March has come and gone, and that means it’s high time to look back on the past four weeks to find out which new gear releases had you – yes, you, dear reader – reaching for your piggy bank.
We’ve run the numbers, checked the percentages and – thanks to all your engagement in the weekly guitar gear round-up polls – have been able to pick the five hottest new gear releases of March 2026, as chosen by Guitar World readers.
The competition was extraordinarily high this month, so the guitars, pedals and amps listed below deserve a pat on the back for rising above the rest. As always, I’ve thrown in a few worthy honorable mentions of my own.
Article continues belowMake sure to catch the weekly gear roundups to vote for your favorite new releases – and, if you fancy having your thoughts shared in one of these highlight reels in the future, leave a comment explaining your pick…
Sunn Beta Mini
I’ll confess, this one was a bit of a surprise when I looked through the round-up stats. Sure, I thought the Sunn Beta Mini – a tiny powerhouse amp head deemed by its maker to be “the ultimate portable amplifier” – would get some attention. But never did I think it would get this much.
It got a staggering 115 votes, the most for any piece of gear we’ve highlighted in these round-ups to date. That’s 22% of the count for its respective week. It goes to show that players are still going absolutely crazy for Sunn.
The cult classic amp brand announced its return, with the help of Fender, back in 2023, and it’s been going from strength to strength with a trickle of classic reissues and newer innovations.
At 10” wide and only 4lbs in weight, the Sunn Beta Mini looks like a force to be reckoned with, bottling the sound of the OG beta that captivated the likes of Kurt Cobain, Metallica, Tool and more in a pint-sized package. A worthy winner.
IK Multimedia TONEX One Double Special
Coming in second place with a whopping 71 votes, and racking up 31% of vote count for its respective week, is the IK Multimedia TONEX One Double Special. The latest special edition mini-modeler, the Double Special puts six-figure amp sounds into a sub–$300 pedal that you’d easily be able to squeeze on the busiest of ‘boards.
You get a load of different Dumble amp models baked in, along with a range of overdrives – from the Morning Glory to the Klon – to boot. The Dumble amp pedal race isn’t short of contenders, but IK Multimedia seems to have piqued peoples’ attention.
Ibanez 8540PIII
Again, this one was a bit of a surprise for me. The Ibanez Power Series… it’s not really my thing. I get its appeal, and I appreciate what it’s going for, but there’s just something about the elongated lower horn that gives me the chills. And I love Ibanez guitars. This one? It’s a bit too daring for me.
But you lot seemed to really, really like it, giving it a third-highest 46 votes, meaning it comfortably breezes into the March 2026 highlights group. The 8540PIII gives the quirky P Series model a serious glow-up, treating it to a Purple Neon burl maple top and Tree of Life inlay.
Fender John Osborne B-Bender Telecaster
A John Osborne Fender Telecaster? With a B-Bender?! Take my money. We saw this beauty at a pre-release Fender showcase at NAMM earlier this year, and I’m stoked to see it out in the wild.
While it’s not the first B-Bender Tele Fender has ever produced, it is Fender’s first in-house B-Bender system, and the first time we’ve seen one in the Fender catalog in over 20 years.
It’s a hopeless dream, but if Fender could make a Player II B-Bender Telecaster, that’d be great…
Fender 75th Telecaster Collection
Fender began celebrating the 75th birthday of the Telecaster by releasing the 75th Anniversary collection. Naturally, more than one guitar was involved in the drop – there were five limited-edition modes in total – but we’ll save the spotlight for the Liquid Gold American Ultra II, an uber-modern take on the classic design that boasts Fender’s first in-house dual rail pickup design.
Honorable mentions
I’m currently rebuilding my pedalboard for some shows I’ve got next month, and at last count I had four JHS Pedals on it. A fifth would be bordering on the ridiculous. Unfortunately, its new Coyote pedal looks like it could end my hunt for a fuzz pedal, with three wild and wonderful fuzz tones on tap. I really shouldn’t.
Another pedal I liked the look of this month was the Source Audio Pathways, a reverb/tremolo twofer that looks to take on the Strymon Flint. I’ve had the Flint in my signal chain for about a year now, so know how hard it’d be to top. Still, the Pathways arrives with serious credentials, and judging by the killer sound demos, it looks up to the task.
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