Hello, and welcome to Guitar World’s sparkly new weekly gear round-up, which will serve as your one-stop-shop for keeping up to date with what’s been happening in the big wide world of guitar gear over the past seven days.
From new electric guitars to amp modeler updates, the guitar industry is never short of fresh releases, and it can sometimes be hard to stay afloat of every new launch that may be of interest to you.
To make things a little easier, we’ve put together an essential must-read gear guide that will cover everything from major releases to boutique drops, and everything in between.
And what a week to start on: Fender, Taylor, Martin and JHS Pedals all have new products to showcase, with Solar, D’Angelico and Tone King also getting in on the action.
Read on for a round-up of all the essential gear releases you might have missed this week…
Jackson Lee Malia LM-87
The resurgence of the Surfcaster – and the rising popularity of metal offset guitars – hit its peak this week when Jackson unveiled its long-awaited LM-87, a new signature guitar for Bring Me the Horizon's Lee Malia. It is, without a doubt, the nicest signature release you'll see for quite some time, and we are absolutely obsessed already.
A P-90/humbucker double act is paired with the Surfcaster offset body, which has an open pore black finish that will uniquely age depending on its use. That, and it's a very tidy $899.
For more: Jackson.
Fender Mike Campbell Red Dog Telecaster
One of Mike Campbell’s most iconic guitars, the Red Dog Telecaster, got a reissue on Tuesday. Inspired by the heavily modded 1972 Tele the Heartbreak guitarist bought from a student, it offers a Bigsby tremolo, an HHS configuration, and a ‘Destruct’ button that introduces a mega 34dB boost.
Two iterations have been released: a Custom Shop Masterbuild and a Stories Collection version. Both roughly follow the same spec sheet, though, unsurprisingly, the Custom Shop has a few more bells and whistles (authentic relic’ing and better pickups among them).
For more: Fender.
Martin Junior Series
We consider the OG Martin Junior Dreadnought to be the best all-round acoustic electric guitar on the market right now, so when we heard the entire range was getting a “full-on glow-up”, we were immediately intrigued.
New models, electronics, solid tonewoods and more define the new eight-strong collection, which now includes a relic’d StreetMaster model.
The big headline here is that scale length: it’s been upped from 24” to 24.9” in a bid to provide “the familiar Martin feel”. Prices start from a tasty $699. The original Junior Dreadnought now has some serious competition…
For more: Martin.
Taylor Builder's Edition 500 Series, Special Edition 200 Series, and Limited Edition Academy Series Models
When it wasn’t showing off its all-new neck innovation, Taylor was launching a tidal wave of new high-end models. There’s a lot to unpack, but the key here is that there are new Builder’s Edition 500 Series, Special Edition 200 Series and Limited Edition Academy Series acoustics now on the books.
We could spend the rest of this round-up going through what that all means, but highlights include new Shamel ash back and sides for the 500 Series models, transparent finishes for the 200 Series, and carved arm rests and Hawaiian koa back and sides for the Academy line.
For more: Taylor.
D'Angelico Excel 16
Few major brands these days do jazz boxes like D’Angelico, and the firm’s new Excel 16 is a more-than-worthy addition to its acclaimed Excel range.
A sleek 16” single-cut, the Excel 16 has been designed with “the gigging musician in mind”, and offers either a floating mini or fully stacked neck humbucker, both courtesy of Seymour Duncan.
Amber or Amaretto Burst finishes, gorgeous ornate inlays, gold hardware and Stairstep bridge are just some of the standout features here.
For more: D’Angelico.
Tone King Imperial TriTube Preamp Pedal
The Tone King Imperial Tri Tube Preamp Pedal was one of the most notable pieces of kit we came across while trawling the NAMM show floor earlier this year, and now it’s finally been officially released with a price tag of $599.
As the name implies, there are three tones to play with, all of which are lifted from the firm’s MKII amplifier. There’s 1950s tweed, 1960s black-panel, and vintage British rock sounds all crammed into this tiny, tube-loaded pedal amp, which also offers reverb, tremolo and attenuation, as well as an IR loader, phase inverter circuitry and MIDI capabilities.
Its maker has set lofty goals for its latest stompbox, saying it will deliver “iconic tones for a new era of guitar playing”.
For more: Tone King.
JHS Plugins
JHS Pedals is one of the biggest players in the pedal market, but now it’s set its sights on making its presence felt in the digital world by launching its first crop of plugins in collaboration with Mixwave.
Some classic JHS inventions are included in this first drop – the Morning Glory, Hard Drive and Packrat among them – but it’s the Notäspring that has tickled our fancy.
A spring reverb in the style of the Notäklon? That needs to be made into a real pedal…
For more: JHS Pedals.
Solar Chug Lite
Ola Englund’s Solar Guitars brand has continued its journey into the stompbox market with the Chug Lite.
The firm’s fourth pedal overall and the third to join the ‘Chug’ franchise after the EQ Boost and flagship unit, the Lite variant has been slightly downsized, and its circuit “optimally voiced to use as a traditional distortion pedal”.
It’s a simple enough high-gain pedal, said to be “built like a tank”, that will no doubt tempt players of a metal-playing persuasion. It is available from $129.
For more: Solar Guitars.
