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Though best known as a Rolling Stone – he’s been a member of the British rock juggernaut since 1975, in fact – Ronnie Wood’s ventures extend well beyond music, and his passion for painting is well documented.

And to celebrate the massive milestone of 50 years with The Rolling Stones, the guitarist has revealed a series of new paintings depicting Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and late drummer Charlie Watts, as well as a new self-portrait.

• READ MORE: “I just can’t set them right”: Jared James Nichols admits he doesn’t know how to use delay pedals

Coinciding with the Stones’ reissue of Black and Blue, the band’s cult classic album which saw Ronnie Wood made a permanent member of the band – and which featured the likes of Miss You, Beast of Burden and Start It Up – the four portraits comprise the Paint It Black collection, with limited-edition prints available, each signed by Ronnie Wood with a message of the buyer’s choice.

Credit: Ronnie Wood

Ronnie Wood’s passion for painting goes back further than his success as a musician; he first started painting as a child after finding his older brother’s paints and falling in love with it.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years since I joined The Rolling Stones,” says Ronnie Wood. “In these portraits I wanted to capture the spirit of Mick, Keith, me, our late friend Charlie Watts, and the live shows we’ve been lucky enough to play together. Art has defined my life, and I’ve been painting even longer than I’ve been playing music.”

“I paint to music, and sometimes when I’m playing, in my head I’m doing it to a painting. Art fills my life, art is my life, and art will continue to be my life,” he continues.

Limited-edition prints of the Paint It Black collection are available now, while the Paint It Black Series can also be viewed in person at the RedHouse Originals Gallery at 15 Cheltenham Mount, Harrogate, HG1 1DW.

For more info, head to the official Ronnie Wood shop.

The post Ronnie Wood celebrates 50 years as a Rolling Stone with new paintings of bandmates Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Julien’s Auctions, the industry-leading pop culture memorabilia auction house, announces their event with one of the most fabled, beloved and respected rock icons in the world, JOE WALSH. The “Life’s Been Good” collection features an extraordinary array of unique guitars, cars, amps, ham radios, stage wardrobe, and historic rock and roll ephemera. Bidding begins today at JuliensAuctions.com.

In advance of the upcoming auction, “Life’s Been Good: Joe Walsh” set for December 16th and 17th in West Hollywood at the historic music venue the Troubadour, Julien’s is proud to announce that a selection of highlights from the collection will be on view to the public for a very special event in New York City. Beginning on November 12th, at Hard Rock® Cafe in Times Square, New York, the exhibit will continue through December 3rd.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to VetsAid, a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity which, since 2017, has directly supported a variety of national and regional veterans-based charities. Now in its ninth year, the annual VetsAid music event will take place in Walsh’s birthplace, Wichita, Kansas on November 15th and stream live via VEEPS. As always, Walsh will perform with a star-studded lineup including Vince Gill, Nathaniel Rateliff, Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks and Ryan Bingham and the Texas Gentlemen. To date, VetsAid has disbursed over four million dollars in grants (go to www.VetsAid.org for more information).

“One thing you find about human nature is we collect things and I have acquired too much stuff. I wanted people to have a chance to get a guitar or get something of mine that they may think is valuable. So, it's my way of giving back. And this will help veterans as a portion of the proceeds from the auction will go to VetsAid." And then Joe added with his trademark humor, "And now I will have more room in my warehouse so I can go get more stuff!”

“We’re thrilled to announce that bidding is now open for ‘Life’s Been Good: Joe Walsh,’” said Martin Nolan, Executive Director & Co-Founder of Julien’s Auctions. “It’s an honor to present these extraordinary pieces celebrating Joe Walsh’s life and career to fans and collectors worldwide and to support VetsAid through this historic auction.”

One of the many incredible highlights of the sale and a true monumental artifact of music history is the Record Plant and Design FX Location Truck Recording Console. The soundboard stands as a symbol of an era when live performance and studio innovation forever merged. Originally housed in one of The Record Plant’s legendary mobile trucks—renowned for capturing the energy of rock’s greatest moments—this console played a pivotal role in recording live sets and broadcasts that defined generations. From The Rolling Stones, Eagles, and Elton John to Metallica, Neil Young, and Michael Jackson’s iconic 1993 Super Bowl Halftime Show, its faders preserved some of the most electrifying performances in modern music. Beyond the stage, it was employed to mix historic broadcasts including the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and VH1 Storytellers sessions for artists such as Tom Petty and Sarah McLachlan. Owned and used by Joe Walsh, this storied console is more than recording equipment—it is a living chronicle of rock and pop’s most unforgettable moments, representing the unparalleled legacy of The Record Plant’s engineering excellence and creative daring which exemplified its pioneering role in music production.

Highlights from “Life’s Been Good: Joe Walsh” include:

Record Plant and Design FX Location Truck API Recording Console

An API recording and mixing console, formerly installed in one of The Record Plant’s mobile recording trucks, with the number 2395 inscribed on one side. This particular console –– along with its associated rack mounted equipment –– has recorded many live performances by world-famous artists including Eagles, Blues Traveler, Bonnie Raitt, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Metallica, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Green Day, Michael Jackson’s 1993 Super Bowl Halftime performance. This console was also used to record for broadcast including The 1992-1995 Academy Awards, The 1993 Grammy Awards, VH1 Storytellers for Tom Petty, Tom Waits, and Sarah McLachlan.

Estimate: $250,000–$500,000

Joe Walsh | Barnstorm Debut Album - 1966 Framus Strato Gold De Luxe 12-String Electric Guitar, Sunburst

A 1966 Framus Strato Gold De Luxe 12-string electric guitar, serial #7638 66B, in sunburst finish. According to Walsh, this guitar was heavily used on Barnstorm’s debut solo album.

Made in February of 1966, this Framus Strato Gold De Luxe features a 24.5 inch scale length plywood neck with a bound 21 fret rosewood fretboard, a zero fret, pearloid dot inlays, and 12 aftermarket chrome Grover tuners. The two piece birdseye maple body is finished in sunburst and decorated with large gold control plates and a striped brown, black, and pearl celluloid pickguard, all of which takes up the majority of the available space on the body. It wears a chrome bridge and vibrato tailpiece, the mechanism hidden beneath a gold plated body plate, two original gold plated Framus pickups, and simplified electronics featuring a single volume control and pickup on-off switches. The guitar includes a black hardshell case with “Barnstorm Joe Walsh” stenciled on the lid, with a light blue-grey interior and bridge and tailpiece covers in the storage compartment.

Estimate: $15,000–$20,000

Joe Walsh | Stage Played Duesenberg Joe Walsh Signature Guitar, Gold Burst with Image

A 2014 Duesenberg Joe Walsh Signature semi-hollowbody electric guitar, serial #142361, in Walsh Gold Burst finish. Stage played by Joe Walsh on tour in 2014-2015, including at Kenny Chesney's The Big Revival 2015 Tour kick-off on March 26th, 2015 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN. A 25.5 inch scale length set maple neck with a bound 22 fret rosewood fretboard, Morse code inlays that spell "Joe Walsh", and locking Duesenberg tuners. The body has a laminate spruce top finished in gold burst, laminated maple back and sides finished in transparent brown, and multi-ply binding throughout. A mix of hardware plating on this model with gold plated pickup covers and nickel for the Tune-O-Matic style bridge, Duesenberg vibrato, knobs, and pickguard accent strip. A Duesenberg HSC Single Twin pickup in the neck position and a Little Toaster in the bridge position. Unlike most production versions, this one does not have the Tibetan knot design placed between the pickups, which makes it easy to identify in photographs and concert footage (click here). Includes original black Duesenberg hardshell case with black interior, string package sleeve, a Duesenberg first aid kit, extra neck pickup, strap, and an image of Joe with the guitar.

Estimate: $4,000–$6,000

This landmark sale from a true titan of Rock and Roll promises to electrify music fans and collectors around the globe. Visit JuliensAuctions.com to register for this historic event on December 16th–17th, live in West Hollywood at the famed Troubadour and online.

“Life’s Been Good: Joe Walsh” EXHIBITION

Wednesday, November 12th - December 3rd

New York: Hard Rock® Cafe New York 1501 Broadway-Times Square New York 10036

Free to the Public: Daily: 11:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time

LIVE AND ONLINE AUCTION

“Life’s Been Good: Joe Walsh”

December 16th-17th

Troubadour, West Hollywood

9081 N Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069

10am PT/1pm ET

REGISTERING TO BID
Registration is required to bid in this auction and can be done in person on the day of the auction, or online before the sale at Julien's Auctions.

For inquiries, please email info@juliensauctions.com or call 310-836-1818.

Placing Bids
There are four ways to bid in Live Auctions:

1. Bid with Julien's Auctions online.

2. Bid over the telephone through an auction house representative.

3. Bid in person in the room at our auction events.

4. Bid in advance by absentee bid. Absentee bid forms are available by calling 310-836-1818

Julien’s Auctions accepts payments with cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, DAI, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin and USD Coin.

Press Release

Source: SKH Music

LYNYRD SKYNYRD and Foreigner have announced 19 co-headline appearances across North America confirmed for Summer, 2026. Produced by Live Nation, the Double Trouble Double Vision Tour begins on July 23 in Atlanta at the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre with a final performance planned on August 29 in Rogers, AR at the Walmart AMP.

The artist pre-sale begins on Tuesday, November 18 at Noon local time.  The general on-sale goes live on Friday, November 21 at 10AM local time. For tickets visit foreigneronline.com or lynyrdskynyrd.com.

The tour will also offer a variety of different VIP packages and experiences for fans to take their concert experience to the next level. Packages vary but include premium tickets, access to an intimate behind the scenes backstage tour, photo op with members of the band, exclusive merch pack & more. VIP package contents vary based on the offer selected. For more information, visit vipnation.com.

Just prior to the co-headline tour with Foreigner, Lynyrd Skynyrd will make two appearances in Florida. On July 17 in West Palm Beach at the iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre and on July 18 in Tampa at MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre. Tickets will be available simultaneously with the on-sale for the nineteen co-headline events. Six Gun Sally will open all appearances across all dates. Very Special Guest Loverboy will appear as direct support for Lynyrd Skynyrd in West Palm Beach, Tampa and Tinley Park. Additionally, on August 11, Lynyrd Skynyrd returns to the Legendary Sturgis Buffalo Chip for the annual rally and on July 17 in Elk Grove Village, IL, Foreigner will appear at the Mid-Summer Classics Concert Series.

