From surf to shred, these vibrato units will help you get your bends on.
Vega-Trem
VT1 Ultra Trem standard
A sleek drop-in replacement for S-style guitars, this two-point vibrato is designed for both descending and ascending motion without having to route your beloved instrument.
$259 street
vegatrem.com
BIGSBY
B5
The ultimate old-school whammy mounts to any flat-top solidbody with just four screws and is available in polished aluminum and gold.
$149 street
bigsby.com
DUESENBERG
Les Trem II
This easy-to-install unit mounts onto the bushings of a Tune-o-matic or stop-tailpiece-style bridge and uninstalls just as easily.
$125 street
duesenberg.de
MASTERY
MV
This offset vibrato features a full-contact fulcrum plate, a high carbon steel spring, and a stainless steel arm housing.
$210 street
masterybridge.com
FLOYD ROSE
Original Tremolo System
Hey dive-bombers! The o.g. double-locking trem pairs hardened steel with a nickel-plated-brass sustain block for maximum shreddage.
$231 street
floydrose.com
STETSBAR
S-Style
This unique-looking option comes in a variety of fits, for S-style, T-style, stop-tailpiece guitars, and more.
$329 street
stetsbar.com
SWOPE GUITARS
Descendant
This drop-in offset-style replacement offers a steeper break angle than vintage units and includes a removable arm.
$195 street
swopeguitars.com
FENDER
American Vintage Series Stratocaster Tremolo
Hard to argue with a classic, which includes “Fender”-stamped saddles and vintage-style string spacing.
$179 street
fender.com
KAHLER
2300
This top-routed unit features six fine tuners, top spring-tension adjuster, and can be locked into fixed position.
$419 street
kahlerusa.com
When you need sparkle, there’s no better place to turn than an acoustic 12-string.
Nothing quite compares to the warm, lush, chorus-y sound of strums and well-articulated arpeggios played on a 12-string acoustic guitar. Whether you’re trying to cut through the mix, fill out your collection, or take it to the stage, this list has something in every price range.
Guild F-512
This high-end jumbo has a solid AAA Sitka spruce top, solid Indian rosewood back and sides, and scalloped Adirondack spruce bracing, and is available with an optional pickup.
$4,099 street
Taylor 254ce
A Venetian cutaway offers upper-fret access on this 12, which features the company’s grand auditorium body, a Sitka spruce top, layered rosewood back and sides, and Expression System 2 electronics.
$1,199 street
Martin Grand J-16E 12-String
This jumbo is constructed with a spruce top, East Indian rosewood back and sides, and the company’s high-performance taper neck profile. Fishman Matrix VT Enhance electronics are included.
$1,349 street
Ovation Timeless Balladeer Deep Contour 12-String
Featuring a deep contour Lyrachord body and a pearl oak leaf rosette, this 12 also includes the company’s OCP1K pickups and OP-Pro preamp.
$1,064 street
Breedlove Oregon Concerto 12-String CE
Featuring a locally sourced myrtlewood top and a concerto body style, this acoustic 12 also has a maple neck and LR Baggs EAS VTC electronics.
$2,799 street
Epiphone Hummingbird 12-String
Inspired by the Gibson classic, this cherry sunburst square-shoulder dreadnought includes the model’s signature pickguard design on a solid Sitka spruce top and includes a Fishman Sonitone pickup system.
$899 street
Takamine GD30CE-12
This dreadnought is an affordable entry into 12-string acoustics and comes with a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, plus an onboard preamp.
$669 street
Godin A12 Natural SG
The chambered body—made of maple and Canadian Laurentian basswood—of this 12 sets it apart, as does the custom Godin transducer and top-mounted preamp.
$1,659 street
ESP TL-12
The sleek rock ’n’ roll looks of this thinline 12 is sure to stand out onstage. Features include Fishman
electronics, a spruce top, and a mahogany body.
$749 street
Yamaha FG820 12-String
The most budget-friendly model on this list still packs a punch, with a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, and scalloped bracing.
$379 street
Live in the moment with this collection of real-time sound manipulators.
