My parents are getting older and the specter of having to move 3000 miles back home, while also myself dipping a toe into the insanity of the synth world, has made me evaluate what I really could stand to lose and what I would buy a trailer for. Here's what I've come up with and why:

’78 Precision Bass – It’s a pbass

’78 Les Paul Custom – Resprayed burst on top of ‘natural’ finish, maple neck, and user-added (poorly) third pickup. Trash les paul, likely not worth half of what it should be, it’s perfect.

’77 Gibson Marauder Custom – As time goes on the weirdness of the Marauder only improves. It sounds like a telecaster

2023 Squier Anniversary Jazzmaster – my spouse’ guitar and the one I play the most at home. Not worth enough to get rid of for the amount of joy.

Sequential Pro3 – I just got this thing but it creates so many synth sounds I enjoy, along with just brutal noise that I can’t imagine parting with it.

Garnet Pro Reverb - It sounds thick, has the best tremolo I’ve ever heard and the ‘stinger’ is the nastiest guitar sound on the planet. An old man gave me a deal on this “as long as you play it”, and you can’t go against old man karma

Sovtek Mig50H - My first tube amp, and it came in the mail from Electrical when I was 17. It’s why I’m posting. It's the darkest amp in the world, sounds like mud butt - put a pedal in front and watch it go vroooom. People always comment on how good it sounds.

AIMS VTB120 : Sounds like a beefed up bassman, with 6550s, which it pretty much is. Looks amazing. It’s my bass amp, and I can get GK400s and 800s all day long wherever I live, sorry GKs.

Traynor Guitar Mate Reverb – It’s light, it’s bright, it’s the one combo I keep – I love recording this amp.

2x12 Basketweave Cabinet with one WGS ET65, and one Celestion Heritage 30: this cab was made at Taylor, really nice, and I got it in an employee auction so even though it’s a cab, it’s on the list. Also sounds amazing.

Keeley Modded Rat : Sounds great on bass and guitar. I don’t know what’s in it. It’s the best rat

Ribbon mic from Austin Mic Kits (https://diyribbonmic.com/diykits/): Sounds really good, but more of a mental health reminder to be careful.


Now that I write that out. Jesus. I could stand to clean house

Yeah, I inherited a bunch of stuff from my Dad a couple of years ago and at this point I can't see myself getting rid of most of it, though it's all just collecting dust in my basement. Of note, there is an Arp Axxe, a Martin D-18, a Martin EM-18, an Akai reel-to-reel tape deck, an old weird-ass German tube amp (Dynacord), and at least a half-dozen other keyboards/synths from the late '70s and early '80s.

(EDIT: typos)

nothing. I dont think there's a single piece of gear I own that I would have a problem with selling / wouldnt enjoy the process of replacing.

I used to feel differently, but I think I'm in the same boat as Tony these days. I don't see anything around here as indispensable anymore. Even the DIY mic pres and compressors I built years ago. It's all just stuff. I could replace all of it if I wanted, though likely at a much higher cost.

Who am I kidding? I only keep most of this stuff around for bragging rights. I don't use most of it, and haven't in years.

Dr Tony Balls wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2024 1:40 pm nothing. I dont think there's a single piece of gear I own that I would have a problem with selling / wouldnt enjoy the process of replacing.

That's amazing.

I know I can find/build (and in your case, especially build) replacements for pretty much anything - I think I humanize my things, or ascribe to them some kind of personal lore that I suspect I think about too much.

I only really use this this.

Who am I kidding? I only keep most of this stuff around for bragging rights. I don't use most of it, and haven't in years.

This is important social power

I feel like I have to break this down into a few different categories

Stuff that's hard to replace because it's not made anymore: Verellen Meatsmoke, either the Moog Prodigy or Rogue (I'd keep one I guess!)

Stuff that's hard to replace because it's old and costs way more than what I bought it for: TB2000, '64 Bassman, '79 JMP 2204

Stuff that's hard to replace because it's newer and takes forever to get a new one: various EGCs

Stuff that has a ton of sentimental value but could be easily replaced: '93 Fender MIJ '62 P-Bass, early attached cord 400RB, Gibson Les Paul Studio Gem

Stuff I could sell and tbh not need to replace anytime soon: 70s V4-B, early 90s JTM45 reissue, Moog Prodigy or Rogue, Fender '52 AVRI Tele, pretty much all the cabs and pedals

Dr Tony Balls wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2024 1:40 pm nothing. I dont think there's a single piece of gear I own that I would have a problem with selling.

Me too. Problem is, most of it is so customized or goofy that I'd basically be giving it away, so I just hoard the crap for now

Only 3 for me - 83 Strat that I’ve had forever, a Martin 00015 that I’ve had for almost forever and a Deluxe Memory Man that I’ve had for at least 20 years now.

My 60s Gretsch drums, which I've played for about quarter century and still play every day. Basically an extension of me at this point and the only instrument in my life I can honestly say I'm deeply connected with.

Travis Bean 1000S. This was a gift from a friend and I wouldn't get rid of it unless it was back to my friend.

There is a lot of other stuff I have a sentimental attachment to, some of which I use frequently, some of which is rare, but under scrutiny, nothing that can't be replaced with something else that's completely adequate.

Paring shit down amid new circumstances, needing to relocate/travel light is one thing. I could get rid of some stuff, sure. Where guitars are concerned . . . If I had to, I would just keep two solid body electrics (my newer Strat and my Reverend), that have different pickups installed and a few mods. I would keep my Mexican P-Bass too (also with some different pickups and mods), and I do like the one acoustic I own. That would be enough with which to make a record. Everything else could go.

For guitar amps, I would just keep the one tube amp I use most and a solid state in case the former ever crapped out. Everything else could go. My newer bass setup is swell, but not something I'd wanna cart around often. So maybe holding on that Rumble 200 too would be wise. That's it. I could deal with just that, not that I've got loads and loads of amps anyway.

With Pedals . . . I don't want go there exactly, but I could pare them down, yeah, with the exception of my bass pedal board which is compact (could be carried under one arm) and has everything I seem to need for tone shaping. It's just perfect, no need to mess with it.

With mics . . . My "mic locker" isn't extravagant, but I would consult a professional if I had to figure how to get by with as few as possible. Even without tracking a full band at the same time, it's hard to say exactly what would be most economical. Learning this might impel me to acquire a couple of things. (Subject for another thread?)

I don't own any outboard gear--regrettably--so no issues there.


The larger issue here, for me, isn't that the gear I own is that arcane and costly, vintage one-of-kind items that I've nearly fetishized. Instead it's more that the stuff I've got was acquired piecemeal, and it would be a pain in the ass to assemble everything again. The mail and delivery people would want to punch me, assuming they don't already, haha.