LAGUNA BASSES
As professional industry watchers, we’ve practically made a pastime of marveling at the ever-climbing price-to-quality curve in instrument building. Once every year or two we see another round of new instruments that mark the latest milestone in how much you can get for how little. The latest eye-poppers are from Laguna Guitars, which are designed by veteran industry hands in the U.S. and built in Indonesia. For 500 bones ($979 list/$499 street), you can get a Laguna LB524, which has dual humbucking pickups and a choice of gorgeous tops: koa, ovangkol, sao, spalted maple (pictured), quilted maple, or bubinga. If you’re looking for a nifty gift for a late Holiday remembrance, you can get the Laguna Ultimate Bass Pack for $349. It combines the single-pickup LB224 4- string with a Line 6 Lowdown combo amp, accessories, and a DVD. Laguna acoustics include the $399 bubinga LAB5 (pictured) with a Fishman Classic 4T preamp and the $599 LAB7, armed with a Fishman Prefix Plus. www.playlaguna.com
— BILL LEIGH
MONO GS1 GUITAR STRAPS
If you’re worried about the weight of a new 6-string beast on your shoulder, Mono’s new straps are specially designed to help you forget your axe is even there. Like their bomb-proof gig-bags, Mono’s new GS1 straps ($50 list, $39 street) are similarly clad in industrial padding and steel hardware, and feature nifty appointments like memory foam cores and concealed pick pockets. Available in varying degrees of gig-resistance, from waterproof Sharkskin for playing outdoors in England, to comfy Ultra-suede, GS1s feature neoprene bellies and wide-wale designs to help spread the weight of any many-stringed surfboards you have in your collection. Although aimed at invincibility, Mono’s slick minimalist designs and sly features (including custom rivets) keep the GS1s from resembling military hardware. www.monocase.com
—TOM COX