GUITARS CONT'D
EPIPHONE
MASTERBILT DE LUXE ARCHTOPS
The massive new line of swanky Masterbilt Century acoustic-electric archtops
ranges from the small-bodied Olympic to the medium-sized Zenith and
Zenith Classic, and the larger De Luxe and De Luxe Classic. All feature solid
spruce tops and practically invisible transducer-based electronics, and street
prices go from about $500 to $899. epiphone.com
BALAGUER
THICKET
For their NAMM debut, Pennsylvania-based
Balaguer Guitars showed off an interesting take on
the T-style. The Thicket sports a pair of tappable
Balaguer Hemlock Evergreen humbuckers and
a wonderfully inviting hard-rock maple neck.
Various options are available, and the base price is
$850 street. balaguerguitars.com
EASTMAN
E40D
THE LOAR
L-014
The Loar’s new mid-priced L-014 flattop
($499 street) features a solid spruce top,
laminated mahogany back and sides, and
a body that’s deeper than your typical
00-style. theloar.com
42 PREMIER GUITAR SEPTEMBER 2016
Dressed in extravagant details
like snowflake-, oval-, and
diamond-shaped inlays, abalone
binding and rosette, and intricate
headstock ornamentation, the allsolid, Adirondack spruce-topped
E40D dreadnought takes its
place at the top of the company’s
line with a street price of around
$2,499. eastmanguitars.com
premierguitar.com