunch of basses where for example I like the ltd stream 1005 but don't like the finish, I'll like the finish of a cheaper version (the white or black for example) or more expensive model (transparent blue for example) but the cheaper one doesn't come with the same hardware or electronics and the more expensive ones are well more expensive. I do wish ESP would bring back Their Vintage series also. Make them a little bit more expensive but put a little more money into the hardware and electronics. And they need to get rid of the E-II line and just make LTD and ESP. If they want to differentiate their high end ESP with what is currently the E-II series do like ESP and ESP elite or something. Not that the E-II line aren't great instruments. They are nice but I don't like that I could spend 2K and I can't get ESP on the headstock.
Also, the PAiA kits for making Craig Anderton's "Electronic Projects for Musicians."
Otto
Otto
Those old Peavey digital amps were real work horses - the Megabass head & the Databass combo.
Boss OC2 Octave
Music Man Big Al 5SSS
Ric 5-string (though re-engendered)
Washburn AB95 semi-hollowbody 5-string
Gibson teardrop pics
Music Man Big Al 5SSS
Ric 5-string (though re-engendered)
Washburn AB95 semi-hollowbody 5-string
Gibson teardrop pics
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Nothing, because then would second hand prices not be that extortionate...and nothing ever become vintage...
Also the MXR Digital Delay, the original blue face unit, which was Model 113, IIRC. Actually, I just want a delay that has the control layout and range of control that one had. Modulating the delay at up to 1 KHz gave some really cool sounds. Plus the ability to mix the straight signal with a gently modulated delay and invert the polarity of the delayed signal. I wouldn't mind better audio quality, though the loss of highs at longer delays was musically useful.
Otto
Otto
Peavey should make a new lightweight version of the T-40:
