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Gear of the Year 2017

Another year, another dazzling parade of pedals, guitars, amps, modelers, and accessories that made our noggins spin.

Friedman Dirty Shirley Mini

Given the company’s high-wattage heritage, it’s hard not to be tickled by the thought of a 20-watt, 1x10 combo bearing the Friedman name. What really tickled us, though, was the outsized and glorious sounds of the Dirty Shirley Mini—and the fact that reviewer Ted Drozdowski couldn’t actually summon a lousy tone from this little powerhouse.

$1,799 street
friedmanamplification.com

Click here to read the full review

This year’s Premier Gear Award winners are, as usual, an eclectic set—full of old-school vintage homage, leading-edge digital developments, and imaginative meetings of those worlds. Dig in and dig it as we revisit the gear that fired the enthusiasm and wonder of our editors and contributors in 2017.

Stevie Van Zandt with “Number One,” the ’80s reissue Stratocaster—with custom paisley pickguard from luthier Dave Petillo—that he’s been playing for the last quarter century or so.

Photo by Pamela Springsteen

With the E Street Band, he’s served as musical consigliere to Bruce Springsteen for most of his musical life. And although he stands next to the Boss onstage, guitar in hand, he’s remained mostly quiet about his work as a player—until now.

I’m stuck in Stevie Van Zandt’s elevator, and the New York City Fire Department has been summoned. It’s early March, and I am trapped on the top floor of a six-story office building in Greenwich Village. On the other side of this intransigent door is Van Zandt’s recording studio, his guitars, amps, and other instruments, his Wicked Cool Records offices, and his man cave. The latter is filled with so much day-glo baby boomer memorabilia that it’s like being dropped into a Milton Glaser-themed fantasy land—a bright, candy-colored chandelier swings into the room from the skylight.


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