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PRS Tekton and Tekton Floyd Review
Though every guitar company loves to have a legacy built on iconic, proven instruments, none want to be seen as unable to evolve. That’s why brands as different as Martin, Gibson, Taylor, and Fender always experiment with novel body shapes, electronics, and materials—even as their most famous and foundational axes continue to sell and flourish in the marketplace.
PRS staples like the Custom 24 and the McCarty 594 can, at this point, be counted among such bedrock instruments. They’re classics—plain and simple. And models like the Silver Sky and the Fiore have demonstrated that the company is willing to experiment beyond the business’ ballyhooed bulwarks. The new PRS Tekton line, however, which includes the standard Tekton, Tekton T (with PRS two-point tremolo), Tekton ”Floyd” (with a Floyd Rose 1000 double-locking tremolo), and Tekton SVN seven-string, represents one of the most radical additions to the company’s line in its history.
Body By Design
With a fresh, all-new, light and thin body design, an ultra-sleek “modern-D” neck shape, and the brand-spankin’ new PRS Stylus pickups onboard, the modern metal-aligned Tektons are more than an edgy new riff on traditional PRS methodology—they are a true departure. In some respects, in fact, they address the changing ways that modern metal and other technical players make music, most notably the move to digital modeling and amplification systems. They are future-gazing instruments.
Though the Tekton guitars mark a radical deviation from the norm, there are recognizable links to the PRS family line. For instance, it’s easy to see traces of the Custom 24 and the offset Vela in the profile. From there, though, the differences become apparent fast. The Tekton features the thinnest neck and thinnest body ever to emerge from the PRS factory, which is a bolt-on, rather than set-neck design. The bodies are crafted from mahogany and feature bold-figured mango tops, except for the Tekton Floyd, which trades mahogany for an all-alder body, which is lighter and offsets the weight of the Floyd Rose 1000 vibrato. The super-slim bodies are extremely comfortable to hold whether sitting or standing, and the violin-style top carve and sculpted belly make it feel like an extension of the player. Some players may find the mango top’s hard upper edge a bit tough on the picking-hand forearm. But that’s about the only potential gripe. Otherwise, it’s super comfortable.
With a 24-fret neck featuring stainless steel PRS jumbo frets (stainless previously appeared only on the Joe Walsh Limited Edition), you can access the upper reaches of the neck with ease—a sensation that is enhanced by the Tekton’s treble-side scoop, which, to this reviewer, feels deeper than that on a Custom 24. Combined with the thin neck profile, satin nitro finish, new-for-PRS 16" radius, and a lovely Indian ebony fretboard, the Tekton six-string necks offer instantly tangible extra speed and accuracy. You can really feel it, and the sensation is heightened by the slightly wider string-spacing, which will appeal to those with a bit of classical training (or just big hands). The more generous spacing is also a boon for sweep-picking or just playing similar scale and chord shapes up and down the fretboard. Neck stability, by the way, is supported by internal hormigo wood strength rods, which complement the truss rod. Another notable departure: PRS ditched the classic bird inlays for slightly offset dot markers and blue Luminlay side markers.
No Muck In These Pickups
Even with all the reimagined body and neck design going on here, the main story is arguably the new PRS Stylus humbuckers. These Alnico 5 units are notable not so much for their color or character, but for their relatively flat response. This makes them hard to peg as typically PRS in terms of voice, but it makes them very well suited for modeling and profiling platforms.
That doesn’t mean they aren’t great with big, loud tube amps. They are distinctly mud-resistant and bell-like, and this translates across amplification platforms. I couldn’t get a bad sound out of them, and where I often find humbuckers with push-pull coil taps thin or a bit of an afterthought, the coil tap on the Tekton and Tekton Floyd revealed many character-rich tones that sounded especially cool in lower-gain and clean settings and would be right at home in Vertical Horizon, Porcupine Tree, or Opeth-style applications.
“The Tekton six-string models offer instantly tangible extra speed and accuracy”
Take Me to the Bridge
There’s probably not much you can say to a diehard Floyd Rose fan to talk them out of the Tekton Floyd's 1000 tremolo. But I’d make the case that the hardtail Tekton (or the Tekton T, featuring PRS’ excellent two-point tremolo, which we did not review here) offer superior tuning stability, the most sustain, and less maintenance time when you’re re-stringing or adjusting intonation.
There are ergonomic considerations too. The edge of the palm rests much more naturally on the smooth, simple carved tops of the Tektons when a hardtail bridge is in place than with a Floyd Rose, I certainly noticed my palm mutes were more nuanced when using the hardtail. The hardtail bridge also looks more elegant on these sleek beauties. Plus, the PRS hardtail could be the best hardtail bridge on the market. It’s total class in my book.
The Verdict
PRS did not cut corners bringing the Tekton series to realization. The body design, neck, materials, and electronics all reflect a drive to serve contemporary technical players and the evolutionary approaches they use in their craft. The guitars aren’t cheap. You’ll pay $2,899 for the Tekton and Tekton T and $2,999 for the Tekton Floyd and SVN. But those prices are right in line with vintage-spec instruments from other manufacturers that offer little in the way of rule-breaking design. The sense of premium manufacturing and features is plain to see in the build quality, but also the dazzling mango tops and luxurious colors. But the serious R&D that went into these instruments makes these prices look especially fair. And to the extent that they can facilitate a fast-track trip to a shredder’s Mt. Olympus—at least for a certain sect of disciplined, technical players—this new breed of PRS offers an impressive convergence of design, quality, and practical value that can flat-out elevate your playing. PG
PROS An innovative and forward-thinking design from PRS. Light materials. Great ergonomics, along with the thinnest body and neck PRS has produced. Flat-frequency pickups that deliver in modeling situations and with trad tube amps. Super-fast and smooth playability.
CONS Some PRS players will miss the color in more traditional PRS pickups like the 85/15, 58/15 LT, and 59/09.
PRS Tekton
If you have any respect for guitar playing, you need to listen to Joe Satriani and Steve Vai’s new album
![[L-R] Steve Vai and Joe Satriani](https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/Steve-Vai-Joe-Satriani-hero@2000x1500.jpg)
Both with successful multi-decade careers under their belts, today’s a big day for Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, as it marks the first time the pair have ever released a collaborative full-length album.
Yep, The Sea of Emotion has officially arrived via earMUSIC, and brings a cornucopia of six-string virtuosity and dizzying leads from two of the most prominent shredders in the game, so if you’re in any way guitar-inclined, you need to add this to your weekend listening list.
- EDITOR’S PICK: Joe Satriani picks his favourite solo he’s ever laid down
Of course, one reason it’s so surprising this album took the pair so long is how far back their professional relationship actually goes. In fact, Vai was once a student of Satriani, and began receiving lessons from him all the way back in 1973 when he was just 13 years old, and Satch was only 17.
Now 66 and 70 respectively, it’s been decades since their paths first crossed, and they’ve worked together on numerous occasions on various solo projects and on the famous G3 tours – which featured Satch and a rotating lineup of virtuoso guitarists – but it’s taken over 50 years for them to commit to a full album together.
And the opportunity arose following the most recent G3 reunion tour in early 2024, when both realised they had a gap in their forthcoming schedules. Initially, the pair had the idea to record a single track, but after Satch sent Vai two song ideas, they committed to a full album instead.
“We’ve been planning this since 1973!” Vai jokes. “Just unconsciously.”
“The biggest surprise was that we write in completely different ways,” Satriani adds. “And that’s what made the project so fun and interesting.”
The album features a selection of originals, plus a reimagining of Dancing, a song by Italian singer and pianist Paolo Conte.
Perhaps most notably, the LP’s closing track, the final part of an epic trilogy, The Sea of Emotion, opens with a vintage reel-to-reel recording from one of Steve Vai’s early lessons with Joe Satriani, bringing their professional relationship full circle.
“It illustrates just how far we’ve come,” Satriani says.“We’re these two kids who haven’t found our sound yet, but we’ve got enthusiasm. We’re chasing something, and we’re determined.”
“It’s a beautiful coming together of me and my friend in a very intimate musical way,” says Vai. “That was the reason we did the record.”
Produced with keyboardist Eric Caudieux, the album also features contributions from drummers Gregg Bissonette, Jeremy Colson, Kenny Aronoff, Matt Chamberlain and Mike Mangini, plus bassists Billy Sheehan, Bryan Beller, Philip Bynoe, Matt Bissonette, Marco Mendoza and Henrik Linder.
SATCHVAI’s new album, The Sea of Emotion, is out now. Listen below:
The post If you have any respect for guitar playing, you need to listen to Joe Satriani and Steve Vai’s new album appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Orange Baby Terror review: a minuscule lunchbox head that packs classic Orange punch
$249/£199, orangeamps.com
Despite the name, the Orange Baby Terror is not a horrifying infantile reincarnation of the current US president, born through mysterious science in order to circumvent term limits and rule over the blasted nuclear wastelands of 2028. It is, in fact, a new amplifier from Orange, one that combines the versatility of the Baby range with the small format of a Micro Terror. Orange has previous for making excellent little lunchbox heads that punch well above their weight classes – will this be any different?
What is it?
