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.

The Year in Gear 2018

Step inside Premier Guitar’s magical, miraculous time machine and revisit the gear that stood head and shoulders above the rest as Premier Gear Award winners in 2018.

Premier Guitar Staff
By Premier Guitar StaffNov 20, 2018
Premier Guitar Staff
News and articles from Premier Guitar staff.
See Full Bio

Pigtronix

Pigtronix Mothership 2

With its P-Funk associations, the name Mothership is appropriate for this analog guitar-synth pedal. Its punchy lead lines and humungous bass tones are perfect for funky groove parts, and though its synth colors are seldom pretty or dreamy, you could take these tones in atmospheric directions using downstream reverb, delay, and modulation pedals. Far closer to Bernie Worrell than to Brian Eno, this small pedal is full of big sounds.

$249 street
pigtronix.com

Click here to read the full review

puresalem red-hawk-effects sound-city seafoam-pedals paul-reed-smith api chase-bliss-audio dr-z sublime-guitar-co valvetrain yamaha todd-sharp-amps fender zt-amplifiers electro-harmonix tsakalis-audioworks fractal-audio gear-award-2018 svisound wilson-effects zvex universal-audio fishman evh string-theory serek schuyler-dean-pickups gretsch guild friedman-amplification december-2018 jext-telez origin-effects earthquaker-devices soundbrut grez-guitars mastro-valvola mythos-pedals jam-pedals land-devices gear-galleries framus jhs miura-guitars dusky joe-gore-pedals thorpyfx blackbird swope-guitars 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

PG Plays

A Guitar With a 20-Watt Speaker Built In? | Inspire Pro Demo

More for you

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

Rig Rundown: The Black Crowes’ Rich Robinson [2026]
- YouTube
youtu.be

The southern rockers’ lead guitarist wields some serious firepower on the Crowes’ latest tour.

Keep Reading Show less

Most Popular

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

Under the Microscope: How Vintage Verified Is Revolutionizing Guitar Authentication

Boss XS-1 Poly Shifter
Pedals

Boss XS-1 Poly Shifter Review

Esoterica Electrica: What a Neck Joint Says About Your Guitar
Esoterica Electrica

Esoterica Electrica: What a Neck Joint Says About Your Guitar

Epiphone Introduces Marcus King El Dorado Acoustic
News

Epiphone Introduces Marcus King El Dorado Acoustic

Building Amps That Inspire Guitarists
Off the Record

Guitar Amps That Ignite Passion

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

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

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

This month's roundup features 15 essential releases, including EarthQuaker Devices’ all-analog tube preamp, Red Panda’s new pitch delay, and a studio-grade line isolator from Lehle. Whether you need vintage grit or modern precision, we’ve got the highlights.

Keep Reading Show less

Totally Wycked Audio Source Code Review

Totally Wycked Audio Source Code

When Japanese engineer Susumu Tamura designed the Maxon OD808 overdrive, he could hardly have known that it and its export twin, the Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer, would become perhaps the most influential and, probably, imitated pedals in stomp box history. In fact, upon its introduction in 1979, the Tube Screamer, whose smooth sound is characterized by a bass roll off, midrange bump, and slight high-end attenuation, was not an instant success. But as the pedal was adopted by players as disparate as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Kirk Hammett, it gradually became a ubiquitous presence on pedalboards of all persuasions.

Keep Reading Show less

Alessandro The Dane Review

Alessandro The Dane

The tweed Deluxe circuit sets the gold standard in tone for many of us. And for good reason. It’s simple and responsive, with a warm, compressed, midrange-forward voice that’s perfect for jazz and country lines at low to moderate volumes—and a distinctive, saturated gnarliness in the upper reaches of its output that’s hard to beat for rock. If that’s the sound you hear in your head, many would say a vintage model is still the one to have.

Keep Reading Show less