My Highlights of 2024: Bah Humbug, Grinch Mode
My Highlights of 2024 looks back at the last 12 months of music and going back to basics
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My Highlights of 2024: It is that time of the year when we look back at what happened in the last 12 months and reflect on what we thought was the ‘best’ and most interesting things about the previous year.
My Highlights of 2024
2024 – A Year of Gear
I’m not the sort of person with personal ‘my highlights of 2024′ (but we get asked to write our thoughts on the last 12 months, so here goes). I found 2024 a bit of a slog.
It was a relatively dull year for me personally in terms of the big releases that jumped out and made me want to go and try them. There was a lot of product repackaging, many in ‘smaller formats’ and the obligatory modern digital reissues of ‘classics.’
The Neural DSP Nano Cortex, IK Multimedia ToneX One, and Fender Tone Master 59 Bassman are excellent bits of kit. If you want a smaller, more powerful virtual amp setup with more options than you will ever need or a modern recreation of a classic, you could probably find something in your price range in 2024.
However, I do not want to use them to make music. I have a solid distrust of equipment that requires a smartphone or an external computer to edit, load, and control parameters. Just give me a simple tube amp and an overdrive pedal every time.
Digital World
I got to test out and review many new recording software, synths, and guitar gear, keeping me busy for much of 2024. This meant I had to work in the digital world and test out amp modeling, Impulse Responses, and all the rest of the modern world of making virtual amp rigs.
However, I much prefer the simple life of getting creative when making music.
Grinch Mode
I’m in ‘Grinch Mode’ for most of the year, so I do not seek these types of ‘do everything’ all-in-one units when making music. I’m getting old and cranky, and in my lifetime, I have worked for many years setting up complex MIDI systems, guitar rigs, and audio recording setups, so I now prefer the opposite and go for an easy life wherever possible.
At the beginning of 2024, I had just moved into a big new house, so I had to unpack all my gear and set up a studio and a separate rehearsal space. I spent three good months setting up recording systems, testing guitar amps at stage volume, and diving into boxes of cables to search for the correct ones for various wiring jobs I had to undertake.
If gear takes too long for me to work it out, it gets left unused in a box. Thankfully, I am blessed with lots of space, so I had room to dust off my 4×12 cabinets, drum kit, and bass amps.
The most fun I had was using a simple single-channel tube amp through a 4×12 and plugging my guitar straight in. Jamming with my friends and playing at volume is where I found we had the most creative times. Just like when I play live, I gravitate to a super simple setup, even when songwriting.
The Cure
The Cure’s new album Songs of a Lost World has been on my stereo since its release, so I have been looking at simple modulation setups, using space and layers to let music breathe and come to life.
I’ve also been listening to heavier Stoner Rock, Doom, and classic ’70s Sabbath, but I already have enough gear to get those tones.
The thing I appreciate about Robert Smith is his use of pretty simple equipment to make huge sounds and memorable music.
Keep it simple, and it just seems to work.
My Top Gear Of 2024
My top releases in 2024 were either from smaller builders or simpler analog setups using simple amps or stripped-back guitars – these are my highlights of 2024.
After the stresses of buying a new house and moving a lifetime of music gear to a new location, I would guess that my headspace (Grinch Mode) wanted nothing more than a simple life.
Tube Amp: Simple = Better
The Friedman Plex Head was one of my standout releases in 2024, as it captured the amp tones that I enjoy and is flexible enough to work in many situations.
My ‘happy place’ has always been a Plexi-style tube amp and a Boss SD-1 overdrive pedal.
Boutique Analog Modulation
I also loved the JFX Deluxe Modulation Ensemble, an interesting take on two classic analog guitar effects.
Combining the EHX Deluxe ElectricMistress flanger and the BOSS CE-1 was genius!
2024 Best Guitar?
I acquired many guitars in the last 12 months, though they were old or vintage. They all seem to be hard-tail models with humbuckers, so there is a theme.
If I were about to go out and buy myself a new guitar, it would have to offer something I don’t currently have.
Stripped Back Singlecut
Based on this, I would have to choose the Jackson Diamond Rowe signature model, as it offers a lot for the money. It is a modern guitar with an Evertune bridge, active EMG 81/85 pickups, and a stripped-back single-cut design.
Minimal
This model offers plenty of value for the price tag and will be perfect for rock and metal styles. I love the finish, the minimal look of the overall design, and the modern hardware choices.
Many people pigeonhole EMG active pickups, but I have found they can be great if you know how to dial in your amp, and I can appreciate the lack of hum when recording and long cable lengths when playing live, etc.
Diamond Rowe also tweaked the headstock design, which is where I feel this model looks so much better than a standard Jackson Monarkh model. I love a single-cut guitar, and this modern take on a classic fixes the upper fret issues you get with the usual 1950s design.
There is a lot to love about this guitar; for me, it was the standout model 2024.
My 2025 Predictions
I predict Behringer will show up many of the boutique pedal builders in 2025 and that NAMM will see a slew of aged and ridiculous reissues of old guitars (yawn…). Only joking! I have no idea what the year will bring; hopefully, prices will come down, and we will get some original releases for once.
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