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Hedvig Mollestad’s main guitar is a blonde 1988 Gibson ES-335 Showcase Edition, which she modified with ’57 Classic humbuckers, Bigsby tremolo, and gold hardware.

Photo by Julia Marie Naglestad

After seven albums with her trio, the avant-garde Norwegian guitarist branches out and collaborates with the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra on a concept album, Maternity Beat, which explores themes of empathy and parenthood, inspired by displaced persons fleeing war.

For a stiff contraption of metal and wood, the guitar can convey an extraordinary range of human emotions. Combine it with an 11-piece ensemble and the options expand like a flower. Norway’s Hedvig Mollestad, her blonde Gibson ES-335 in hand, revels in these myriad possibilities on her latest album Maternity Beat, a commissioned project with the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. (Previous TJO guest collaborators include Chick Corea and Joshua Redman—not too shabby.)

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Clever side-chain and EQ “tilt”functions make this revamped squeeze box even more flexible.

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Get close-up looks at new tone toys from Walrus, Eventide, Collings, Mythos, Orange, and more.

Danelectro

Danelectro 3699, Roebuck, & Back Talk

Danelectro Guitars dropped a trio of pedals at the show. The 3699 is a vintage-style octave/fuzz that is based on an old Foxx Tone Machine, while the Roebuck is their version of a cult classic, the Ibanez Mostortion. The big surprise was the Back Talk, which is a reverse delay that copped some incredible slapback tones. Each one will street for $199.