It’s a new year…and that means it’s time for some new gear. And it’s also time for Guitar World’s annual New Year New Gear guide. Because while we’re still shaking off the chill of winter, things are already heating up with lots of great new products.
In this first installment, Guitar World’s Paul Riario and Alan Chaput explore innovative and eye-popping guitars and hardware upgrades that are guaranteed to get your six-string work off to a sizzling start.
First up is Ciari’s Ascender Standard, billed as the world's first and only patented, professional-grade, full-sized, folding guitar. The innovative model combines sophisticated design with expert luthier craftsmanship, with an asymmetric, surf-forward body style that is compact and foldable, and uniquely crafted for the modern musician who demands precision, portability and performance.
At the heart of the Ascender is Ciari’s patented folding mechanism, the Actuator, which, via an aircraft-grade mid-neck hinge, translating truss rods and a floating bridge, allows the guitar to fold symmetrically in half. An elegantly unique string management system keeps the strings in place and under tension when the Ascender is folded, while custom locking tuners ensure everything stays crisp and in tune.
Other features include a 24 ¾-inch scale and 22-fret neck, Seymour Duncan ‘59 humbuckers, proprietary locking tuners, a string yoke to hold strings in place when the guitar is folded and computer-controlled PLEK machining technology to ensure perfect action and incredible playability. What’s more, the guitar in offered in five eye-catching finishes and comes with a small carry-anywhere gig bag and available matching backpack.
Paul and Alan keep the innovation going with LAVA MUSIC’s BLUE LAVA Original and LAVA ME 3 guitars. The latter model comes equipped with a three-and-a-half-inch multi-touchscreen display, as well as the company’s HILAVA operating system, which provides a wealth of applications that grant users easy access to tools such as a tuner, metronome, looper, a variety of effects and an audio recorder, all controlled via touch. You also a range of onboard sound effects, as well as a Loops app that offers over 100 grooves of different genres and a Practice app with five practice modes.
The guitar’s unibody carbon fiber body is fortified with the company’s FreeBoost 2.0 accentuator, which works with the internal Honeycomb structure to provide boosted vibrations and a more pronounced low-end. Finally, Lava Music’s 4-MASS technology maintains harmonic resonance around the soundbox and contributes to a clear, full and rich sound.
The BLUE LAVA Original, meanwhile, is a more streamlined and affordable version of the company’s BLUE LAVA acoustic-electric, only in place of that model’s touchscreen, you get onboard chorus, delay and reverb effects for a full and ambient tone. Players can add these effects with the touch of a button via Lava Music’s L2 preamp, which boost sounds without plugging into an amp. The preamp’s FreeBoost technology enables the guitar to be employed as a speaker, and it’s all wrapped up in a compact, lightweight weatherproof body fortified with Lava Music’s 4-Mass technology construction and finished in a stunning walnut frost colorway.
Finally, Paul and Alan shift their focus from guitars to guitar hardware – specifically, to FU-Tone.com, the first name in guitar hardware upgrades.
The lauded company produces everything from brass blocks and claws to titanium posts, saddle inserts, springs and screws, providing all the upgrades you need to make your six-string roar. And they do it in style: all of FU-Tone’s hardware upgrades for your guitar’s surface – posts, saddle inserts, saddle mounting screws, string lock screws and nut clamping screws – are offered in a variety of wild colors to either match or add some pop to your instrument’s finish.
It's no wonder that FU-Tone is the first choice for upgrades for guitar legends like Slash, Phil Collen, Nuno Bettencourt, George Lynch and others. If you want to sound like a legend, too, head over to FU-Tone now.
GuitarWorld.com created this content as part of a paid partnership with Ciari, LAVA MUSIC and FU-Tone. The contents of this article are entirely independent and solely reflect the editorial opinion of Guitar World.