The Terror series dates back to 2007, and under it Orange launched a variety of affordable, all-metal lunchbox heads, starting with the Tiny Terror – there’s an argument to be made that without the Terror, lunchbox heads wouldn’t even be a thing in the guitar amp market.
The Baby Terror is best viewed as a successor to the smallest in the range, the Micro Terror, and at 16.5cm by 14cm by 10cm is almost exactly the same size. The biggest changes are a more complex control panel (with more than one knob for EQ!) and an added effects loop. This comes at the cost of the tube preamp, as the Baby Terror is now fully solid-state.
This tubeless operation and the more fully featured back panel are the headline imports from the Baby range – what we don’t get is the same power rating. Those amps are somewhat defined by their 100-watt class AB power amps, but here we’re working with the same 20 watts as the Micro.
But hey, 20 watts can still be more than loud enough, and the expanded controls and I/O do, on paper, make this far more flexible than the Micro’s one-knob tone control and barebones connectivity. So, let’s see what Orange has packed us for lunch.
Image: Adam Gasson
Build quality and usability
From a build quality perspective, it’s pretty hard to fault the Baby Terror. It has a solid metal chassis and has a little bit more of a reassuring heft – 1.5 kilos compared to the Micro’s 850 grams. It’s still extremely light, all things considered, but the Baby Terror perhaps feels a little more sure of itself as an object. I’ve watched a punk band play with a Micro Terror on full-blast, and during the first song, the head walked backwards across its cabinet, chucking it into the mess of cables behind. That feels a little less likely here.
New for the Baby is that more densely-populated back panel, which offers an effects loop, a dry, direct line-out from the preamp, and a footswitch jack to switch between two pre-set master volume levels. It’s a little crowded thanks to the small size, perhaps, but it’s great to have this much flexibility in setup – particularly if you want to cleanly use reverbs and delays alongside the distortion from the preamp.
And speaking of crowded, the front panel controls are also far busier than the Micro – luckily not to the point where they’re actually difficult to turn, and perhaps smartly Orange has opted for pedal-style indented knobs rather than its in-house rounded ones. The extra controls are all pretty self-explanatory, with a three-band EQ, gain and presence joining the aforementioned dual volume controls. The final touch is the ‘Tubby’ switch, which acts as a low-end boost.
Image: Adam Gasson
Sounds
Upon plugging in to everything set to noon, I’m met with a fairly loud, slightly overdriven sound. It’s perhaps cleaner than you might expect, given Orange’s propensity for raucous drive tones. But it’s soon clear that this amp retains the surprising versatility that other single-channel Oranges can conjure, even more so now that you have a full EQ section and presence control to further adjust things.
The gain control has a very impactful sweep, and three almost-distinct ‘zones’ that it suddenly enters as you turn it. Below 40 per cent is sparklingly clean, between 40 and 60 per cent is where you’ll find edge-of-breakup morphing into bluesy overdrive, and above 70 per cent you’re in far fuzzier territory.
The first zone can be a little thin, but this is helped by engaging the Tubby switch to keep things round and Fendery, rather than anaemic and dry. The middle zone is perhaps more exciting for a clean sound, though, it allows for your playing dynamics to dance across that ever-enticing edge of breakup.
At the fully-dimed end of things, you don’t get the same wall of thick, overblown doominess that something like the OR15 will give you when you max the gain knob, but it is still a pretty pleasing sound. It’s worth noting that as soon as I enter high gain territory, that Tubby switch gets turned off. On the cleans it adds a nice bit of low-end depth, but I find it far more flubby than tubby in gainier territory. The sound, though, is still very pleasing – with a classic Orange throatiness in the midrange that will just make you want to start learning every single C#-era Black Sabbath riff.
The downside is that you don’t get true clean-to-dirty channel switching – if you want to do that across a song or a set, you’re going to need to set the amp clean and get your dirt tones with pedals. Doing this, I find that ragged rock sounds and scuzzy doom sounds are more than achievable with some classic Orange pairings like Big Muffs and RATs. They’re not my favourite tones that I’ve heard from an Orange solid-state head – but for £199, they’re hard to be too negative about.
Image: Adam Gasson
Where things do fall a little short is on the tighter, chuggy and modern side of things. It’s not a sound the amp can achieve on its own, as the gain tops out at Sabbathian stoner levels. And sadly, setting the Baby Terror to medium gain and boosting it with a TS-style pedal doesn’t get the best results either – with a bit too much high-end fizz, and a low-end that’s hard to clean up even without the Tubby switch engaged. This is a bit of a shame, but perhaps a less responsive and less boostable front end is the price we’ve paid here for going all solid-state.
What does help expand out the possible sounds is the effects loop. It’s a cool feature to see on a head this cheap, and obviously the more ambient-minded players will welcome the more flexible reverb and delay pedal setups it allows. The other benefit is that you’re no longer chained to the preamp that’s in here – if you wanted to run a preamp pedal or a modeller straight into the power amp here, you could – which is extra good news for giggers on a budget, given the upcoming avalanche of affordable NAM A2-capable modellers.
Speaking of gigging, a quick word on volume – this thing is loud, with a maximum volume that’ll be quite antisocial at home unless you live in the woods, and even then you’ll probably deafen a few squirrels. But that being said, it doesn’t quite match the kind of low-end impact you can get from something like the main Baby range or the Super Crush. It’ll likely be enough for most small gigs, as long as you’re not relying on your cab’s volume alone – and similarly, unless your drummer hits extremely hard, will be more than loud enough for practice rooms. Another gigging bonus is that footswitchable volume – for rock sets where the only effect you’ll need is a solo boost, all you’ll need is that footswitch.
One extra consideration is that the line-out is effectively just a balanced version of the preamp send – there’s no cab sim here. Having heard the analogue cab sim on the Super Crush, that’s not really a huge loss, but keep in mind it’s not quite viable as a straight-to-desk thing in a live situation.
This dry line-out also replaces the headphone jack that the Micro Terror had. Thanks to Positive Grid, the floodgates have opened for a bunch of digitally-driven mini practice amplifiers, and Orange seems totally uninterested in making this kind of amp. And so binning off the headphone jack seems to be making the assumption that you’ll use one of the many other far more flexible solutions for all-in-one coffee table practice – and it’s a fair assumption.
Image: Adam Gasson
Should I buy one?
There’s a reason the first Micro Terror was such a hit. It weighs as much as a loaf of bread, costs less than your average boutique pedal, and can fit into even the most fashionably tiny backpacks – all while still kicking out Orange tones at very respectable volumes. The Baby Terror commits to all of these good points with aplomb, and for many, the added effects loop will be worth the price of admission alone.
Of course, it is not as high-fidelity, tonally, as it could be. The low end can be a little hard to manage, and the midrange throatiness won’t be for everyone. But that’s just Orange being true to the Orange of it all – there are plenty of options if you want a more modern sound and digitally-driven flexibility. It’s great to see Orange stick to its loud-as-hell, analogue-as-possible character and not just sound like everyone else. This, ultimately, is an amp with ‘Terror’ in its name, and its nature.
Overall, it’s not that much pricier than the original Micro, and it’s a good deal more flexible, so, really, if you are walking to every gig, don’t need the earth-shaking power of a full 100 watts in your band and like that more raucous Orange approach, then it’s a very viable option
Alternatives
There are, of course, a good few different options for amps in this price range depending on what you need. The original Micro Terror ($159/£139) is great if you don’t care about an effects loop, and you just want a 12AX7 to abuse with a fuzz pedal. If you want a little bit more of a classically chuggy sound, Laney makes its own range of affordable-but-punchy solid-state heads – try the Ironheart Foundry Series IRF Leadtop ($299.99/£149.99) for size. If you do want the classic Orange sound from a portable, flexible solid state head but 20 watts feels a little dinky, I’d recommend the Tour Baby 100 – although it is a little over twice the price at $599/£459.
If your reasoning for wanting a wee little amp like this for home usage rather than gigging convenience, something like the Blackstar Beam Mini ($229/£169), Positive Grid Spark Go ($99/£95) or Spark Mini ($199/£199) will be far more flexible in terms of playing along to tracks and headphone connectivity.
The post Orange Baby Terror review: a minuscule lunchbox head that packs classic Orange punch appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Martin Honors Gram Parsons with Limited-Edition 00-21 Inspired by His 1963 Martin
C. F. Martin & Co. is honoring the enduring influence of Gram Parsons with the 00-21 Gram Parsons, a limited-edition acoustic guitar inspired by his original 1963 Martin 00-21. Limited to just 80 guitars and launching on what would have been Parsons' 80th birthday, the model celebrates an artist whose "Cosmic American Music" helped reshape the sound of country, rock, and American roots music.
Inspired by Gram's Original 1963 Martin
The 00-21 Gram Parsons draws directly from the well-loved Martin Parsons played during his influential career. Its 00 12-fret body pairs East Indian rosewood back and sides with a VTS old-growth Sitka spruce top, featuring aging toner and carefully recreated visual wear inspired by his original guitar.
A V-shaped neck profile, short 24.9-inch scale, wider 1 7/8-inch nut width, and slotted headstock give the guitar a distinctive vintage feel and look rooted in the instrument that inspired it. An interior label featuring Gram Parsons' pre-printed signature completes the tribute.