Foreigner’s Jeff Pilson shares, “The energy the band has felt knowing we’ll be touring with Skynyrd this coming summer has been electric! Two bands with plenty of iconic songs, dueling guitars, double trouble and double vision are gonna set each and every stage on fire! No question this will be THE go-to event of the summer!”

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Johnny Van Zant states, “I’m excited to share the stage with Foreigner and hear all their amazing hits! I’ve always been a fan, and I believe the audience will love this tour. Lynyrd Skynyrd and Foreigner together — it doesn’t get much better than that. See y’all in 2026!”

LYNYRD SKYNRD & FOREIGNER: DOUBLE TROUBLE DOUBLE VISION DATES:

7/23     Atlanta, GA                                                   Ameris Bank Amphitheatre

7/24     Charlotte, NC                                                PNC Music Pavilion

7/25     Bristow, VA                                                    Jiffy Lube Live

7/26     Holmdel, NJ                                                  PNC Bank Arts Center

7/30     Toronto, ON                                                   RBC Amphitheatre

7/31     Clarkston, MI                                                 Pine Knob Music Theatre

8/01     Grand Rapids, MI                                         Acrisure Amphitheater

8/06     Saint Louis, MO                                            Hollywood Casino Amphitheater

8/07     Noblesville, IN                                               Ruoff Music Center

8/08     Cincinnati, OH                                               Riverbend Music Center

8/14     Kansas City, MO                                            Morton Amphitheater

8/16     Shakopee, MN                                                Mystic Lake Amphitheater

8/20     Camden, NJ                                                    Freedom Mortgage Pavilion

8/21     Wantagh, NY                                                  Northwell at Jones Beach Theater

8/22     Mansfield, MA                                               Xfinity Center

8/23     Saratoga Springs, NY                                   Saratoga Performing Arts Center

8/27     Houston, TX                                                   Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion

8/28     Dallas, TX                                                      Dos Equis Pavilion

8/29     Rogers, AR                                                     Walmart AMP

LYNYRD SKYNYRD HEADLINE APPEARANCES WITHOUT FOREIGNER:

7/17     West Palm Beach, FL                                     iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre

7/18     Tampa, FL                                                              MIDFLORIDA CU Amphitheatre

8/11     Sturgis, SD                                                      The Legendary Sturgis Buffalo Chip

8/15     Tinley Park, IL                                               Credit 1 Union Amphitheatre

FOREIGNER HEADLINE APPEARANCE WITHOUT LYNYRD SKYNYRD:

7/17     Elk Grove Village, IL                                     Mid-Summer Classics Concert Series

ABOUT FOREIGNER

With more Top 10 hits than Journey, and as many as Fleetwood Mac, FOREIGNER features strongly in every category in Billboard’s “Greatest of All Time” listing. At times, the band’s weekly catalog sales have eclipsed those of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Def Leppard, Van Halen, Aerosmith and most of their Classic Rock peers (Source: Nielsen SoundScan). With 10 multi-platinum albums and 16 Top 30 hits, FOREIGNER is universally hailed as one of the most popular rock acts in the world with a formidable musical arsenal that continues to propel sold-out tours and album sales, now exceeding 80 million. Responsible for some of rock and roll’s most enduring anthems including “Juke Box Hero,” “Cold As Ice,” “Hot Blooded,” “Waiting For A Girl Like You,” “Feels Like The First Time,” “Urgent,” “Head Games,” “Say You Will,” “Dirty White Boy,” “Long, Long Way From Home” and the worldwide #1 hit and member of Spotify’s exclusive Billions Club, “I Want To Know What Love Is,” Rock & Roll Hall of Famers FOREIGNER still rock the charts almost 50 years into the game with massive airplay and continued Billboard album chart success. Audio and video streams of FOREIGNER’s hits are approaching 20 million per week. FOREIGNER‘s catalog sales were recently celebrated in Business Insider as hitting the Top 40 among the Best Selling Music Artists of All Time.

ABOUT LYNYRD SKYNYRD

More than a half century after the release of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s critically acclaimed debut album ‘Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd,’ they resonate as deeply with their multi-generational fan base today as when they first emerged out of Jacksonville, Florida in 1973.  Few ensembles have had the deep impact in creating a lifestyle as Skynyrd has. The band travels forward with a primary mission of celebrating a legacy that honors all whom have had a resonating contribution to the lives of hundreds of millions of fans globally. Former members Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, Ed King, Billy Powell, Bob Burns, and Leon Wilkeson alongside others will forever remain significant contributors to this indelible repertoire and the band’s colorful history. Today, Lynyrd Skynyrd rocks on with a current line-up featuring Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Damon Johnson, Mark “Sparky” Matejka, Michael Cartellone, Robbie Harrington, Peter Keys, Carol Chase and Stacy Plunk.

The rock and roll powerhouse continually tours, and as Van Zant shares, “It’s about the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and what it stands for, what the fans are all about. There’s nothing like getting out there playing a great show with Skynyrd and seeing people love this music.”

With a catalog of over 60 albums, billions of streams, tens of millions of records sold, and the introduction of Hell House whiskey, Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Lynyrd Skynyrd remain a cultural icon that appeal to all generations.

 

 

In the heat of a performance, even the greatest guitarists can stumble – and Eddie Van Halen was no exception. The Van Halen legend relied on a solid rhythm section to keep him in check; without the backbone of his brother Alex’s drumming, and later his son Wolfgang’s bass lines, the show might have unravelled into chaos.

When a 16-year-old Wolfgang Van Halen first joined the Van Halen ranks in 2006, there was a lot of pressure – but he knew his role was vital. Fully aware that the “big hits were about the groove”, Wolfgang knew that creating a “great rhythmic base” was integral. “I had to keep dad in check whenever he made a mistake,” he tells Guitarist.

• READ MORE: The best effect pedals for all styles and budgets

While Wolfgang stepped up to replace Michael Anthony on bass, his first love was drumming. In his own words, this h given him an innate sense of rhythm. “Being a drummer first helped, because I could understand what was needed,” he explains.

Even when more complex tracks were thrown into the mix, like 1981 B-side Dirty Movies, Wolfgang knew how to keep everyone in check. “Michael Anthony was doing these interesting harmonies for that intro… [it was] really experimental,” he says. “Dirty Movies was one of those tracks where I had to… check myself every time in order to ensure I didn’t mess it up.”

Ever since joining the Van Halen ranks, Wolfgang knew was committed to the rhythm. Even in a 2008 interview with Guitar World he explains his role: “I just like to be there to groove and keep the song going.”

And his father was more than happy to follow the groove of his teenage son. “Every now and then when we’re onstage playing, I’ll look at him and go, ‘God, that’s my son,’” Eddie smiled. “He’s only 16, but he’s not ‘16’. He’s an equal. Age doesn’t matter.”

While his Van Halen days are long behind him, Wolfgang has committed his sense of rhythm and multi-instrumental talents to carve out his own sound. Mammoth’s latest record, The End, is proof of that.

Speaking about the album’s title track, Wolfgang explains how his musical adaptability helped carve out its sound; the foundational groove began as a slap bass part, but Wolfgang translated it over to guitar. “I was showing [producer Michael Baskette] this idea but only had a guitar,” he tells Guitarist. “I asked him to imagine it on bass, and he told me it sounded cool on guitar.”

The End is out now.

The post “I had to keep dad in check whenever he made a mistake”: Wolfgang Van Halen on his role in Van Halen appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

With his mastery of the fretboard and unrivalled command of the pentatonic scale, you’d probably expect blues ace Jared James Nichols to have a similar skill in programming guitar gear. But there’s one area he readily admits he hasn’t been able to grasp yet: delay pedals.

In an interview in the latest issue of Guitarist magazine, Nichols explains his relationship with delay pedals – and pedals in general – and says he was inspired by the relatively simplistic setups of his guitar heroes as a young guitarist.

• READ MORE: “A Line 6 Spider III got me where I am today!”: Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Kiki Wong thinks it’s more important to have an expensive guitar than a pricey amp

“When I was younger, I’d watch videos of Stevie Ray Vaughan and [Jimi] Hendrix, any of the old blues guys, and I could see they had basic setups,” he recalls. “I quickly realised the difference was in how they were playing. I was inspired to learn all those little nuances through touch.”

Nichols, like all guitarists at some point, dabbled with pedals, but preferred leaning on the nuances of his playing to define his sound.

“I dipped my toes into pedal land, but I never went far because I’d feel like the pedal was controlling me, rather than the other way round,” he goes on. “To this day, I cannot use a delay pedal. I just can’t set them right. I don’t like it when the emphasis shifts from the notes I play to the gear I’m using.”

For many guitarists, having more gear on hand gives them more options to fine-tune their perfect tone. But for Jared James Nichols, “needing less gear sets me free”. But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t dabbled in more complicated pedalboard setups in the past…

“When I first started touring, I’d build pedalboards with a wah, tuner, fuzz and various drives on there,” he says. “Things would go wrong, probably down to my own stupidity. So that pedalboard got smaller and smaller. 

“By the end of the tour, it would be just a Tube Screamer into the amp because I knew I could play a whole set without any problems. I didn’t need all the extra crap. Just give me a single-P-90 guitar and a Tube Screamer and I’m ready to play the Royal Albert Hall. It’s like sink or swim.

“I’ve started backing off the dirt because you get extra clarity with more volume and less drive. Some players don’t realise that – they stack a bunch of pedals, which is cool and I’ve done that myself, occasionally. But sometimes a good guitar and amp pushed to the limits will get you the fattest tones.”

The post “I just can’t set them right”: Jared James Nichols admits he doesn’t know how to use delay pedals appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Rock ‘n’ roll mythology tends to glamorise chaos – the impulsive jams, late nights, and lightning-in-a-bottle moments. But Tom Morello argues that the secret ingredient behind any lasting rock star legacy is something far less romantic: being relentlessly dependable.

It’s a belief only reinforced by his recent work with Måneskin’s Thomas Raggi on the guitarist’s new solo album Masquerade. Sitting down with Kerrang! to discuss their first fully-fledged collaborative project, Morello reflects on the quality he believes every successful rock musician needs: professionalism.

