ここから本文です

Active Band Man Chats - New Gear for 2025 Our Check-In for the First Half of the Year

2025-06-30

Theme:sound&person, sound

傷彦 & ホーリー 傷彦 & ホーリー

So, what’s the topic this time? Got anything in mind?

Remember how we did our “My New Gear Predictions for the Year” about six months ago?

Oh yeah, we did. That bold act of publicly declaring our gear cravings to the world! (lol)

So… what did we actually buy? It’s time for our biannual check-in—ba-ba-ba-baam!

Wow, is it that time already? …You go first.

Alright! But… what were my predictions again?

Haha, sounds like we need to start by remembering that part.

According to an old post, I said: “Roughly speaking—a looper, an MTR, and an electro-acoustic guitar!”

⇒ Active Band Man Chats - 2025 New Gear Predictions

“Roughly,” huh? (lol) So…what’s the result?

Believe it or not, it’s two out of three!

Oh, that’s a pretty solid hit rate.

Batting .667!

If you were a baseball player, yeah… (chuckles)

First up—this one!

The long-awaited electro-acoustic! You’ve been talking about wanting one for years.

Yup! This one’s from a brand called Juno!

Juno? Never heard of it.

Same here! It doesn’t have a built-in tuner, but the pitch is stable. I think it was a great purchase.

So the long quest for the perfect electro-acoustic comes to an end—congrats!

Well… temporarily ended.

Right, temporarily. (lol)

The journey of gear never really ends.

It’s less a journey and more a rabbit hole… So, what’s the next new gear?

Here it is!

Huh? A delay pedal?

Yep—it's from a brand called ammoon.

ammoon? Never heard of it.

Same here!

So, why a delay pedal?

Well, it’s super compact, but it’s packed with features—analog delay, digital delay, tape echo, modulation delay, reverse delay…

That many?!

It even has shimmer-like effects.

Shimmer… that’s the one where harmonics build up with each repeat, right?

Something like that. It gives off this sparkly, dreamy vibe. And get this—it even has a looper!

Wow, look at that.

I mean, it’s a super basic looper, but honestly, that’s enough for me.

Sounds like a good find.

Yeah, plus the delay sounds are solid, so it has helped me hold off on buying that BOSS dual delay I’ve been eyeing. Although… I do still want a looper for vocals someday.

A vocal looper, huh? Wouldn’t that be a whole different kind of gear?
Once you start listening to what you want, there’s just no end to it.

Yeah, true… Anyway! Here’s something else I got recently that made me super happy!

Ah, the onigiri shaped pick! That’s from that manga, right?

Yup! It’s from my favorite manga Futsuu no Keion-bu—I got it at their event!

Oh yeah, you went to that, didn’t you? On the first day, no less.

Yep! And, I’ve got one more pick to show you!

Oh, that’s merch from The Captains!

Right! I actually made this pick myself—first time in a while, and I’m so stoked about it.

I’ve kinda been thinking about making my own too… but I’m pretty happy with the one I’m using now.

You should totally try it!
By the way, this one’s a medium gauge.

Got any other new gear to show?

That’s about it for now! It’s been a pretty fruitful haul for me this time around!

Any targets for the second half of the year?

I think this one’s at the top of my list:

ZOOM / R4 MultiTrak

I saw it in a shop recently and I really liked the size. Now I want it.

Makes sense.

And what about you, Horry? What’s your new gear for the first half?

Hmm… my gear pickups from the first half, huh...

It’s probably another distortion pedal, right!?

"Another"? Come on… Okay, fine—some bandmates have said, “You just think everything needs more distortion,” but still! (laughs)
Looking back at what I said before, I think it was something like, “If anything, I’d like to get a backup of my favorite gear.”

You did say that!

So yeah...I’m staying true to my word and I picked up a few backup pieces of gear.

A few? (laughs)

Yup (laughs). First off, distortion—my favorite kind. I use both the ADVENT for guitar and the MONOLITH for bass from Papa Goriot Studios. So… I grabbed one more of each. (sheepish laugh)

You really love those pedals. Weren’t they recommended to you by Imamichi from BARBEE BOYS?

hat’s right. Ever since then, I’ve been hooked. And actually, this new ADVENT is an upgraded version of the one I already had. I haven’t compared them side by side yet, so I can’t say exactly what’s different... but honestly, since it’s a backup, I’m kinda satisfied just having it. (laughs)

Mission accomplished, huh? (laughs)

Exactly. And I also picked up the ONE CONTROL 1 Loop Box.

One Control / Minimal Series 1LoopBOX

On my board, I’ve been using a loop box with a blender function for my ZOOM MS-60B, but honestly, I don’t really need the blender. So I went with a simpler one.

Another backup?

No, this one isn’t a backup. I plan to use it on a different pedalboard.

Gotcha. Anything else?

Not exactly a backup either, but I picked this up:

ZOOM / Q2n-4K – 4K Handy Video Recorder

Didn’t you already have one of those?

