GEAR ROUND UP
Moonbird Folk Acoustic / Electric Guitar by Luna
Silvertone – Twin Tremolo Pedal Ascender Trio by Ciari Guitars
Luna guitars do a fabulous job of merging appealing cosmetics and artwork in their instruments while maintaining playability, value, and sound quality. One of their new releases for 2025 is the Moonbird Folk Acoustic / Electric guitar that WM received for review. Before we dig into the details the part that grabs you first with the Luna Moonbird is the semi-transparent Midnight Blue finish. Then you notice the birds in flight on the pickguard and headstock. Moon phases in pearloid on the fretboard and the Luna logo is inlayed in the headstock. Luna crafted the cutaway acoustic body from mahogany with a solid spruce top, Eastern mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard and bridge. I feel like the bone nut and open back tuners add to the resonance of this instrument too. Along with built-in Fishman Presys II electronics that includes 2-band EQ and onboard tuner. The nut width on the Moonbird is a comfortable 1 11 / 16” with a C shaped neck and matte finish on the back of the neck creating less hand resistance. This would be an ideal intermediate instrument for a young person looking to upgrade their guitar and seeking better electronics and cosmetic features. Priced at $ 499 the Luna Moonbird is a bargain in an acoustic / electric guitar with cutaway and looks like a much more expensive guitar! www. lunaguitars. com
This was in my NAMM show 5 Cool things list but I wanted to go into more depth on this powerful new pedal by Silvertone and Jackson Audio. Silvertone has been on a mission to distill down their historic amps and effects into roadworthy guitar pedals that do the originals justice, if not surpassing them in some ways. The first design, the 1484 Twin Twelve pedal was so popular the first year it was launched that the companies couldn’ t keep up with production. The new Twin Trem is created on a similar premise and a medal enclosure and amp jewel reminiscent of early Silvertone amplifiers. The Twin Trem delivers both of the tremolo sound effects Silvertone was known for the Optical and the Harmonic, which sound very different. Each effect has its own Speed, Depth, Volume and input and outputs. Meaning you can run them in a chain, whichever one you want first, or you can place either Trem sound in between your other effects of choice. For tremolo fans this is a dream pedal to achieve retro tremolo happiness with or create your own new trem variations for your new music. The Silvertone Twin Trem sells for $ 299 which comes down to $ 150 per tremolo and it is built with Jackson Audio quality! www. silvertoneguitars. com
Ciari Guitars, based in Nashville, TN released their new Ascender Trio guitars at the winter NAMM show. While maintaining many of the same features as their past instruments the Ascender Trio features three pickups. The Trio is available in HSH, HSS or SSS configurations depending on the ratio of Humbucker to Single Coil pickups you desire on the guitar. All of the pickups are Seymour Duncan and my favorite configuration for versatility was the HSS. The single coil pickups in the neck and middle position were full and bright, but I like the fatter tone a Seymour Duncan 59’ humbucker delivers in the bridge position. The pickup selector allows you to combine the pickups as you desire or isolate them. The Ciari guitar body is made of basswood, mahogany neck and ebony fingerboard. The innovative Ciari patented folding neck joint allows the guitar to collapse down to 18.5 inches and fit a backpack travel bag. Available finishes include Virtual Blue, Rampart Red, Seafoam Green, Olympic White and Jet Black. All Ascender Trio guitars by Ciari are priced at $ 1,999, you pick your favorite pickup configuration! www. ciariguitars. com
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