Hello, and welcome to Guitar World’s sparkly new gear round-up, your one-stop-shop for keeping up to date with what’s been happening in the big wide world of guitar gear over the past seven days.
From new electric guitars to amp modeler updates, the guitar industry is never short of fresh releases, and it can sometimes be hard to stay abreast of every new launch that may be of interest to you.
To make things a little easier, we’ve put together an essential must-read guide that will cover the major releases, the boutique drops, and everything in between.
Fender American Professional Classic
As far as launches go, the all-new American Professional Classic series is a pretty big deal for Fender. Superseding the outgoing American Performer range, this new lineup now serves as the company’s entry point into its USA-made guitar catalog, sitting above the Mexican-made Player II models and just below the American Professional II lineup.
Since this new series ushers in a significant restructuring of Fender’s US operations – and becomes the gateway to its California-made instruments – the American Professional Classic electrics and bass guitars represent a particularly interesting build proposition.
The objective here is that age-old ‘vintage-meets-modern’ approach, but it’s something Fender has tailored especially for its most affordable US models on the market.
Strats, Teles, Jazzmasters and Jags, as well as Precision, Jazz and Mustang basses, head up the line, which introduces new neck profiles, enhanced hardware, all-new pickups, and other modern refinements that have been strapped to classic-looking Fenders.
The Coastline pickups – an overwound version of the Pure Vintage sets from the high-end American Vintage II lineup – will steal the headlines, but the staggered tuners, rounded fretboards, and streamlined control layouts (which, in the instances of the offsets, can be reversed for more traditional setups) are also worthy of a shoutout.
A worthy successor to the American Performer range? That certainly looks to be the case – and the Strat impressed us in our early review…
Gretsch Electromatic and Streamliner Jet
A Gretsch guitar for just $189?! Yes please. Ever since I came across Gretsch's Class of 2025 Jet lineup back at Guitar Summit last month, I've been eagerly awaiting its official arrival. Now, the no-nonsense, frills-free, raw-and-raucous Electromatic and Streamliner Jets are here – and they are beautiful.
The highlight for me, naturally, is that $189 Streamliner Jet Club 1 Pickup. As a recent convert to the single-pickup hype, I find it an incredibly tempting proposition, and at that price point it looks to be something of a no-brainer (especially for someone like me, who doesn't yet have a Gretsch in their collection).
But the charm of the new range extends far beyond affordability. Take the top-priced Electromatic Jet (yours for $579), it has the bound body, the chambered construction with mahogany back and sides, the maple top, and a pair of PureVolt Twin Six humbuckers to put a hot, fresh twist on That Great Gretsch Sound.
Strymon Olivera
Having already cemented itself as one the gear world’s foremost effects pedal specialists with an array of hugely sophisticated and highly acclaimed medium-sized stompboxes – reverbs, modulations, and delays among them – Strymon has spent the past few years with its attentions firmly on the compact pedal market… and, shock, horror, they’ve all been brilliant.
The Olivera Vintage Oil Can Echo looks to be no exception. It’s been described by its maker as a faithful recreation of oil-can echoes, which were developed in 1959 by Tel-Ray as an alternative to tape.
Effectively, these effects were created by using a rotating can filled with a conductive oil. They delivered everything from dark and modulated repeats, to bright and spanky spring-style reverbs, and the Olivera does exactly the same.
There’s plenty of scope to curate some kaleidoscopic sounds here, it seems, with the Olivera offering space for up to 300 presets via MIDI or USB.
Harley Benton CLF-50E
We continue to be stunned by Harley Benton's ability to package borderline top-tier specs into downright absurd price points, and the CLF-50E – which is available in a bevy of contemporary colorways – is certainly no exception.
For just $250, you get a solid Canadian Sitka spruce top, which has been paired with something called sonokeling mahogany for the back and sides. It looks like a lot of acoustic guitar for not a lot of money, with plenty of additional appointments – including body and fretboard binding, and a slotted headstock among them – making them even more appealing.
