The best guitar equipment of the 21st century (up to now)] - Guitar | Technique

A lot can happen in 25 years. We’ve seen digital products go from strength to strength. At the turn of the millennium, such tools were probably best described as sufficient, while even analog purists would be forced to admit that the hardware and software of today is groundbreaking.

The general template for guitar building hasn’t changed too drastically, though there has been serious innovation in places, best evidenced by the 2019 arrival of Fender’s Acoustasonic line, which blurred the line between electric and acoustic instruments.

The boutique pedal boom has led to people waiting months (and even years?) for their own custom-built unit, and secondhand overdrives eventually changing hands for several thousands of dollars – something few would have predicted a handful of decades ago.

And then there’s been the rise of smart amps – powerful devices small enough to fit into a backpack several times over, many of which come with an abundance of effects, backing tracks and tools to learn, all controlled via their own dedicated apps. Even smaller parts like bridges and strings have been through various stages of evolution to help players sound bigger and better.

Below, Guitar World’s editors have selected 50 of the most pioneering releases from the last 25 years, all presented in roughly chronological order.

PRS stunned the world in 2001 with the introduction of the SE series, their very first overseas-made line, which started off with an affordable take on the Carlos Santana signature model.

Since then, the range has expanded with Custom 24, McCarty, semi-hollow, hollowbody, extended range and more signature models, almost always sitting as the highest-quality and best-sounding guitars of their price range.

Truth be told, there was still a fair bit of distance between the early SE instruments and the Core series, though in recent years PRS has been narrowing the gap by offering bird inlays, shallow violin carves, quilt tops and higher-grade electronics with switching – all well-considered upgrades to create the PRS “experience” regardless of an instrument’s place of birth.

Though the guitars were originally made by World Musical Instrument Co. Ltd. in Korea, since 2019 most SE models have been built at the Cor-Tek factory in Indonesia, with acoustics and hollowbody models being manufactured at Cor-Tek’s Chinese factory. It’s a winning formula that soon turned them into the third-best-selling guitar brand.

Boss loop station was released in 2001 and changed the game in terms of what could be sonically achieved by one player, allowing users to record, overdub, save and even quantize whatever was being fed into it.

The now-discontinued twin pedal was especially versatile for singer/guitarists, with inputs and volume controls for microphones and instruments, and phrases could be saved and then recalled on up to 11 different banks.

It even came with a reverse mode – which, despite not being something you’d necessarily expect for a looper pedal, will have come in handy during any drunken heckles for Castles Made of Sand, Give It Away and I’m Only Sleeping. Since then, the line has been expanded considerably, with the manufacturers describing their all-bells-and-whistles RC-600 as “the most advanced looper on earth.”

Elixir Nanoweb Strings

Elixir Acoustic Strings — (Image credit: Elixir Strings)

Though Elixir initially launched in 1997 with their ultra-thin polymer-coated strings, it was the arrival of their anti-rust Nanoweb sets four years later that really left its mark on the guitar-playing universe.

With most of us tending to prefer the sound of new strings while also being less keen on spending the money and time required to replace each set, the idea of long-life strings that keep their clarity and resonance was always destined to be a big hit.

Thanks to the Nanoweb coating, all the sweat and grime would be kept away from the string itself, retaining the higher levels of brightness and sustain you’d expect from a fresh pack. Notable endorsees have included John Paul Jones, Kaki King, Johnny Hiland and Bernd “Bernth” Brodträger.

Analog Man King of Tone Overdrive

Best pedals for blues: Analogman King Of Tone — (Image credit: Analogman)

How long would you be prepared to wait for your own custom-made boutique pedal? In the case of Analog Man’s King of Tone dual overdrive, the current build time is estimated at around five years.

The pedal was launched in November 2003 by Mike Piera, who took inspiration from the Marshall Bluesbreaker overdrive and added in his own modifications, including the internal DIP switches to select varying modes of gain. It’s an incredibly versatile pedal in that sense, famous for its highly dynamic touch-sensitive response at lower levels and more of a full-throated roar when turned up.

Noel Gallagher, Brad Whitford, John Petrucci, Samantha Fish, Gary Clark Jr. and Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, which shows how it’s the kind of twin drive that can thrive in just about any kind of rig and musical environment.

AnalogMan King Of Tone | Reverb Demo Video – YouTube