General Interest

The grossest of ’em all rolls through Nashville.

When GWAR stomped through Nashville with the goriest gear of all, we had to take a look. PG’s Chris Kies caught up with the band at Marathon Music Works to hang with Grodius Maximus, Bälsäc the Jaws ’O Death, and Casey Orr (aka Beefcake the Mighty). The band rolls cab-free, armed with a stack of dangerously signature gear.

Sponsored by D’Addario

Totally Radical

Grodius Maximus’ rig is all about spectacle, aggression, and controlled chaos—designed to sound less like a guitar and more like a “big crazy animal.” His primary instruments come from Radical Instrument Products in Salt Lake City. His go-to is pointy, pink, and equipped with a locking tremolo and a single humbucker. He also carries a gold neck-through model loaded with a pair of humbuckers and a coil tap.

Inspired by Buzz

Rounding out the guitar lineup is an Electrical Guitar Company instrument—something Grodius was turned onto by Buzz Osborne of the Melvins. That guitar features dual humbuckers and a Mastery bridge, adding a slightly more refined edge to an otherwise savage setup.

Dark Favorite

Grodius calls the Orange Dual Dark 100 his favorite amp of all time. While it’s not being used onstage for this show, its DNA is still present via a Kemper, which houses a model of the Dual Dark that anchors his core tone.

All Sorts of Nasty

Effects are where things get truly unhinged. On his rack, a Line 6 Filter Pro handles “all sorts of nasty tones,” while a lineup of Bananana Effects pedals sit in reserve, ready to be unleashed when needed. Switching duties are handled by a Voodoo Lab Guitar Audio switcher, and he also shows off a Death By Audio prototype, alongside trusted staples like the DBA Echo Dream 2 and DBA Robot.

His actual pedalboard is deceptively compact but vicious: a Boss Chromatic Tuner, a Line 6 FM4 pedal, a Hotone expression pedal, DOD Gonkulator, Bananana Mandala, and an MXR Carbon Copy Bright, all powered by a Voodoo Lab supply.

Bälsäc the Jaws ’O Death - Blue Beast

Bälsäc’s rig blends modern metal precision with an openness to conventional and unconventional tools. His signature Schecter Bälsäc Blue Jaw model—soon to be released at what he jokingly calls “an exorbitant price”—is constructed using material from his actual costume. Finished in Antarctic crackle, it’s loaded with a pair of blue Fishman Fluence pickups, delivering clarity and aggression in equal measure.

Non-Metal Vibes

He also relies heavily on a Schecter PT Custom with a purple finish—a T-style guitar that initially raised eyebrows. “It’s surprising how much I love the PTs,” he admits. “It’s such a non-metal shape.” The guitar is outfitted with Fishman Fluence pickups and an Amptone XY MIDIpad, which wirelessly controls his Fractal Axe-Fx III.

Modeling Rig

The Axe-Fx handles amp modeling duties, often dialed in to a Mesa/Boogie-style sound. He also rocks the familiar purple Line 6 Filter Pro. Because Gwar performs to click tracks, all patch and effect changes are automated through Ableton, keeping everything locked tight.

Chaos via Kaoss

Bälsäc’s pedalboard is deep and experimental: a Chase Bliss Onward, Death by Audio Robot and Disemboweller, and a Meris Ottobit and Hedra. In the rack, he keeps a Korg Kaoss Pad, EarthQuaker Devices Data Corrupter, and an EHX C9 organ emulator, allowing him to blur the line between guitar, synth, and noise weapon. He even uses a Moog Theremini as an expression controller, further expanding his sonic vocabulary.

Casey Orr/Beefcake the Mighty - Slim Nikki

Handling low-end duties behind the scenes is Casey Orr, who you might better as Beefcake the Mighty. His primary instrument is the Schecter Casey Orr Beefcake Bass, which shares its electronics with the Riot 4, but features a Nikki Sixx–style body, slimmed down for comfort. The bass also sports a thinner neck, along with 24 frets, a kill switch, and a pair of EMG pickups—a combination Orr describes simply as “super comfortable.”