Oh, and there's some onboard electronics, too, meaning it won't just sound solid unplugged, it can also be gigged. Very nice...
MXR Jail Guitar Doors Overdrive
This MC5-inspired pedal was designed by MXR in collaboration with Johnny Wator of Daredevil Pedals, and was originally released as a Reverb exclusive. Basically, it’s Wayne Kramer’s sound in a compact overdrive pedal with a control surface so simple that any punk-rock primitive could work it. One dial, crank it up, and you have the effect of two cranked 100-watt heads running in tandem.
What is going on circuit-wise is very clever, combining Daredevil’s Drive-Bi Dual Gain Distortion with the MXR Micro Amp in one housing. Turn up the dial and the gain cascades into the other with a wide-open EQ range, rich in harmonics, and all that good stuff. Just what you need to kick out the jams, mofos.
Also, it’s for charity, with proceeds from the sales going to the Jail Guitar Doors USA – a nonprofit founded by Kramer and his wife, Margaret, with Billy Bragg, that helps incarcerated individuals “heal and grow” through music.
Guild M-40 and M-50 Standard
We brought you news of some cheap acoustic guitars from Harley Benton, now here’s some news of a storied US brand expanding their lineup of high-end acoustic guitars, as Guild unveils the M-40 and M-50 Standard, a pair of concert-sized acoustics for pros and serious players.
We’re talking circa $2,699 street here. But we’re also talking all-solid builds, made in the USA. L.R. Baggs Element VTC acoustic guitar pickup systems are available as an option on what many players might consider the Goldilocks shape and size for acoustics.
More compact than a dread’, these are nonetheless powerful instruments, with forward-shifted Adirondack spruce bracing making notes spring off that solid spruce soundboard.
The tone wood recipe is classic. Spruce, mahogany, Indian rosewood fingerboards and bridge. The design skews classic, leaning into Guild’s heritage, with deluxe 18:1 open-gear tuners with cream buttons. There’s a C profile mahogany neck, a 12” radius fingerboard, the 24.75” scale, and everything you need for the home, stage, or studio.
D’Addario Players Choice Custom String Shop
You’ve heard of guitar custom shops, but how about string custom shops? It’s certainly more niche – in fact, D’Addario has launched what it is calling “a first-of-its-kind” online platform for custom string sets.
It sounds like a great idea, especially for those who aren’t content with regular 10-46 sets. Through the Custom String Shop, players can create their own custom string set, using any of D’Addario’s gauges and alloys, with no minimum order required.
Not only that, sets can be saved and reordered for smoother restocks. It’s something we can’t quite believe hasn’t happened before, but we’re thoroughly pleased it’s finally here.
Positive Grid Spark LINK XLR
Positive Grid's well-received guitar wireless system, the Spark LINK, has now been joined by an XLR version for singer-guitarists who want to take their performance completely wireless.
Admittedly, it might be rather hard to carry around a mic when you're busy strumming away, but hey, at least the Spark LINK XLR now gives you the option. And since it's the same tech behind the flagship Spark LINK, you just know it's going to deliver the goods.
IK Multimedia ARC ON•EAR
Mixing on headphones can be a lottery but IK Multimedia has unveiled a new piece of portable hardware that promises to take some of the guesswork out. The ARC ON•EAR “corrects” your headphone’s response and gives you a virtual monitoring solution that allows you to continue mixing your record any time, any place.
Helpful, for when you’ve been holed up in your home studio for months on end finishing difficult album number three, and you need fresh air, daylight, the sight of others to restore you to humanity. The idea behind the ARC ON•EAR is that you can head down to the coffee shop (or ale house) and fine-tune your mix, “virtually audition” mixes. This transforms your headphones into studio monitors.
The tech supports hundreds of popular headphone models, so unless your cans are particularly niche they should be supported.
“Finally hear the truth in your headphones,” reads the tagline.
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