Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

GALLERY: NAMM 2018 Day 4

Check out the final day's roundup of gear, including the newest stuff from Abasi Guitars, Blackstar, Two-Rock, J. Rockett Audio, Kauer Guitars, and more.

Bourgeois Guitars

The crew at Bourgeois Guitars let us in on this classic-looking dread that Madonna guitarist Monte Pittman demo'd for us. Dana Bourgeois wanted to design a more affordable model that worked both as a traditional acoustic in addition to being stage ready with electronics somewhat hidden away. The tone of the torrefied wood was rich and deep with plenty of lows and midrange.

Onstage, Tommy Emmanuel executes a move that is not from the playbook of his hero, Chet Atkins.

Photo by Simone Cecchetti

Recorded live at the Sydney Opera House, the Australian guitarist’s new album reminds listeners that his fingerpicking is in a stratum all its own. His approach to arranging only amplifies that distinction—and his devotion to Chet Atkins.

Australian fingerpicking virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel is turning 70 this year. He’s been performing since he was 6, and for every solo show he’s played, he’s never used a setlist.

Read MoreShow less
Photo by Ryan Russell

Minus the Bear announces nationwide tour celebrating 20th anniversary of Menos el Oso album.

Read MoreShow less

An overdrive and mangled fuzz that’s a wolf in a maniacal, rabid wolf’s clothing.

Invites new compositional approaches to riffs and solos. Gray Channel distortion is versatile and satisfying. Unpredictable.

Unpredictable. Footswitches for distortion and fuzz are quite close.

$199

4.5
4
3.5
4

Fuzz can be savored in so many ways. It can be smooth. It can be an agent of chaos. But it can also be a trap. In service of mayhem, it can be a mere noise crutch. Smooth, classy, ā€œtastyā€ fuzz, meanwhile, can lead to dull solos crafted as Olympian demonstrations of sustain. To touch the soulful, rowdy essence of fuzz, it’s good to find one that never lets you get quite comfortable. The EarthQuaker Devices Gary, a two-headed distortion/overdrive and rabid, envelope-controlled square-wave fuzz designed with IDLES’ Lee Kiernan, is a gain device in this vein.

Read MoreShow less

Blackberry Smoke will embark on a co-headline tour with Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs. Lead singer Charlie Starr shares, ā€œWhat could be better than summertime rock and roll shows with Blackberry Smoke and the one and only Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs?ā€

Read MoreShow less