Our favorite guitars, basses, amps, effects, and accessories from the last 12 months.
Fishman Fluence Classics
Reinventing anything related to the electric guitar can be tricky. Traditionalists lurk at every turn, ready to pounce. So it helps that Fluence pickups, which uses coils printed on circuit boards, sound awesome. Shawn Hammond loved the way they communicated humbucker richness with single-coil-style dynamism. But it’s Fluence’s ability to deliver tones beyond the PAF template that puts these pickups over the top.
$249/set street
fishman.com
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.