• READ MORE: “The guitar tones alone were worth the price of admission!”: Jon Bon Jovi claims Oasis’s tour reignited the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll

“Thomas is just a pro,” says the Rage Against The Machine guitarist, who’s also the producer of Masquerade. “I’ve been around a lot of bands in my life, and Thomas is a young man who is tremendously professional. He goes out there and he nails those takes.”

For all its mythology, Morello argues, rock ‘n’ roll still requires showing up and delivering when it counts.

“There’s an element to rock ‘n’ roll that should be wild and free and crazy, but eventually you’ve got to go to the studio and record your song,” he says with a laugh. “There’s creativity to happen, and there’s a job to get done, and Thomas was so great and dependable and reliable in being able in the takes. He’s able to harness his inspiration through the talent in his fingers in a way that made it a real pleasure.”

That balance became the heartbeat of Masquerade. Though released under Raggi’s own name, the album is far from a solitary effort and more a supercharged gathering of rock’s extended family.

The month-long sessions in Los Angeles saw a revolving door of legends: Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith and Guns N’ Roses’ Matt Sorum dropped in to track drums, Hama Okamoto handled bass duties, while vocal contributions came from Kasabian’s Serge Pizzorno, Jet’s Nic Chester, The Struts’ Luke Spiller, Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos, The Prodigy’s Maxim and alt-pop standout UPSAHL. Morello himself picks up the six-string too, trading riffs with Raggi across the eight-track set.

As Tom explains, the project also serves as a chance to help usher the next generation of guitar fans into the fold.

“You know that the younger audience that Måneskin has have already been exposed to the glory, the power, the sexiness, the appeal of rock ‘n’ roll,” he says. “This project takes that even one step further in helping Thomas to forge a record that honours his influences and brings new, exciting rock into 2025 and beyond.”

“It’s an opportunity,” he continues, “to be a missionary for rock ‘n’ roll.”

Masquerade is due for release on 5 December.

The post “There’s creativity to happen, and there’s a job to get done”: Tom Morello says you have to be “professional” to be a successful rock star appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Kiki Wong is living proof that you don’t need boutique gear to make a big impact online – or to land the gig of a lifetime. In fact, she says her entire career was built on a humble Line 6 practice amp and a belief that the guitar itself matters far more than whatever you’re plugging into.

• READ MORE: The best affordable guitar amplifiers: perfect practice amps and gig-ready options

Appearing in the new issue of Guitarist, Wong – who landed a spot in the Pumpkins after a 2024 open call that drew over 10,000 applicants – is presented with the classic gear dilemma: if forced to choose, would she rather have a great guitar and a cheap amp, or a cheap guitar and a top-tier amp? Her answer is immediate.

“I am 1,000 per cent onboard with a great guitar and a cheap amp,” she says. “Now, this obviously applies to me being home and playing. I’ve been playing out of a Line 6 Spider III 15-watt amp that I purchased in 2007. I’ve made about half of my TikTok videos with that amp, which is essentially where it got me today.”

“People talk a lot of poo about my tone,” she adds. “But, honestly, it’s what I love and have loved since I was a kid. Now, on tour, it’s definitely a different story – you’ve gotta have all cylinders running. But, overall, I love a great guitar.”

When it comes to pickups, Wong’s stance is equally definitive. Asked whether she’d choose humbuckers or single coils for the rest of her career, she says, “1,000 per cent humbuckers. Again, it goes off of how much I like the dirty, grungy metal tone. You really can’t achieve it without those humbies.”

It’s a belief that places her firmly on one side of one of the guitar world’s oldest debates: does great tone come from the instrument itself, or from the amplifier behind it? Covet frontwoman Yvette Young, meanwhile, represents the opposite camp, arguing that a great amp is the true foundation of great tone.

Speaking to Guitarist, Young insisted that even an expensive guitar can sound lacklustre through a poor amplifier: “It’s like ruining a really nice audio file with… I don’t know… something that’s going to degrade it a lot,” she said. “There’s no point, right? I’d rather go for the expensive amp.”

The post “A Line 6 Spider III got me where I am today!”: Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Kiki Wong thinks it’s more important to have an expensive guitar than a pricey amp appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

As he launched into an improvised mid-show guitar solo during a recent sold-out performance at the Georgia Theatre in Athens, GA, Ty Myers confidently exclaimed, “Let me play this guitar!”

It was reminiscent of Prince’s iconic declaration from his legendary 2007 Super Bowl performance. Later, Ty will admit it was not an intentional homage, “but maybe it should have been,” he beams.

Ty Myers on the Guitar.com Cover. Image: Chris Buck for Guitar.com

And this is why the young upstart from Dripping Springs, Texas is such an interesting and exciting young artist. On the one hand he’s a rapidly rising young songwriter with nearly five million listeners monthly on Spotify and very nearly 17 million likes on TikTok. But he’s also a guitar obsessive who holds up Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Mayer as his north stars – so much so that the Strat-toting teen even wears a jade necklace as a nod to SRV.

And in an era where social media often supplants the old-fashioned business of learning your craft in a live environment, Myers is also refreshingly committed to the grind. By year’s end, he will have played just over 100 shows in support of his debut album The Select, with the bulk of his 2026 already mapped out.

It’s quite some commitment for a kid who only turned 18 in July – but he’s no rookie. This writer first encountered Myers opening for country heavyweight Dylan Gossett when he was just 16 years old. And it should be no surprise he understands what it takes to make it in the business – his father Michael is a well-known musician in his native Texas, while his uncle Dean Sams is a member of the platinum-selling country outlet Lonestar, and his great uncle Ronnie Huckaby an integral member of George Strait’s ensemble.

“There’s a sense of culture, of importance, about the guitar player. I just care a lot about it.”

The Odyssey

It was only natural then, that Myers would find his way into the family business, but his guitar odyssey actually started out courtesy of another Texan guitar great. The fire that still burns bright for Stevie Ray began when an elementary-aged Myers encountered the legendary film Live at the El Mocambo.

“I can visualize it,” he says. “It was a smoky, small bar. Stevie’s sitting on a stool, smoking a cigarette, wearing a hat that’s casting a shadow half over his face, and starts playing the most complex, beautiful, melodic thing on the guitar. I was like, ‘This is it!’ It’s like he was hovering… sucking the power from the nicotine of that cigarette, and it came out in his fingers.”

It was only natural then that Myers chose a pair of Strats as his go-to electrics, plus a Gibson SJ-200 and a Gallagher Ragtime Special to handle acoustic stuff. His favourite Strat is a Custom Shop relic built by revered Master Builder Dennis Galuszka. It was a guitar that Myers first encountered at Nashville’s renowned Carter Vintage store – and he knew instantly it had to be his.

“I looked down this long aisle, and on this little stage, there’s a guitar sitting on a stand, and it was like doves flew out of it,” Myers recalls with a glimmer in his eye. “I didn’t even play it, I just knew I was going to get it.”

Image: Chris Buck for Guitar.com

The Guitar Sceptic

Ty is selective about the guitars he plays, but even once an instrument earns his affection, he still finds himself constantly critiquing whether it’s doing the job for him.

“The first uptake will hit you or it won’t,” he explains. “Once I find the one I want, I’ll play it for a while and try to find imperfections. I’m kind of a sceptic. If you can criticise the guitar enough and still like it, it’s a good guitar.”

That doesn’t mean he’s a gear snob, however – despite owning a variety of high-end guitars, another of his favourites is a humble Squier that was passed down from a family member that he kept tinkering with until he managed to unlock the guitar’s magic.

“When someone compliments my guitar playing, I’ll never be happier.”

“It’s a Squier, it’s from a storage unit!” he exclaims with as much exasperated judgement as he can muster. “I picked it up six months ago… and I debated bringing it out on the road to beat it up a little. I almost tried to ‘relic’ it myself, but I didn’t.”

This approach to self-critique is equally applied to his own playing and performances – it’s something that’s helped Myers flourish and thrive at such a young age.

“That’s a rut a lot of guitar players get into,” he continues. “I critique my playing the same way I critique a guitar. It has caused me to get better. It’s because there’s a sense of culture, of importance, about the guitar player. I just care a lot about it. When someone compliments my guitar playing, I’ll never be happier.”

Image: Chris Buck for Guitar.com

Undeniable Talent

Of course, Myers’ guitar skills are only part of the equation – he’s also a compelling and engaging singer and performer. It’s the sort of rare combination that has caused some of the older heads in the scene to take notice. Just last month, he collaborated with Marcus King on a rendition of Little Feat’s Two Trains. And to country crooner and fellow Texan William Beckmann, who is now friends with Myers, it was immediately apparent what a talent he is.

“The first time I saw him play, I was immediately impressed by him,” Beckmann tells us. “His ability to play guitar and weave unique melodies into his songs is rare for an artist at his age. Some people are just born with undeniable talent, and he is one of them.”

Those unique guitar melodies make their way into Myers’ recordings, though are extremely prevalent in his live set. He extends intros and outros at will, plays behind his head, and often lets his piercing notes linger in the air as he stares out into the crowd in a brooding, calculated fashion.

“A concert is supposed to be an experience,” Myers affirms. “It’s just as much a show as if you go to a Broadway play. I love to begin a song with a different musical element. That’s my favorite part of the show, cause I can escape my own mind. Sometimes I just keep going. It’s almost autopilot. I am thinking about what I’m playing… but I’m not sitting there thinking, ‘Okay, major third… use the scale.’ My fingers are just livin’ their own life.”

“A concert is supposed to be an experience… That’s my favorite part of the show, cause I can escape my own mind.”

Teen Idol

Perhaps the elephant in the room is if Myers’ youthful crowd are interested in, or able to identify with, the musicality occurring in front of them. There’s no escaping the fact that he has the looks and charisma of a pop star, after all.

“People comment, ‘People are going to forget about his music cause he’s such a…’” he begins, failing to come up with a definitive description. “People can think what they want, but I hope they don’t think of me as just some playboy. My musicianship isn’t going away.”

He does, however, understand his audience’s mentality. It was hard to escape it amid that Athens crowd, as the audience swayed with collective desperation during Myers’ performance Through A Screen – a prescient ballad about navigating romance via online communication. But Myers is keen to remind us that his audience’s youth and enthusiasm doesn’t make them any less authentic.

