Updates include LX travel guitars, new Junior Series guitars, new 16 Series guitars, and several Special and Limited Edition models.
Nazareth, PA (July 10, 2019) -- C. F. Martin & Co. (Martin Guitar) will introduce 14 new guitar models and three updated string products at Summer NAMM in Nashville, Tennessee, July 18-20, 2019. The launch includes additions to the popular Authentic Acoustic strings lineup along with new LX travel guitars, new Junior Series guitars, new 16 Series guitars, and several Special and Limited Edition models.
Little Martin Series The Little Martin may be small in stature, but it's big on tone, quality, and versatility. New to the series, the LX1R and LX1RE feature solid Sitka spruce tops for warmth and projection, with back and sides in a rosewood pattern high-pressure laminate – a durable, sustainable alternative to wood. The LX1R and LX1RE showcase a laser-etched herringbone rosette, and they are the first LX models to include a pickguard. Each guitar comes with a soft gig bag for easy transport so you can take your music anywhere. The Little Martin is ideal for travel but also makes a great student guitar. All LX models are strung with Authentic Acoustic Lifespan® 2.0 strings. To see the entire Little Martin Series, visit Little Martin Series. List price $499 to $599.
Junior Series The Junior Series is designed for players who want a slightly smaller, solid wood guitar with the same build characteristics as its full-sized counterpart, so they don't have to give up that fill-the-room Martin sound in exchange for comfort. The new Auditorium style 000Jr-10 and 000CJr-10E (the first Junior model with a cutaway) feature sapele back and sides, offering warm tones and a strong midrange response, with Sitka spruce tops for added warmth and projection. A soft back edge, along with a tapered neck, makes these guitars comfortable and easy to play. They come equipped with Fishman® Sonitone electronics and include a soft gig bag for easy transport so you can take your music anywhere. All Junior Series models are strung with Retro® light gauge strings. To see the entire Junior Series, visit Martin Junior Series. List price $699 to $799.
16 Series
D-16E and GPC-16E
The 16 Series D-16E and GPC-16E are crafted with satin-finished East Indian rosewood back and sides for resonant sound with deep bass and rich overtones. They include Sitka spruce gloss tops for balanced tone and projection and high-performance neck tapers for ease of playability up and down the fretboard. The D-16E and GPC-16E come equipped with Fishman® Matrix VT Enhance™ electronics. They are strung with Authentic Acoustic Lifespan® 2.0 light gauge strings. List price $2,199.
00-16E and 000-16E The 16 Series 00-16E and 000-16E are crafted with satin-finished granadillo back and sides, providing prominent bass response while maintaining bell-like overtones. They include Sitka spruce gloss tops for balanced tone and projection and high-performance neck tapers for ease of playability up and down the fretboard. The 00-16E and 000-16E come equipped with Fishman® Matrix VT Enhance™ electronics. They are strung with Authentic Acoustic Lifespan® 2.0 light gauge strings. List price $2,199.
D-16E Burst and OMC-16E Burst
The 16 Series D-16E Burst and OMC-16E Burst models are crafted with satin-finished ovangkol back and sides for resonant sound with deep bass and rich overtones. Ovangkol can vary both in color and grain complexity for a unique look. These models include mahogany burst ovangkol gloss tops for balanced tone and projection and high-performance neck tapers for ease of playability up and down the fretboard. The D-16E Burst and OMC-16E Burst come equipped with Fishman® Matrix VT Enhance™ electronics. They are strung with Authentic Acoustic Lifespan® 2.0 light gauge strings. List price $2,399.
Special and Limited Editions
000E Black Walnut Ambertone
This Auditorium model is crafted with black walnut back and sides for well-balanced tone that bridges the gap between rosewood and mahogany. A Sitka spruce gloss top, hand-finished with an ambertone burst, adds to the balanced tone and improves projection. The high-performance taper neck makes it easy to move up and down the fretboard. The fingerboard and bridge are made from FSC® Certified Richlite®. This model, which is limited to 125 instruments, comes equipped with Fishman® Matrix VT Enhance™ electronics and a soft-shell case for ease of travel. It is strung with Authentic Acoustic Lifespan® 2.0 light gauge strings. List price $2,399.
