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Pete Prown
Egnater Tweaker 40
Small, But Mighty
Egnater Tweaker 40 Price: $1,149 (approx. $800 street). Info: egnater.com Egnater has just amplified its Tweaker line with a new 40-watt, two channel, 1×12 combo. This amp has a Celestion Elite GH-50 speaker in a half-closed, birch-plywood cabinet and weighs a portly 53 pounds – though as many tube enthusiasts know, more weight often adds
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Pete Prown
M-Tone Slipstream
Delicious Curves
M-Tone Slipstream Price: $2,600 Contact: www.m-tone.com When it comes to custom, hand-made guitars, many prefer an instrument that innately reveals the work of its craftsman – the type that, instead of merely being a replica of a famous body shape, can be held and admired for its details. Matt Proctor’s M-Tone Slipstream is a good
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Pete Prown
Misa Kitara
Axe of the Future?
Misa Kitara Price: $789 Info: www.misadigital.com. The guitar synthesizer has been around for more than 30 years and made significant inroads to contemporary music, thanks to fusion heroes like Pat Metheny, John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, Steve Morse, and Allan Holdsworth. The latest wrinkle is the Misa Kitara, which shifts the paradigm. Instead of a
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Pete Prown
Eventide H9
Maximum Effect
Eventide H9 Price: $499 Info: www.eventide.com. Stompbox evolution is getting to the point where huge libraries of sound are coming out of single pedals. You might say, “Well, those are just regular ol’ multi-effects pedals – big deal!” That’s partially true, but the latest twist is that now there are “studio-grade” effects that fit neatly
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Pete Prown
Musicvox Spaceranger Guitar and Bass HT
Shagadelic
Musicvox Spaceranger Guitar and Bass HT Price: $799 (guitar); $899 (bass) Info: www.musicvox.com. Popularized in film and television, Musicvox Spacerangers have drawn attention for their mondo lower horn and freakishly huge headstock. Purists turn up their noses, but countless others dig the Euro-cheapo aesthetic. Users have included country star Keith Urban, of all people, and
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Pete Prown
Reverend Guitars Ron Asheton Model
Raw Power
Reverend Guitars Ron Asheton Model Price: $1,079 Info: www.reverendguitars.com. If Ron Asheton had recorded just one album in his musical career – the Stooges’ 1969 debut – he still would be regarded as a legend. The Stooges’ proto-punk opus laid the blueprint for a thousand punk, alt-rock, and grunge bands that followed and featured the
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Pete Prown
Loar LH-309 VS Archtop
One Cool Cat
Loar LH-309 VS Archtop Price: $569.99 (street) Contact: theloar.com As the retro craze delves deeper into six-string history, a spate of non-cutaway archtops have hit the market, celebrating an era when giants like Eddie Lang, Lonnie Johnson, Charlie Christian, George Barnes, Eddie Durham, Carl Kress, and Oscar Moore laid down cool chords, sultry bends, and
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Pete Prown
John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension
We’re in a paradoxical era when many pioneers of high-volume electric music are now in their 70s, from Mick and Keef to Paul and Ringo. By the time you read this, even the eternally youthful Jeff Beck should have turned the big 7-0. Along the same lines, 72-year-old fusioneer John McLaughlin is still burning the
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Pete Prown
Taylor Baritone-8
Crazy Eight
The Taylor Baritone-8 Price: $3,998 list; $3,200 street Info: www.taylorguitars.com Some guitarists are happy with conventional guitars and basses. Others, however, feel the urge to explore other sonic ranges. In recent years, several new configurations have made their way to the market; five- and six-string basses; extended-range harp and “touch” guitars; and seven- and eight-string
