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Strandberg Boden Standard NX 6 Plini Edition Mirage
Guitars Strandberg launches limited edition Plini Boden Standard with glow-in-the-dark Mirage graphic finish
Epiphone goes high-end with its Inspired By Gibson Custom 2025 collection: [from left] the '63 Firebird in Polaris White is joined by a 1959 Les Paul Standard, a '64 SG Standard, a 1960 Les Paul Special in TV Yellow and a 1962 ES-335 reissue.
Guitars Epiphone expands and upgrades Inspired By Gibson Custom range with 8 stunning "reissue" electrics
Harley Benton Custom Line Nashville-Nylon BK: the latest nylon-string hybrid electro-acoustic from the German budget gear giant is a super-affordable option for players looking for that Tim Henson vibe. Just look at those decorative F-holes.
Guitars Harley Benton's Nashville Nylon might just be the most affordable electro-acoustic nylon-string yet
Jackson X and JS Series Surfcasters: the long-awaited offset electric guitar is now being offered in white, satin black and metallic black, and and at the entry-level JS price point and the mid-priced X Series.
Guitars “A bold new take on a classic metal machine”: Having ridden the wave of popular demand, Jackson’s Surfcaster offset has landed – and it’s built for speed
Jackson Pro Plus Series Misha Mansoor Juggernaut: the newly refreshed signature Superstrat is offered in Red Crystal and Blue Sparkle with a string-through-hardtail, and in Riviera Blue with an EverTune bridge. Stainless steel frets and an ebony fingerboard come as standard.
Guitars Jackson gives Misha Mansoor’s Juggernaut a new lick of paint and upgrades to stainless steel frets
EVH Gear Wolfgang WG Standard T.O.M.
Guitars Hold the Floyd: EVH reimagines Wolfgang Standard as a high-performance shredder with a TOM bridge
Kiesel Kyber: the all-new electric guitar from the Californian high-performance brand is a bold double-cut with some extreme contouring and a radical headstock design.
Guitars Kiesel debuts the Kyber – a radically contoured and super lightweight electric that screams shred
  1. Guitars

The 6 best new guitar innovations of 2016

News
By The MusicRadar Team published 15 December 2016

Which guitar company thought outside the box in 2016?

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Electro-Harmonix Mel9

Electro-Harmonix Mel9

The Total Guitar Best in guitars 2016 polls have received over 68,000 votes, and we're now ready to roll out the winners. The nominees were what we considered to be the guitarists and guitar gear that have excelled in 2016. Here, we present the best guitar innovation of 2016. First up we have the Electro-Harmonix Mel9…

We said: “Guitarists with MIDI guitars have had access to Mellotron sounds before, but this is the first time any six-stringer can recreate that vintage vibe from a plug-in-and-play pedal.”

Full review: Electro-Harmonix Mel9

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6
T-Rex Replicator

T-Rex Replicator

We said: “Here's the opportunity to own a real tape echo, endowed with a practical feature set in a compact stage-ready form.”

Full review: T-Rex Replicator

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
DigiTech Trio+

DigiTech Trio+

We said: “Adds everything on our wish list from the original. This is truly a band in a box, and one that you can use live to boot.”

Full review: DigiTech Trio+

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6
Yamaha TransAcoustic

Yamaha TransAcoustic

We said: “Everything you need for an enhanced playing experience, without the fuss of outboard effects. Bags of fun and with a definite practical edge, too. Seriously, try one.”

Full review: Yamaha TransAcoustic

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6
TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler

TC Electronic Mimiq Doubler

We said: “TC is aiming this one at the metalheads among you, and based on the evidence we've seen so far, it should fatten up riffs and solos a treat.”

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6
Winner: Line 6 Helix

Winner: Line 6 Helix

We said: “The Helix is a real powerhouse that can be used on its own or as the centre piece of an extended gear system.”

Full review: Line 6 Helix

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
The MusicRadar Team
The MusicRadar Team
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Read more
Strandberg Boden Standard NX 6 Plini Edition Mirage
Strandberg launches limited edition Plini Boden Standard with glow-in-the-dark Mirage graphic finish
Epiphone goes high-end with its Inspired By Gibson Custom 2025 collection: [from left] the '63 Firebird in Polaris White is joined by a 1959 Les Paul Standard, a '64 SG Standard, a 1960 Les Paul Special in TV Yellow and a 1962 ES-335 reissue.
Epiphone expands and upgrades Inspired By Gibson Custom range with 8 stunning "reissue" electrics
Harley Benton Custom Line Nashville-Nylon BK: the latest nylon-string hybrid electro-acoustic from the German budget gear giant is a super-affordable option for players looking for that Tim Henson vibe. Just look at those decorative F-holes.
Harley Benton's Nashville Nylon might just be the most affordable electro-acoustic nylon-string yet
Jackson X and JS Series Surfcasters: the long-awaited offset electric guitar is now being offered in white, satin black and metallic black, and and at the entry-level JS price point and the mid-priced X Series.
“A bold new take on a classic metal machine”: Having ridden the wave of popular demand, Jackson’s Surfcaster offset has landed – and it’s built for speed
Jackson Pro Plus Series Misha Mansoor Juggernaut: the newly refreshed signature Superstrat is offered in Red Crystal and Blue Sparkle with a string-through-hardtail, and in Riviera Blue with an EverTune bridge. Stainless steel frets and an ebony fingerboard come as standard.
Jackson gives Misha Mansoor’s Juggernaut a new lick of paint and upgrades to stainless steel frets
EVH Gear Wolfgang WG Standard T.O.M.
Hold the Floyd: EVH reimagines Wolfgang Standard as a high-performance shredder with a TOM bridge
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MusicRadar deals of the week: The 4th of July sales are here, and you can score $1,000 off a Vox guitar, $600 off the Music Man St. Vincent, as well as hundreds off gear from Alesis, Roland, Yamaha and more
Harley Benton ST-80FR
Harley Benton erupts with '80s shred fever as it launches the Floyd-equipped ST-80FR Series S-styles
Uli Jon Roth wears a blue bandana as he plays a G3 date in 2018 with his Sky guitar.
Uli Jon Roth says his Sky Guitar’s active pickup system was so powerful it blew up his amps
Behringer BM-15M Murf Box: this vintage-style multi-filter pedal has eight filters, selectable patterns and MIDI control
Behringer unveils the BM-15M Murf Box, a $129 animated filtering pedal based on a ‘00s Moog classic
Catalinbread Proto Club Triton Pitch Echo
“The Tritone was universally loved by the crew but the vibes clashed with the palette of the Soft Focus Deluxe”: Catalinbread is selling off its prototype guitar pedals, and the first is a “B-side” pitch echo from its smash-hit shoegaze stompbox
Strandberg Boden Standard NX 6 Plini Edition Mirage
Strandberg launches limited edition Plini Boden Standard with glow-in-the-dark Mirage graphic finish
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"In a blind test of 100 musicians, it beat the $200 plugin 3-to-1. Not bad for a free app": AudioKit releases Synth One J6, a free Juno-inspired synth for iOS
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BBC confirm that they won’t be showing his Glastonbury set “at the artist’s request”
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“The energy on there was unreal”: Sam Ryder performs an impromptu set for passengers on a Glastonbury-bound train
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