Expression pedals are probably the most underutilized pedals around. With a simple rock of your foot, you can alter any number of different parameters your favorite effect units. Yeah, there might be a bit of under-the-hood tweaking needed to get the full results, but trust me—it’s worth it.
Dunlop DVP4 Volume (x) Mini
Purely on a value-per-inch basis, this volume/expression comes in heavy. At half the size of its larger counterpart, the mini offers an internal trim pot that controls minimum expression values, plus the aux output can also function as an always-on tuner output.
$139 street
Moog EP-3 Universal Polarity Expression Pedal
In some corners of the sonic-sculptor set, using a Moog pedal without an expression control is near criminal. This wildly affordable pedal is universally accepted among pedals, synths, and more thanks to a polarity switch.
$59 street
Lehle Dual Expression Pedal
What if you need to control more than one pedal? This dual expression pedal offers a ton of features that include accommodating TS, TRS, or RTS inputs, switchable polarity, momentary or latching switching, and a USB port for MIDI capabilities.
$259 street
Electro-Harmonix Expression Pedal
This lightweight, rugged design from one of the most esteemed pedal makers of all time features a polymer housing, range control, polarity switching, and a reverse switch that allows you to change the direction of the parameter you’re controlling.
$72 street
M-Audio EX-P
Crafted out of molded plastic, this expression pedal offers a slip-resistant surface, integrated TRS cable, and a polarity switch, which allows it to work with a wide range of controllers and pedals.
$29 street
Fender Tread-Light
Created around an original Fender circuit, this combo volume/expression pedal uses top-mounted jacks in order to squeeze into cramped spaces. It includes a switchable LED light and operates on
9V battery or center negative AC Adapter.
$119 street
Boss EV-1-WL Wireless MIDI Expression Pedal
If wireless is your preferred routing solution, this expression pedal uses wireless MIDI in addition to Bluetooth, USB, and TRS to control any parameter you can think of. It also uses an iOS/Android app for even deeper editing capabilities.
$169 street
Mission Engineering SP-1
The company’s most universal expression pedal is built to handle the rigors of night-after-night rocking. It’s designed to work with nearly any digital amp, effects pedal, or MIDI controllers with a single TRS cable.
$149 street
Source Audio Dual Expression Pedal
This fully customizable pedal features two TRS outputs and a 3.5mm sensor output designed for the company’s line of SoundBlox pedals. It also includes a range adjust knob that controls the sweep of the expression sent through the outputs.
$119 street
DOD Mini Expression Pedal
Space is never an issue with this pedal. It’s only 5" long and 3" wide and built from solid steel. It also has selectable output modes (TRS, TS, or RTS) to ensure it works with nearly anything you can throw at it.
$119 street
From low-gain American tones to high-powered gain machines, this collection of plugins can cover nearly any tone you can dream of.
Thanks to modern technology, you can chase the sounds in your head with a rather minimal setup. Each of the 10 guitar plugins listed below offer unique features, a wealth of options, and—maybe most importantly—less chiro visits.
Neural DSP Archetype: Petrucci
As one of the company’s most comprehensive plugins, it features four amplifiers, a pre-effects section with a wah, compressor, and four stompboxes, and a post-effects section with rack-design stereo chorus, delay, and reverb.
$169 street
Universal Audio Friedman Buxom Betty
This plugin aims for an exact representation of the original EL34-powered amp. It includes 100 recording chains, a host-syncable vintage delay unit, and preamp and power amp bypass.
$149 street
STL Tones Tonality: Andy James
Developed from Andy James' signature guitar sounds, this plugin suite uses advanced modeling algorithms to provide real-time simulations of his amps. You can also employ an 808 emulation and James’ signature preamp pedal.
$119 street
Softube Amp Room
Softube's professional audio guitar and bass platform offers a wide range of precisely modeled amplifiers, cabs, pedals, studio effects, and more, as well as several IR Producer Packs.
$149 street
Blue Cat Axiom
A fully customizable amp simulation based on Blue Cat's Destructor, this software has a flexible routing system with two parallel amp simulation channels, input and master sections, and more than 70 built-in effects.