00L Fly Fishing
This sloped-shoulder art guitar is crafted with stunning gloss-finished goncalo alves back and sides, which provide a responsive bottom end and lively midrange. It includes a Sitka spruce gloss top for balanced tone and projection and a high-performance neck taper for ease of playability up and down the fretboard. The top is printed with custom fly fishing-themed artwork by William Matthews and includes custom pearl inlay on the fingerboard and headstock. This model, which is limited to 100 instruments, is left-hand friendly and can be fitted with optional electronics. It is strung with Authentic Acoustic Lifespan® 2.0 light gauge strings. List price $4,399.
D-16E Brexit
This 14-fret Dreadnought art guitar is crafted with satin-finished sycamore back and sides, which provide clear and transparent overtones with a punchy response. It includes a Sitka spruce gloss top for balanced tone and projection and a high-performance neck taper for ease of playability up and down the fretboard. The top is printed with playful, custom Brexit-themed artwork by Robert F. Goetzl. This model is fitted with Fishman® Matrix VT Enhance™ electronics and strung with Authentic Acoustic Lifespan® 2.0 light gauge strings. List price $2,799.
American Chopper Custom
Martin collaborated with the hit TV show American Chopper and Paul Jr. Designs to build a three-wheeled vehicle and an automotive-inspired custom guitar that were featured in two television episodes broadcast in March 2019. Limited to only seven instruments, this 14-fret Dreadnought guitar features design elements such as aluminum riveted panels (a first for Martin) and custom inlay in wood and copper. It includes an Engelmann spruce top, which produces complex tones, paired with Guatemalan rosewood back and sides to add deep basses and crisp trebles. The model features European flamed maple binding, nickel open-gear tuners, skeletonized butterbean knobs, and a stainless-steel label. It is strung with Titanium Core strings. List price $39,999.
Strings
Authentic Acoustic Flexible Core
Martin Flexible Core strings get new packaging and officially join the Authentic Acoustic strings family. As with all of Martin's Authentic Acoustic products, Flexible Core strings are now crafted with our highest tensile-strength core wire, which has been tin-plated on all six strings for added corrosion resistance; because what you don't see matters! When coupled with our highest quality wrap wire, you get consistent true tone that you can count on song after song. With Flexible Core strings, you get total flexibility and total control. Available in 92/8 Phosphor Bronze and Silk & Phosphor. List price $6.99 to $9.99.
Authentic Acoustic Bass
Halfway between the kick drum and the mandolin lies full, thumping bass. We've got your rhythm section covered with Martin Authentic Acoustic SP® Bass strings. Now part of the Authentic Acoustic strings family, Authentic Acoustic Bass strings are now crafted with our highest tensile-strength core wire, which has been tin-plated on all four strings for added corrosion resistance; because what you don't see matters! Available in long-lasting 92/8 Phosphor Bronze. List price $19.99.
The Original M140
The string that started it all 50 years ago is now back by popular demand. Martin's original M140 light gauge strings, with 80/20 composition, are ideally suited for players who love deep, rich bass tones and clear, bright trebles. Providing brilliance and clarity, Martin M140s are perfect for daily use and all playing styles. List price $5.49.
For more information:
Martin
Nineties-style high-gain heaviness that can be surgically tailored with a powerful EQ.
Excellent variations on high-gain modern distortion tones. Powerful EQ.
Not many low- or mid-gain sounds here.
$199
JHS Hard Drive
jhspedals.com
JHS makes many great and varied overdrive stomps. Their Pack Rat is a staple on one of my boards, and I can personally attest to the quality of their builds. The new Hard Drive has been in the works since as far back as 2016, when Josh Scott and his staff were finishing off workdays by jamming on ’90s hard rock riffs.
