Dunlop CM95 Clyde McCoy Wah
The original Clyde McCoy wah looms large in guitar legend as the wah from which all others were spawned. You don’t just slap on the Clyde McCoy name without engendering big expectations. In this case, Dunlop delivered. The CM95 is deep, rich, vocal, and expansive in its tonal range. And Dunlop’s new halo inductor lends both sonic authenticity and surprisingly quiet performance.
$199 street
jimdunlop.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.
Fender Jack White Triplecaster Telecaster Electric Guitar - Black
Fender Limited-edition Jack White Triplesonic Acoustasonic Telecaster - Blacktop Arctic White
There are very few guitars that can claim to be as instantly recognizable and iconic as Jimmy Page’s 1969 EDS-1275 Doubleneck. The photos of him playing it on stage with Led Zeppelin are indelible to rock ’n’ roll history. While Gibson has been making doubleneck electric guitars since 1958, Jimmy was the player who defined the EDS-1275 from the day it was delivered to him. Introducing the Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Doubleneck VOS, now part of the Gibson Custom core lineup and built to the exact specifications of Jimmy’s iconic EDS-1275 Doubleneck.
The Jimmy Page EDS-1275 features a double-cutaway one-piece mahogany body that provides exceptional access to the full length of both the12-string and six-string mahogany necks. Both necks have long tenons and are hide glue fit, and the neck profiles are recreated from 3D scans of the necks on the original guitar. The necks are both capped with bound Indian rosewood fretboards. Each fretboard is equipped with 20 authentic medium jumbo frets and adorned with aged cellulose nitrate parallelogram inlays. The fretboards of both necks have a 12” radius, which is perfect for both playing chords as well as for string bending while soloing. The 18 tuners are Kluson double line, double ring style, just like those found on the original guitar, and even the headstocks feature the correct 17-degree angle and specific logo stylization found on Jimmy’s EDS-1275. The electronics are just as authentic and deliver all of the sonic character of Jimmy’s legendary EDS-1275. Two uncovered Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Custombuckers with double black bobbins and Alnico 5 magnets are used for the two six-string pickups, while a covered pair is installed on the 12-string neck. Of course, the two volume and two tone controls use CTS potentiometers and period-correct ceramic disc capacitors, and the pickup select switch, neck select switch, and output jack are all from Switchcraft.
Here is your opportunity to own a clone of Jimmy Page’s famous EDS-1275, identical to how it appeared on the day that Jimmy first received the guitar. A Gibson Custom hardshell case is included, along with a vintage leather strap, and a certificate of authenticity with a photo from famed photographer Barrie Wentzell.
Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Doubleneck VOS '69 Cherry
Recreation of the EDS-1275 used by Jimmy Page made using 3D scans of the original guitar, one piece mahogany body, mahogany six and 12-string necks with custom Jimmy Page profiles, Indian rosewood fretboards, Jimmy Page Custombucker pickups with Alnico 5 magnets and double black bobbins, Gibson Custom hardshell case
Reader: Daniel Switkin
Hometown: Oakland, California
Guitar: Doublecaster
I've been using a multitrack looper with a guitar and an octave pedal, which was okay for simple bass parts, but didn’t give me thick strings and I couldn’t slap with it. So I decided to build a double-neck prototype specifically for looping, with a 6-string guitar and a 4-string bass.
Since building the necks would be the hardest part, I looked around for instruments with bolt-on necks I could reuse. Squier makes an Affinity Stratocaster and a Mini Precision Bass which were affordable and had matching fretboards, so I bought those. It was also cheaper to reuse the electronics and hardware that came with them, rather than buying everything separately.
Using two precut instrument bodies saved the burden of having to route cavities for the electronics.
My plan was to design my own body from scratch. As I debated which neck should go on top, how far apart they should be, and whether to line up the nuts or the saddles, I realized there was actually enough wood there to make a double neck body, which saved me the work of recreating the neck pockets, etc. Putting the guitar on top made barre chords much more comfortable, and the 28.6" bass scale meant I could still reach the first fret easily.
After stripping the paint with a heat gun, I ran both bodies through a table saw, glued them together, and thinned them to 1 3/8". Then I created an offset body shape, a new arm bevel, and reshaped the three cutaways. The pickguards are both original, with the guitar side cut down to make a yin and yang shape. The controls are volume and tone for each neck, using the original knobs. I moved the jack to the back and upgraded it to stereo so the guitar and bass signals can run through separate effects chains.
Note the location of the jack on the back of the extended-shape body. It’s unconventional but practical.
My top concerns were weight and ergonomics. Many doublenecks are around 12 to 13 pounds and 18" wide. I knew I would never play something that big, no matter how good it sounded. To that end, I saved weight everywhere and tracked everything to the gram in a spreadsheet. (That’s also the reason I chose a fixed bridge instead of a vibrato.) I ultimately used a wipe-on gel stain to keep the weight down further. Stripping the paint from the factory saved 5 ounces! The final playable weight is 9 pounds, 5 ounces, and 15 1/4" wide at the lower bout. This has been pretty manageable, however, there is some neck dive because of the tuners. I’m taking everything I’ve learned from this prototype and designing a new doubleneck, which will be headless. I believe I can shed another pound and eliminate the neck dive that way. You can watch my entire build on YouTube.