“Let’s say my audience is from age 15 to 25,” he explains. “The teenagers are in this angsty and emotional stage. It doesn’t make the feelings any less real because they’re young. Especially on a song like Through A Screen. That was a true story from my life that everyone my age has had.”

Image: Chris Buck for Guitar.com

Business Brain

The stage is set for Myers to build on his current success even further – with new material likely in 2026, and a huge opportunity opening for Luke Combs on his upcoming stadium tour.

“My brain works faster than the music business,” he chuckles at the prospect of his next album, before revealing that he writes at least a song a week, but has “a problem” finishing the ones he doesn’t like.

“That’s amazing until you’re way ahead, but we’re releasing stuff from way back when. We finished recording the second album, and now I’m writing for another album that I definitely can’t say much about. I haven’t been this excited about writing new stuff in a long time.”

Image: Chris Buck for Guitar.com

All the while, Myers seeks to pave his own lane. Not as, simply, a country artist, but beyond.

“We categorise things because it’s easy to comprehend,” he reflects when asked if he’s wary of being pigeonholed by genre. “It’s great for the audience, but not so great for the artist. The audience can find a special connection… when they can be like, ‘He’s my favourite country artist.’ As an artist, when you say, ‘I’m really passionate about this,’ then you go and try it and people say, ‘That’s not what you were playing before!’ It’s like… this is music!

“It’s hard to compare a rock song from 1950 with a new pop song by Olivia Dean. How do I pick which is better? I want people to think of me as a musician. That’s what I’m here for. I could care less about anything else than that the music I’m making is appreciated, and that people know that it’s my purpose.”

Words: Noah Wade
Photography: Chris Buck
Styling/Hair & Makeup: Kelly Henderson
Location: Telephone

The post “I want people to think of me as a musician. That’s what I’m here for” Country upstart Ty Myers is championing guitar for a new generation appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

By: Rick Landers

A masterful and prolific singer-songwriter, author, workshop lecturer, and noted music history presenter, Rod MacDonald, is one of the most creative, hard working and entertaining entrepreneur you’re likely to meet.  His songs are catchy, whether they are light-hearted or heartfelt with sincere intent, informing us and melodically nudging us to be better, choose smarter and contribute more to society.

As he pursued a career in the U.S. Navy, he honored and reflected his core values, becoming a conscious objector to become a creator and singer of folk music.

In our interview we covered his songwriting, collaborations with others, and his perspectives on what it means to be a musician. With several fine albums in his quiver, he offered up how he pulled together his most recent release, Rants and Romance (2023), with Rod on both acoustic and electric guitars, harmonica, mandolin and vocals. And, from his early days performing and recording, he’s made his mark with a song that decades later still resonates and captures us still, “American Jerusalem”

When asked about his life decisions, Rod replied:

“Well, I suppose the biggest ones were to follow my dream and move to Greenwich Village and try to find a place in the arena of the music that I had loved, that I loved so much. And that paid off in a lot of ways. One of which was that in Greenwich Village, you weren’t asked to play cover music. You were asked to play your own songs.”

Rod’s decision followed his vision as he eventually served as a co-producer of the Greenwich. Village Folk Festival (1987 – 1994), with Ray Micek, Jay Rosen and Gerry Hinson. And today, the festival has gone virtual, featuring the best of folk musicians, as well as  paying tribute to past generations of traditional music. In 2025, the festival paid tribute to the legendary folkie, Phil Ochs.

MacDonald’s been performing since the 1970’s and has 14 albums to his name, as well as 21 of his songs honored by being accepted into the Smithsonian museum’s Folkways Collection. Since 2006, Rod has served a Music Americana lecturer with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) – Florida Atlantic University. In 2012, Rod was named Distinguished Faculty Member.

McDonald’s music career has taken him around the world and on stage with such icons as: Pete Seeger, Peter Yarrow, Odetta, Tom Paxton, the Violent Femmes, Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, Dave Van Ronk, Emmylou Harris, Richie Havens, Ani DiFranco, Tom Chapin, Jack Hardy, David Massengill, Joe Jencks and more.

Rod honed his skills early, writing for Fast Folk Musical Magazine, and publishing 21 songs. And steadily gained solid performance experience at major festivals, including: Kerrville, Falcon Ridge, Summerfest Port Fairy (Australia) and Friulh (Italy).and more.

And in 2025, he scheduled three lectures, Music Americana: Protest Songs; Bob Dylan: The First Ten Years; and The Sound of Her Voice: Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.

And in keeping with his penchant for storytelling, Rod’s authored two books, The American Guerrillas and Open Mic.

Along with being one of the top musicians in today’s Americana scene, Rod’s music has been covered by others, including: Dave Van Ronk, Jonathan Edwards, Shawn Colvin, Garnet Rogers, Joe Jencks, 4 Bitchin’ Babes and Renaissance Fair artists. He also penned and presented, Songwriting for Self-Expression, at the New York Center and Common Ground on the Hill.

Guitar International is honored to include Rod MacDonald’s interview in our magazine for our valued readers and we’re certain they’ll look forward to Part 2 of our conversation with him.

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Rick: Let’s start with your latest album release, Rants and Romance. Are the tracks new songs that you’ve written, or are some of them songs that you wrote sometime ago and you just got around to putting on this album?

Rod MacDonald: I’ve got to think for a second about a question like that, because the weird part of it is you record 15 songs for a cd, but you probably only play four or five or six of them live very often, after 14 CDs. So, I think they’re all pretty new.

Several of ’em I wrote during the Pandemic, and it was my first CD of new songs since 2018, when it came out in 2023. So it had been, and we recorded most of it in 2022. It had been four years. I had a lot of the songs I wrote during the Pandemic. A few of them had been things that I’d worked on over time.

My work process in writing songs isn’t always that immediate. I mean, sometimes it is. Sometimes you wake up in the morning, write something down, grab your guitar and go, “Yep, this goes just like this.” But it’s not always that way. Sometimes I write words on a piece of paper or even type ’em into the computer, and then I go back and look at ’em weeks, months later. But, I think most of the songs, I think there are three covers on Ran and Romance by other people. 

I think all of the songs that are my own, were pretty new at the time. Off the top of my head I’m not recalling anything that was laying around for a long time or anything like that. 

Rick: I was a bit surprised to hear and I wasn’t expecting it, that you have some songs where you’re not singing, but you’re speaking. I think it’s only two tracks. I didn’t get a chance to hear the whole thing, “Cry Freedom’. That was great. I’m going, oh, that’s pretty cool. So did you find that more challenging than writing songs for singing, trying to get the cadence right, or the way you presented the words? 

Rod MacDonald: I’m not sure I think that consciously about it. It’s something I also did on my 1996 cd, Then He Woke Up. There’s a couple spoken word pieces on that, two or three. I think every once in a while it just feels like the right way to go. I don’t suppose it’s that formal  of a process. It’s more like, this just feels like the way to do this song. A melody would almost be worse than whatever it is.

In the case of “Cry Freedom”.it started out as a guitar piece. It was a guitar piece for a long time during the Pandemic. I’ve got my wife, Nicole, in, and at the time, two teenagers living here, and we have a small two bedroom condo. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

So we kind of took shifts in a way. The kids were going to school online, virtually on the computer. They both had laptops. One would be upstairs and one downstairs. But one of my kids and I started staying up very late at night, and the other started going to bed very early, at the same time as my wife. And I guess we did this, not so deliberately, but we found that doing this made it easier for me to get my work done. Otherwise we’d all four be in the same room at the same time, and you can’t see it where we are.

But in our house, my office setup, where I’m sitting right now, is actually part of the living room. And so if we were all sitting around together, I don’t like to work on music when everybody’s hanging around me. I like to have some solitude. 

I started sitting on the couch late at night with a cheap electric guitar that I have that I love to play with my fingers and just not plugging it in. And I started playing that piece of music. And then I had that whole guitar arrangement. I had the whole piece of music all worked out musically before I ever wrote any words to it.

And then I started thinking, “Well, what is this? What am I doing with this?” It was just a kind of guitar doodle for a long time. But then at some point, I wrote the poem of “Cry Freedom” without even thinking about music, really, just as a poem.

I do occasionally do that. And then at some point I just had the words in front of me and the guitar doodle going on at the same time, and I started thinking, “Can I do this?”And it fit, it worked out, and then I had to learn. The difficult part of it was learning the spacing of the words.

Despite being a spoken word piece, it’s very precise in terms of timing, how you phrase it, at least it seems to me that way. And so I had to learn it that way. And then once I got it, the next time I was up in Woodstock at Mark Dann’s place, I recorded the song with him, and it was the first thing we released from Rants and Romance. We put it out as a single several months beforehand.

I don’t know, I guess that’s sort of the process. I don’t have a formal process for writing all that much. I kind of do whatever works and that worked for that song.

Rick: So, if you find that normal, you would come up with a melody, play with some chords, then you come up with the words afterwards? 

Rod MacDonald: I almost have to say there is no normally, I kind of do whatever. That’s one way that I like to work. If I have a piece of music, I’ll just work on the music until it feels right. 

I have several of those even now laying around with no words. And then I have words that have no music sometimes. And then sometimes when I write something, it just all feels I can hear the melody of the words when I’m writing it, and then that becomes more simple to execute, in a way. I’m trying to think if there’s a good example of that on Rant and Romance.

In the latter half of the cd, there’s a song called, “The King of Tomorrow”. When I wrote it I very much had the music in my head as I was writing the words, and then I just kind of had to learn to play it. I probably even had the guitar in my hands a lot of times. So that would be a case of where the words in the music were more, I dunno, unitary or more simultaneous in a way. 

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rick: When you do that, do you come up with some words, and I know that Sting called some of his initial lyrics, “rubbish lyrics,” and I’ve called them trash lyrics. 

Rod MacDonald: Dummy lyrics is a phrase that I’ve heard used. 

Rick: Yeah, that’s kinder. And so do you come up with those and hen you fit in the right words and come up with a theme, and that sort of drives you to the end of this, basically a story?