Celebrating a Lasting Musical Influence
Parsons brought country, rock, soul, gospel, and folk together in a sound he called "Cosmic American Music." Through his work with the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and as a solo artist, he helped push American roots music beyond traditional genre boundaries and influenced generations of artists who followed.
That legacy will receive another major honor this year as Parsons is inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Influence category. The 2026 induction ceremony will take place on November 14 in Los Angeles, just nine days after the guitar's launch.
To mark Parsons' 80th birthday and upcoming induction, Martin will also unveil the new model at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on November 5 during "An Evening with Chris Martin of Martin Guitars," featuring Chris Martin IV and Martin clinician and signature artist Craig Thatcher.
80 Guitars for His 80th Birthday
Limited to only 80 instruments, the 00-21 Gram Parsons marks what would have been Parsons' 80th birthday with a guitar connected directly to both his musical legacy and the Martin he made his own.
The Martin 00-21 Gram Parsons ($5,499.99 USD) is available through authorized Martin dealers and at martinguitar.com.
00-21 Gram Parsons
C. F. Martin & Co. (Martin Guitar) is honoring the enduring influence of Gram Parsons with the 00-21 Gram Parsons, a limited-edition acoustic guitar inspired by his original 1963 Martin 00-21. Limited to just 80 guitars and launching on what would have been Parsons' 80th birthday, the model celebrates an artist whose "Cosmic American Music" helped reshape the sound of country, rock, and American roots music.
Sterling Introduces Music Man Session Line of Premium Basses
Sterling has launched Music Man Session, a new premium line that brings the family of Music Man brands closer together than ever before. Featuring an elevated level of craftsmanship from Sterling, the Session Series combines the heritage, design philosophy, and performance standards of the Music Man brand with a more accessible price point. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first StingRay bass, the Session Series debuts with a fresh take on an icon: the Music Man Session StingRay.
Inspired by the designs and specifications that defined the StingRay throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the Music Man Session StingRay captures the unmistakable sound, punch, and attitude of the era while introducing thoughtful modern refinements. Developed through a rigorous design and build process in collaboration with the Ernie Ball Music Man team, the Session Series honors the original StingRay formula while incorporating premium modern features not previously found on models from that period.
The Session StingRay brings back the Schaller tuners featured on StingRay models of the era, known for their stability and reliability. Modern appointments include a compensated nut for improved tuning accuracy and a roasted maple neck with an oil and wax finish. Together, these features deliver the smooth, comfortable playing experience that Music Man necks are known for. Body wood options include Poplar and Ash.
At its heart, the Session StingRay features a Music Man Session Alnico 5 humbucker pickup and an onboard 3-band active EQ, delivering the punchy, aggressive tone that made the StingRay a studio and stage staple. Expect powerful low end, articulate attack, and unmistakable growl. The Session StingRay delivers the grit and presence to cut through the mix while retaining the tight, funky response that defines the StingRay sound.
The Music Man Session StingRay is available in both four- and five-string configurations, with five finish options: Ash (Natural), Black, Olympic White, Tobacco Burst, and British Racing Green.
Manufactured in Indonesia, the Music Man Session StingRay represents a new benchmark for the Sterling lineup. Each instrument is built with close attention to detail and undergoes rigorous quality control throughout the process. Available at street prices starting at $1,599.99 for the four-string and $1,699.99 for the five-string, the Session StingRay brings the iconic Music Man StingRay experience within reach of more players.
“The Music Man Session StingRay has been years in the making. This model represents the most premium expression of Sterling and truly bridges the gap between the Sterling Standard line and Ernie Ball Music Man instruments,” said Eddie Park, Director at Sterling. “We're incredibly excited to celebrate 50 years of this iconic bass with an instrument that pays tribute to its history while introducing a fresh chapter for the StingRay at Sterling.”
Key features include:
● Body Wood: Ash or Poplar
● Scale length: 34". Frets: 21 (4-string) / 22 (5-string)
● Neck Wood: Roasted Maple (Oil & Wax Finished)
● Compensated nut and Roasted Maple or Rosewood fretboard
● Tuners: Music Man Schaller Open Gear
● Controls: 1 Volume + 3-Band Active Preamp
● Bridge: Music Man Session Design
● Pickups: Music Man Session Design Humbucker
● Pickup Type (Magnet): Alnico 5
● Includes Premium Music Man Session Bag
For more information visit sterlingbymusicman.com.
Music Man Session StingRay
Sterling has launched Music Man Session, a new premium line that brings the family of Music Man brands closer together than ever before. Featuring an elevated level of craftsmanship from Sterling, the Session Series combines the heritage, design philosophy, and performance standards of the Music Man brand with a more accessible price point. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first StingRay bass, the Session Series debuts with a fresh take on an icon: the Music Man Session StingRay.
Ozzfest Returns in 2027 with Shows in the UK, U.S., and Mexico
Ozzfest, the iconic global touring hard rock music festival launched more than 30 years ago by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, will return in 2027 with three historic stops: the UK (Milton Keynes), U.S. (San Bernardino, CA) and for the first time ever in Mexico (Mexico City).
"Ozzy was the first to launch his own traveling metal festival,” says Sharon Osbourne, Ozzfest’s co-founder. “And Ozzfest will always remain an important part of Ozzy’s legacy.”
Promoted by Live Nation, the 2027 dates will kick off next summer in the UK (Ozzfest’s spiritual home) on Saturday, July 10, 2027 at The National Bowl in Milton Keynes, before returning to the U.S. on Saturday, September 11, 2027 at Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino, CA (where Ozzfest launched in 1996) and the highly anticipated first edition in Mexico City, MX on Saturday, September 18, 2027, at Estadio GNP Seguros.
The announcement comes off the back of the 30th anniversary of the inaugural Ozzfest in 1996. It will be the first since the passing of the late global rock icon Ozzy Osbourne and his historic farewell concert “Back to the Beginning” in 2025 and the last Ozzfest, New Year’s Eve 2018 at The Forum in Los Angeles headlined by Ozzy. Ozzfest’s 2027 edition promises to keep the flames alive with a lineup curated by Sharon Osbourne. The full line-ups will be revealed in the coming months.
Small is beautiful: why Taylor’s 12-fret Next Generation guitars are the ultimate player’s guitars
Ad feature with Taylor Guitars
For decades now, Taylor Guitars has been helping musicians sound better, while keeping things compact. After all, when Bob Taylor designed the Grand Auditorium body shape back in 1994, part of what made it so revolutionary was the fact that it was a much smaller-bodied guitar than the dreadnoughts and jumbos that had dominated most of the recent past of acoustic guitar – and yet it still felt every bit the grown-up guitar in both tone and feel.
Over the following 30-plus years, Taylor has continued to make an art form out of smaller-bodied instruments – whether that’s the Baby Taylor or the wildly popular GS Mini – but there’s another small-bodied Taylor icon that deserves its moment in the sun. And the latest additions to Taylor’s game-changing Next Generation collection are doing just that.
The Grand Concert is Taylor’s smallest full-scale body shape, but one that has earned a legion of dedicated fans who appreciate its inviting, responsive feel, and impressively articulate voice. When Ben Harper partnered with Taylor to release his Gold Label signature model earlier this year, it was the compact dimensions of the Grand Concert that he used as the basis.
Now, the Next Generation Grand Concert models bring a fresh and exciting new character to this small-bodied gem – and in the brand new 12-fret 512ce and K22ce, you might just have found the ultimate do-it-all instrument.
Image: Taylor Guitars
Versatile, Compact, Inspiring
The 12-fret version of the Grand Concert is an unusual guitar in the Taylor catalogue, but it’s one that should be of real interest to players of all stripes. For starters, the 12-fret configuration is a perfect partner to the smaller body dimensions of a GC guitar – it makes what was already an ergonomically inviting and comfortable instrument even more so.
Anyone who has spent a lot of time with a parlor-style instrument will know that the intimate dimensions of a 12-fret small-bodied instrument are compelling regardless of your frame. That being said, if you’re a smaller player, the compact experience of a 12-fret Grand Concert guitar is something you truly need to experience – with the shorter neck making this already bijou instrument even more comfortable and natural for those with smaller hands.
But it’s not all about the accessible playing experience – the 12-fret Grand Concert models also offer tonal benefits by the bucketful. With a lush, warm voice that offers bags of rich midrange character – these guitars are compelling and sonically propositions in both of the stunning wood choices available.
The 512ce sports solid mahogany back and sides to present a punchy, focused midrange character with a dry, woody quality. It pairs beautifully with the Western Red cedar top to add a warm attack and remarkable sensitivity – your notes will bloom with depth, sweetness and clarity.
If you opt for the K22ce, you’ll be treated to Select-grade Hawaiian koa for the top, back and sides, producing an exceptionally articulate and rich midrange, and plenty of open-string resonance. Despite its small size, the properties inherent in the koa also give the guitar a charming low-end character – one that is only going to improve in terms of warmth and depth as the wood matures over its life.
Image: Taylor Guitars
Next Gen Quality
Of course the most important and exciting thing about the K22e and 512ce is that they are part of Taylor’s revolutionary new Next Generation programme, which is gradually overhauling the brand’s core line with a variety of new innovations that enhance the guitar’s playability, sound and ease of maintenance.