$199 street
bluecataudio.comWaves GTR3
This collection of amps comes with Fender, Marshall, Mesa/Boogie, and Vox plugin models, in addition to over 30 different cab simulations and 25 stompboxes, including distortion, delays, and modulation.
$129 street
Native Instruments Guitar Rig 6 Pro
Here’s a setup that offers a range of classic vintage tones and modern high-gain sounds, and artist presets from Yvette Young, Vernon Reid, Pete Thorn, Zola Jesus, and Eric Krasno.
$199 street
IK Multimedia TONEX
TONEX is a standalone application that allows users to create, play, and share 400 of their own Tone Models of amps, cabinets, combos, and pedals. It comes with 40 amps and 20 pedals.
$149 street
ikmultimedia.comLine 6 Metallurgy Collection
Using this collection of Metallurgy’s Modern, Thrash, and Doom plugins, you can select a variety of high-gain tones drawn from the company's HX line of amps and cabs.
$199 street
Overloud TH-U Eric Gales Expansion Pack
One of the most astounding blues guitarists of his generation, Eric Gales, has collaborated with Overloud on this plugin that emulates his live rig. It includes three amps, three cabs, and 15 effects.
$59 street
Need to play an acoustic gig on the go? These 10 combos will get you through nearly anything.
Acoustic amplification can be a tricky dragon to tame. With so many sonic forces potentially working against you, it’s important to have a rock-solid amp that can deal with feedback, volume issues, and even handle more than one instrument.
Fishman Loudbox Artist BT
With an impressive 120 watts on tap, this dual-channel combo offers both instrument and mic inputs, aux input, XLR output, built-in modulation and reverb, plus Bluetooth connectivity.
$659 street
Fender Acoustasonic 40
At only a hair over 16 pounds, this grab-and-go combo packs 40 watts into a rather small package. It has two channels with combination input jacks, independent 3-band EQ controls, digital reverb, and an XLR output that you can either use to record or feed FOH.
$199 street
Boss Acoustic Singer Pro
This portable gigging machine is specifically aimed at guitarists who want to add a new dimension to their vocals. Included is an automatic harmony setting that builds harmonies that correspond to your guitar chords in real time .
$789 street
TC-Helicon Harmony V100
Built around a single 10" Tannoy speaker, this 100-watt combo offers independent channels for guitar and vocals, modulation, and effects such as pitch correction and harmony. Another bonus is the TC’s BodyRez control, which adds resonance to acoustic signals.
$639 street
Blackstar Acoustic:Core 30
A 2x5" amp that is also an audio interface? Not only does this uber-portable combo offer options tailored for the recording guitarist, it also has independent vocal and guitar channels, built-in reverb and chorus, plus switchable EQ shapes.
$179 street
Hughes & Kettner ERA 2
Designed in collaboration with amp guru Michael Eisenmann, this combo—which includes two 8" custom woofers and a 1" dome tweeter—offers a whopping 400 watts along with three different types of reverb plus chorus, flanger, delay, and phantom power for the vocal mic.
$1,219 street
Orange Crush Acoustic 30
Usually, boxes of this color and shape are found crushing eardrums, but this 30-watt, 8" combo can not only run on batteries, it packs a ton of features in a rather small chassis. Features include dedicated mic and guitar channels, plus dedicated XLR and 1/4" outputs, and an effects loop.
$399 street
Vox VX50AG
Combining a full 50 watts with the company’s Nutube tech, this svelte combo can handle coffeeshop gigs and late-night practice sessions with ease. Each channel features independent EQ controls, digital reverb, and phase/phantom power options.
$299 street
Roland AC-33
A fully featured, gig-ready combo that can handle nearly any one-person show, this box includes feedback controls, a looper, and Roland’s famous chorus effects. It also has a line out, aux inputs, and the ability to run on batteries.
$599 street
Rivera Sedona Lite
This high-end acoustic combo is an incredible tool if you want to go the hybrid route and need a single amp for both electric and acoustic. It also includes a six-spring Accutronics reverb, an anti-feedback equalizer, plus a customized input for Expression System-equipped Taylor guitars.
$2,249 street