Active Band Man Chats - 2025 New Gear Predictions

Yes, it’s the New Year!

It’s a little late, but Happy New Year! By now, the New Year’s spirit is probably long gone, right?

It’s time for the annual prediction of my new gear for the year!

I’m not sure if it’s really an annual tradition, though...

So, what should I buy this year?

Hmm... Well, you go ahead first!

OK! How about imagining that we have plenty of New Year’s money to spend?

What? But we’ve been the ones giving out the New Year’s money for a few years now... Anyway, go ahead!

Alright, here I go!

Be careful!

Now, let’s predict this year’s new gear!

I always think about this every year, but isn’t this just a list of things we want to buy?

There’s a demand for it!

Where is this confidence coming from...?

Let’s start with my prediction!

Go ahead.

In short, a looper, MTR, and an acoustic guitar!

That’s pretty vague! Isn’t that almost the same as last year?

Gasp!

OK, I get the vague idea, but don’t you have a specific pick in mind?

Alright, if you insist, I’ll choose!

That’s the theme of this column, after all...

Here we go!

BOSS / VE-8 Acoustic Singer

Huh? A multi-effect?

A multi-effect for vocals!

It wasn’t even on your rough list, right?

Oops! It has a built-in looper function!

Ohh, I see...

And! It can loop both guitar and vocals! Maybe! I only saw a demo video though!

“Probably”... Well, if you saw the demo video, then that’s probably true!

As for the nylon guitar, it’s this!

Yamaha / NTX1NT

Yamaha.

Yeah, I’ve been lost when it comes to acoustic guitars in recent years.

Lost… yeah. You’ve been trying them out at the music store a lot.

I asked someone I know, and they said Yamaha is great.

I see, real-life recommendations are important.

If I buy it, I’d like one with a tuner!

That’s pretty common for acoustic guitars, right?

Next, this!

Zoom / R4 MultiTrak Recorder

I’ve been wanting this since last year.

Yeah.

Horry betrayed me and bought a Tascam one.

That sounds bad! It was just because a used one came up, that’s all!

Well, anyway, out of spite...

Spite...

I’m going to get one from Zoom.

Spite or not, Zoom recorders are great.

Digital MTRs, you know, last year I released an album, so I thought I wouldn’t need to record demos for a while, and that cooled my purchasing desire, but...

What?

The moment the album was released, the ideas for the next one started flooding in!

Oh, that sounds pretty artist!

Yeah, it does!

Anything else?

One I’ve been interested in since it was released is this!

BOSS / SDE-3

A dual... delay?

Yes!

Don’t you regularly feel like you need a delay? Is this different from other delays?

Well, it has this nice, soft, dreamy sound to it!

I have no idea what that means...

It’s mesmerizing!

I sort of get it... but it’s quite pricey.

For the sake of the mesmerizing sound...!

As expected.

What about Horry?

New gear...

Can I predict Horry’s new gear predictions?

The prediction of the prediction!

Distortion!

Gasp!... No, no, I’m good already...

Is that so?

Ugh...

There’s still the temptation, right?

Please don’t! No, I’m actually satisfied with what I have now, so I’m not craving new distortion gear. If anything, I’d like to secure a backup of my favorite gear.

I see. You did mention that. But still, there must be something. Just go ahead and say it.

(Laughs)

It’s easier to just get it off my chest.

Alright, here’s a few...

A few, huh...

First, a preamp: the SkarBassOne from Trondheim Audio Devices.

Trondheim Audio Devices / SkarBassOne

Never heard of that brand...

It’s a Norwegian brand, but I’ve been hearing about it a lot lately, so I’m curious... if the compression works well, I think it might be good, but it’s quite expensive, so I’d like to try it out first.

A sleeper brand from Scandinavia...?

Next is the Bass Compressor Blue from Empress Effects.

Empress Effects / Bass Compressor Blue
I get the urge for a compressor every few years, and I was talking to Ted from your place recently, and this one came up.

Sorry about Ted from my band...

I don’t use compressors much... actually, I’ve hardly ever used one, but I’m still curious. A few years ago, I think the EBS MultiComp was popular, but lately, I’ve been hearing about this one more often, so I’d like to try it out. It’s pretty pricey too.

Word of mouth from the field is important.

Next, a tuner...

Another tuner?

Well, yes... I’ve got several, but there’s a bass version of the Korg Pitchblack-XS, so I’m interested in that.

Korg / PB-XS Bass Pedal Tuner

You’ve used the Pitchblack-XS before, right?

Yes. I really liked the visibility of it... it’s also a bit smaller. And now that the bass version is out, I’d like to get that. It seems better for tuning five-string basses.

Yeah, I see.

And then, probably a Zoom recorder?

Another recorder!?

Yep, another one... It’s for recording live shows and rehearsals.

I see.

I’m currently using the Zoom H1, but it’s been acting up sometimes... it’s probably a couple of models old by now. The mic part came off, and I glued it back on, and sometimes it freezes. Zoom’s after-sales support is solid, but when it gets old, repairs might be a hassle. So, I’m thinking about getting a newer model from Zoom.

Zoom / H1essential Handy Recorder

Zoom is generally great for cost effectiveness.

That’s all, I think... I do think about distortion gear, but right now, there’s nothing I really want. For now, I’m happy with my PGS Advent and Monolith, so if there’s something close to that, or if I could get backups of those, that would be great.

Backups, spares, reserves, right?

And then, there are times on stage where I need an octaver or filter effects, and I’m using a multi-effect for that, but I might look for a dedicated unit.

You want a standalone unit.

Anything else...

Seems like more keeps coming up...

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more ideas pop up, but they’re all small items. My headphones might be nearing the end of their life, and I’d like to get a backup strap.

Those little things are important. Peripheral gear. I also need a guitar stand.

Looking at this, there are actually quite a bit of items; the Wish List on Sound House’s page.

Because everything is?

For love!