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Gigs & Guitars Favourite Gear for 2024 – What stood out to us?
Introduction
It’s that time again, our Favourite gear! —another year is coming to a close! This year has been one of incredible growth for us as both a brand and a website. We’ve hit bigger and better milestones, and we owe it all to you. Whether you’ve read a review, checked out an article, subscribed to our YouTube channel, or even just glanced at our Instagram, we’re hugely grateful for your support!
As the year wraps up, it’s time for us to round up our favourite gear of 2024. We’ve narrowed it down to our top 5 reviews of the year! Of course, this wasn’t an easy decision—we could have easily included 8 or even 10. And to be clear, this isn’t a ranked list; these are simply five standout picks that deserve the spotlight.
So, without further ado, let’s dive into our first choice, explore what makes it special, and why it earned its spot on the list!
Vintage VSA500
This was one of the last reviews we published this year, but I’ve actually been playing this guitar for quite a while! It’s hard to deny—I’ve completely fallen in love with it. I’ve always had a soft spot for semi-hollow guitars, and this one has truly won me over. When you consider its playability, tone, and then see the price tag, it’s tough to choose anything else in its class! As I mentioned in the full review, if I had to pick between this and the Epiphone, I’d go with the Vintage VSA500 every time.
There are still a few things I’d like to explore further and a couple of issues I raised in the review that I’d love to see addressed. That said, if you’re looking for a gig-ready semi-hollow guitar at a fantastic price, the Vintage VSA500 is an outstanding choice.
This guitar has also made me eager to check out Vintage’s other offerings, especially their “Les Paul” style models. Since I grew up playing Les Pauls and have owned many over the years, I’d be excited to give one a thorough review and see how it stacks up! However, The Vintage Guitars VSA500 definitely makes it on favourite gear list!
Boss SDE3000D
When I first played this pedal, I knew I had finally found my ideal delay! Once I learned how to use the Boss SDE-3000D, I was blown away by its power and ease of use. It quickly became my main delay pedal and has stayed on my board ever since I got it. Editing, saving, and recalling presets is a breeze, and even making more advanced adjustments is straightforward once you get the hang of it.
While there are plenty of features on the Boss SDE-3000D that I don’t use—like the external footswitches or the stereo outputs (I typically run my rig in mono)—I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I rely on others. Features like the high- and low-pass filters, modulation effects, and the banks and patches have become an integral part of my setup.
Yes, it’s a chunky unit and not the cheapest delay pedal out there, but for me, it delivers the delay sound I’ve always been searching for while sounding incredible and offering all the options I need. We cover all the features and drawbacks in detail in the full review, which you can check out below!
"If you’re someone curious about amp modeling but hesitant to dive into complex menus and software, you need to check this out!"
Boss IR-2
The Boss IR-2 completely blew me away! I had high expectations, knowing it would sound great—after all, it’s a Boss pedal—but I was genuinely surprised by just how impressive it is. From the incredible sound quality to the wealth of features and, most importantly, the price, this pedal is a standout. At under £200 and running on a standard Boss power supply, it’s an absolute steal!
If you’re someone curious about amp modeling but hesitant to dive into complex menus and software, you need to check this out. There are plenty of pedals in this category, but none offer this level of quality and versatility at such a price. With 11 amp models, built-in reverb, headphone output, an FX loop, and the ability to run on a 9V battery if needed, it’s packed with value.
I love it so much that it has become my main amp for my function band gigs. With a few pedals placed in front and in the loop, I can achieve all the tones I need—all from a pedal-sized unit that fits perfectly on my board. Absolutely perfect!
Dunlop Fuzz Face
Now, I have to admit—I’m not much of a fuzz player. I enjoy having it in the studio to experiment with, but it’s never been something I’d consider adding to my board. That all changed when I played the Dunlop Fuzz Face! This pedal showed me exactly what makes fuzz so special and why so many players swear by it. The thick, meaty fuzz tones that effortlessly clean up into a sparkling, almost chime-like clean—a tone I’ve started calling “fuzz clean.” It’s sparkly, lush, and incredibly usable once you understand how to work it. Pair a loud amp, a Fuzz Face, and a Strat, and you’ve got a match made in heaven!
I’d happily add a Fuzz Face to my board if it weren’t for a few quirks: it’s battery-powered only, the input/output jacks are reversed, and the classic round shape can be tricky to fit on a pedalboard. That said, we might have a solution for these issues! I loved the Fuzz Face so much that we’ll be featuring another Fuzz Face review early next year—stay tuned for that!
Fuzz Face Note
It’s worth mentioning that while the Fuzz Face isn’t my favorite effect I’ve reviewed this year (I’ve tested pedals I use far more frequently), it’s definitely the one that surprised me the most. It completely changed my perspective on fuzz and made me realize how misunderstood this iconic pedal is, which is why I have put it on my favourite gear list. You can dive into the full review below to see why it left such an impression!
Franklyn Skybeam Juno
The final highlight on our list is another guitar review from our friends at Franklyn Guitars—the Franklyn Skybeam! This guitar was absolutely killer. Stunning to look at! Impeccably built! And a dream to play, it was incredibly inspiring every time I picked it up. It just had to go on my Favourite gear list!
The tones from its single P90 pickup were nothing short of amazing, offering everything from sparkling cleans to rich, meaty overdrive. Having just one pickup really changed the way I approached playing—it made me focus more on my technique and less on fiddling with pickup selectors or tone and volume knobs. It was a refreshing and creative experience!
I might need to have a chat with Franklyn Guitars about penciling in a custom build. Perhaps we could even involve you, our readers and viewers, to design a special build together—how cool would that be? Let us know if that’s something you’d like to see!
For the full review and all the details on this standout guitar, check it out below!
Conclusion
That wraps up our 2024 Review Round-Up: our favorite gear reviews from this year! As we mentioned at the start, this isn’t a comprehensive list of everything we loved in 2024—it’s simply a selection of standout reviews that left a lasting impression.
We hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and wish you a wonderful New Year! We can’t wait to hit the ground running in January with more reviews, interviews, and articles. Gigs & Guitars already have so much lined up for 2025, and we’re excited to share it all with you—there’s a ton of great content on the way! I think 2025 favourite gear list will be hard work to pick!
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