Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi fuzz/distortion pedal (Bass version)

A few years after I started playing, I came across Muse's "Hysteria," and like every ambitious player, I just had to learn the bass line. Looking into Chris Wolstenholme's gear, I found that he had used an Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi pedal (the older guitar version) for that particular song. So, naturally, I bought one. It worked okay, but I wasn't really getting the low end that I wanted, so a year or so later, I sold the pedal and forgot about it. This Christmas, however, my husband surprised me with the bass version of the Big Muff Pi pedal and after relearning the "Hysteria" bass line, I found that I liked this pedal much better. I'm experimenting with the pedal on some original tunes, so hopefully, I will get a lot of use out of this one!

Christmas Day 2016 and my new Big Muff Pi pedal

Gibson SG bass guitar

Since 2015 was the last year Gibson made the Gibson SG bass*, I decided to bite the bullet and get one (last October) before they were gone. I think this is my favorite bass of all time (and I've had a few basses throughout the years). The width of the neck took a little adjusting to (I'm so used to my Ibanez SDGR neck), but boy is it FAST!! With a little minor tweaking out of the box and new D'Addario flatwound strings, my new hellboy was ready to rock. And, I'm not sure why, but this bass smells like a cherry tootsie pop (seriously). Every time I take it out of the case, I want to take a lick. If you can get your hands on one of these basses--DO IT! You won't regret it.

*update: Gibson is now making these basses again as of 2018