Duesenberg, Kali Audio + more: our top five gear releases of the week
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18.02.2021

Duesenberg, Kali Audio + more: our top five gear releases of the week

Words by Will Brewster

Our guide to the biggest drops in the gear world this week.

Been out of the loop with everything that’s gone down in the world of gear this week? No problemo. Here’s all the best releases we’ve seen over the past few days from the likes of Duesenberg, Kali Audio, Gretsch, Dean and Godin – let’s go!

This week’s top picks:

  • Duesenberg The Falken
  • Kali Audio IN-5
  • Gretsch G5622 Electromatic Centre Block Double-Cut with V-Stoptail
  • Dean MD 24 Floyd
  • Godin Fairmount CH Composer QIT

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Duesenberg The Falken

Introducing a brand new body shape for the company, Duesenberg’s The Falken takes cues from classic models from Gibson and Gretsch and bundles them up into a hyper-modern, super-playable instrument. It features a reverse alder body and a Plek’d maple neck with a 22 fret Indian rosewood fretboard, and can be purchased with either a Wrapper Stop-Tailpiece or Radiator Tremola.

The Falken is loaded with a pair of Split/King pickups with two recessed switches to toggle between humbucking and single-coil modes, while a volume and tone control let you fiddle with their sounds further. Elsewhere, there’s a brushed aluminium pickguard with matching hardware, while a double bound body and slick Black finish come together to result in a visually striking instrument.

Kali Audio IN-5

Continuing their recent mission to hook up producers all over the world with affordable, top-tier monitoring solutions, Kali Audio have debuted their IN-5 Nearfield Monitors. Based on the blueprint of their acclaimed IN-8 monitors, these coaxial speakers feature 5″ woofers and 4″ midrange waveguide speakers with an inbuilt 1″ textile dome tweeter, and are powered by 160 watts of Class-D tri-amp power.

With a frequency range of 39Hz–25kHz and a maximum SPL of 112 dB, these puppies should suffice for most production purposes, with their recommended listening distance of 02.-2.2 metres making them suitable for those running a desk-bound setup. There’s also inputs for XLR, 1/4″ TRS and RCA, while boundary EQ lets you tweak the sound of the IN-5 to suit your room.

Gretsch G5622 Electromatic Centre Block Double-Cut with V-Stoptail

In addition to introducing a new array of finishes for its Bigsby-equipped brethren, Gretsch have bolstered their affordable Electromatic Centre Block collection today with the new G5622 Electromatic Center Block Double-Cut with V-Stoptail.

With a double-cut maple body and chambered spruce centre block, the G5622 provides both unparalleled resonance and lightweight comfort, all while allowing the player to tap into those killer tones Gretsch are famous for. Two Blacktop Broad’Tron humbuckers do the heavy lifting and are controlled by a three-way toggle switch, while a Graph Tech NuBone nut and Adjusto-Matic bridge ensure it’ll stay in tune without any worries.

Dean MD 24 Floyd

Shred-lords Dean have debuted a refreshed run of MD 24 Floyd Super Strats to bring the golden era of riffs back to the forefront, and personally, we’re all here for it. These models, kitted out with roasted maple necks and fretboards and some incredibly loud ’80s-inspired finishes, are loaded with Seymour Duncan TB5 humbuckers in the bridge and Seymour Duncan APH-1s in the neck position, letting you achieve iconic rhythm and lead tones alike.

Other appointments include basswood bodies, Floyd Rose 1000 series double-locking tremolos and Grover tuners, while a slim-C neck profile and 24 frets encourage zippy movements up and down the fretboard.

Godin Fairmount CH Composer QIT

In the market for a folky, small-bodied acoustic to coax all those songs out of the woodworks? Godin’s new all-mahogany Fairmount CH Composer QIT might just be your ticket. With its 25.5″ scale, shallow Concert Hall body shape and 43.7mm nut width, this Canadian-made acoustic is perfect for finger-picking and strumming alike, with its mahogany construction giving it a warm timbre that’ll sit wonderfully in the midrange.

Additionally, the CH Composer QIT is loaded with an under-saddle transducer pickup with controls for Volume, Treble, Bass and a tuner on the upper slope of the body, with the guitar being rounded out by a NuBone nut, open-gear tuners and a tortoiseshell pickguard. Hear it in action below.

Missed out on last week’s edition of our favourite gear releases? Don’t sweat it – head on over this way to catch up.