Here’s a look at the guitars, amps and other gear that have captured the staff’s attention most recently:

Jim Baggett – Collings 042 Brazilian Acoustic
This is a little guitar with a big sound – and so lovely to look at. 

Josh Baldridge – Eastman E20 00 Acoustic
This 00 really has more depth and power than you’d expect from the 00 size and it feels great too. Eastman looked at one of Jim’s 00-28 guitars in creating this which is really cool and I think they did a great job.

Eric Mardis – Grosh NOS Retro – Gilmour (used)
I can’t imagine a better builder than Grosh to make a David Gilmour inspired guitar – which I ordered for the store partly due to my year-long Pink Floyd renaissance (which my kids are getting into now too). This NOS is awesome, with the aesthetics of Gilmour’s guitar right down to the shortened trem bar. For singing lead tones, this is it – even unplugged the body just resonates beautifully, like all the Grosh NOS guitars.

Eric Putnam – Anderson Short Hollow Mongrel
This electric feels great and looks awesome. Anderson always pays close attention to detail and this guitar is a great example of that. The Chocolate maple finger board looks killer and the built-in boost is a very useful feature. This guitar can cover any gig.

Mike Runyon – Eastman E 10 00 SS Mahogany Acoustic
I’ve always liked the warmth of all-mahogany guitars. This particular Mahogany also has some really vivid flaming, almost looks like Koa.  The fit and finish are top notch for a guitar at this price too.

Susan Willits – Collings MT GT Mandolin
This is a great mando with beautiful construction and a really nice, punchy sound.

Ted Kritikos – Fender 72 Telecaster Deluxe (used)
If you’re looking to get maximum sparkles for your dollar, you can’t beat this guitar.  It plays and sounds great, too.

Anne Tangeman – Epiphone Les Paul Pro Ltd. Ed (used)
I usually have an aversion to heavier guitars, but this one is just about 7 ½ lbs, the pickups sound great and it’s priced right. The Les Paul just has so much great growl. This would make a great rocker for someone without breaking the bank.

Thomas Hamm – Gibson Les Paul Classic Plus (used)
Sometimes, no matter how familiar you already are with a guitar, you just want to play one because it reminds you of your first. For me, that would be this Gibson 1999 Les Paul Classic Plus. Same golden finish, same uncovered humbuckers, just significantly better. It’s like a grown-up version of that old Les Paul I spent hours on learning Master of Puppets front to back.