Lori Linstruth of Guilt Machine recently spoke to Gearwire about her Vigier guitar. It is not the only one she plays, however. Another guitar she relies on is the the Luna Andromeda. Apparently the Andromeda guitar line has been discontinued which Linstruth thinks is a shame.

Tell me all about this guitar -- its "life story."

In 2007 I was contacted by the lovely Yvonne [de Villiers], the designer of Luna guitars. It was in response to an article I'd written on my blog in which I complained about the sad state of instruments being marketed specifically to girls, and praised the Luna company for appearing to be the only company to get it right by creating instruments that not only look great, but seemed to be made to play great as well. She offered to send me an Andromeda in exchange for detailed feedback as they were interested in revamping the line. My Andromeda is a 2006 or 2007 model, and it plays and sounds great! Unfortunately, since then it appears that the Andromeda model has been discontinued -- I'm not sure what happened there.

Tell me what it is you like best about the guitar, its tone, etc.

It sounds great (it has EMG pickups, which are not stock) and the trem is really smooth. It's also got good access to the upper registers, and stays in tune very well. Incidentally, I've never really cared much about how guitars look (more how they play), but I think my Luna looks really cool!

Is there anything you do not like and would or have changed?

My only real complaint is the position of the volume control and pick-up selector. On this model they were too far away to be reached easily for quick switching when playing live.

Again, since this is not a common instrument, tell me what other guitars you could compare it to both in tone and feel?

Like the Vigier, this one is similar to a "Super Strat," but with a narrower neck.

These are marketed as "girls guitars". Do they work specifically well for women and why?

I believe that some Luna models feature lighter weights and slim neck profiles in order to fit women better, who tend to have smaller hands than men. However, the company is not just a "guitars for girls" brand -- they are for everyone.

What sort of amp do you use with it and why?

Line 6 Pod, that's all I ever use.

Linstruth says she has no immediate musical plans and is just taking things as they come. A very Zen attitude for a musician. Guilt Machine’s debut CD, On This Perfect Day is out now.