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GALLERY: Gear of the Month 2012

See all 12 unique instruments featured as Gear of the Month in 2012.

May: 1966 Fender Mustang, 1961 Fender Princeton, and Vintage Gibson Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ-1A
"Unfortunately, Hoover sold his first Mustang in у77 to a friend so he could upgrade to a Gibson SG, but he recently got his paws back on a similar red Mustang (shown here) to bring his first rig full circle. This у66 Mustang features a double-cutaway asymmetrical ash bodyяsimilar to a у60s Musicmasterяbolt-on maple neck, rosewood fretboard, and a 22-fret, 24"" scale length (a smaller 21-fret, 22.5"" option was also available). The уstang also has a floating bridge/vibrato with bridge cover and two slanted single-coils. рWhen I was a youngster, plugging into that rig was a sonic adventure. I learned the sounds of blues, rock, disco, popяanything that was on a record, 8-track, or radio, I tried playing through that setup,с recalls Hoover. рThe shimmering twang, whammy bar acrobats, and gross, crackly fuzz set the stage decades before starting my current band the Surf Zombies. I just got this у66 Mustang a few months ago, but I already know that matching it with my old Princeton and bristly fuzz will inspire many more hairy, surf instrumentals.с"