2025 is officially in the books, and in this video I’m doing a quick, honest recap of the gear I reviewed last year—ranked the same way I think about stuff in real life: what was absolutely incredible (5), what was really good but maybe not for me (4), what I didn’t really connect with (3), and what I straight-up didn’t like (2). No “everything is amazing” hype—just what actually worked for me and what didn’t, especially with a stage mindset. There were a couple of clear standouts. The Origin Effects MEQ Driver was a total surprise hit and basically became my go-to live boost because it lets me fine-tune where I sit in the mids when the band mix gets crowded. Amp-wise, the Friedman Plex absolutely wrecked—in the best way—because the master volume lets you get that crushing old-school plexi thing at sane volumes. And the Synergy world kept impressing me: the Deliverance module and the 2CP were right at the top, and the SYN-20 IR head is still one of the most flexible “do everything” rigs I’ve used. Not everything landed, though. The TONEX Cab was a huge letdown for me—boomy low end, muffled top, and I just couldn’t get an acceptable sound compared to my normal FRFR setup. I also talk guitars, pedals, and a few pieces of gear that were solid but situational, so you can decide what makes sense for your rig.