Rod MacDonald: I don’t really work much with dummy lyrics. I will occasionally write music to an entire lyric and then use the music for something else, that’s not that unusual. But I don’t generally sit with my guitar and write out a melody while singing banana pancakes or anything like that. I just really work on the music first. But if I’m writing music to a lyric, then usually it’s because I already like the lyric and want to keep it. 

Rick:. Paul McCartney started out “Yesterday” with the title “Scrambled Eggs”. 

Rod MacDonald: Yeah. That’s a famous example of a dummy lyric. I don’t really know, but I think that part of their process was collaborative, and I believe that he brought that into the studio and played it for the other guys, and they all said, “Great piece of music, but the word’s got to get better than that”.

I saw an interview with McCartney one time. I thought it was very interesting. I think it was Conan (O’Brien) He asked him what he thought of himself as a lyricist or something like that, because McCartney among guys that are, I suppose, on my end of the songwriting spectrum, where we tend to write long and evolved songs, sometimes McCartney’s reputation as a lyric writer is middling and he looked at Conan and he said, “I’m not a great lyricist”, or something like that.

He said, I think, “if you and I were to sit here and each have an idea for a song and go out into another room and write it and then come back and meet, you would go out and write words, and I would go out and write music.” And then he said, “I think I’ve written some good words, but I’m really, I’m not a lyricist instinctively. I’m much more a musician.”

Which makes total sense to me. He’s a brilliant composer of music.  He presented some great songs and some great riffing of the melody to some others, something totally different. And then he comes back to the melody and “Band on the Run” and a few other songs like, “Live and Let Die”, an awesome recording. But it’s got what, three lines of lyrics. It’s really great music, a great piece of music. 

Rick: Yeah, A great legend I suppose. I love the title of Rant and Romance. wonder if you recall when and how you pulled that phrase together? I haven’t heard the phrase before, but it does sound great.

Rod MacDonald:  I don’t remember, but I remember joking around probably with Mark Dann, who’s kind of my collaborator in the studio end of a lot of this kind of stuff. 

And I think there was originally a different title for the album, and I ran it by him and he said, “Nah, that doesn’t really say it.” And then I started and he said, “How would you describe this record?”

And I said, “Oh, it’s a bunch of rants, and then there’s some romance.” And then we both left and kind of went, “Well, I think that might be it.”

It’s clever at some point, I think it was during the early Pandemic, I started describing in a sort of off-hand funny manner, some of my songs as rants, and they are. “Cry Freedom” is really a rant. 

But I mean, you can do a rant artistically, and I try to do that. I’m always conscious when writing a song like “Cry Freedom”, that it has to make sense in and of itself. It has to hold together as a piece of writing. You just can’t vent and expect anybody to make any sense of it for you. You have to make it clear

Rick: Artful. You make it artful to some degree, I suppose, 

Rod MacDonald: To some degree. Yeah. I sometimes teach songwriting. I teach songwriting workshops. 

Rick: Yeah, I took two of yours. 

Rod MacDonald: That’s right, I remember. Yes. Sometimes guys write political rants, and it’s largely just two lines at a time that rhyme. And a lot of the things that they say are kind of clinched lines, like “The Emperor has no Clothes” is one of that kind of stuff. And those are almost like dummy lyrics in a way to say, “The emperor has no clothes”. Yes, of course, everybody knows what you mean, but it’s kind of a cliche and almost like a dummy lyric. You have to sort of, I think, be more artful, as you said, 

Rick: Or unpredictable. 

Rod MacDonald: Or unpredictable. Yeah. Yeah. That’s a little bit of that. You want to explore it. Writing a rant is Dave Van Ronk. Do you know who Dave Van Rink was? 

Rick: I’ve heard of him. I don’t know much. 

Rod MacDonald: Dave Van Ronk was a big influence on a lot of us in Greenwich Village for a couple generations. Dylan, Phil Ochs, on down through guys like me, and quite a few younger guys that I know now that are in their forties that started playing guitar by learning with Dave. And Dave used to say, “It’s really hard to write a good political song, but it’s really easy to write a bad one.”

And I totally get that. I believe that’s true. And so you have to make a point of, somehow at the end of the day, you got to feel like, this is really what I want to say. That you’re willing to stand there and perform it for people for however many people are out in that room.

And they may have different political persuasions than yourself or among themselves, and it has to hold together. You’ve got to be able to stand there and say, “Well, I don’t care what you say. This is how I see it.”

Rick: Yeah. Are you familiar, you mentioned Phil Ochs, and I saw him at the, I dunno if you’re familiar with the John Sinclair concert at the University of Michigan. 

Rod MacDonald: You were at that?

Rick: Yeah, I was there.

Rod MacDonald: I was in Ann Arbor this summer. 

Rick: Were you? What a great town.!

Rod MacDonald: Yeah, it is a great town. A good friend of mine from my childhood, actually one of my best pals of my life lives there. And we visited him, him, and it was really fun. We walked by the spot where they did that concert, and he mentioned it to me. No, I didn’t get to go to that, but I was aware of it when it happened,

Rick: It was great. John Lennon was there with Yoko and Bob Seger, who I’d actually seen before at a small club called The Club, for like a buck, in Monroe, Michigan.

Rod MacDonald: Phil was an ideal performer for that concert. 

Rick: Yeah, he was really good. And there were other people there. Alan Ginsberg was there. He did “Howl” and Black Panthers were there, was pretty interesting. 

Rod MacDonald: What year was that? 

Rick: 1971.

Rod MacDonald: There were three of ’em, Phil, Sonny, and Michael. Michael just passed away, I think. I’m not sure who was older between Michael and Phil, but Sonny, who’s still alive, is a good friend of mine, and she’s the oldest of them.

Rick: I saw the list with some of the other folks that are on the album and was wondering how did you decide that they were the right fit for this particular album? Was there a process? Were they buddies, or how did you actually come up with them? As far as for, Rants and Romance? 

Rod MacDonald: Well, I guess there are people that I’ve worked with or are friends with, mostly for some of my CDs. Most of my work has been recorded in Woodstock, New York. 

And I work with Mark Dann at his studio there. And so sometimes some of the musicians are local Woodstock guys. They’re not even necessarily people that I know very well, but I know of ’em. A couple drummers I’ve worked with were like that. Sometimes they’re guys that Mark has worked with on other sessions and thinks would be a good fit. And sometimes they’re friends on Rants and Romance…Robin Batteau,  so we were hanging around and playing music for each other a lot. And I’ve always loved his playing. He’s a wonderful violinist and a really good guy.

He was going in and out of Woodstock himself, working at Mark Dann’s studio on another project. So he was around. We did a lengthy session; four or five of the songs with the violin live.

And then the drummer, Bill Meredith, I work with here in South Florida in a band called Big Brass Bed. We do mostly Bob Dylan songs. We’re kind of a sort of a side project. We’ve been working together for almost 25 years, and Mark played bass. I also used a fiddler for the two Celtic songs. I used a local fiddler player down here named Ian Wilkinson, a very, very good fiddler because I didn’t want a violinist who was going to jam through the songs. I wanted somebody who was going to play very specific parts. 

Rick: Yeah. What do you use to record?

Rod MacDonald: Pro Tools. A regular Pro Tools interface. I’m not using a lot of outboard gear, trying to hype up the sound or anything. I’m leaving that to the mixing process. I pretty much record people clean. I recorded some of Bill and Meredith’s drum parts here too in my living room. 

And then we fixed them up. So those are the principle guys, the electric guitar parts on “Cry Freedom”, I played myself. 

We didn’t really hire a lot of outside musicians for that cd. Sometimes I’ve used more, sometimes less. I guess that’s pretty much it. 

Rick: So you decided on those fellas just because not so much of proximity to you locally, but because you knew ’em. And how did that work? 

Rod MacDonald: I played with Robin Batteau, the violinist in certain other contexts, like past folk shows or all-star things where there’s tons of folkies on stage, kind of stuff like that. And very memorably, back in the 1970s, we had done a live broadcast on WBAI together, and a bunch of people had been in that one, and I had always remembered how much I loved his playing. 

When he was hanging out on the couch here, I used every excuse I could to get him to play with me. And I had a couple gigs and a festival appearance. He was up for it. He just said, “Sure, I’ll come with you and play whatever you want.” So we got to making some music together. And then we did a couple of shows together too.

We learned some of each other’s songs that way, and that was fun. But yeah, I tend to hire people for specific things. Sometimes I’ll hire them because I really just like they’re playing and I trust that they’re pretty good at working with me on fairly fast basis.

I mean, in working with musicians in the recording process, what you need to have is, unless you’ve yourself written out a part for them, you want somebody that can hear your song and add something to it that really gives it something interesting, add it to it, not just playing along in the background. I don’t really need that all that much. And with drummers, you want somebody who has really good time and kind of a creative approach to drumming. So I’ve used several different drummers. 

And I’ve also used some keyboard players that were really seriously good players. Professor Louis plays on one of my CDs; he produced the band, and he played organ and piano on one of ’em. And I love Louis. He’s great to work with. He’s a good guy. And Pete Levin, who’s not that well known to the general public, but he’s played keyboards with people like Miles Davis and Paul Simon. 

He’s a really good piano player. And he played piano on my 2018 CD, Beginning Again. And I just loved working with him.

Sometimes you want to just turn people loose and let ’em do what they do. That’s really the best thing. If you can get somebody involved on one of your songs or even all of your songs that brings his own level of creativity to the project, then you’ve really got something going on.

Rick: So, Rant and Romance is one of several that you’ve produced. How did the recording engineering and the production, how did that differ than say, your first album? And I know there’s a lot of changes in technology, but was it that much different? 

Rod MacDonald: My first album was back in 1983. I’d never really had much studio experience. I used the studio in New York City. It’s the only one I didn’t do with Mark Dan. 

Though he was involved in it as a bass player, but I didn’t have much studio experience, and I just kind of went in there and we didn’t have a producer, although I did get some help from a longtime friend of mine who was executive for Capital Records out in L.A. at the time, Steven Powers, and he was in New York visiting and staying at my place.

So he came into the studio and helped me out on one session, but I had to produce it myself, which really, I was not especially qualified for that. But what I wanted to do was try to record everything, live as much as possible.

