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The Year in Gear 2019

The 60+ guitars, amps, pedals, basses, and accessories that stood out from the crowd and earned our coveted Premier Gear Award this year.

Dunable SplatterBlaster

The SplatterBlaster is two fuzzes in one enclosure: “Splatter” is an authentic-sounding Super Fuzz and “Blaster” is based on late-’70s, op-amp-equipped Big Muffs. Through a single amp, the SplatterBlaster sums both fuzzes in mono, but flick the stereo switch and each effect gets routed to its own output. The SplatterBlaster’s ability to mix and stereo-ize the fuzzes and blend them with a clean signal unlocks a world of compelling crunch tones.

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$299 street, dunableguitars.com

Watch the First Look:

Plus! December Premier Gear Award Winners!
Read the full reviews on the pages indicated below!

1. Peavey Invective.MH$699 street, peavey.com
2. Chase Bliss Dark World$349 street, chaseblissaudio.com
3. Comins CGS-16 $2,399 street, cominsguitars.com
4. Ernie Ball Music Man Short-Scale StingRay$1,999 street, music-man.com
5. EBS MicroBass 3$349 street, ebssweden.com


A sample page from the author’s analog log.

Seasonal changes are tough on your acoustic. Here’s how you can take better care of your prized instrument.

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This wonky Zim-Gar was one of many guitars sold by importer Gar-Zim Musical Instruments, operated by Larry Zimmerman and his wife.

The 1960s were strange days indeed for import guitars, like this cleaver-friendly Zim-Gar electric.

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- YouTube

Dive into the ART Tube MP/C with PG contributor Tom Butwin. Experience how this classic tube-driven preamp and compressor can add warmth and clarity to your sound. From studio recordings to re-amping and live stage applications, this time-tested design packs a ton of features for an affordable price.

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Guitarist Scott Metzger and his Lollar P-90-loaded Creston T-style onstage with LaMP, next to organist Ray Paczkowski.

Photo by Andrew Blackstein

The guitarist, who splits his time between the groove-driven jam band supergroup and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, energizes the Tele vernacular on One of Us.

“Night after night playing next toDean Ween was really my foundation for learning what it means to be a lead guitarist, and how to do a gig, and the pacing of a gig, and a lot of things that I still consider really, really important lessons,” says guitarist Scott Metzger. He’s thinking back to his formative years in the small town of New Hope, Pennsylvania, about 40 miles north of Philadelphia and across the river from his hometown of Lambertville, New Jersey. It was there, on the intimate, low-ceilinged stage at eclectic musical outpost John & Peter’s, that the guitarist cut his teeth next to the Ween co-founder—real name Mickey Melchiondo—as a member of Chris Harford’s Band of Changes, which Metzger joined at just 17 years old.

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