Dusky D₂O

The D₂O would probably walk away with the prize for “coolest-looking amp we tested all year.” But we discovered it also sounds every bit as killer as its pop-art look suggests. While the dual 6L6 power section suggests a blackface Fender clone, the D₂O delivered a Vox-like crunch that was fat with sustain, multifaceted, and delightfully full of surprises.
$1,500 street ($575 cabinet sold separately), duskyamp.com

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Come with us time travelers, as we revisit a year’s worth of axes, amps, stomps, basses, baritones, and other tools of our music-making trade—all deemed worthy of the Premier Gear Award. This year’s list is as diverse as ever: Classics revisited, shred machines made affordable, fuzzes refined and made more fiendish, amps that blast and purr, basses that boom, and time-warping delays and reverbs that mock astronomers’ notions about the cosmos. From manufacturers big and small, these delights await you in the pages ahead. Enjoy the voyage.