Backpack Rig

On the amplification side, the cornerstone of Orr’s sound is the Darkglass Alpha·Omega Ultra, which he calls the “missing link” in achieving the bass tone he’d previously been chasing—aggressive, articulate, and perfectly suited to Gwar’s controlled mayhem.

Bälsäc the Jaws ’O Death
Boss Chromatic Tuner
Darkglass Alpha Omega Ultra
DOD Gonkulator
Electro-Harmonix C9
EarthQuaker Devices Data Corrupter
Hotone Expression Pedal
Meris Hedra
Meris Ottobit
Moog Theremini
Schechter Purple PT Custom
Voodoo Lab Guitar Audio Switcher
Voodoo Lab Power

Social media sensation. Six-string sidekick to the stars. Mateus Asato has worn many hats over the course of his musical career. His latest, of course, is that of fully fledged solo artist, as he gears up to release his landmark debut album, ASATO on 27 February.

He’s crafted a serious name for himself since his early days growing up in the Brazilian countryside, and so it’s only natural he’s always pondering where the future might take him next. For now, Asato seems all-in on his solo career, but might he consider playing alongside other acts in the future?

• READ MORE: “Practising is boring”: Geese guitarist thinks the best way to learn guitar is playing gigs, not woodshedding technique

“Right now, I’m in this phase of sharing my message with my own guitar,” Asato tells Guitar World in its new print issue. 

“I’ve done tours by myself in 2019, and that was really amazing. I have so many expectations to continue that chapter. I don’t close the door, but I feel like right is a big standby moment. The main focus for me is to share my instrumental work. But I might get tired of playing my own music and be like, ‘Why not?’ You learn a lot from playing [other] people’s music.”

It’s not the first genre you’d associate with Mateus Asato, but he explains that he’d be open to the idea of playing with a heavier band, should the opportunity ever present itself.

“I think it’s definitely more doable for me to join a band, so yes, I would consider,” he continues. “For example, in 2023 I did a project with Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park, and afterward I went to his studio to write songs for the band.

“I remember that kind of put that sort of flame in my heart, like, “Wow, what if they invite me to play?’ I would love to join a band like that. I know it’s not my cup of tea – like, nu metal – but it’s cool. I’ve played so many styles, so yeah, to join a band like that would be so cool.”

Mateus Asato recently announced he was ending his longtime partnership with Suhr Guitars. In the aftermath, fans speculated as to which brand he might partner with next, but he quickly dispelled any speculation by saying he was “‘single’ and happy where I am”.

Mateus Asato’s debut album, ASATO, lands on 27 February.

The post “To join a band like that would be so cool”: Mateus Asato reveals the nu metal band he’d love to join appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

The new line of condenser microphones delivers premium, true-to-life audio capture with ultra-low self-noise in a sleek, modern design.

Shure, a leading manufacturer of audio solutions known for quality, performance, and durability, unveiled its new KSM condenser microphone line today—the KSM32C, KSM40C, and KSM44MP—at NAMM 2026. The new KSM series delivers lifelike fidelity and a thoughtfully engineered design, crafted for musicians and studio professionals.

Shure KSM microphones have delivered exceptional audio quality for decades. With the launch of new models, the KSM line once again sets the benchmark for professional recording by providing premium, true-to-life audio capture and ultra-low self-noise, all within a sleek, modern design.

The KSM line captures every nuance, from the warmth of vocals to the dynamic energy of instruments, with stunning realism. Each model features precision-engineered capsules for maximum control and accuracy, ensuring the source sounds exactly as intended. Whether you're a musician or engineer needing transparent voicing for natural reproduction, rich low-end presence, or multi-pattern flexibility, there’s a KSM microphone ready to elevate any session.

“At Shure, our mission has always been to empower audio professionals and artists with quality tools that deliver uncompromising sound,” said Eduardo Valdes, Associate Vice President of Global Marketing and Product Management, at Shure. “The new KSM microphone line reflects this commitment by offering upgrades to both design and engineering, meeting the evolving needs of recording studios. Featuring circuitry upgrades from previous models, varied capsule options, and premium accessories, we designed every detail to help professionals capture precisely what they want. By making boutique-level quality attainable for both home and professional studios, we’re ensuring exceptional performance is within reach for all professionals."

