SoloDallas The Tower

According to the '70s obsessed tone freaks at SoloDallas, the missing link between the high-octane guitar sounds of AC/DC, Pink Floyd, ELO and others was the Schaffer-Vega wireless system, which added overdrive and compression as it eliminated cables. They tracked down one of the now-rare devices from Ken Schaffer himself and reverse engineered. The results, unveiled at ‪‎NAMM‬, are the Schaffer Replica, a/k/a the Tower, and the Storm stomp version. The Tower (shown at right, next to an original) ain't cheap, at $1,349. But the Storm clocks in at $335 and works off a power supply or 9 volt.

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.