I was using the previous model, but it started acting up. So I upgraded. It’s not really a backup, but more like a replacement? It can shoot in 4K, but honestly, I don’t need that level of resolution. The file sizes are huge! So I usually keep the quality setting lower.
But the audio quality is great, and the wide-angle lens makes it perfect for recording live gigs.

I see. Anything else?

Just some smaller stuff. Like, my home headphones were getting worn out, so I got a new pair:.

CLASSIC PRO / CPH7000 Closed-Back Monitor Headphones

For recording, I still use the SONY MDR-CD900STs, which is an industry-standard pair. But for casual practice, I picked these up.

Ah, our good ol’ Classic Pro headphones! They’re nice and budget-friendly.

Yep. I bought them on a whim, but they turned out to be more than good enough. The sound’s neutral, with no weird bass boosts.

So, maybe they’re even usable for actual recording?

Yeah, I could probably use them for recording too, but…

But?

I think they’re made to fit most people, but the headband is a bit big for me… so it slips off sometimes. Maybe I should use a towel to hold it in place. I tend to nod my head when I’m playing bass to keep the rhythm.

Yeah, I’ve seen people tie them down with towels and stuff. Got anything else?

Actually, yeah. I picked this up recently:

Gruv Gear / Fump Bridge-Side Dampener

It’s a bridge mute for bass. It works by muting the strings from underneath. Here’s a picture of it mounted on the bass.

Interesting. What kind of effect does it have?

The product says it simplifies palm muting, but I’m using it to get a tone closer to an upright bass. I think I mentioned before that I DIY’d a sponge mute for my electric upright bass?

You did mention that! Uh… it was during the first-half check-in of last year’s new gear predictions, right?

Yep. I was trying to get that upright bass feel on my fretless. So I tried using it… and it really changes the sound depending on where you place it.

Oh? Like how exactly?

Whether you place it closer to the bridge or more toward the rear pickup. Also, whether you attach it from the 4th string or on the 1st string, the amount of muting changes. Of course, it probably varies depending on the bass you use too. And, a bit of a side note, but during rehearsal on a certain Friday, I was playing a song and suddenly thought, “Hey, muting would sound good here.”

Uh-huh.

So right after rehearsal, late Friday night, I placed an order on Sound House. And by Saturday evening, it was already delivered. Their speed is crazy as always.

Yeah, they’re super fast. Always so reliable.

Usually I’m not in a rush, but this time I really needed it for a live gig on Sunday, so it was a huge help! (laughs) By the way, that Sunday gig was a show with The Captains, featuring you, Kizuhiko.

Ah, that one! So you wanted to use it with the band Lime Light. Yeah, that band really depends on subtle nuances.

Thank you, Sound House!
And with that, I guess that wraps up my first half of the year.
Most of my purchases were backups or replacements, but including small items, I got six things... not too bad, I think.

What about the second half of the year?

Hmm… we’ll probably do more backup gear, I guess? (laughs)

Yeah, because everything is…

All for love!


The “sound & person” column is made up of contributions from you.
For details about contributing, click here.

Kizuhori

一風変わったギター・ベース・エフェクターを愛する二人の現役バンドマンの対談形式でお送りしていきます。

傷彦(kizuhiko) 最後のグループサウンズ、ザ・キャプテンズのリーダー。
website www.thecaptains.jp
twitter https://twitter.com/captains_kizu

ホーリー(horry) ナショヲナル、らいむらいと、Sバのベーシスト。
website www.nacional.jp
twitter https://twitter.com/headless_bass

Gruv Gear / FUMP5-BLK

Gruv Gear

FUMP5-BLK

¥3,580(incl. tax)

Bridge mute, palm mute for 4/5 string bass

Rating00011

ブログ有り 動画有り

在庫あり

Qty

CLASSIC PRO / CPH7000

CLASSIC PRO

CPH7000

¥5,980(incl. tax)

Monitor headphones, closed type, 64Ω, 108dB, 10-30,000Hz

Rating00001

ブログ有り 動画有り

在庫あり

Qty

One Control / Minimal Series 1LoopBOX

One Control

Minimal Series 1LoopBOX

¥4,469(incl. tax)

Guitar effector, loop & switching system

Rating00011

ブログ有り

在庫あり

Qty

ZOOM / Q2n-4K

ZOOM

Q2n-4K

¥23,430(incl. tax)

Video Recorder

Rating000051

ブログ有り 動画有り

在庫あり

Qty

ZOOM / 	R4 MultiTrak Recorder

ZOOM

R4 MultiTrak Recorder

¥24,890(incl. tax)

Multi-track recorder, four channels, 32-bit float audio support

Rating00011

ブログ有り 動画有り

在庫あり

Qty
 
 
 

Categories

Translated articles

Calendar

2025/8

  • S
  • M
  • T
  • W
  • T
  • F
  • S
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31

Search by Brand

Brand List
FACEBOOK LINE YouTube X Instagram TikTok