The KSM Studio Lineup

Built for precision and performance, the new line includes a range of expertly engineered and hand-crafted capsules, from compact ¾" to robust 1" designs, offering exceptional off-axis rejection, clarity, and creative flexibility for vocals, instruments, ensembles, and beyond. Thoughtful details like lightweight, all-metal construction, advanced shock mounts, and curved magnetic pop filters ensure durability and ease of use, while premium accessory options complete the professional package.

• KSM32C—SMALL CAPSULE. BIG SOUND.

The KSM32C is a large diaphragm condenser microphone that delivers a smooth, balanced response and exceptional low-frequency performance. This microphone is ideal for vocals, instruments, drum overheads, and ensemble work, and is available in a stage and studio bundle.

• Precision engineered ¾" capsule
• Exceptional off-axis rejection
• Flattest voicing in the KSM line
• Exceptional flexibility for vocal and instrument recording
• Premium materials and compact design

• KSM40C—WARMTH YOU CAN FEEL. DETAIL YOU CAN HEAR.

The KSM40C is a versatile, large diaphragm condenser microphone that delivers natural, detailed audio with enhanced proximity effect and natural high-frequency boost. An ideal microphone for capturing rich nuances in vocals and instruments, including upright bass, guitar amps and kick drum.

• 1” capsule delivers natural, detailed audio with rich low-end
• Uniform cardioid polar pattern for predictable placement
• Extremely low self-noise
• Sleek, modern design with premium materials

• KSM44MP—STUNNING REALISM. EXCEPTIONAL VERSATILITY.

The KSM44MP offers unparalleled versatility in a sleek, dual-diaphragm design that maximizes sensitivity and stabilizes pattern consistency, improving off-axis control at low frequencies. A multi-pattern microphone with natural clarity and smooth, airy detail, this mic is ideal for vocals, pianos, stereo techniques, distant miking, and ensembles.

• Selectable polar patterns: Cardioid, Omnidirectional, and Bidirectional
• Flat response with subtle high-frequency emphasis
• Optimized polar consistency and low-frequency rejection
• Ultra-low self noise
• Sleek, modern design

“The new KSM microphones look elegant, and have great, low-profile appearance, which is always a nice aesthetic in the studio (and live) environment,” said Greg Norman, Engineer, Electrical Audio. “One of the most immediately striking features is their impossibly low self-noise, so low, in fact, that while tracking a very quiet vocal, I found myself double-checking to confirm the mic was even active. This level of noise performance is seriously impressive.”

What’s Included

• KSM32C/HM—Cardioid Condenser Microphone (Stage Kit) ($659): Includes a KSM32C Cardioid Condenser Microphone, Premium Flocked Foam Windscreen, Premium Zippered Carrying Case, Swivel-Mount Mic Clamp (Hard Mount), Threaded Adapter
• KSM32C/SM—Cardioid Condenser Microphone (Studio Kit) ($729): Includes a KSM32C Cardioid Condenser Microphone, Shock Mount, Magnetic Pop Filter, Premium Zippered Carrying Case, Set Replacement Shock Mount Bands (8), Threaded Adapter
• KSM40C Large Diaphragm Cardioid Condenser Microphone ($879): Includes a KSM40C Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone, Shock Mount, Magnetic Pop Filter, Premium Zippered Carrying Case, Set Replacement Shock Mount Bands (8), Threaded Adapter
• KSM44MP Large Diaphragm Multi-Pattern Condenser Microphone ($1,099): Includes a KSM44MP Dual Diaphragm Multi-Pattern Condenser Microphone, Shock Mount, Magnetic Pop Filter, Premium Zippered Carrying Case, Swivel-Mount Mic Clamp (Hard Mount), Set Replacement Shock Mount Bands (8), Threaded Adapter

Availability

The KSM line will be available this spring and is on display at the Shure Booth (#15608) at NAMM 2026 in Anaheim (January 22- January 24).

