Editors’ Delights

We walked the halls at the Summer NAMM show in Nashville, and we saw many things. Some of those things immediately caught our eyes, and stopped us dead in our tracks. Here are 15 cool products— photographed right from the show floor—that we think you should definitely check out.

BARRY CLEVELAND

DigiTech Whammy DT

This showstopper adds true bypass switching, drop-tuning capabilities, the ability to shift entire chords, and much more to the classic Whammy. Price: $299 street. digitech.com

EarthQuaker Devices Bit Commander Guitar Synthesizer

A very cool analog pedal that creates a sub octave, an octave down, and an octave up, and lets you adjust the individual levels and the overall tone. Price: $175 direct. earthquakerdevices.com

Red Witch 7 Sisters Effects Pedals

Diminutive pedals powered by rechargeable lithium ion batteries— good for two or more weeks of gigging per charge. Price: $159 street (each). redwitchanalogpedals.com

Teuffel Guitars Tesla Prodigy #2

A futuristic-looking guitar that combines the Studio and Classic Tesla models in a single guitar. Prices start at $14,500. teuffel.com

Bad Cat Cougar Series Amps

Great-sounding, Chinesemade amps that offer much of the same build quality and sound of their U.S.- made counterparts, but at lower prices. Prices: 50-watt head, $999; 2x12 combo, $1,299; 5-watt Cougar 5, $699. badcatamps.com

MIKE MOLENDA

Traynor DH25H QuarterHorse

A 25-watt amp with two channels, tremolo, delay, and reverb that drops right into the front pocket of my guitar’s soft case? I have one word: mine. Price: N/A. traynoramps.com

SKB FootNote

The 5-watt, amplified pedalboard drove a Marshall 4x12 with enough volume to jam over the NAMM din. Wow! Price: $179. skbcases.com

DigiTech iPB-10

An elegant display of tonal power—an iPad-powered multi-effects pedal. Price: $499 street. digitech.com

Godin 5th Avenue Uptown GT

This beautiful rock- and rockabilly-ready raver with two humbuckers and a Bigsby is a dream machine. Price: $1,395 street. godinguitars.com

Framus Hollywood

I adore Earl Slick, but I’m not ready to drop more than $5k on his signature model—yet. Happily, the madein- Korea Hollywoods get me in the Slick ballpark— cosmetically, at least—for under $1,000. framus.de

Art Thompson

Amptweaker Tight Rock

This high-gain distortion/overdrive pedal (the red one being played by Amptweaker’s James Brown) features a unique Side Trak loop for instant switching to an external effect. Price: $200 direct. amptweaker.com

Electro- Harmonix Ravish Sitar

A ravishingly cool pedal that makes it easy to get psychedelic “sitar” sounds in the wheelhouse of the old Danelectro Coral Sitar. Price: N/A. ehx.com

Hughes & Kettner Tube Meister 18

This 18-watt, EL84-powered micro head features Clean and Lead channels with boost function, an effects loop, XLR recording out, and selectable power. Price: N/A. hughes-and-kettner.com

Fishman Loudbox Artist

This ballsier (120 watts), bi-amped version of the original Loudbox 100 sports two mic/instrument channels and a new dual digital effects section. Price: $499 street. fishman.com

Loar LH-309 Archtop

Imagine a great-playing, glossfinished archtop with a solidspruce top and a P-90 pickup for an astounding $499. No, you’re not dreaming! theloar.com