First among these is the new Scalloped V-Class bracing. This evolution of Andy Powers’ revolutionary V-Class bracing system offers a remarkable level of volume, sustain and pitch accuracy all the way up the neck – meaning that you can take full advantage of the guitar’s Venetian cutaway while still remaining perfectly in-tune and clear. The Scalloped version takes things further still, unlocking even greater volume and resonance, while preserving best-in-class intonation.
Another innovation at the heart of these Next Generation guitars is the Action Control Neck – offering not only better down, but much easier long-term maintenance of your guitar. The ACN’s long-tenon joint adds warmth and depth to the overall sound of the 512ce and K22ce, but that’s not all. The ACN’s patented height-adjustment system means that you can alter the action of your guitar in seconds using just a hand tool – meaning that these guitars can adapt to your playing style as you evolve as a player.
Finally, the new Claria pickup system makes plugging in and sounding great easier and more consistent than ever before. Designed with input from artists on every stage, the Claria utilises a reimagined piezo pickup to deliver clear, versatile acoustic tone every night, without hassle and fuss.
Taylor’s Next Generation guitars are already capturing the creative imaginations of musicians from across the musical spectrum, and the new 512ce and K22ce guitars open up this world to more players than ever before.
With their compact Grand Concert body shapes and shorter 12-fret necks, these are the most intimate Next Generation guitars yet. But they bring the full benefits of the range’s innovations to instruments that are perfect for musicians who cherish the way a small-bodied instrument can unlock your creativity both as a performer and a songwriter.
Small can be beautiful, as many artists have proven – but with the Next Generation 12-fret Grand Concert guitars, there are no compromises in playability, sound and versatility. All you need is a song.
Find out more about the 512ce and K22ce at taylorguitars.com
The post Small is beautiful: why Taylor’s 12-fret Next Generation guitars are the ultimate player’s guitars appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
“Find your style”: How America’s Got Talent winner Nene Royal put personality into her playing – and it earned her a support slot with Avenged Sevenfold
Back in September, Nene Royal won this year’s America’s Got Talent with a showstopping performance of The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army. But the 16-year-old guitarist’s journey to the grand prize was defined by her ability to inject personality into classic tracks, from her palm-muted hard-rock take on The Cranberries’ Zombie to a gold-buzzer winning performance of Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun.
In a new interview with Guitar.com, Royal explains that every artist should put their own spin on a track, because “surprise” is an artist’s ultimate weapon. “Find your style,” she says. “You don’t have to copy another person; if you copy, your performance will look weird and uncomfortable.”
If an artist believes in their own unique sound, the confidence will follow. Having cut her teeth busking at Thailand’s Naka Market since the age of nine, Royal insists that finding her own sound and committing to it helped her mature as an artist. “Even if it’s a small stage, keep doing it,” she insists. “It makes you more confident. Then, you won’t be shy [on a bigger stage].”
In fact, this confidence has quickly caught the attention of some of Royal’s very own heroes. After winning AGT, Royal told Entertainment Weekly that her ultimate goal would be “sharing a stage with the bands that inspire me, like Avenged Sevenfold or Metallica” – and a month later, she was supporting Avenged Sevenfold, performing with her beloved 1978 Ibanez MC300 for 40,000 punters in Singapore’s Indoor Stadium.
“At [Avenge Sevenfold’s] Bangkok concert, they wanted to meet me,” Royal tells us at Guitar.com. “I was shocked. Backstage I met M. Shadows, Johnny Christ and Zacky Vengeance. It’s crazy to think I started at a night market in Phuket and now I’m opening for my favourite band.”
Alongside her support slot, the guitarist also joined Avenged Sevenfold on stage for Bat Country and Unholy Confessions. In her Guitar.com interview, she emphasises the band’s importance to her: “I really want to put my own energy into the way I play, but I’m inspired by Synyster Gates. I love harmonic minor, pentatonic scales, sweeping… My biggest influences are Avenged Sevenfold and System Of A Down.”
Moving forward, Royal’s goals are on writing more music and fine-tuning her personal style. Her favourite band is rallying behind her, and so are countless market customers who have caught her performing over the years – just look on any Facebook post or YouTube video from her performing, and the support is clear.
“The first time we saw Nene and the Ozone band [featuring her brothers] performing there she was about 9 years old the drummer around 7 years,” one Facebook comment reads. “Even then they were amazing and we’ve seen Nene perform every year [since]… I said three years ago that this girl is gonna make it big. This January when we visited there was no question about it. She is absolutely incredible and so full of charm as well…”
“They say practice makes good and this is just the way it is… But if you’re born with the genetic miracle fingers and musical feelings that Nene has, true musical wonders will happen!”
The post “Find your style”: How America’s Got Talent winner Nene Royal put personality into her playing – and it earned her a support slot with Avenged Sevenfold appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
From retirement to world tour and now Sphere residency: Rush’s remarkable reunion continues
![[L-R] Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee of Rush](https://guitar.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/Rush-Sphere-hero@2000x1500.jpg)
Rush just announced a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere.
Spanning five dates in May 2027, the Elevate From the Norm residency will see veterans Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee – with drummer Anika Nilles in tow – play a set of “fan favourites and greatest hits from across their catalogue”, while celebrating the life and legacy of the band’s late drummer Neil Peart.
Specifically, the dates for the residency are May 21, 23, 26, 28 and 30. The residency is set to commence just a month after Rush wrap up their much-hyped Fifty Something global tour.
Fans will have a number of opportunities to grab tickets early in presale events. Members of the band’s Rush Backstage online store and subscribers to their newsletter will get an exclusive two-hour window to purchase VIP and Travel packages starting Friday, 6 November from 10AM PT.
Artist Presale begins Wednesday, 11 November from 10AM PT, while fans who register via Seated will receive a unique presale code granting early access to tickets. General onsale is scheduled to begin Friday, 13 November from 10AM PT.
“When I first heard of Sphere, I thought to myself, ‘Wow, what a shame that Rush is no longer touring, because this venue sounds tailor made for the kind of visual attitude with which we have always designed our shows,’” says Geddy Lee.
“Normally we spend months designing the visual effects for our shows and this scenario seemed like the cherry on top of the ice cream for our design team. But life is nothing if not surprising and now, here we are, living and touring in the present tense and we are able to make that particular dream come true.
“We are presently working hard to expand our touring concepts and concoct some new madness to suit this incredible venue and musically perform the kind of show we’ve been doing in some of our ‘one-off’ cities. Meaning playing all of 2112 and all of Moving Pictures along with an array of other songs. We are so effin’ excited to make use of this incredible opportunity to please our fans both visually and viscerally- from wherever they might fly in from. Gonna be so much fun!”
Further VIP and Travel experiences will be available to purchase via Superfan, and will extend beyond the concert with exclusive fan activities, transportation and a dedicated Rush merch popup shop at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas. Select packages will include the opportunity to meet Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson.
Rush join a growing list of high-profile artists who have announced shows at the Las Vegas Sphere, including Metallica, John Mayer, Eagles and Dead & Company.
All the info you need to know is at rush.com/sphere.
Credit: Rush
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Rush Announces Five-Date “Elevate from the Norm” Residency at Sphere
Today, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees and RUSH co-founders Geddy Lee (on bass, keys, and vocals) and Alex Lifeson (on guitar and vocals) have announced RUSH’s five-date residency at Sphere in Las Vegas. The band will perform on May 21, 23, 26, 28, and 30. Each night the band will play a set of fan favorites and greatest hits from across their catalogue in celebration of RUSH’s music, legacy, and the life of the late drummer and lyricist Neil Peart.
Geddy Lee shares about the residency:
“When I first heard of Sphere, I thought to myself, ‘wow, what a shame that RUSH is no longer touring, because this venue sounds tailor made for the kind of visual attitude with which we have always designed our shows.’ Normally we spend months designing the visual effects for our shows and this scenario seemed like the cherry on top of the ice cream for our design team. But life is nothing if not surprising and now, here we are, living and touring in the present tense and we are able to make that particular dream come true. We are presently working hard to expand our touring concepts and concoct some new madness to suit this incredible venue and musically perform the kind of show we’ve been doing in some of our “one off” cities. Meaning playing all of 2112 and all of Moving Pictures along with an array of other songs. We are so effin’ excited to make use of this incredible opportunity to please our fans both visually and viscerally- from wherever they might fly in from. Gonna be so much fun!!”
RUSH Backstage and RUSH Newsletter subscribers will receive an exclusive two-hour window to purchase VIP and Travel packages beginning Friday, November 6 at 10 AM PT. The Artist Presale for concert tickets begins Wednesday, November 11 at 10 AM PT. Fans who register through Seated will receive a unique presale code granting them early access to tickets.
For the first time, Superfan is bringing its signature VIP and Travel experiences to Fontainebleau Las Vegas for RUSH's 2027 Residency at Sphere, creating an exciting new destination for fans to come together and celebrate the band. As the official VIP & Travel partner, Superfan will offer curated experiences extending beyond the concert, including exclusive fan activations, transportation, and a dedicated RUSH merchandise pop-up shop at Fontainebleau.