For more information about the KSM microphones, visit these web pages:

• KSM32C Cardioid Condenser Microphone
• KSM40C Large Diaphragm Cardioid Condenser Microphone
• KSM44MP Large Diaphragm Multi-Pattern Condenser Microphone

Genzler® Amplification is proud to announce the new MAGELLAN®ULV series of ULTRA * LIGHT * VERTICAL bass cabinet designs. With decades of cabinet design and build expertise, these new models are by far the lightest, most compact bass cabinets Jeff Genzler has ever offered.

These great sounding cabinets are tuned and ported to reproduce the depth and clarity of any bass instrument, with tight low-end support, vocal, mid-range definition, and available top-end shimmer.

The MG-ULV cabs are all vertical designs, with a minimal stage footprint, and are constructed from a new ultra-light, multi-layer, poplar plywood, for its warmth, density and strength, and all cabinets feature full internal acoustic dampening.

The MG-ULV series features:

• **All vertical cabinet designs, front ported for better projection and depth
• **High-powered Neodymium speakers and tweeters
• **Ultra-light, multi-layer, poplar plywood construction
• **Small, compact stage footprints
• **Full, internal acoustic dampening
• **12dB/octave crossover with Tweeter Level control

The series consists of 3 models with exceptional

weight to performance ratios.

MG-ULV-112T

• NEO—1X12” w/Tweeter, 350W, 8 ohm
• WT: 19.5 LBS
• DIMENSIONS: 18 1/8”H x 14 ¼”W x 14”D
• USA MAP: $1,099.99

MG-ULV-210T

• NEO-2X10” w/Tweeter, 600W, 8 ohm
• WT: 25 LBS
• DIMENSIONS: 26 1/8”H x 14 ¼”W x 14”D
• USA MAP: $1,359.99

MG-ULV-212T

• NEO-2X12” w/Tweeter, 700W, 4 ohm
• WT: 35.5 LBS
• DIMENSIONS: 29 ¾”H x 14 ¼”W x 14”D
• USA MAP: $1,599.99

GENZLER AMPLIFICATION staying in tune with the player community has responded with the new MAGELLAN® ULV series; addressing player’s needs for the lightest weight, most compact bass cabinets possible, without sacrifice in tone, power, warmth, and durability.

PRODUCTION SHIPPING---EARLY FEBRUARY 2026.

Except in the extreme cases of vintage 7.25-inch electrics, or dead-flat classicals, the differences between most common radii are usually fairly subtle.

Dave Mustaine has further explained why he doesn’t want former members of Megadeth to join them on their final tour.

In an interview shared earlier this January, Mustaine said doing so would be a “huge undertaking” and that he didn’t want their gigs to come off as a puppet show. The band released their self-titled, final album last week, and will be retiring for good following its supporting global tour.

• READ MORE: Dave Mustaine thinks there’s a “changing of the guard” at the top of metal: “All of our elder statesmen have satisfied their roles”

Further expanding on his comments in a new interview with NME, Mustaine also says that he wouldn’t want any previous members to join them, as some have said negative things about him in the press.

“If we were to look at doing that, then you’ve got some members that are deceased. You’ve got some members that I’m friends with, but they can’t play anymore like Chuck [Behler, drummer from 1987-1989]. And then you’ve got a couple guys that are saying very bad things about me in the press. So why would I want to play with those guys?” he quizzes.

“We did this before with Marty [Friedman, guitarist from 1990-2000], and I’m sure that if the opportunity presented itself and the timing was right, I would reconsider having one of the guys from the band’s alumni play with us. But if it was something that didn’t end very well, why would I? There’s not a valid reason to do something like that, especially when we have limited time on stage anyway.”

On the band’s final album, Megadeth have also recorded their own rendition of Ride The Lightning, a track that Mustaine worked on during his time in Metallica. Though originally believed by many fans to be somewhat of a flip off to the metal giants due to Mustaine’s firing from the group and tense relations with its members thereafter, he’s clarified that the track is actually a nod of respect.