During these sessions, Scott’s go-to pedal was the Ibanez SM7 Smash Box. He realized that JHS had never offered anything along those lines, conferred with his then lead engineer, Cliff Smith, and the wheels were set in motion. Over several years of design, the Hard Drive evolved from an SM7 homage to a unique, original circuit.
JHS’ Hardest to Date
The Hard Drive’s control panel is streamlined, consisting of knobs for volume, mid frequency, drive, bass, middle, and treble. Driven by cascading gain stages, the Hard Drive can cop a wide range of modern distorted tones. Even at the lowest drive settings, the Hard Drive simmers, delivering massive bottom end on muted power chords. Nudging the drive up very slightly transforms the Hard Drive into a roaring Marshall JCM 900. And if you bring the drive all the way up, you’re in for all out chaos. Even with an amp set just louder than bedroom levels, the Hard Drive, with its volume at just 11 o’clock, is very loud and in-your-face. You don’t have to work hard to imagine how this could sound and feel like multiple stacks raging at Madison Square Garden in the context of a recorded track.
Even at the lowest drive settings, the Hard Drive simmers, delivering massive bottom end.
Zoning the Frequencies
Unlike some heavy pedals that concern themselves with mega-gain and little else, the Hard Drive’s EQ controls are very effective and powerful. Moving the treble knob from 11 o’clock to 1 o’clock changes the pedal’s tone and response characteristics completely, opening up and transforming the naturally relatively dark sound of my Fender Super Sonic amp. Turning the treble knob all the way off with the bass and mid knobs at noon gives me a vocal lead tone that’s creamy, warm, and still immediate and responsive.
The middle and mid frequency controls work in tandem. The mid control itself works as a cut or boost. The mid frequency control, however, lets you choose the specific frequency you cut or boost. I found these controls invaluable for sculpting tones that could leverage the copious gain without being abrasive. Meanwhile, adding more high midrange lends clarity to complex chords.
The Verdict
The Hard Drive is an unapologetically heavy pedal—if you’re looking for a dirt box that can double as a clean boost, well, the Hard Drive is not that. It’s meant to slay with gain, and it performs this task well and with a vengeance. There are countless dirt boxes on the market that deliver hot rodded, ’80s-style brown sound. Fewer cater to the subsequent generations of high-gain players that used the ’80s as a mere jumping-off point. The Hard Drive is very much voiced for this strain of heavy music. If that’s your jam, the Hard Drive is hard to beat.
Tailored for Yngwie Malmsteen's signature sound, the MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive is designd to offer simple controls for maximum impact.
Working closely alongside Yngwie, the MXR design team created a circuit that delivers clarity, expressive dynamics, and rich harmonics—all perfectly tailored for his light-speed arpeggios, expressive vibrato, and big, bold riffs. The control setup is simple, with just Level and Gain knobs.
"Want to sound like Yngwie? Crank both knobs to the max."
“This pedal is the culmination of 45+ years developing a sound that’s perfect in every possible way,” Yngwie says. “I present to you: the MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive. Prepare to be amazed.”
MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive highlights:
- Perfectly tailored for Yngwie Malmsteen's signature sound and style
- Simple control setup tuned for maximum impact
- Boost every nuance with superior clarity, expressive dynamics, and rich harmonics
- Dig into light-speed arpeggios, expressive vibrato, and big, bold riffs
The MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive is available now at $129.99 street/$185.70 MSRP from your favorite retailer.
For more information, please visit jimdunlop.com.
Featuring dual-engine processing, dynamic room modeling, and classic mic/speaker pairings, this pedal delivers complete album-ready tones for rock and metal players.
Built on powerful dual‑engine processing and world‑class UAD modeling, ANTI 1992 High Gain Amp gives guitarists the unmistakable sound of an original "block letter" Peavey 5150 amplifier* – the notorious 120‑watt tube amp monster that fueled more than three decades of modern metal music, from Thrash and Death Metal, to Grunge, Black Metal, and more.
