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The Year in Gear 2015

Our favorite guitars, basses, amps, effects, and accessories from the last 12 months.

Mesa/Boogie Mark Five: 25

The Mark Five: 25 probably deserves a special award for packing so much explosive potency in such a diminutive head. While this compact 25-watter would probably struggle to keep up with a 100-watt stack, the two-channel mini monster proved insanely versatile, delivering everything from clean sparkle to thrash saturation with ease.
$1,299 (head) and $449 (cabinet) street
mesaboogie.com

Click here to read the full review

In the years we’ve compiled our annual list of Premier Gear Award winners, we’ve probably never seen a list more eclectic than 2015’s. From high-gain monster amps and atmospheric reverbs to mini overdrives and wahs, 2015’s award winners covered all the bases.

As always, it was a joy to see how both big-time musical instrument industry players and little shops a step removed from the garage managed to haul in Premier Guitar’s prize for gear excellence. And if anyone’s counting, we’re pretty sure we also set a record for Premier Gear Award winners. So we hope you’re comfy—this list of primo gear may take some time to cover.

Keep the giveaways rolling! Enter Stompboxtober Day 22 for your chance to win a pedal from Walrus Audio!

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The Pedalboard Mic Stand

D'Addario's offers three new XPND accessories: the Pedalboard Mic Stand, Footswitch Toppers, and Pedal Grip Strips.

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Once a musician, always a musician. At 71, jazz guitarist Mike Stern is still jetsetting to perform around the world.

Photo by Sandrine Lee

The jazz-guitar virtuoso’s new record Echoes and Other Songs shines bright amidst some major—and challenging—turning points in his life.

It was around 8 p.m. and, after enduring a severely delayed flight from Europe, Mike Stern had finally arrived home to New York City. He was overseas for a run of marathon three-and-a-half-hour shows in Munich and Budapest, where he shared the stage with fellow guitar virtuoso Al Di Meola on the Mandoki Soulmates’ A Memory of Our Future album release concert.

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Tools for the Task: Flavors of Fuzz
- YouTube

These six dirt-blasters are cooked up to satisfy all tastes.

Whether you've got a refined, selective palette or you're a "more is better" type, these tasty fuzzes will tickle your ear's tastebuds.

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