Tom Anderson Crowdster (Tortoise)

If you've followed Shoreline for a while, you know that my main stage guitar has long been the Renaissance RS6. I'm a huge fan of stage/hybrid guitars, that is, guitars that are meant primarily for stage use, with acoustic pickups and no soundhole. They solve a host of performance problems: Without a soundhole or the big box of full-bodied acoustic, feedback is a non-issue. And if you've ever worked with a well-intentioned but untrained volunteer at the soundboard, you know how nice it is to have a guitar that sounds great just plugged in by itself, without any tweaking or EQ required. As great as the RS6 has been for me—I'll never part with it—I have long been on the lookout for a similar guitar with a different approach, something to complement the Renaissances hanging on our wall. The Crowdster really has been the obvious choice all along. Named for worship songwriter and bandleader extraordinaire David Crowder (who also plays this guitar), the Crowdster is everything you could hope