Best Guitar Gear of 2025: Stuff I’d Actually Buy
Putting my money where my mouth is...
5,0 / 5,0 | 
The best guitar gear of 2025 is truly subjective. Therefore, here’s my pick of products that I would actually consider buying, or did indeed get my wallet out for.
My Picks
Best Guitar Gear of 2025
Well, can you believe it? Another year has passed. As this highlights post lands, it’ll actually be 2026! So, Happy New Year!
If your head isn’t aching too much, here are my personal highlights from the products that were released across 2025, with a difference. Rather than focusing on wallet-crushing products that you’d be scared to tell your wife about, I’ve rounded up products that I’d actually want to invest in.
Moreover, there are also some products that I genuinely purchased with my own money via Thomann. It’s easy to sit and wax lyrical about cool guitars, pedals and amps. However, it’s not very often that I want to get hold of one for myself.
Boss Katana GO
Kicking us off is a product that initially came out in 2024, but was sadly discontinued. Not a problem, as back in February, Boss released the 2nd generation of the *Katana GO personal headphone amp. And you’ll never guess who bought one?
Why should you buy a Boss Katana GO? Well, because the 30 factory presets sound fantastic, with virtually no need to adjust them. But, should you wish to add a flanger here, or remove some delay there, the Boss Tone Studio mobile app is one of the easiest DAWs I have ever used.
How does the Boss Katana GO work? If you’re using it without the app, you get three banks of effects: A, B, & C. Each bank has 10 effect presets within, which you can easily scroll through on the device itself. Additional hardware includes a built-in tuner, headphone out, and the magical Stage Feel setting. This places the ‘amp’ in a virtual room, making it sound less synthetic.
I had the chance to compare my Katana GO against the industry standard Quad Cortex. Now, they’re both very different products with different goals. But the overall conclusion was that the Katana GO could achieve the same effects as the unit from Neural DSP.
Overall, the Boss Katana GO has revolutionised how I practice the guitar.
Harley Benton MAX Fusion
Another product that I purchased in 2025. The Super Strat has been tried by many since the 1980s, and Harley Benton wouldn’t have been my usual choice. But this *MAX Fusion Signature was just what I was looking for.
I could have gone with Kramer, Ibanez, Charvel, and many others. However, what initially attracted me to this Harley Benton example was the specs:
- 24 Jumbo Blacksmith stainless steel frets
- Floyd Rose 1000 Tremolo
- Tesla Humbucking Pickups with Coil Tap
All of the Super Strat attributes are there, and at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. I like the thick C-profile roasted maple neck; it makes you play properly. I’ve spent a lot of time recently with a considerably more expensive Ibanez RG, and the overall playability and build quality don’t even compare to my MAX Fusion. They’re available in a couple of different finishes, so do check them out if you’re after some shredding goodness. It also cleans up beautifully.
Epiphone SG 1964 Standard Vibrola CR
Onwards to a product that is sadly no longer online at Thomann. However, back in April, I was very excited to write about this particular instalment of the Epiphone-inspired by Gibson series. Here we have the visually stunning Epiphone SG 1964, with a Vibrola in Cherry Red.
What’s so great about the Epiphone SG 1964? It comes from a line of guitars where you get a lot of bang for your buck. Essentially, you have the Epiphone script on the headstock, but all of the specs are straight from Gibson. The price reflected this, too. At the time of release, these were £989 / €1,111.
You get custom humbuckers and a rosewood fingerboard on top of a glorious slim taper 60s profile neck. George Harrison used the real deal, most notably on Hey Bulldog. You can hear that guitar a mile off. If these were still available, there might have been one under my Christmas tree.
Fender Standard Series
Likewise, we’re talking about value for money again. The Fender Standard Series is the cheapest way to have that Fender script on your headstock. Offering a range of Stratocasters and Telecasters, let’s learn a little more.
Throughout 2025, I was in the market for a new Strat-style guitar. As we’ve seen, the MAX Fusion came out on top. However, I seriously considered one of these Fender Standard series guitars. They come with 21 medium jumbo frets, a 2-point tremolo and Fender diecast machine heads.
There’s a range of finishes available, and even an HSS range for the Strats. You even get standard Fender single coil pickups, which were previously only available on considerably more expensive guitars. Sure, a lot of the Classic Vibe units from Squier do have some better specs, but they don’t have the headstock to match.
Valeton GP-5
My final pick for my best guitar gear of 2025 is this tiny little thing from Valeton. Where it’s small in size and price, it’s gigantic in features and usability. These things took the market by storm in 2025.
What is the Valeton GP-5? This is a multi-effects pedal, and so much more. It features 100 different effects straight out of the box, in addition to the support of NAM profiles, meaning that you can download plenty more effects and amps. Amp profiling for the masses.
Out of the box, these come fully loaded. However, if you utilise the mobile app, you get access to even more goodies. There’s also Bluetooth connectivity and a built-in tuner. Which brings me to the price. These are *£69 / €79 over at Thomann. Making it cheaper than most pedal tuners! For gigging guitarists who need one niche pedal for a performance, this is a no-brainer. Because you can switch between so many more pedal effects, all within one unit!
Conclusion
My best guitar gear highlights for 2025 mainly looks at value for money. Not only that, but products that you can actually use in the real world. Whether that’s gigging, studio work, or just bedroom practice sessions. You won’t be disappointed with any of them.
Further Information
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