Help wanted: this Pederson EVA-UM is having a serious impact on productivity in the office, and needs to find a new home. It is simply too distracting to our staff by the strength of its projection and the clarity across its strings, not to mention its eye-popping good looks. It’s not hard to guess why the Acoustic Guitar Forum voted this the 2016 Guitar Model of the Year.

Claro Walnut back and sides paired with a Bearclaw Sitka Spruce top, all married to an adjustable neck joint, Florentine Cutaway, and offset soundhole, is the complete package for everything from flatpicked fiddle tunes in standard to fingerstyle soundings from the depths of altered tunings. Kevin Pederson’s striking inlays lance across the back of the neck and ring the offset soundhole in an contemporary asymmetrical mosaic. 20 sparkling EVO gold frets across the fretboard for maximum fret longevity, and both an arm bevel for your right hand and a bevelled Florentine Cutaway for your left. Pederson’s pinless bridge and offset soundhole help maximize the top’s resonance (obvious after the first strum, Kevin’s voicing technique is dialed in for articulate bass and juicy trebles).

All wrapped up in an Ameritage case and set up to play like butter from mama’s kitchen: the 2016 Pederson EVA-UM.

Cannon, anyone? We rarely find a guitar that delivers so completely. This 2016 Pellerin Jumbo is a sheer force of nature: huge voice, sustain, note-for-note clarity, and style. We had to set a timer whenever we sat down to play this beast, or we’d completely lose track of time and there goes the day! It handles flatpicks like it born to be strummed, but when you bring your fingerstyle chops to bear this Pellerin does anything but disappoint.
Birdseye Maple back and sides, Engelmann Spruce top, and Michel’s Art Deco brand of sunburst all over the place—this Jumbo soaks into your bones, and you won’t want to let go.

Here’s a Petros that’s at home in just about every setting. The voice is characterized by evenness and clarity, with great balance across the strings for both fingerstyle and flatpicking play, while the Grand Concert body size is big enough for power and projection, but still perfectly sized for comfort. Back and sides are a light colored set of Ceylon Satinwood, of which we’ve only seen a handful of guitars, and Petros paired that with an Alaskan Yellow Cedar top, plus Tasmanian Blackwood bindings, additional Abalone trim and appointments, and a venetian style cutaway. EVO frets are still going strong since 2015, and let’s be honest they’re going to continue to hold up great for years to come. A slender 1 11/16″ nut makes for quick lefthand work, paired with a slick setup for easy peasy playability, and a Fishman Ellipse pickup carries you right onto stage. Comes wrapped up in a custom Karura flight case!

Other keywords: fingerpicking, al petteway, 32415, ceder, tbw, gc