Fans can choose from three VIP packages featuring premium concert seating and exclusive perks, with select packages offering the opportunity to meet Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, collectible band-signed merchandise, access to the Xanadu VIP Lounge, and dedicated merchandise pickup. The official RUSH pop-up shop at Fontainebleau will feature a curated collection celebrating the band's legendary career and Sphere debut.
Travel packages will also be available for each show of the residency. These packages make it easy for fans traveling to Las Vegas by bundling lodging at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas with concert tickets, VIP experiences, exclusive merchandise, shuttle transportation and more. All details and official links are at rush.com/sphere.
These shows will utilize Sphere’s next-generation technologies, including the world’s highest-resolution LED display that wraps up, over, and around the audience creating a fully immersive visual environment. The venue also features the world’s most advanced concert-grade audio system, Sphere Immersive Sound, which delivers audio with unmatched clarity and precision to every guest.
RUSH SPHERE TOUR DATES
- May 21, 2027 - Las Vegas, NV - Sphere
- May 23, 2027 - Las Vegas, NV - Sphere
- May 26, 2027 - Las Vegas, NV - Sphere
- May 28, 2027 - Las Vegas, NV - Sphere
- May 30, 2027 - Las Vegas, NV - Sphere
RUSH are currently on their celebrated Fifty Something tour. The tour has received universal praise and sold over 1 million tickets across Canada, the United States, Mexico, South America, Europe, and the UK. For Fifty Something and the Sphere dates, Lee and Lifeson will be accompanied by German drummer, composer, and producer Anika Nilles, as well as keyboardist Loren Gold.
Tickets for the current Fifty Something tour are available here .
Here’s how to mod an affordable T-type into the Tele of your dreams
Telecaster-style guitars are renowned for their appealing simplicity – there’s a certain romance to the idea of a guitar that stays so close to just “wood slab with neck attached”. Its nature as one of the most simple electric guitar designs has helped cement the Telecaster’s reputation as a reliable workhorse, but it also means it’s a fantastic mod platform.
Helping more with this is an abundance of aftermarket Telecaster-compatible parts, whether you want a modern conversion, an authentic-looking vintage-styled instrument or a best-of-both-worlds combination of the two approaches. And you don’t have to take a drill and a soldering iron to a US-made Fender, either – there’s a similar abundance of affordable Telecaster-compatible T-type guitars, such as our patient today, a Vintage (the brand) V20 Coaster. Let’s dive into the process of giving it a full overhaul!
The Patient
This particular guitar is unashamedly Tele-alike – with a butterscotch single-cutaway body, maple neck, and two single-coils. It was purchased as B-stock for an extremely affordable £130. Guitars at this price point are fantastic for complete overhauls, and really all kinds of DIY messing about: the quality of guitars like this is nowadays relatively high, particularly in the fretwork. But if you make a wrong move with a screwdriver, dremel or soldering iron, and it’s a lot less of a financial tragedy.
The guitar itself is far from perfect, but the important thing here is that the basic construction is very good. Where it falls a little short is in the hardware, which is a little generic – particularly the sealed tuners, which after a bit of testing reveal themselves to be a bit stiff and not very stable. The Alan Entwistle pickups are actually pretty neat to see at this price, but they’re not the most authentically vintage-sounding things out there, and lack a little punch and character.
So, there’ll be a big benefit to the hardware and electronics swap – let’s get going.
Strip things back
The first thing to do with any project like this is figure out what you’re working with – for a total overhaul, it can be helpful to strip it down to a blank canvas before ordering a bunch of parts, just so you can be a little more sure about compatibility.
In this particular case, we do have basically the standard Telecaster routing, with room for upgraded electronics. Like most affordable guitars, the V20 comes with mini-pots, and so I do a quick test-fit of a full CTS-sized control pot in the electronics cavity to make sure I won’t have to do any routing when I switch stuff out. I might have to drill a bigger hole in the control plate itself, but that’s a bridge we can cross a little later, along with the, er, bridge.
Shields up
This being a single-coil guitar, proper shielding is almost essential. Without it, electrical interference from the outside world will leak into the parts of your guitar’s wiring that generate signal, and you’ll hear it through your amp, particularly with single-coils – but shielding the cavities in which your pickups and controls sit can very much improve this.
From the factory the V20 came with zero cavity shielding – so that’s first on the list to sort. Luckily this is both easy and also therapeutic – you’ll just need some conductive copper tape, some scissors, and something to help manipulate the tape in hard-to-reach areas, and maybe a good true crime podcast – this takes longer than you think.
You’ll also want to make sure your conductive tape has conductive adhesive – this means that as you place a new piece of tape, it will have continuity with the piece you’ve just slapped it on – and so when you coat a cavity with it, you make an electronically-connected faraday cage to absorb interference and send it away to ground.
The standard Telecaster routing pattern has several discrete pits that are hidden by the hardware. The shielding in each needs to be connected to the guitar’s ground to be effective – you can either solder a jumper wire between each to achieve this, or do what I did, and place copper tape to carry continuity down to the control cavity. The pickup grounds are connected to the back of the volume pot, and the volume pot is screwed into the metal control plate – so as long as the shielding tape has a conductive path to this plate, we’re all groovy.
The cavity for the bridge pickup is a little more involved – from the factory, the strings are grounded through a wire that’s sandwiched between the body and the bridge plate. For a good ground connection for the shielding, we can just make sure this wire is also sandwiched against the copper tape at one end, and connected to the back of a pot.
Building Bridges
It’s important to check the style of Tele bridge plate you’re using. You can see here that it’s mounted to the body with four screws behind the saddles. This is the same arrangement as official Fender parts and most aftermarket replacements. There are some affordable Telecasters and T-types (including the cheapest Squiers) which have something that on the surface looks like the classic bridge plate, but has a screw in each corner instead – there aren’t really many drop-in replacements for these plates.
However if you do have something like this, then you can still upgrade your bridge by replacing the saddles but keeping the same plate. Doing this just means you need to keep the same number of saddles. Some Telecaster bridges are three-saddle, some are six-saddle – meaning you can upgrade with (compensated, ideally) brass barrel saddles in the former case, and vintage or modern hardtail saddles in the latter.
Another consideration is the bridge pickup, which is obviously mounted straight to the bridge plate. There are plates out there that take humbuckers, but they’re not a simple drop-in deal – as you can see, the route underneath the bridge plate here (and in most single-coil T-types) is shaped directly for a single-coil pickup. If you want a humbucker-equipped guitar, either be ready to route, or start with an already humbucker-equipped platform to upgrade.
For this guitar, I’m swapping out the whole plate and staying in single-coil land, which makes it a more simple drop in – I just run through the ground and the hot wire of the bridge pickup to the control cavity before attaching the bridge. And speaking of that control cavity:
Electronics overhaul
With a T-type guitar, it’s good to re-do the electronics first. The handy thing is that all of the controls are attached to a single plate. This too can be cleared out, with the original switch and the original pots saved for use as spares.
I’m using Stewmac’s Premium Telecaster Wiring Kit here, which comes with full-sized pots. This means a test fit is a good idea, as like most affordable guitars, the V20 comes with mini-pots, – cross-compatibility is never guaranteed, even if you’re using an official Fender or Squier body.
Here, the full-size CTS pots fit – but only just. They’re a few tenths of a millimetre away from needing me to get the dremel out and carve away some material, but as it stands I’m happy with the pots contacting the shielding tape – it’s all going to ground anyway.
I do need to drill a slightly bigger hole in the plate for the larger sized pots – if you don’t have a step bit, or just don’t trust your drilling abilities, you can grab an aftermarket plate sized for CTS pots.
Here’s a good opportunity to talk about why this is worth doing. As previously stated the base guitar here is good – the frets are fine, the neck feels nice, and it’s the right shape and so on. However, even just using this switch is a world of difference to the cheap stock one – it’s got a reassuring clunk, and just makes interacting the guitar feel like a more premium experience.
Sonically, of course, the pickups have had the biggest impact – StewMac’s Telecaster set sounds fanstastic, with a punchy, bright bridge that’s not too brittle, and a warm-yet-articulate neck pickup that’s perfect for smooth, overdriven solos. If you’re doing just one thing to a cheap guitar, the pickups are perhaps the thing to start with if you want a big leap in tonal quality!
Tuner time
The V20 Coaster’s tuners are more modern sealed-gear ones – not in-line Kluson-style ones. It’s important to measure your post holes, and check the angle of the mounting screw is correct here – not all tuners are cross-compatible, and conversions can be tricky. Luckily this Gotoh set I grabbed as a replacement fit straight in with no modifications.
But… one thing I didn’t really foresee was their impact on the balance of the guitar! They’re relatively high-mass locking units, and the guitar’s body is seemingly made out of a very light and affordable wood – and so there’s a little bit more pull on the shoulder strap than before. When looking for tuners, keep this in mind, particularly if you’re working with a lighter guitar.