I think we did 17 takes of one song and still didn’t get it, but every once in a while we’d really nail something. And then it was just a question of mixing it, but we played live as a band for almost everything in that recording. And White Buffalo, the one after that we played live as a band. Then we’d touch it up, add an instrument here and there.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Then you are in a vocal booth, so your vocals not bleeding onto everything else anyway. So, then if you get a really good band recording, but you didn’t sing it that well, you put the headphones on and you sing it with the band track. And really, if you close your eyes, it’s the same experience. It’s not really that different.

The only thing that’s slightly different is that the way you sing it might slightly impact the way the band plays it. You lose that if you’re singing to a track. Of course, you have to sing it to the way they played it. 

Rick: Yeah. I found that when I was in the studio, what worked best for me is I’d go in, I’d play my guitar and I’d sing the song, and then all the others would come in and they’d do their instrumentation.

Rod MacDonald: A lot of guys work that way. When we recorded later that night back in 2014, Mark and I came back from a gig and we just started playing in the studio late at night for our own enjoyment. And he said, “Got any new songs?” And I said, “Yeah, well, here’s one.” And then he says, “We should record this.”

And he set up a couple of mics and we discovered a different working method that really has worked fairly well since that time, which was to record the songs mostly because they were new songs that we hadn’t been playing in front of audiences. They weren’t totally formulated in a way musically. And we would sit across from each other and we’d record them, bass, guitar, and voice, and we’d do two, three, four, takes until I could say, “Okay, that’s the exact arrangement.” And then we would do one more take doing the same tempo and the same arrangement, but not singing.

We’d have a guitar and bass track, and then sometimes we’d even just not use the bass track, use the guitar track, and then we’d bring in the other musicians and then I would sing it again. And the reason I liked doing it, I found that to be very productive way to work for two good reasons, particularly the drummer and keyboard players. If you work with a fixed track, they can really hone in on it, and by the second or third take, they’ve really got it down. 

Whereas if you’re doing it live from scratch each time, each track has a slightly different feel and they’re still kind of trying to find it. So if you have a fixed guitar track that you think is good, that’s just the way you want to play it and that it’s comfortable to sing it to, then you can bring in the other instruments and play to it. And they can play to that same track and each time they’ll get it more precisely until finally, usually around the third or fourth take, because these guys are pros. We wouldn’t use my original vocal, but I would sing it with them live each time so that I was instinctively in tune with what was going on live and that 

We’d kind of get a bit of that live chemistry that way. And I found that to be a good way to work.

Rick: As a songwriter, have you ever felt that you ran out of steam with ideas or do you, do they just sort of percolate along as you’re living your life? 

Rod MacDonald: It’s funny. I sometimes feel like, “Wow, I’m supposed to be this big deal songwriter and I haven’t written anything in months. And then I’ll go to Woodstock and I’ll be having dinner with Mark Dann, and he’s kind of been my musical partner behind the scenes for 50 years. 

And he’ll say to me, “So what’s your problem? Anyway? All this stuff’s going on in the world in your life, and you’re living your life and you haven’t written anything. What’s your problem? Are you just like falling asleep at the wheel here?”

And then I’ll go, “Okay, and I’ll say, well, I’ll tell you what, I got some stuff in my laptop. Why don’t you turn me loose in the studio? And I’ll see what I can do.” And then once or twice I’ve gone into the studio, I dunno, midnight, and he’ll set me up and he’ll say, “Good, I’m going to bed after at one o’clock, and I’ll just go through my computer and start making up music to the words that are in there, and I’ll end up with seven or eight songs and then we’ll start working on a new cd. And then while we’re working on it, I’ll write a few more. I don’t know what started, I think Rants and Romance really, by the time we started recording I had pretty much written most of the songs. 

BONUS VIDEO!

Click here to view the embedded video.

PART TWO SOON!

 

Fender’s new American Ultra Luxe Telecaster and Stratocaster have an intriguing mission: Retain the essence of two platforms so iconic that some see them as the guitar equivalent of Coke and Levi’s and win over players tempted by modernized variations on the Strat and Tele themes.

The American Ultra Luxe Vintage Stratocaster and Telecaster each appear in ’50s- and ’60s-inspired versions. I did not get to play the bound ’60s Custom Telecaster or the maple-fretboard ’50s Stratocaster. But I tested the $2,899 Vintage ’50s Telecaster and the $2,899 ’60s Stratocaster HSS with a vintage Ampeg Gemini II and a modified Fender Vibro-Champ with an extra gain stage and a tone-bypass for tweed gain levels.

Both instruments feature quartersawn maple necks with 10"-14" compound radius fretboard, 22 stainless-steel jumbo frets, and what Fender calls a modern D profile. Other modern touches include low-profile neck joints, lacquer finish, locking tuners, and advanced switching and controls. Each guitar comes with a deluxe hard case.

Ultra Luxe Vintage ’50s Telecaster

Effects of the American Ultra Luxe Vintage makeover are most obvious on the ’50s Telecaster. There’s the contoured body (something Strats have had since day one), an angled pickup-selector switch, and individual string saddles for more precise intonation than on a three-saddle Tele bridge. There’s plenty of vintage flavor, though. The ash body looks great and the butterscotch finish really pops the grain. The weight, on the test guitar at least, is neither especially hefty nor light—a little heavier than my own 1974, though that guitar has had its finish stripped off for decades.

The vintage-ness extends to the playability too—it has a broken-in feel right out of the case. I’m used to compound radius fretboards, so I did not have to adjust to the 10-14" shift (versus the 10-16" I’m used to) and it will probably feel more natural to players new to compound radii. Upper fret access was effortless. The build is super tight, giving the guitar a strong unplugged sound that offers the pickups lots of resonance to work with.

I admit, I was initially resistant to the angled switch. Somehow, as a guy who’s wrestled with a traditional straight switch angle for decades, I think of it like driving a manual. Once you learn it, you love it—until you’re in heavy traffic. But like a high-performance automatic with paddle shifters, the angled switch is a blessing that gets you in gear faster. If you play a Strat, the angle will be very familiar. The three-position blade switch gives you the traditional Tele combo of neck, bridge and both in parallel. A subtle push/push S-1 switch mounted in the volume knob bypasses the switch settings to give you the two pickups in series for some extra oomph—way easier than four-way blade switches wired to accomplish the same goal. In real world performance situations, the combined switching system is a godsend, especially if you want to kick in the series setting for leads.

Strength in Series

Overall, the Pure Vintage single-coil pickups deliver the Tele spank you’d expect. I’ve always thought the traditional Tele neck pickup underrated and Fender nailed it here. Through the clean Ampeg, the guitar delivered twang and detail. I was able to go from country to jazz tonalities without adjusting the amplifier, and I especially like the way that rolling back the volume doesn’t come at the expense of detail.

- YouTube

“Telecasters are so good at that specific combination of detail mixed with grit—those singing overtones that are so hard to find in other designs. Not all Teles get there. This one does.”

Those qualities were even more apparent with the Vibro-Champ, which took the Tele from clean to scream. The neck pickup was clear but not overly thin; the middle-setting offered that classic Tele jangle. I was impressed by how much body the bridge pickup delivered on its own. It cut but it wasn’t strident or papery, which some Tele bridge pickups can be. Telecasters are so good at that specific combination of detail mixed with grit—those singing overtones that are so hard to find in other designs. Not all Teles get there. This one does.

Activating the series mode takes the guitar a step farther—it’s hotter and fatter than the lead pickup on its own but doesn’t sound dark or humbucker-like. And thanks to the balance between the pickups, the series mode isn’t an extreme step up in volume from all the other settings.

While the playable neck and great tone might get the headlines, it’s worth noting the contours, which made this guitar way more comfortable to play than a standard blocky Tele, especially sitting. The finish is way cooler up close than it is in the pictures, with vintage-style checking giving the lacquer a broken-in look to go with the broken-in feel.

American Ultra Luxe Vintage ’60s Stratocaster HSS

Like the Telecaster, the American Ultra Luxe Vintage ’60s Stratocaster HSS combines vintage cues and modern features. The most obvious non-vintage addition is the Haymaker humbucker, but this guitar also features a two-post vibrato bridge with a pop-in arm (as opposed to the six-screw vintage design), and shares the Luxe Vintage Telecaster’s 22-fret, compound-radius fretboard and contoured neck joint.

Like the Tele, the Strat feels broken in from the start. The neck’s smooth satin finish made for easy movement. Access to the 22nd fret was easy, and the rosewood fretboard looks great and contributes a lot to the guitar’s authentic ’60s-era look.

Multitude of Tones

I was especially impressed with the pickups. The single-coils had that sought-after bell-like quality, and while humbucker-equipped Strats can sound imbalanced, the pickups here work well together. The S-1 switch on the Stratocaster splits the humbucker into single-coil mode, and it actually sounds good on its own that way. Moreover, it gives you a couple of nice variations with the middle/bridge combo. Single/single for “Wind Cries Mary”-style chime; single/bucker for a Clapton-esque lead tone.

“A Strat begs for a great vibrato system and the action on this unit feels smooth and light.”

Through the Ampeg, the single-coils’ detail reigned—think the rhythm guitar on Steve Miller’s “Take the Money and Run” with its carved out middle, punchy bass, and crisp top. Clean, the humbucker sounded fine, but I found myself liking the combined pickup position with it more than on its own. Through the Champ, however, the humbucker comes into its own as a lead pickup. It’s rich but not dark, and drives the amp considerably more than the single-coils. As with the Telecaster, the tone controls worked well. Sensibly, the neck and middle pickups mate to the front tone pot, and the bridge pickup to the second. When the middle/humbucker are engaged, the front pot is in control.

A Strat begs for a great vibrato system and the action on this unit feels smooth and light. I really like the pop-in arm, which offers a nice direct feeling of control with no extra play, and the locking tuners keep the guitar in tune when you cut loose.

Overall, the Ultra Luxe Vintage ’60s Stratocaster HSS has a luxury-workhorse vibe—like a Porsche SUV that can pop the radar gun on the freeway but also hit the trail from time to time. As cool as the hidden coil-split switch was, I would have loved a second one to activate the neck or bridge pickup in any position. That would add two more combinations—neck-plus-bridge and a combination of all three. It’s one of my favorite Strat mods because the neck-plus-bridge mix adds a hint of Tele flavor, and with split humbuckers, those two extra options would really expand the tonal palette. That’s much less traditional, but then again, so is having a humbucker in the bridge, and none of the genuine improvements here detract from how beautifully ’60s this guitar looks.

