Powers Electric A-Type FF42 Cosmo Red/Quilt Top

Released in June of this year (2023), the Powers Electric A-Type quickly took the electric guitar community by storm. Offering a fresh take on electric guitar design, Andy Powers (of Taylor Guitars) started from the ground up, using his Southern California upbringing as a source of inspiration.

Andy's love of cars - Porsche to be exact - surfing, and skating culture factor heavily into the A-Type's design - each one's color is based on a Porsche color; the tremolo is called a Camtail and resembles something you'd find on a hotrod; the custom knobs, switch tip, and tremolo bar tip reference surf culture; the fingerboard's unusual compound radius took its inspiration from surfboard design...if you know where to look or have spent any time in Southern California, you'll see the references.

Specs aside, it really comes down to how the A-Type feels in-hand, how it plays, and of course, how it sounds. We've played close to 25 A-Types to date and can report that they are consistently amazing guitars. The feel is slinky, the neck carve is immediately comfortable, and plugged in, it sounds phenomenal. Fat, warm, articulate, great clean tones...unexpectedly great overdriven tones...when pushed with copious amounts of gain, the A-Type's in-house made and designed pickups compress beautifully with gobs of sustain...the guitar feels like it becomes part of you and doesn't fight you or make single note runs hard, quite the opposite actually.

This is where a car analogy is apt: ultimately, the A-Type feels like an incredibly agile, high performance sports car. It's got one foot in tradition while fearlessly looking into the future. All this to say, all the hype you've no doubt heard is justified.