The 2012 Guitar World Buyer's Guide is available now. The 220-page issue features more than 1,500 products and hundreds of photos of new gear, including electric guitars, acoustic guitars, basses, amps, effects and accessories.
The cover -- and the entire Buyer's Guide -- stars Playboy's Crystal Harris and Anna Berglund.
"When my good friends at Playboy called to say Crystal Harris and Anna Sophia Berglund were available to appear in this year’s Buyer’s Guide, I heard them loud and clear," says Buyer's Guide Editor-In-Chief Paul Riario. "After all, Anna was Playboy’s Miss January 2011, while Crystal was Miss December 2009 and — at the time that we set out to create this guide — the bride-to-be of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.
"Unfortunately, as we went to press, the only thing that remained crystal clear was the fact that the marriage was indeed off. Once it was confirmed, we were able to quickly change our cover lines, but Playboy didn’t have that opportunity because she appears on their cover as 'Mrs. Crystal Hefner.' Whoops. Call it a collector’s issue!"
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.