We are extremely pleased to announce the launch of the Belle Epoch +, our first compact delay with full tap tempo capabilities and a slew of other upgrades to our flagship tape echo simulator.

Much R&D was implemented to make the Belle Epoch + the best version of itself that it could possibly be. Tapping in a beat couldn’t be easier; simply hold the footswitch to enter tap mode and hold it again to enter tap bypass mode. Apart from the tap tempo circuit, the Belle Epoch + just gives you more, more headroom, a redesigned Mix control, improved buffered bypass, a touch of noise gating and better impedance specs for rig integration. The preamp has been tweaked to provide a higher dynamic range with the same feel and response of the original Echoplex pre, giving you a more hi-fi sparkling tone that you’ve come to expect from the classic circuit. We’ve also expanded the feature set by offering three modes that correspond to wear on the virtual tape, from a pristine “fresh off the line” Echoplex to a dusty unit that’s been sitting in an attic for 40 years. Step into (and onto) the next generation of our classic echo unit!

Learn more at catalinbread.com/products/belle-epoch-plus

Heather Brown Electronicals has unveiled its latest creation, the Darlene Compression, an ultra-quiet analog compressor built for players who want their dynamics to breathe and their sound to stay pure.

Darlene’s high-quality analog circuitry provides consistent touch and clarity across the board, preserving the nuance and character of your playing. Darlene avoids problems that occur with some other compressors that flatten tone, choke dynamics, or add unwanted noise. Instead, Dalrene delivers smooth, responsive compression that feels intuitive with your playing and provides each note with natural, effortless sustain.

The pedal’s control set is refreshingly straightforward. Three knobs (Sustain, Blend, and Volume) let you blend in your dry signal for lively dynamics and punchy attack, or lean into sustain for that smooth, elastic feel. The neutral voicing ensures your guitar’s natural tone remains untouched.

Inside, Darlene runs a 100% analog signal path with premium components and a noise floor so low it practically disappears. Players can choose between true or buffered bypass, paired with silent soft-touch switching for seamless performance on stage or in the studio. In addition to standard 9V DC operation the pedal offers optional 18V operation, adding extra headroom for those who like a little more snap.

Whether you use it as an always-on polish, a transparent clean boost, or a thickening texture after your drives, Darlene quietly makes everything feel more dialed in.

Features include:

• Three control knobs: Sustain, Blend, and Volume
• 100% analog signal path
• Exceptionally low-noise floor
• Selectable true/buffered bypass
• Silent soft-touch footswitch
• Runs on +9V or +18V DC

Heather Brown Electronicals’ Darlene Compression carries a $218 street price and is available now at select dealers and godsmom.com.

For well over 50 years, Bob Weir has been mystifying and delighting fans around the globe with seemingly endless musical ideas, helping to define the sound of the Grateful Dead. Weir has always taken a truly individual approach to rhythm guitar, centered around his affinity for melodic accompaniment. More than just strumming rhythmic patterns, he creates melodies that surround a given chord, adding texture and harmonic depth to the music. The following are examples of the way Weir adds color and rhythmic variety in harmonic patterns and illustrate his artistry as an improviser.

Ex. 1 

Ex. 1 shows a contrast in rhythmic activity, where the first two measures are much busier compared to measures three and four. Harmonically, notice the suspended 4th that resolves and leads to the next chord in measure two. Measure two highlights a wide interval of a major 6th and also the 9th, adding color to the triad. Also, in harmonic contrast to the first two measures, measure three and four end the phrase with 3rd-less triads. This is a good example of a compositional quality in Weir’s playing.

Ex. 2 

Triadic playing is certainly a component of Weir’s improvisational playing. In Ex. 2, you can see how he breaks up triads by articulating single notes and double-stops with the chord shape. You can see the three D chord shapes in measures one and two starting with a power chord and then sliding into the 3rd (F#) and the next chord shape, grabbing the 1st inversion D triad followed by a root position version of the same chord. Also notable, the use of long and short rhythms adds very musical syncopation. In measure five, note the F#m played completely, then breaking it up with the root followed by double-stop 3rd and 5th of the chord. The next chord, G, is arpeggiated, again in short and long rhythm. That rhythmic idea continues in the last two measures.

Ex. 3

Ex. 3 is another example of breaking up triads, but at a faster tempo. Notice the open E string doubling the 5th of the chord. That’s a nice touch and can be used on other chords as well, adding or doubling any chord tone. In measure three, the A/E chord held for two-and-a-half beats helps to break up the two-beat feel, as does the D/F# in measure four.

Ex. 4

The Dm sequence in Ex. 4 illustrates a Weir-like approach to melodic accompaniment and also a reference to the relative major, F. Beat 3 of measure one and beat 1 of measure two can be seen as using the relative F major, outlined in the diagram in parentheses. Notice the Dm and D5 played in a broken fashion followed by color notes on beat 3 of measure three, sliding double-stops down from D and F to C and E, the 7th and 9th of the Dm chord. The phrase resolves with descending Dm groupings, and a double-stop on the upbeat of 2 that could be thought of as C5, C/D or the 7th and 11th of Dm. Either way, you’re adding color and dimension to static harmony.

Ex. 5

Bending a string within a double-stop is pretty common in Weir’s playing, and you see this in Ex. 5 on beat 4 of measure one. The D# is pre-bent up a half-step to E and released in time down to D#, then pulled off to C#, all while holding on to the G# on the 3rd string. Rhythmic and melodic themes are apparent in Weir’s playing. In measures three and four, you can see variations of a rhythmic idea from measures two. All three measures have a version of a dotted quarter and eighth note rhythm, but end in a slightly different way.

November 14, 2025 Just like last week, I got derailed from my planned direction and detoured into some Al Stewart related things. The trigger here was a recent Forum post suggesting that I do a lesson on his tune The Palace Of Versailles from the 1978 album Time Passages. It got me playing some of […]

The post Totally Guitars Weekly Update November 14, 2025 appeared first on On The Beat with Totally Guitars.



Vermont-based guitar hero Paul Asbell joins us this week to talk about his new book, ‘Stages: Ruminations, Rants, and Reminiscences on a Life in Music.’

In ‘Stages,’ Paul recounts stories from early in his career when he worked as a sideman for legendary blues artists on the South Side of Chicago. We also hear about Paul’s unique upbringing, his love for luthier-made instruments, why he left Chicago for Vermont, and so much more.

Order ‘Stages’ here: https://paulasbell.com/product/stages-ruminations-rants-and-reminiscences-on-a-life-in-music-book/

Our new, 57th issue of the Fretboard Journal is now mailing. Subscribe here to get it.

Our next Fretboard Summit takes place August 20-22, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. https://fretboardsummit.org

We are brought to you by Peghead Nation: https://www.pegheadnation.com (Get your first month free or $20 off any annual subscription with the promo code FRETBOARD at checkout).

The post Podcast 525: Paul Asbell first appeared on Fretboard Journal.

C. F. Martin & Co.® proudly announces the launch of Project 91, an extraordinary new collection that brings to life 91 unique guitars, each a direct descendant of an original pre-war D-45—among the most coveted acoustic guitars ever made. Crafted with Brazilian rosewood backs and sides, every Project 91 instrument is individually linked to its historical counterpart by serial number, honoring the spirit, craftsmanship, and tone of Martin’s golden era.

The first four models in this numbered legacy are now complete:

• D-45 1933 Project 91-1 – 12-fret body, slotted headstock bordered in pearl, torch headplate inlay, Style 45 snowflake fingerboard inlay, scalloped X-bracing.
• D-45 1934 Project 91-2 – 12-fret body, solid headstock bordered in pearl, C. F. Martin headplate inlay, Style 45 snowflake fingerboard inlay, scalloped X-bracing.
• D-45S 1936 Project 91-3 – 14-fret “special” wide body, Style 45 snowflake fingerboard inlay, forward-shifted scalloped X-bracing.
• D-45S 1936 Project 91-4 – 14-fret “special” wide body, Style 45 snowflake fingerboard inlay, forward-shifted scalloped X-bracing.

Each Project 91 guitar is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity in the case pocket, and a commemorative framed poster depicting its original reference instrument—available to those who register their guitar.

A Tribute Nearly a Century in the Making
Between 1933 and 1942, Martin built just 91 original D-45s. Today, fewer than that remain in circulation, each representing a priceless piece of music history.

“We’re getting close to 100 years since the first D-45 was introduced,” says Jason Ahner, museum and archives manager. “Project 91 is about recreating 91 of the greatest guitars ever built. We’re doing our best to replicate how they would have been built back in the 1930s and early 1940s.”

Continuing a Golden Era
The D-45 has long represented the pinnacle of Martin craftsmanship. “The 45 has always been the culmination of our best work,” says Chris Martin IV, chairman of the board. “During my career, we’ve done D-50s, D-100s, D-200s—but there’s something about the 45. The fact that we made the 91 during what people consider one of our golden eras—I would like to say today is another one—this is really exciting for me.”

Each Project 91 guitar captures the tone and detail that defined that era, from forward- and rear-shifted bracing and vintage neck profiles to Brazilian rosewood backs and sides—while some of the 91 models will feature unique touches like thinner nut widths, a shaded top, a left-handed build, and even one with two pickguards.

“The D-45 represents the absolute top of the line for Martin guitars,” adds Dick Boak, former museum and archives director. “The amount of work, the amount of detail in inlaying not only the top, sides, back, neck, and headstock, but also around the edges of the neck and endpiece—it just sets them apart.”

Owning a Piece of Martin History
Every Project 91 guitar connects its owner directly to a specific original D-45. “You have a unique serial number that ties back to its predecessor,” explains Tim Teel, instrument design manager. “When you register your guitar, you’ll receive a framed poster showing that connection—your guitar’s lineage to Martin’s history.”

Availability
The first four Project 91 guitars are now complete and available through select Martin dealers. The remaining models will be built and released in sequence over the coming years, each meticulously recreating its pre-war counterpart in sound, feel, and detail. For more information on Project 91, visit martinguitar.com.

From reimagining 1973 album Quadrophenia as a rock ballet to his role as The Who’s chief lyricist, Pete Townshend is always working on new projects. In fact, he admits he’s probably got 450 pieces of unfinished music lying around – and he’s not averse to using AI to aid his creative exploits.