Wrapping it up
With the hardware and the electronics overhauled, the guitar can be re-strung and setup. The Wilkinson compensated bridge allows for some really in-depth adjustments, and so I spend a while with an accurate tuner and a set of allen keys getting intonation perfect, something not normally easily achieved with even a compensated Telecaster bridge. After this I dial in pickup heights for consistent output, give the nut a little lubrication, and find a compressor pedal for some old-scool Tele clean playing to give it a whirl.
It is a marked difference from the unmodded guitar – the pickup swap has totally changed the sounds on offer, and the more premium hardware makes it far more inviting to play. However, there’s always more you can do in terms of modding. I eschewed a fret polish this time, but doing one can sometimes make a guitar go from feeling a little gritty and cheap to feeling very premium indeed. I also don’t quite love the feel of the back of the neck – it’s a slightly generic-feeling pale satin finish that, again, feels a little gritty. This can be remedies with some ScotchBrite, or, if you were feeling very brave, you could grab a Telecaster compatible neck – Fender-style bolt-ons are often totally compatible with each other, but I’d get the calipers out if I was switching this one, mainly thanks to its fingerboard extension…
Regardless, it’s remarkable what a £120 guitar can be made to play and sound like these days, still with room for improvement! For some extra parts and inspiration, check out StewMac’s offerings here.
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This new tuner could make you sound like Eddie Van Halen – here’s how
Six years after his death in 2020, guitarists still move mountains to try and achieve the sound of legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen. And Peterson reckons its new tuner pedal, the StroboStomp EVH, will help many players to that end.
You might ask: “It’s a tuner. How can it make me sound more like Eddie Van Halen? It doesn’t affect tone and it certainly doesn’t train my fingers to tap lightning fast.”
Well, as Peterson explains, on Van Halen’s self-titled debut album, which arrived in 1978, Eddie used slightly different tunings across its 13 songs in order to “sweeten” the sound of different chords and riffs. Essentially, he was a fan of slightly detuning certain strings on his guitar for a more characteristic sound.
Peterson tuner pedals have incorporated “Sweetened” tunings for some time, allowing guitarists to incorporate tiny pitch offsets by a few cents to flavour their sound. And the new StroboStomp EVH comes loaded with 13 of them, each tailored to the 13 songs on Van Halen’s debut. That’s not all, though; if you want to venture outside the Van Halen sound, the pedal comes with a total of 158 tuning presets, and you can even upload your own custom tunings, too.
Fittingly, the pedal comes outfitted in the classic Van Halen red, white and black Frankenstein stripes, and swaps a mechanical disc piece for a crystal-clear LCD screen which can be set to different colours, perfect for when it’s dark onstage.
Additionally, the pedal might be a good option if you’re a bassist, too, as there are 11 bass presets included also.
“Eddie relied on Peterson tuners as he developed the sound and playing style that made him one of the most influential guitarists of all time,” Peterson writes. “The StroboStomp EVH honors that connection, bringing Peterson’s renowned ±0.1 cent accuracy to a new generation of players.”
The StroboStomp EVH is now available for $179. Learn more at Peterson.
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Fan of Nine Inch Nails or Guns N’ Roses? You could get your hands on some tour-used gear in Robin Finck’s new Reverb shop
After more than 30 years as a professional guitarist, Robin Finck is unloading over 200 pieces of his vast gear collection. The items will be available in a new store on Reverb, officially opening on Wednesday, 11 November. The inventory will include guitars, pedals, and other rare items he used while touring with Nine Inch Nails and Guns N’ Roses.
“I’ve genuinely used and enjoyed all of these pieces, so much so that I’ve ended up with two or even three of some of them. You know I love all these sweeties, I just don’t need multiples of them anymore,” says Finck. “I have been so fortunate to have played these on stages all over the world, and now they’re poised to play with someone new.”
Credit: Reverb
Headlining the collection is Finck’s Gibson Les Paul ’60 Reissue Goldtop, playfully nicknamed Old Gold. He used the guitar during Nine Inch Nails’ iconic set at Woodstock 1994, in addition to all of his tours with the band from 1994 to 2014. Finck can also be seen playing the guitar in NIN’s music video for March of the Pigs.
“On the day we shot the video for March of the Pigs, that version of Nine Inch Nails had never played a show in front of an audience. My whole world was about to tilt,” says Finck. “This is the only guitar that made it out of 1994 intact. I don’t know why or how because it’s also the guitar I played more than any other.”
Elsewhere, the shop features the Fender Custom Shop Nocaster Finck used with NIN from the 2013 Tension tour to 2018’s Cold and Black and Infinite – which he also calls “one of the greatest guitars” he’s ever played – plus a Gibson ES-335 used extensively with both NIN and GNR, and a one-of-a-kind Manson Custom MA-RF-01 guitar built specifically for him and played extensively on tour with Nine Inch Nails.
“There is a deep history for me with, well, all of these guitars. But if you ask me which is the best guitar? It might be this one,” Finck says.
A selection of pedals is also available, including a Boss FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz with Finck’s initials on the side, a Prescription Electronics Experience with a one-of-a-kind paint job, and a DOD FX25 Envelope Filter used on the Guns N’ Roses track Better.
As for why he’s shifting some of these pedals? A lot comes down to duplicates in his collection. “I have used and loved all these deeply. I just don’t need multiples anymore.”
Robin Finck joins a long list of artists who have opened online shops on Reverb, including Gilby Clarke, Bullet For My Valentine, Kiko Loureiro, Dave Mustaine and Russian Circles.
Robin Finck’s Reverb shop will open on Wednesday, 11 November. For more information, head to Reverb.
The post Fan of Nine Inch Nails or Guns N’ Roses? You could get your hands on some tour-used gear in Robin Finck’s new Reverb shop appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
How Total Tommy became one of Australia’s most exciting new guitar acts: “I’ve always used it as a songwriting crutch”
When strangers ask Jess Holt what she does, her answer is relatively self-conscious: “I play guitar, but I’m a bit of a hack!” Under her Total Tommy moniker, the Melbourne-raised artist is recently responsible for some of the most versatile guitar music from Down Under, spanning indie, dream-rock, grunge and post-punk. It’s a far cry from the sun-kissed, breezy tones of DMA’S, Royel Otis and Spacey Jane – arguably Australia’s trendiest modern guitar sound.
“Maybe it’s because of the climate,” smiles Holt, meeting Guitar.com at home in Sydney. “[DMA’S and Royel Otis] are two really good examples, but a lot of people say Australia doesn’t really have a sound, because we have so many influences from everywhere. There’s so many different guitar bands coming out of Australia at the moment – Swapmeet, The Belair Lip Bombs. My music, it’s like, ‘Is it here, or is it there?’ People are working that out…”
After three intensive years of songwriting, Holt introduced herself as Total Tommy in 2024 with her debut album bruises, a self-described “patchwork quilt” of atmospheric, heaven-sent indie-rock (Losing Out, Girlfriend) which packed an occasional punch (SPIDER, Amsterdam). Now, the Sydneysider is back with Trapezoid, a tough and unpredictable follow-up that drags Total Tommy even further down the grunge-rock rabbit hole. So you might be surprised to learn that, only six years ago, she was releasing pulsating alt-pop under the alias Essie Holt.
“I was listening to a lot more indie-pop at the time, and I wasn’t really hearing that much guitar,” she explains. “I felt bound by a genre – ‘this is your lane, make sure it’s really clear’ – which I don’t think is so much of a thing now [for artists]. When I started writing for Total Tommy, I was envisioning the live show, which was, ‘I want a rock band.’ It was the music I wanted to get back into, because I loved it as a kid and it’s always been in my bones.”
Image: Press
Ground Zero
After learning the flute, Holt picked up her first Valencia acoustic at 14 years old, pleading with her teacher to play pop songs instead of scales, before eventually gravitating towards learning everything by ear. While shifting some focus towards training her voice, she flitted between guitars in the background, most recently selling her Fender Player II Telecaster to buy the equivalent Jaguar. “I don’t really feel that attached to [my old guitars],” she shrugs.
Having forever idolised Courtney Barnett for her “intuitive” playing style, Holt underwent a second wave of kinship with her instrument when she ditched Essie Holt for Total Tommy. “I wrote all of my first Essie stuff on acoustic guitar, but it never made it into the music,” she says. “I’ve always used it as a songwriting crutch, but in terms of putting it into the production [through Total Tommy], it really pushed my voice in a different direction. Live, it’s a lot beltier.”
Although Holt has dabbled with a hands-free frontwoman setup, enabling her to soak up and bask in the glory of her riffs, rocked-up guitars have become a driving force of her artistry and taste. Alongside The Strokes, Fontaines D.C. and Momma, that influence includes plenty of British rock, which can lead to a mixed reception in Oz. “[Some] people are like, ‘Well, what’s the connection to Australia?’” she explains. “You [are expected] to really ‘own’ your country, and a lot of Australian artists do end up moving and making it big overseas before Australia pays attention,” she continues, pointing to punk-rock star Ecca Vandal.
Image: Press
London Calling
From a studio standpoint, Holt has done exactly that, because London is now her recording hub. Ever since a study semester in Brighton, she’s mentally associated the UK with making music. For any emerging artist, the prospect of regular 24-hour flights not only presents logistical obstacles, but also a sense of pressure, to make every second recording Trapezoid count. But Holt was determined to see it through, having found her familiarity in east London.