"With UAFX Dream, Ruby, Woodrow, and Lion amp emulators, we recreated four of the most famous guitar amps ever made," says UA Sr. Product Manager Tore Mogensen. "Now with ANTI, we're giving rock and metal players an authentic emulation of this punishing high gain amp – with the exact mic/speaker pairings and boost/noise gate effects that were responsible for some of the most groundbreaking modern metal tones ever captured."
Key Features:
- A complete emulation of the early '90s 120‑watt tone monster that defined new genres of modern metal
- Powerful UAFX dual-engine delivers the most authentic emulation of the amp ever placed in a stompbox
- Complete album‑ready sounds with built‑in noise gate, TS‑style overdrive, and TC‑style preamp boost
- Groundbreaking Dynamic Room Modeling derived from UA's award-winning OX Amp Top Box
- Six classic mic/speaker pairings used on decades of iconic metal and hard rock records
- Professional presets designed by the guitarists of Tetrarch, Jeff Loomis, and The Black Dahlia Murder
- UAFX mobile app lets you access hidden amp tweaks and mods, choose overdrive/boost, tweak noise gate, recall and archive your presets, download artist presets, and more
- Timeless UA design and craftsmanship, built to last decades
For more information, please visit uaudio.com.
- YouTube
The Memphis-born avant-funk bassist keeps it simple on the road with a signature 5-string, a tried-and-true stack, and just four stomps.
MonoNeon, aka Dywane Thomas Jr., came up learning the bass from his father in Memphis, Tennessee, but for some reason, he decided to flip his dad’s 4-string bass around and play it with the string order inverted—E string closest to the ground and the G on top. That’s how MonoNeon still plays today, coming up through a rich, inspiring gauntlet of family and community traditions. “I guess my whole style came from just being around my grandma at an early age,” says Thomas.His path has led him to collaborate with dozens of artists, including Nas, Ne-Yo, Mac Miller, and even Prince, and MonoNeon’s solo output is dizzying—trying to count up his solo releases isn’t an easy feat. Premier Guitar’s Chris Kies caught up with the bassist before his show at Nashville’s Exit/In, where he got the scoop on his signature 5-string, Ampeg rig, and simple stomp layout, as well as some choice stories about influences, his brain-melting playing style, and how Prince changed his rig.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Orange You Glad to See Me?
This Fender MonoNeon Jazz Bass V was created after a rep messaged Thomas on Instagram to set up the signature model, over which Thomas had complete creative control. Naturally, the bass is finished in neon yellow urethane with a neon orange headstock and pickguard, and the roasted maple neck has a 10"–14" compound radius. It’s loaded with custom-wound Fireball 5-string Bass humbuckers and an active, 18V preamp complete with 3-band EQ controls. Thomas’ own has been spruced up with some custom tape jobs, too. All of MonoNeon's connections are handled by Sorry Cables.
Fade to Black
MonoNeon’s Ampeg SVT stack isn’t a choice of passion. “That’s what they had for me, so I just plugged in,” he says. “That’s what I have on my rider. As long as it has good headroom and the cones don’t break up, I’m cool.”
Box Art
MonoNeon’s bass isn’t the only piece of kit treated to custom color jobs. Almost all of his stomps have been zhuzhed up with his eye-popping palette.
Thomas had used a pitch-shifting DigiTech Whammy for a while, but after working with Paisley Park royalty, the pedal became a bigger part of his playing. “When I started playing with Prince, he put the Whammy on my pedalboard,” Thomas explains. “After he passed, I realized how special that moment was.”
Alongside the Whammy, MonoNeon runs a Fairfield Circuitry Randy’s Revenge (for any time he wants to “feel weird”), a literal Fart Pedal (in case the ring mod isn’t weird enough, we guess), and a JAM Pedals Red Muck covers fuzz and dirt needs. A CIOKS SOL powers the whole affair.
Shop MonoNeon's Rig
Fender MonoNeon Jazz Bass V
Ampeg SVT
DigiTech Whammy
CIOKS SOL