Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

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

GALLERY: Summer NAMM 2017 Day 2

Dig into the hottest gear from the floor, including new stuff from Fender, Ovation, Yellowcake, Adventure Audio, and Todd Sharp.

Premier Guitar Staff
By Premier Guitar StaffJul 14, 2017
Premier Guitar Staff
News and articles from Premier Guitar staff.
See Full Bio

Epiphone

Epiphone 2018 Les Paul SL

Epiphone showed up with a host of 2018 Les Paul SLs that are as visually arresting for their summery colors as they are for their Melody Maker-esque pickup array. But don't be fooled—although not many details (including price) are available at the moment, the single-coil-looking pickups are actually Open Coil humbuckers. About the only other thing we can tell you is that the bodies are made of poplar, and the maple necks feature a D-shaped, 60s slim-taper profile. They're expected to hit stores this fall.

featured-stories mad-professor whats-new snamm-2017 henretta-engineering fender yamaha gear-galleries boss old-blood-noise-endeavors ovation special-featured-stories yellowcake

The Latest

Reader Pedalboards 2026
Gear

Reader Pedalboards 2026

Orangewood Del Sol Baritone
Gear

Orangewood Del Sol Baritone Review

Way Huge Doom Hammer
Gear

Way Huge Doom Hammer Review

Blackstar guitar amplifier with a woven front and bold logo, featuring control knobs.
Gear

Blackstar Debut Bass 25 Review

News

Spector Introduces Euro 4 Rex Brown Signature Bass

More for you

Taylor Guitars Introduces Next Generation 512ce and 712ce

Taylor Guitars Introduces Next Generation 512ce and 712ce

Taylor Guitars continues to evolve the acoustic guitar experience with the introduction of the Next Generation 512ce and 712ce, two new Grand Concert models that bring a powerful combination of tonal character, player-focused innovation and effortless playability to one of Taylor’s most comfortable body shapes.

Keep Reading Show less

Most Popular

Gear Radar: 15 Pro-Grade Tools to Refine Your Rig
Sponsored

Gear Radar: 15 Pro-Grade Tools to Refine Your Rig

Rig Rundown: The Black Crowes’ Rich Robinson [2026]
Rig Rundown

Rig Rundown: The Black Crowes’ Rich Robinson [2026]

Sturgill Simpson's Guitar Man: Laur Joamets
Off the Record

Sturgill Simpson's Secret Weapon: Laur Joamets

Floyd Rose Unveils Limited Edition Etched Paisley USA Series Tremolo
News

Floyd Rose Unveils Limited Edition Etched Paisley USA Series Tremolo

Keeley Oaxa
Pedals

Keeley Oaxa Review

Front view of a stylish Carr guitar amplifier with blue and orange accents.
Amps

Carr Trail Rider Review

Tokai Hard Puncher Review

Red electric bass guitar with a tortoiseshell pickguard and a sleek design.

When my editor approached me about reviewing this bass, I had a very visceral sensation of being 12 years old again. That’s when I started playing bass—and perusing basses in a Swedish mail order catalog that had everything from home improvement tools to musical instruments. I distinctly remember scanning that catalog, once upon a time, and spotting a Precision Bass lookalike called the “Hard Puncher,” which, I suppose, sounded much more heroic to a non-native, beginning-English speaker than “P-Bass.”

Keep Reading Show less

Guitar Amps That Ignite Passion

Building Amps That Inspire Guitarists
- YouTube
youtu.be

Renowned amp builder and pickup designer (holding three patents), Dylana Nova Scott speaks with John Bohlinger about her pursuits of creating responsive systems of guitar tone that inspire music, explains that a circuit is never perfect or complete, recalls being in the hair-metal scene when the Nirvana bomb dropped, and surviving the gear industry through perseverance and innovation.

Keep Reading Show less

EarthQuaker ZEQD-Pre Review

EarthQuaker ZEQD-Pre

“When in doubt, don’t.” It’s a pearl of wisdom that offends risk takers and guides more than a few tortoises to the finish line ahead of the rabbits. But in the tone-chasing world this dictum carries extra weight, because depending on your aims, anything you situate between guitar and amplifier can subtract as much as it adds. Indeed, a little restraint can go a long way toward sweetening a sound.

And restraint is one of the things that makes the ZEQD-Pre, a preamp co-designed by EarthQuaker and Mike Zaite (aka Dr. Z), such an elegant piece of kit. The things they didn’t add make it easier to use. The streamlined design also makes the ZEQD-Pre feel truly additive. It can lend body and excitement to big tube amps that sound flat at low volume. And as an analog addition to digital signal chains, it adds real life and a tactile dimension to flat, drab, or spiky DAW and modeler tones.

Keep Reading Show less

Under the Microscope: How Vintage Verified Is Revolutionizing Guitar Authentication

Two men in matching blue shirts stand in a workshop with tools and a guitar.

Vintage Verified founders Jon Roncolato (left) and Zach Ziemer

We don’t often talk about Renaissance high art and ’50s rock ’n’ roll guitars in the same breath, unless we’re forming a new rockabilly-prog band called Hot-Rod Maximus. (You’re welcome.) But in the modern world of art and guitar collecting, items reputed to be the work of either Leonardo Da Vinci or Leo Fender are subject to much the same scrutiny from experts in the field, are known for fetching vast prices from discriminating buyers, and, given the millions of dollars potentially involved in even a single sale, are likewise expected to stand up to the most rigorous high-tech scientific analysis, as well. Right?

Keep Reading Show less