“When I’m in that zone, I’m like a sponge,” she tells Guitar.com. “You’re observing the world and everything’s poetic. You’re on the train, staring out the window, and lyrics come easily. It’s a muscle that you have to exercise and tap into. [Also], you’re in a completely different timezone to your friends, so there’s really no distractions. I love the pub culture, as well! I’ll have a pint, labour over my lyrics and listen to my demos. I romanticise that so much.”
Writing and producing her guitar lines alongside Tom Stafford (Joy Crookes, Orla Gartland), noodling around on his 1984 Yamaha SG-1000 in ‘Angel Tuning’ (CGDGAD) unlocked the door for Trapezoid. “The basis of the record was that weird tuning,” reflects Holt. “It sounds really stark, brooding, and the whole record’s off-tilt: that’s the meaning of Trapezoid. I really liked the wonkiness. I think bruises was very perfect, quite polished, and this one’s not.”
That instability shines through on the knee-jerk top lines of Girl, Interrupted, the wooziness and occasional volatility of City Of Mannequins and the thrashy pop-rock of Out Of Frame. The song structures on Trapezoid are suitably serrated, culminating in melancholy closer Tailgate and its rampaging climax of distortion. “I kept wanting to push it grungier and grungier,” Holt grins. “The live show is [like] that. I wanted it to feel darker.”
When Holt was in a post-pop creative rut, it was Microdose – her first single as Total Tommy – that pulled her out of it. The inception of Trapezoid is the closest thing she’s experienced since that moment; a feeling to chase and build around. Although her career path and songwriting has already taken many twists and turns, the guitar has helped her some find clarity. In turn, it’s forged an unbreakable bond with how she sees her art going forward. “The guitars will stay,” she reiterates. “I just want to be a kickass frontwoman with a rock band.”
Trapezoid is out now via Play It Again Sam.
The post How Total Tommy became one of Australia’s most exciting new guitar acts: “I’ve always used it as a songwriting crutch” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Gibson Pickup Shop Introduces Year-Specific 1957–1960 P.A.F. Reissue Humbuckers
The Gibson Pickup Shop has introduced the 1957-1960 P.A.F. Reissue Sets, a new collection of historically accurate humbucker pickups designed to reproduce the dimensions, materials, appearance, and distinctive tonal characteristics of original Gibson Patent Applied For pickups.
Four new pickup sets capture the full tonal spectrum of the Patent Applied For humbucker, the most sought-after electric guitar pickup in music history.
The collection includes four pickup sets, each with a unique tonal profile shaped by its wire turn count and specific grade of long, rough-cast Alnico magnet. From the tight, articulate response of the 1957 set to the smooth warmth and natural compression of the 1960 set, the collection gives guitarists four distinct interpretations of the celebrated P.A.F. sound. The Gibson Pickup Shop 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960 P.A.F. Reissue Sets—available at a street price of $799 each—are available worldwide through authorized Gibson dealers, at Gibson Garage locations in Nashville, London and Miami, and on Gibson.com.
After the humbucker debuted on Gibson pedal steels in late 1956, the Patent Applied For pickup first appeared on Gibson electric guitars in early 1957. Although they were not present on the very first units, it was the Patent Applied For decals affixed to the undersides of the pickups that earned P.A.F.s their nickname. First featuring in the electric guitar catalog on the ES-175, the humbucker became the primary pickup for high-end Gibson instruments, including the Les Paul Goldtop, Les Paul Custom, and Les Paul Standard.
Developed through extensive historical research, 3D scanning, scientific analysis, reverse engineering of vintage examples, and original specifications from the Gibson archives, each P.A.F. Reissue Set is built to the same exacting standards as the Gibson 1959 Collector’s Edition Humbucker Sets. The new sets are offered without the Lifton cases, individual serialization, and mounting rings included with the Collector’s Edition sets.
“The original P.A.F. humbuckers have inspired generations of players because they do more than reproduce sound. They respond to the player,” says Jared Brandon, Pickup Product Manager at Gibson. “With the 1957-1960 P.A.F. Reissue Sets, we have recreated four distinct voices from that historic era, giving guitarists the clarity, harmonic complexity, and dynamic feel that made these pickups legendary.”
Each pickup is wound on vintage Gibson coil-winding machines using 42 AWG plain enamel wire and vintage-correct butyrate bobbins. Period-accurate details include maple spacers, steel slugs and keeper bars, two-conductor wiring, True Historic nickel covers, Patent Applied For decals, and authentic tooling marks on the baseplate feet. All four sets feature unbalanced coils and unpotted construction, enhancing harmonic richness, openness, responsiveness, and note definition while preserving the individual tonal identity of each set.
Gibson Pickup Shop 1957 P.A.F. Reissue Set
- The 1957 P.A.F. Reissue Set is the most aggressive and modern-feeling set in the collection. Its long, rough-cast Alnico 5 magnets and unbalanced coils deliver tight, punchy lows, a bright and clear top end, and a slightly scooped midrange. With a fast attack, strong note separation, and articulate response, the 1957 set is designed for players who want vintage P.A.F. character with the power and clarity to cut through a mix. The set features Double Vintage Black butyrate bobbins, True Historic nickel covers, two-conductor wiring, unpotted construction, and average DC resistance readings of 8.1 k ohms for the treble pickup and 7.5 k ohms for the rhythm pickup.
Gibson Pickup Shop 1958 P.A.F. Reissue Set
- The 1958 P.A.F. Reissue Set is the most balanced and versatile set in the collection. Its long, rough-cast Alnico 4 magnets produce even bass and treble, a smooth midrange, and a slightly softer attack than the Alnico 5-equipped 1957 set. Dynamic and responsive, the 1958 set combines warmth with clarity, making it well suited to guitarists who want an expressive P.A.F. voice that performs across a wide range of musical styles. The set features Double Vintage Black butyrate bobbins, True Historic nickel covers, two-conductor wiring, unpotted construction, and average DC resistance readings of 8.3 k ohms for the treble pickup and 7.6 k ohms for the rhythm pickup.
Gibson Pickup Shop 1959 P.A.F. Reissue Set
- The 1959 P.A.F. Reissue Set captures the open, woody, and harmonically rich character associated with classic Burst tone. Its long, rough-cast Alnico 3 magnets and unbalanced coils create a softer bass response, sweet and airy highs, and a pronounced, musical midrange. A looser, more yielding attack provides a highly touch-sensitive feel, while the vocal midrange gives notes and chords an expressive, three-dimensional quality. The 1959 set features Double Vintage White butyrate bobbins, True Historic nickel covers, two-conductor wiring, unpotted construction, and average DC resistance readings of 8.1 k ohms for the treble pickup and 7.7 k ohms for the rhythm pickup.
Gibson Pickup Shop 1960 P.A.F. Reissue Set
- The 1960 P.A.F. Reissue Set is the smoothest and warmest set in the collection. Its long, rough-cast Alnico 2 magnets and unbalanced coils produce warm, rounded lows, gently rolled-off highs, and a strong, sweet midrange. With the softest attack of the four sets and slight natural compression, it is suited to singing lead tones, expressive bends, and vintage blues character. The set features Double Vintage Black butyrate bobbins, True Historic nickel covers, two-conductor wiring, unpotted construction, and average DC resistance readings of 8.6 k ohms for the treble pickup and 8.0 k ohms for the rhythm pickup.
Developed using 3D scanning, scientific analysis, reverse engineering of original late-1950s examples, and specifications from the Gibson archives, the 1960 set reproduces the dimensions, appearance, and sound of the vintage Patent Applied For humbucker. It uses 42 AWG plain enamel wire wound on vintage Gibson coil winders, maple spacers, and vintage-correct steel slugs and keeper bars, with period details extending to the Patent Applied For decals and tooling marks on the baseplate feet.
Gibson used different grades of Alnico magnets and varying wire turn counts during the original Patent Applied For era. Those variations helped give individual vintage pickups their distinctive tonal personalities and contributed to the enduring fascination surrounding them. Original P.A.F. pickups remain among the most sought-after vintage guitar components, prized for their openness, harmonic complexity, dynamic response, and connection to many of the most influential electric guitar sounds ever recorded.
Packaged as sets of two for the treble and rhythm positions, the Gibson Pickup Shop 1957-1960 P.A.F. Reissue Sets bring the celebrated sound of original Patent Applied For pickups to modern guitarists without the search for scarce vintage examples. Different wire turn counts and grades of long, rough-cast Alnico magnets give each set its own tonal profile, offering four distinct ways to experience the feel, character, and musical expressiveness of the original Gibson humbucker.
The Gibson Pickup Shop continues Gibson’s tradition of pickup design and manufacturing, drawing on decades of innovation, archival specifications, and hands-on craftsmanship. From historically accurate recreations to modern high-performance designs, Gibson pickups are developed to give musicians distinctive voices, dynamic response, and an authentic connection between player and instrument.
1957-1960 P.A.F. Reissue Sets
The Gibson Pickup Shop has introduced the 1957-1960 P.A.F. Reissue Sets, a new collection of historically accurate humbucker pickups designed to reproduce the dimensions, materials, appearance, and distinctive tonal characteristics of original Gibson Patent Applied For pickups.
