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GALLERY: Summer NAMM 2016 Day 3

The final day of NAMM is in the books and here's a final look at the latest and greatest from the show floor.

Michael Kelly Guitars Relic 50 T-style

Love or hate relic-ing, there's no denying the cool feel, tone and vibe of this Michael Kelly Guitars Relic 50 T-style. The body and neck is made in Korea, but the electronics, finish and appointments are handled in the company's US Mod Shop. Comes with either Seymour Duncan or Lindy Fralin pickups. Street tag: $1,295.

PG editors pick their top gear from the second day of Summmer NAMM 2016. See everything from day 3 in our photo gallery.

Wampler Ego Compressor Micro

The latest creation from Wampler Pedals is a micro-sized Ego Compressor that's exactly like its big brother. The only exception is that the tone and attack controls are now mini-toggle switches that go between a pair of popular settings. It will street for $179 and will drop in September.

Balaguer Guitars The Thicket

For their ‪‎NAMM‬ debut, Pennsylvania-based Balaguer Guitars showed off an interesting take on a T-style guitar. The Thicket sports a pair of Balaguer "Hemlock" Evergreen humbuckers, coil taps for single-coil tones, and a wonderfully inviting hard rock maple neck. There are various options available when ordering and the base price will be $850.

Schecter Jeff Loomis Cygnus JLX-1FR

Shred ain't dead. So says Arch Enemy guitarist Jeff Loomis with the new for‪ ‎NAMM‬ 7-string Schecter Guitars Jeff Loomis Cygnus JLX-1FR. The cherry colored demon follows his 6-string Schecter model with neck-thru construction, a swamp ash body, 3-piece maple neck, glow in the dark side dots, a 25.5" C-shape profile, a Floyd Rose 1500 vibrato system, Grovers tuners, and Loomis' signature Seymour Duncan pickups, naturally.

Chase Bliss Tonal Recall

Mating analog sounds and circuits with digital controls is Chase Bliss Audio founder Joel Korte's passion. He had two new entries for ‪NAMM‬. The Tonal Recall delay—an advance model is reviewed in the brand new August issue of Premier Guitar—is built around a pair of re-issued versions of the legendary MN3005 bucket-brigade chips, and it's a silky-smooth delay with a bonus control for tone, a tap tempo button and an input for an expression pedal. Streets for $399.

East Amplification Duality

PG Ask Amp Man columnist extraordinaire Jeff Bober brought his full line of East Amplification Duality amps to Nashville ‪NAMM‬. Available in heads and combos driven by 6V6 or KT66 power sections ranging from 20 to 40 watts, they feature three voicing modes—American, British, and East's custom, mid-bumped mode—they feature two channels with a shared EQ, footswitchable boost and "BoberFET" clipping circuit, and an effects loop.

JAM Pedals Delay Llama Supreme

Athens-based JAM Pedals also brought the delectably zen Delay Llama Supreme to Summer NAMM. It starts with lush, warm repeats, but then adds a footswitchable modulation circuit, Q control, 3-position note-division switch, and expression-pedal control of both delay level and time.

B.A. Ferguson Classic Class

B.A. Ferguson Guitars came to ‪‎NAMM‬ with two new, lower-priced Classic Class solidbodies featuring handshaped bodies and necks. The Grifter (left) features a Mustang-ish outline and McNelly Autumn and Stagger Swagger pickups, while the Shirley features Porter Greewind humbuckers. Both feature a shortened T-style bridge, a 3-way selector, a volume knob, and a concentric tone control whose upper portion is a bass contour that yields spankier tones. Both guitars street for $1,499.

Kemper and Zilla announce the immediate availability of Zilla 2x12“ guitar cabs loaded with the acclaimed Kemper Kone speaker.

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Featuring a preamp and Dynamic Expansion circuit for punch and attack, plus switchable amp simulations.

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Photo by Chuck Brueckmann

Creed extend their sold-out Summer of ’99 Tour with 23 additional dates.

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A thick, varied take on the silicon Fuzz Face that spans punky, sparkling, and full-spectrum heavy.

Dimensional, thick variations on the silicon Fuzz Face voice. Surprisingly responsive to dynamics at most tube amp’s natural clean/dirty divide. Bass control lends range.

Thins out considerably at lower amp volumes.

$185

McGregor Pedals Classic Fuzz
mcgregorpedals.com

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Compared to the dynamic germanium Fuzz Face, silicon versions sometimes come off as brutish. And even though they can be sonorously vicious, if dirty-to-clean range and sensitivity to guitar volume attenuation are top priorities, germanium is probably the way to go. The McGregor Classic Fuzz, however, offers ample reminders about the many ways silicon Fuzz Faces can be beastly, sensitive, and sound supreme.

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