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Amps

By refining an already amazing homage to low-wattage 1960s Fenders, Carr flirts with perfection—and adds a Hiwatt-flavored twist.

Killer low end for a low-wattage amp. Mid and presence controls extend range beyond Princeton or tweed tone templates. Hiwatt-styled voice expands vocabulary. Built like heirloom furniture.

Two-hundred-eighty-two bucks per watt.

$3,390

Carr Skylark Special
carramps.com

5
5
5
4.5

Steve Carr could probably build fantastic Fender amp clones while cooking up a crème brulee. But the beauty of Carr Amps is that they are never simply a copy of something else. Carr has a knack for taking Fender tone and circuit design elements—and, to a lesser extent, highlights from the Vox and Marshall playbook—and reimagining them as something new.

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Three new powerful and versatile solid-state heads from the British amp maker provide crunch, headroom, and classic tones in a small package with a same-sized price.

Epic sounds in a small, light, versatile package. Simple control set. Effects loop and footswitchable volume (with independent control) and channels. Dirty channel sparkles and spanks.

Clean channel lacks mid control

$599

Orange Gain Baby 100
orangeamps.com

4
5
4
5

Playing through a 100-watt head is immensely satisfying, regardless of your style. If you want dirty, and there’s a gain control, you’ve got dirty. If you want clean, the headroom hits the sky. Whether you’re purveying rock ’n’ roll filth, snarling blues, old-school roots, or avant-skronk, it’s all there—especially if you use pedals for low-gain drive and color.

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Fifteen watts that sits in a unique tone space and offers modern signal routing options.

A distinct alternative to the most popular 1x10 combos. Muscular and thick for a 1x10 at many settings. Pairs easily with single-coils and humbuckers. Cool looks.

Tone stack could be more rangeful.

$999

Supro Montauk
supro.com

4
4
4
4

When you imagine an ideal creative space, what do you see? A loft? A barn? A cabin far from distraction? Reveling in such visions is inspiration and a beautiful escape. Reality for most of us, though, is different. We’re lucky to have a corner in the kitchen or a converted closet to make music in. Still, there’s a romance and sense of possibility in these modest spaces, and the 15-watt, 1x10, all-tubeSupro Montauk is an amplifier well suited to this kind of place. It enlivens cramped corners with its classy, colorful appearance. It’s compact. It’s also potent enough to sound and respond like a bigger amp in a small room.

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From electric and acoustic guitars to amps to (many) pedals, here is the gear Premier Guitar’s staff gave the coveted Premier Gear Award to over the past 12 months. Dig in and covet!

Every year at this time we present our editors’ and reviewers’ choices of the best gear of the preceding 12 months. This year, it's a wide range of, well, just about everything that speaks to us as guitar players. Get ready to be impressed by this top-shelf selection of instruments, amps, and pedals.

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Beauty and sweet sonority elevate a simple-to-use, streamlined acoustic and vocal amplifier.

An EQ curve that trades accuracy for warmth. Easy-to-learn, simple-to-use controls. It’s pretty!

Still exhibits some classic acoustic-amplification problems, like brash, unforgiving midrange if you’re not careful.

$1,199

Taylor Circa 74
taylorguitars.com

4.5
4.5
4.5
4

Save for a few notable (usually expensive) exceptions, acoustic amplifiers are rarely beautiful in a way that matches the intrinsic loveliness of an acoustic flattop. I’ve certainly seen companies try—usually by using brown-colored vinyl to convey … earthiness? Don’t get me wrong, a lot of these amps sound great and even look okay. But the bar for aesthetics, in my admittedly snotty opinion, remains rather low. So, my hat’s off to Taylor for clearing that bar so decisively and with such style. The Circa 74 is, indeed, a pretty piece of work that’s forgiving to work with, ease to use, streamlined, and sharp.

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