Rig Rundown: Deafheaven [2026]
PG’s Chris Kies caught up with Deafheaven’s Kerry McCoy at the Satellite Music Hall in Memphis, ahead of a support slot with Mastodon. McCoy calls it a “rig redo,” which is about right: the heads, the guitars, and the pedals have all turned over since the last one. Have a look at some quick highlights below, and tune into the new Rig Rundown for all the details.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
On Loan
McCoy’s main guitar is a stock Gibson Les Paul Standard, one of the loaners Gibson has been supplying the band for the better part of a decade. He says he still isn’t sure how they snuck onto that list, given who else is on it, and that they take care of them and give them back.
Standard Issue
McCoy plays D’Addario NYXLs, and has for years. Tunings stay fairly conventional: standard and drop D cover most of the catalog, with a few songs on the last record in DADFAD and DADFAD#. The new EP, At Work in the Fields of the Bomb, is the outlier, written entirely in C-sharp standard and drop B.
Why He Quit Lugging Heads
McCoy runs a Line 6 Helix Floor, and keeps two banks of four: clean verb, clean delay, distorted verb, distorted delay. The clean side is a JC-120 model; the distorted is a 5150 with a Tube Screamer in front. The second quadrant is labeled by song so he knows where he is mid-set. A Poly Capo handles the pitch shift on “Hunter,” which a former tech had to tell him was in there.
CFG Unveils DeadOn Rechargeable Clip-On Tuner
Cable Free Guitar (CFG) has introduced DeadOn, a low-profile rechargeable clip-on instrument tuner designed to provide enhanced visibility and accuracy.
The DeadOn pairs a bright color TFT screen with ±0.5-cent stated tuning accuracy and USB-C recharging, eliminating the need for disposable coin-cell batteries. It features a sleek, stealthy design that delivers instantaneous tuning status when it’s clipped to your headstock.
A conventional clip-on tuner can be awkwardly bulky, especially when left on an instrument during a set. DeadOn takes a more discreet approach. Its adjustable screen shows the note and tuning status at a glance, while a flexible mounting clip and vivid display makes it easy to see your tuning status – even in bright outdoor light. The result is a reliable, highly responsive tuner that stays out of the way until you need it.
DeadOn offers five modes: Guitar, Bass, Violin, Ukulele and Chromatic. The chromatic setting supports alternate guitar tunings and other compatible pitched instruments. Additional features include adjustable 410-460 Hz calibration, an A0-C8 detection range, memory of the selected reference pitch, and automatic shutoff after eight minutes of inactivity.
The internal rechargeable battery provides more than three hours of tuning time per charge and recharges in under 1.5 hours using the included USB-A to USB-C cable and a standard 5 V USB power source. The complete kit includes the tuner, charging cable, and owner’s manual.
CFG’s DeadOn tuner is available for a street price of $34.99 and comes with a 2-year warranty. For more information visit cablefreeguitar.com/products/deadon-clip-on-tuner.
DeadOn
Cable Free Guitar (CFG) has introduced DeadOn, a low-profile rechargeable clip-on instrument tuner designed to provide enhanced visibility and accuracy.
Fender and Loog celebrate 75 years of the P-Bass and Telecaster with new downsized instruments for kids
Fender has expanded its ongoing partnership with children’s instrument brand Loog with two new instruments: the first-ever Loog bass and a new Butterscotch Blonde Fender x Loog Telecaster.
Released as Fender celebrates 75 years of both the Telecaster and the Precision Bass, both instruments take the two classic instrument blueprints and shrink them down into a more child-friendly size, complete with Loog’s award-winning learning system.
The Fender x Loog Precision Bass celebrates the original 1951 Precision Bass, the world’s first mass-produced electric bass guitar, and marks Loog’s first foray into the world of bass guitars. It features three strings, a compact short scale, a single pickup and a “surprisingly big sound”.
It arrives alongside the new Butterscotch Blonde Fender x Loog Telecaster, which sports a black pickguard, three strings, and a compact form factor which makes it easy for children to begin playing chords and songs.
Both instruments feature an authentic Fender headstock, Loog’s signature three-string fretboard and a standard quarter-inch output jack for use with an amplifier. Each instrument also comes with access to the Loog Guitar app, which features video lessons and game-like exercises to make learning fun.
Credit: Fender
“Launching Loog’s first bass alongside the 75th anniversary of the Precision Bass is especially meaningful. It’s also full circle for me, since bass was the first instrument I played at 13,” says Rafael Atijas, Founder and CEO of Loog Guitars.
“And bringing the iconic Butterscotch Blonde Telecaster to life as a small, three-string guitar lets kids experience a piece of music history in a way that feels playful and authentic.”
“For 75 years, the Telecaster and Precision Bass have helped shape the sound of music,” adds James Chippendale, Fender Senior Director, Lifestyle & Licensing. “Our partnership with Loog brings these iconic instruments to a new generation of players.
“The most meaningful collaborations bring together shared values, creativity and a clear purpose. Together with Loog, we’re inspiring young musicians to discover the joy of playing, express themselves and begin a lifelong connection with music.”
Pricewise, both the Precision Bass and Telecaster clock in at $229.99 / £199.
The post Fender and Loog celebrate 75 years of the P-Bass and Telecaster with new downsized instruments for kids appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Loog and Fender Unveil Precision Bass and Telecaster for Kids
Children’s instrument brand Loog and Fender have introduced two new additions to the Fender x Loog collection: the Fender x Loog Precision Bass, marking Loog's first-ever bass, and the Fender x Loog Telecaster in a new Butterscotch Blonde finish.
The Fender x Loog Precision Bass features three strings, a compact short scale and one pickup. It’s designed to feel comfortable in small hands while providing the authentic experience of playing a real bass guitar.
The newest Fender x Loog Telecaster pays tribute to the original Telecaster with a classic Butterscotch Blonde finish and black pickguard. Loog’s compact, three-string format makes it easy for children to begin playing chords and songs from day one.
Developed in collaboration with Fender and manufactured by Loog, both instruments feature an authentic Fender headstock, Loog’s signature three-string fretboard and a standard ¼-inch output jack for use with an amplifier. Each instrument also includes access to the Loog Guitar app, featuring video lessons and game-like exercises, as well as an exclusive Fender-inspired activity book filled with games, trivia and creative challenges—a hands-on, screen-free way for kids to explore Fender’s heritage.
The Fender x Loog Precision Bass carries a $229.99 street price and is available in White Blonde, inspired by the finish of the original 1951 Precision Bass, as well as Candy Apple Red, Sea Foam Green and a limited edition Hello Kitty Black.
The Fender x Loog Telecaster is available at a $229.99 street price and features a classic Butterscotch Blonde finish with a black pickguard, inspired by the original 1951 model.
For more information visit loogguitars.com or fender.com.
Fender x Loog Precision Bass
Children’s instrument brand Loog and Fender have introduced two new additions to the Fender x Loog collection: the Fender x Loog Precision Bass, marking Loog's first-ever bass, and the Fender x Loog Telecaster in a new Butterscotch Blonde finish.
SoloDallas Updates Schaffer Replica Storm With Top Jacks
SoloDallas has updated the company’s flagship pedal: The newly unveiled Schaffer Replica Storm features top-mounted jacks, in response to overwhelming demand for a more pedalboard-friendly version of the classic circuit.
Since its initial release over a decade ago, the Schaffer Replica has attracted a fervent following, and the new configuration makes it a natural fit for an even broader range of pedalboards—while retaining all the components and features that have shaped its iconic sound from day one.
The Schaffer Replica Storm features the 100% analog limiter, overdrive, boost, line buffer and "goalpost" EQ circuit that SoloDallas reverse-engineered from the 1974 Schaffer-Vega Diversity System wireless unit. This pioneering wireless system was used by Angus Young, David Gilmour, EVH, and other legendary guitarists throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
With its top-mounted jacks and graphic font reminiscent of a Led Zeppelin album cover, the updated pedal retains its straightforward three-knob control set:
- GAIN Knob controls the harmonic clipping circuit and bumps the crucial low-mid frequencies responsible for giving live instruments punch and allowing guitar frequencies to stand out in the mix.
- BOOST Knob controls a powerful pre-amp capable of delivering a whopping 31db of clean boost. This LM308 flavored analog boost allows you to balance the output signal once the perfect amount of drive has been dialed in on the GAIN knob.
- LIMITER Knob controls the signal amplitude threshold while protecting against the clipping that typically occurs with gain increases. The sensitivity of this effect increases as the GAIN knob is turned up. The dynamic response ranges from loose and bloomy to extremely percussive attack.
Key features include:
- 100% Analog Circuitry
- Heavy-duty true bypass footswitch
- Neutrik Top-Mounted Jacks
- 9-12v DC center negative operation using external power supply
- Made in USA
The updated Schaffer Replica Storm carries a street price of $249 USD—unchanged from the previous version. For more information visit solodallas.com.
Schaffer Replica Storm
SoloDallas has updated the company’s flagship pedal: the newly unveiled Schaffer Replica Storm features top-mounted jacks, in response to overwhelming demand for a more pedalboard-friendly version of the classic circuit.
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