Townshend has recently said that he wouldn’t shy away from using AI to help finish off tracks. “I’ve managed to wade through about half of [my unfinished music],” he tells The Late Show’s host, Stephen Colbert. “What’s interesting is… I don’t know what to do with it! I’m quite interested in AI [to see what it makes of it].”

• READ MORE: “One of the difficulties Roger had was Zak jumped straight into Instagram and started to mouth off”: Pete Townshend reveals the real reason why The Who fired Zak Starkey

While some artists are adamantly against the use of AI, Townshend is open to the idea. “I’m quite interested in [using it to rework] some of my old songs that didn’t quite work,” he explains. “I didn’t get them right first time round…”

“[If I put stuff] onto Suno or some AI music machine, [I could see] what it can make of it,” he continues. “There might be some hits!”

As intrigued as Townshend is by the new technology, Colbert then reminds us of the controversial side of using (and inadvertently training) AI software like Suno. He mentions music that’s “doing very well” that’s entirely “by robots” – an issue that has been detracting attention from genuine bands.

Recently, Welsh rockers Holding Absence have spoken out about AI’s impact on the industry. Back in September, singer Lucas Woodland posted on X to discuss AI band Bleeding Verse, which cites Holding Absence as one of its ‘inspirations. “So, an AI ‘band’ who cite us as an influence (ie, it’s modelled off our music) have just overtaken us on Spotify, in only two months,” he wrote.

“It’s shocking, it’s disheartening, it’s insulting – most importantly – it’s a wake-up call,” he continues, before urging listeners to “oppose AI music, or bands like us stop existing”.

So, an AI “band” who cite us as an influence (ie, it’s modelled off our music) have just overtaken us on Spotify, in only TWO months.

It’s shocking, it’s disheartening, it’s insulting – most importantly – it’s a wake up call.

Oppose AI music, or bands like us stop existing.

— Lu (@Lucaswoodland) September 30, 2025

It’s not the first time Townshend has entertained the possibility of using AI in his work. Speaking to The Times back in March, he said [via Guitar World]: “It is a tremendous irritation to Who fans that I don’t just stick to the old catalogue and do it until I die… If I told AI, ‘Write a load of Pete Townshend songs like he used to in 1973,’ a lot of fans would be really pleased”.

Back in 2023, however, the Who legend was far less enthusiastic about AI. While he did note that it could serve as a “helpful” tool, he feared its takeover. “With respect to AI, I’m hopeful… but I think, when it becomes what drives the machine, then we have to be careful,” he told the Broken Record Podcast.

He was particularly fearful of AI taking over the “artistic” realm. “I think, by this time next year, the landscape will be completely different,” he predicted. “We won’t know which way is up, we won’t know what’s been created by AI and what’s been created by humans.”

“Everything is going to get very blurred and very confusing, and I think we might look back on 2023 as the last year when humans really dominated the music scene,” he concluded. “I really think it could be that serious, and that doesn’t fill me with joy. It makes me feel apprehensive, and I’m preparing to feel sad about this.”

The post Pete Townshend admits he’s “quite interested” in getting AI to finish some of the hundreds of unreleased songs he’s written: “There might be some hits!” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Third Man Hardware has joined forces with Kansas City, MO’s JHS Pedals to create The Troika Delay, a horse-powered instrument and microphone delay product unlike anything else on the market. More than simply a pedal, The Troika is a multi-purpose, pro-audio, studio-grade delay device designed to work with microphones, guitars, or any instrument. Equipped with both XLR and ¼” inputs and outputs, The Troika utilizes a hi-grade Lundahl transformer on the mic input, and a secondary output transformer, enabling it to work well with other effects and is perfect for desktop and professional recording studios as well as on stage. The Troika Delay is available now in standard black ($349) at thirdmanhardware.com. A limited-edition yellow model ($369) is also available, exclusively via reverb.com/shop/third-man-hardware. For more about JHS Pedals, please visit jhspedals.info.

About Third Man Hardware:

Third Man Hardware introduced itself to the gear community with its first collaboration in 2014, the Bumble Buzz. They couldn’t stop there. With a vision to bring innovative, introspective, creative sounds to everyone in the gear community, Third Man Hardware has collaborated with over ten different companies that it respects in the gear community in order to produce its current gear line.

About Third Man Records:

Third Man Records was originally founded by Jack White in Detroit, MI in 2001. In March of 2009, a physical location was established in Nashville, TN. Third Man Records, in its current state, comprises a record store, record label offices, a photo studio, a darkroom, and a live venue with an analog recording booth. TMR now has three locations, with its latest addition in London. Almost all of our records are recorded, printed, and pressed in Detroit, MI, and produced by Jack White. In this fashion, TMR strives to bring a spontaneous and tangible aesthetic back into the record business.

About JHS Pedals:

JHS Pedals is a USA effects company based in the Kansas Cit metro area known for blending classic analog tone with creative modern design. Since 2007, JHS has become one of the most influential names in guitar effects pedals— developing original circuits, reimagining vintage classics, and collaborating with artists and brands across the globe. With a catalog spanning everything from overdrives to delays to preamps, JHS combines quality craftsmanship with large-scale production expertise. The company also produces popular content on YouTube, where founder Josh Scott explores guitar-related devices, the stories, and the sounds that shape music history.

About Reverb:

Reverb is the largest online marketplace dedicated to music gear. Since launching in 2013, Reverb has helped millions of music makers find the perfect piece of gear from its trusted community of music shops, top brands, and other music makers around the world. Built by musicians and gear lovers, Reverb combines one of the largest selections of musical instruments with tools to help music makers find music gear that inspires them and a passionate musical community to connect with. Sales on Reverb help support Reverb Gives, which provides youth music programs with musical instruments.

We’ve all heard that Black Sabbath’s grand farewell show raised a lot of money for charity, but it didn’t rake in nearly $200 million, despite some early claims. In fact, Sharon Osbourne has revealed the final figure to be closer to $11 million. Still not a drop in the bucket, mind.

While Ozzy Osbourne’s late wife called the inflated claims “ridiculous” from the start, the latest episode of The Osbournes Podcast sees Sharon sharing exactly how much money was raised. “It raised 11 million, [minus] the cost [to put on the gig],” she explains [via Blabbermouth]. “We paid the cost of bringing everybody in, the accommodation, everything.”

• READ MORE: The guitar gear used by Tony Iommi on Black Sabbath’s Heaven & Hell album

She also clarifies that, despite the amount of high-profile artists appearing, “no one got paid” to be there. “Nobody asked for a penny,” she explains. “They gave their time, their efforts, everything for free. People were just so generous.”

While Sharon notes that it would have been incredible to have raised $190 million, the team were more than pleased with the amount earned. “It was nowhere near [$190 million], and I wish that it was, but we are living in reality, in the real world,” she says.

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Of course, Black Sabbath’s final show would also serve as a farewell to Ozzy himself, with the metal legend passing away just weeks after. Elsewhere in The Osbournes Podcast episode, Sharon and her two children, Jack and Kelly Osbourne, reflect on how the world responded to Ozzy’s death. “So many people have reached out to us,” Sharon says. “It’s just been overwhelmingly wonderful… I just want everybody to know that everything that has been sent to us we’ve read, and we appreciate it.”

“The outpouring of love has been so helpful to us,” she continues. “I never could have even imagined it to be as helpful as it has been, knowing that we are not alone in our grief and our sadness. The rest of the world loved him as much as we did.”

“I haven’t seen an outpouring like that since Princess Diana died – I didn’t expect it!” Kelly chimes in. She later adds that the love truly came from everywhere, nothing “it wasn’t just the heavy metal community, it was the entire world” sharing their condolences and tributes to the Prince of Darkness.

You can watch the entirety of the latest Osbournes Podcast episode below.

The post Sharon Osbourne says Back to the Beginning raised just over £8 million for charity – far from the £140 million some quoted appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Joe Bonamassa’s guitar collection is the stuff of legends – so much so that he’s got two ‘museum’ locations – Nerdville East and West in Nashville and LA, respectively – housing hundreds of vintage guitars and pieces of gear.

It might not come as a surprise, then, that he’s had to adopt something of a poacher’s mentality to get his hands on the guitars he wants – even competing against one of his best friends, fellow blues maestro Joanne Shaw Taylor.

• READ MORE: “The heavy metal thing was not my first intention”: The creator of EMG pickups never meant for them to become the choice of metal guitarists

As Taylor notes in an interview in the new issue of Guitarist magazine, an Albert Collins signature Fender Telecaster she now proudly owns was once poached by Bonamassa under the guise he’d help her buy it.

Of the guitar – which was ultimately gifted to her by JoBo around 15 years – she recounts the hilarious tale of how it ended up in her hands.

“I flew to New York to see Joe for a few days,” Taylor recalls. “He was rehearsing for the first time with Black Country Communion. I went to, I think it was, Manny’s, and in there they had an Albert Collins signature model and it was signed by Albert. Other than Stevie Ray Vaughan, he’s my number one influence.

Credit: Frank Hoensch/Redferns

Upon seeing the guitar’s $5,000 price tag, Taylor consulted Bonamassa, informing him that she didn’t have enough money to buy the guitar outright herself.

“He’s like, ‘Okay, well what do you have?’ I said I could probably get together about four. He’s like, ‘Alright, well come back with me. They’ll probably want a photo of me, but I could probably get it for you for four.’

“So we go back to the guitar shop, he plays the guitar, and he’s like, ‘How much?’ And the guy goes, ‘Okay, four grand and a picture of you buying it.’ So we did the deal… and then he kept the guitar for himself! [laughs]”

The guitar remained under the custodianship of Bonamassa for about a year, Taylor says, until she informed his father Len, who then set out to make things right.

“About a year or so later, I talked to his dad and mentioned this, and Len was furious,” she says. “So Len must have phoned him and read him the riot act because I got a text the next day saying, ‘Remind me of your address,’ and then this was delivered in the post.”

The post “I said, ‘I don’t have $5,000,’ and Joe said, ‘They’ll want a photo of me but I could probably get it for you for four’”: Joe Bonamassa helped Joanne Shaw Taylor buy an Albert Collins Telecaster – and then kept it for himself appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.