GEAR OF THE YEAR
Welcome to another grand reckoning of the great and the good in gear that Guitarist has tested over the past year. Some years are more replete with interesting guitars than others and, happily, 2018 has been a vintage year.
As always, our finalists were drawn from a longlist of gear that either won a Guitarist Choice or coveted Gold Award when first reviewed. One or two wildcard entries that just missed out on a Choice award first time round also made the cut in cases where the whole panel of editors and reviewers felt that, looked afresh at the end of the year, they deserved promotion to the big league. So all of the gear you’ll find in the following pages has something special going for it, from original thinking that brings new tonal benefits, to deft updates on classic designs. We hope you enjoy trying some of these brilliant bits of kit next time you feel like expanding your musical horizons.
Inevitably, the judging process also provoked many interesting conversations about the state of guitar today and we want to bring you in on that debate. So, inside this feature, you’ll also find extra analysis on gear that became a talking point in 2018: the debate-sparking, innovative or plain controversial designs that elevated guitar’s state of the art.
On top of that, we also want to share some thoughts about the bigger picture in guitar. It’s fair to say that not every guitar maker or company has had a great 12 months. An obvious case, of course, is Gibson – although the company now has a new CEO and fresh wind in its sails – but the majority are less public. The net result of this uncertainty is that, across the board, we are seeing fewer new model launches contrasted by an increase in ‘limited’ models: limited as usual, primarily to demand, a specific order window and perhaps, in the high-end market, a specific number. It’s toe-in-the-water stuff: if the fish don’t bite, then production can be halted.
Inevitably, the judging process provoked many interesting conversations about the state of guitar today
Conversely, there’s an ongoing trend fuelled by the internet and social media that’s seen more and more small makers join the fold. From men-in-sheds to small-workshop brands, it seems we’re in love with this Dunkirk spirit. “The big ‘corporate’ companies don’t care, they don’t offer what we want, matey down the road is the ‘best’ maker I’ve ever played…” Sound familiar?
It’s exactly the trend we’ve seen for some years now in the world of effects and amplification. In quite a few cases, the excitement is absolutely warranted. But it’s all too easy to buy into the hip mythology that boutique gear is always and automatically ‘better’ just because it’s made by a passionate independent builder with a relatable backstory. For example, larger brands will build more prototypes of a new model than the total annual output of many small makers. In the best cases, that means the end-user gets an incredibly refined instrument with years of heritage and know-how behind it. Martin’s Reimagined Series OM-28, which takes an award in this issue, is the perfect example of that. It’s absolutely stunning and it’s a standard production model from one of the biggest and oldest brands in the business.
That’s not to knock the smaller outfits – it takes guts and skill to prevail in a crowded market – but all of the above deserves to be carefully weighed in the balance when choosing how to spend your hard-earned cash on a new guitar. Ironclad warranties, dependable re-sale value and exhaustive R&D time are all good things that big makers can bring to the table. The personal touch, a unique vision and hand-crafted character are all good things that small makers can bring to the table. Which you choose is up to you – but it’s worth being alive to all the pros and cons.
All of the above makes it harder than ever to judge value. Not price, that’s easy – it’s on the ticket for all to see – but actual value. Not all that is cheap is a bargain. Not all that is expensive is a rip-off. On the one hand, we’re living in a golden age of high-quality gear that retails for a reasonable sum. In recent years, guitars such as Fender’s Baja Tele or the PRS SE Zach Myers have really impressed with how much they deliver for the cash. But it doesn’t automatically follow that all guitars in the £2k-to-£4k price range are outrageous ‘lawyer’s’ guitars that are a standing insult to all ‘real’ players. If you’ve ever seen one of Gibson Memphis’s luthiers laboriously, precisely and skilfully gluing on binding to a reissue 335 you’ll understand where the money goes.
Meanwhile, smaller high-end makers have no economies of scale to bring down costs – their year’s output of instruments measured in triple or even double figures, rather than thousands or tens of thousands. Viewed in that light, the exclusivity and uniqueness of owning one of their guitars often comes at a fair cost, even if it’s not a low cost. The best examples are massively engaging to play, as with the Smitty Model 3 & 4 electrics reviewed on p10. We’ve often said that even premium-brand guitars are considerably cheaper than violins, violas and cellos used by even serious amateur classical musicians. Taken together with the great value offered by today’s mainstream gear, we’ve got it good.