Know Your Gear Podcast, Ep. 443: Best Selling Guitars On Reverb In 2025

Host: Phillip McKnight
Date: December 27, 2025

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode is a deep-dive into Reverb’s 2025 Best Selling Gear Report—with a special focus on electric guitars, amplifiers, and the prevailing trends in gear buying behavior. Host Phillip McKnight walks through the data, offers expert commentary, shares matching statistics from his own channel, and answers real-time questions from listeners. The episode highlights patterns in new versus used gear markets, the impact of big brands, and tackles issues like fraud in online guitar sales.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Gift Ideas for Guitarists ([00:00–12:00])

• Gift Giving Logic:

  • If you share a bank account with a guitarist, buy something exciting and fun because it comes out of the same pool.
  • If you don’t share a bank account, go practical: cables, picks, strings, tuners, cleaning kits.
  • “Some of the best gifts you'll ever get anybody is not online. It's in a music store…sort of tactile experience matters.” (Phillip, 04:34)
  • Notable Quote: “If they have everything, they don't need anything. No. Backups. You can always use another guitar cable, always use some strings. Even if you have everything, strings are consumable.” (Phillip, 01:09)

• Clip-On Tuners: Phil’s theory: after 3–5 drops, tuners go out of tune, even though manufacturers deny it ([05:58]).

• Accessory Kits and Tools: Cleaning kits and polishing tools are welcome because most players hate buying them.

2. Reverb’s 2025 Best Selling NEW Electric Guitars ([12:00–30:00])

• Highlights from the List:

  • #1 Epiphone Back to the Future: Phil muses on the surprising fact that a limited-run, nostalgia-themed guitar tops the list.
  • #2 Fender Standard Telecaster:
    • “This Telecaster outsold the Stratocaster, but the view counts actually align with that” (Phillip, 18:45)
    • On his own affiliate stats: Telecasters sold 2x as much as Stratocasters.
  • #3 PRS SE NF53: Surprising, as it’s a $950 instrument outselling much cheaper models.
  • #4 Evil Instruments Claudio Sanchez Signature (Coheed & Cambria): Only boutique/non-mega-brand in the top 10.
  • Further down: More Fenders, PRS, Ibanez, and Squier. Trend: Telecasters outselling Stratocasters, confirmed by Phil's analytics.

• Big Takeaway:
  Despite infinite options online, buyers flock to familiar big brands—essentially mirroring what’s available at Guitar Center: “Given the opportunity to have whatever you want… you just pick the standards.” ([26:32])

• Notable Listener Interactions:

  • Discussion about why Guitar Center stocks what it does—it's mostly driven by supplier “accounts” and ease of management, not just customer demand.
  • Phil: “It’s really nice when you buy 100 different guitars in four brands but it’s one check to cut… a lot easier.” ([28:24])

3. Best Selling AMPLIFIERS on Reverb in 2025 ([38:00–52:00])

• Top Sellers:

  • Neural DSP Quad Cortex
  • Line 6 Helix Floor
  • Line 6 Catalyst 100
  • Positive Grid Spark series (multiple spots: Go, Mini, Spark 2)
  • Boss Katana 50 Gen 3

• Key Observations:

  • Modelers/profilers continue to top lists, but Phil emphasizes this doesn’t mean amps are dying: “I think the common player’s learned to use both… practical-wise, there’s something about my little [modeler]… it’s just easy.” ([47:32])
  • Positive Grid's confusing price drops: “Pick a price and stick with it! It’s like Spark thinks they're on the stock market. It's just annoying as a consumer.” ([49:13])
  • Blackstar ID 50 slightly edges out Katana for Phil’s personal use—though all are good.

4. Used Gear Market: Best Selling USED Guitars on Reverb ([54:00–1:11:00])

• Top Used Guitars:

  • Fender American Professional II Stratocaster
  • Gibson Les Paul Standard ‘60s
  • PRS SE Silver Sky (indicates ‘churn’—many being bought and flipped)
  • High-end Gibsons dominate the used rankings; Squier/Epiphone barely appear.

• Insight:
  “All the used stuff was high-end stuff and again all big brands, which of course have the majority of the guitars. But really interesting because this is sales.” ([1:09:52])

  • Listeners speculate: older players like Teles; others cite “buyer’s remorse” or the market shifting away from high-priced gear.

