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

December: Darrell Dimebag Abbott's Washburn Dime 3 Crown Royal
"Dimeуs signature drinkяa shot of Crown Royal whiskey topped with a splash of Cokeяwas coined the Black Tooth Grin, which was a nod to a lyric in Megadethуs рSweating Bulletsс off Countdown to Extinction. Washburn USA built this custom, one-off Dime 3 model as a gift for their red-bearded endorsee. (Sandwiched in between two different endorsements with Dean Guitars, Abbott played Washburns from 1994 to early 2004.) This purple-sparkle axe features gold binding and 24-karat-gold hardware in tribute to Abbottуs favorite whiskey. The guitar even came with a purple drawstring gig bag mimicking Crown Royalуs top-shelf packaging, and each inlay on this axe is a detailed gold crown. Itуs loaded with a Seymour Duncan SH-1 humbucker in the neck and a Bill Lawrence L500 pickup in the bridge. This Dime 3 features a mahogany body, a mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard, and a 24.75"" scale length. "

Fender’s American Vintage II Series

For these new recreations, Fender focuses on the little things that make original golden-era Fenders objects of obsession.

If there’s one thing players love more than new guitars, it’s old guitars—the unique feel, the design idiosyncrasies, the quirks in finish that all came from the pre-CNC era of instrument manufacturing. These characteristics become the stuff of legend, passed on through the years via rumors and anecdotes in shops, forums, and community networks.

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The Red Sea was born out of the vision to provide complex signal routing options available to the live/performing musician, that up until now, are only found in a studio mixing environment.

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Stardust V3 was designed to capture the sound and response of 3 distinct amplifier models.

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The Sunn O))) Life Pedal circuit has been meticulously tweaked from the original and includes a third footswitch.

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