makes this big-bodied 6-string much
more comfortable to play. Gayla Drake
Paul was understandably effusive when
it came to describing her playing experi-
ence with the Small Jumbo (July 2010).
She found it “brilliantly velvety and
shimmeringly warm,” adding “this guitar
takes my breath away every time I pick it
up. It has fantastic low end. There’s bass
to burn, but it’s so clean—there’s not a
bit of mud to be found.” Smooth and
balanced, the Small Jumbo proved ideal
for recording. And Paul found it equally
suited for alternate-tuning fingerstyle
work or strumming. So, with this much
tone and versatility, does it really matter
what oxymoronic moniker it bears?
Street $3200
dmunnguitars.com
Flammang Grand Concert
Sometimes there’s just no purer
embodiment of guitar art than a beauti-
ful, well-built, perfectly proportioned
acoustic. And that’s certainly what we
got in the Flammang Grand Concert
(March 2010), an elegant and under-
stated Carpathian Spruce and Brazilian
rosewood beauty that sounded like a
slice of heaven. Gayla Drake Paul was
bowled over by her experience of play-
ing the Flammang, saying “this is what
guitars are supposed to sound like:
rich and brilliant, full and warm with no
nasal midrange, and no mushy, muddy
bottom end. Just play an open chord,
like an Em7, and let it go.” And while
the Flammang Grand Concert is most
likely intended for fingerstylists, Paul
found it to be a great vehicle for flat-
picking, as well as an even-voiced tone
machine tailor-made for the microscope
of the recording studio—and free
of “crunchy or snotty overtones” or
“unmanageable boominess.”
MSRP $7900 (as reviewed)
flammangguitars.com
Jetter Jetdrive Dual OD
With a lot of low- to medium-gain overdrives on the market, it’s
not unusual to feel like you’ve got limited options. Not so with the
dual-channel Jetter Jetdrive Dual OD (December 2009 web exclusive), which offers up a truly impressive palette of OD hues, superior
responsiveness, and transparency that lets your amp do the things
it does best. The Jetdrive’s two basic channels—the 6V6-ish “Blue”
channel and the more Anglo-sounding “Green” channel—offer
two distinct worlds of overdrive to work with. But with the capacity
FEATURE
for one channel to drive the other
(depending on which gain knob you
set higher) and channel-specific Tone
controls that can be used together
for even more complex blends, the
Jetdrive easily inhabits tonal territory
all its own. Reviewer Michael Ross
found that “sustained single-note
bends bloomed into the kind of high
harmonic found only in the best boutique amps,” and that humbuckers used with the blue channel “sent it to fat-city, without a trace of
mud.” Ross summed things up by calling the Jetdrive a “two-channel
boutique in a pedal.”
Street $249
jettergear.com
L.R. Baggs Anthem Tru-Mic Pickup System
Reviewer Gayla Drake Paul calls this
dual-source acoustic system “a truly
giant leap forward” for those who
want their great-sounding acoustics to
sound amazing even at ungodly stage
volumes. Find out what sets it apart in
this month’s full review on p. 188.
Street $299
lrbaggs.com
PRS Ted McCarty DC 245 Limited Run
It’s probably not a stunner to see a PRS
McCarty among our Premier Gear award
winners. After all, it’s a guitar that a gazil-lion players have lusted after since the
model debuted in 1994. In its DC 245
Limited Run incarnation, however, the
McCarty is outfitted with the company’s
much-lauded 57/08 pickups, vintage-inspired aesthetic touches (like brushed-nickel pickup covers and an understated,
slightly aged-looking smokeburst finish),
and fancy touches (like bird inlays) that
Smith incorporated as a special tribute
to Ted McCarty, the former Gibson
president and design pioneer. Reviewer
Jordan Wagner couldn’t find enough
ways to praise the 57/08 pickups, calling them “utterly fantastic.” Over the
course of evaluating the McCarty (April
2010 web exclusive), Wagner found that
“midrange response from the pickups is
very soft, but each frequency is audible
and discernable, making them rather difficult to muddy up. Combined with tight,
blooming lows and a very unique, singing high end, the whole package is just extraordinary.” And in the end, Wagner called the McCarty
DC245 Limited an “extraordinary tribute from one visionary to another.”
Street $3395
prsguitars.com