5. Gear of the Week & Notable New Releases ([1:13:00–1:38:00])

• Kiesel Jason Becker Micro Guitar (Limited Edition):

  • $1,400, about $500 less than the full-size—pricey but justified due to similar materials/labor.
  • Part of sales benefits Jason Becker’s medical expenses.
  • “This is not an inexpensive guitar… it’s a vaulted instrument, they'll never do it again.” ([1:19:04])

• Hot Deals:

  • GP50 Multi-FX Pedal ($120 retail): “At this price, it just needs to be better than some offerings or just good enough to get it done.” ([1:27:12])
  • MXR FOD Overdrive: On blowout $99 (matches used prices; Sweetwater open box = solid deal).

• Harley Benton ST Modern Plus HSS Sunblast: Real Babicz trem, locking tuners, sandblasted ash for $439.

• Digitech Bad Monkey Reissue: New version of a pedal that went viral after Josh Scott's video. $149.

• Michael Nielsen's Album: “It’s got the Steve Lukather vibe… not just technical prowess, but tasty chops and tone.” ([1:34:37])

6. Guitar News & Controversies:

• Fender Tom Morello "Arm the Homeless":
  • “Do I find it ironic that a, a person who's in a band who's obviously anti-capitalist…makes his signature high dollar guitar? I do think it's strange.” ([1:39:37])
  • A portion of proceeds go to charity… but it’s unclear what portion.
  • Touches on “cancelled comment sections” and calls for civil discussion.
  • Explains the mixed parts nature of the guitar, the Mexico production, value compared to other signature models, and addresses “capitalist hypocrisy.”
  • Encourages listeners: “Have your opinions… just don't throw any hate my way for telling you about the guitar!” ([1:41:30])

7. FAKE GEAR & BUYER BEWARE ([1:51:00–2:09:00])

• Counterfeits Are Everywhere:
  • Recap of a viewer’s story: Guitar Center listing/fake PRS SE Custom 24 (“AliExpress special”), went unnoticed by staff, was re-listed after return ([1:55:00])
  • Phil: “Fakes are everywhere. It's going to get worse and worse… fake guitars, people buy them, then add real parts to make them less fake.”
  • Advice: always document with photos, especially with used gear; unbox on video.
  • “Fraud is at epic highs… if this is bumming you out—sorry. But I'd rather a few people be bummed out than anyone lose thousands.” ([2:09:12])
  • Notable Quote: “Don't trust anyone… not even yourself.” (Listener, 2:02:40, with Phil’s agreement)

8. Listener Q&A and Closing Thoughts ([2:12:00–end])

• On Chasing Vintage Sounds: “It's strange that we all just seek the vintage thing, but who knows?” ([2:15:33])
• Personal Reflections: Phil reminisces about growing to appreciate “old man guitars” (Les Paul, PRS, etc.) comparing 80s/90s trends to his taste now.
• Last Gear Question: Jasper asks about the “Big Muff 2” fuzz pedal—Phil promises to check it out for a future episode.
• Year in Review Video Announcement: Coming up next on the channel, more ambitious than usual.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Big Brand Dominance:
  “Given the opportunity to have whatever you want… you just pick the standards.” (26:32)
• On Modelers vs. Amps:
  “A profiler and a modeler are hand in hand with amplifiers… they're just tools that have purposes. For me late-night practice, modelers are just easy.” ([47:32])
• On Guitar Fraud:
  "Fakes are everywhere. It's going to get worse and worse… you need to do your due diligence out there." ([2:06:10])
• On the Tom Morello Guitar's Irony:
  “Do I find it ironic…? I do think it's strange.” ([1:39:37])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – Gifts for Guitarists
• 12:00 – Reverb’s Best Selling New Guitars
• 38:00 – Best Selling Amplifiers
• 54:00 – Used Guitars Report
• 1:13:00 – Gear of the Week: New, Deals, & Notables
• 1:39:00 – Fender Tom Morello “Arm the Homeless”
• 1:51:00 – Fake Guitars & Buyer Beware
• 2:12:00 – Listener Q&A and Wrap-Up

Episode Tone

• Conversational, humorous and candid
• Deeply knowledgeable but focused on practical, real-world advice for guitarists
• Welcoming listener input and respecting differing opinions; “Just be respectful—don’t kill the messenger” regarding controversial topics

This summary brings you all the essential info, quotes, and context from Ep. 443 of Know Your Gear. For gear reviews, fraud alerts, industry insights, and a warm guitar community, this one’s worth tuning in to—or catching the replay and Phil’s upcoming 2025 year-in-review video.