He told Record Collector, “The idea just felt good, so I agreed. I wanted to close the circle and pay my respects to James [Hetfield, Metallica frontman] and Lars [Ulrich, Metallica drummer]. I personally have always thought James was an excellent guitarist, so I think it was the right thing to do.

“Panic [Mustaine’s first band] was never solidified as a real band, so my first real band was Metallica. Now that I’m going into retirement, I think it’s the right way to pay my respects,” he explained.

Megadeth’s final album is out now. You can find a full list of their scheduled tour dates via the official Megadeth website.

The post Dave Mustaine says he won’t have ex-members on Megadeth’s final tour because some have been “saying bad things in the press”: “Why would I want to play with those guys?” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Guitarists often have wildly differing approaches to practice. Virtuoso Steve Vai, for example, last year recounted the crazy schedule he developed as a “neurotic” teenager, which found him happy if he managed to get in nine hours of practice a day.

Others, like Geese guitarist Emily Green, find dedicated guitar practice to be tiresome – she even calls it “boring” in a new interview with Guitar World – and prefer to hone their chops on the road and on stage. 

• READ MORE: “Washburn’s business model was too slow – I was so frustrated”: Why YouTube star Ola Englund launched his own company, Solar Guitars

It should be noted, in fairness, that Steve Vai also keeps his skills sharp on stage, and has performed hundreds – if not thousands – of shows over the course of his near-five-decade career. But Emily Green isn’t convinced by dedicated practice sessions.

“Practising is boring,” she says. “Getting better at guitar by playing in a band with people is much more interesting [and] the best way to learn how to play guitar. The scales and stuff just feel very dry to me.

“I don’t really know practical theory. It’s like I’m in a room with the lights off, and I know how to find my way around because I’ve been in that room my whole life. I know where everything is, but wouldn’t it be so much easier if the lights were turned on?”

The extent to which guitarists should know theory has long been a source of debate in the guitar community.

Last year, jazz-funk maestro Cory Wong made waves when he said guitarists should be able to point at every single note on the fretboard.

Unsurprisingly, virtuoso – and Steve Vai’s old teacher – Joe Satriani agreed with Wong, but other prominent guitarists expressed their opinion that a comprehensive grasp of the fretboard is not all that important.

Jack White responded hilariously, writing: “Ok it’s a deal; I’ll find the C, but I’m not learning all those other notes.”

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Guitarists all over weighed in on the debate at the time, with one writing in disagreement: “I’ve been playing guitar for 40 years and I couldn’t [name every note on the fretboard]. But I can write a good song. That’s all I care about.”

Another agreed with Wong, writing: “Only other guitarists would be so pressed over a professionally working guitarist saying you need to know the basics of your instrument. Sure, you technically don’t need to know squat for your original project but when you start working with true pros, you’ll be glad you worked out the basics of music theory.”

Check out all of Geese’s upcoming tour dates via their official website.

The post “Practising is boring”: Geese guitarist thinks the best way to learn guitar is by playing gigs, not woodshedding technique appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Modulation pedals are all about adding movement and colour. Imagine your guitar sound as a beautiful landscape photograph in black and white – now think of it turned into a video clip, with green grass swaying in the breeze and ripples moving gently across the blue water. And maybe a couple of rabbits, just for scale.

That’s what all the stompboxes in this roundup are doing – some in a simple and low-key way, others with a much more dramatically transformative effect. It’s an idea with a long and distinguished history, and the last half-century or so would have had a very different soundtrack without phasers, flangers, chorus pedals and the rest.

In fact, it’s widely agreed that the first ever effects unit designed for the electric guitar was a modulation device: the DeArmond Tremolo Control of the 1940s. Tremolo is one of the simplest effects of all, just making a signal rhythmically louder and softer – and it shouldn’t be confused with up/down pitch vibrato (although Fender famously did: if you see ‘vibrato’ on a black-panel amp, that’s the trem channel).

The psychedelic swirliness of phasing and flanging started out in the 60s as tape-based studio effects, but the transistor revolution soon paved the way for compact stompboxes that could replicate those sounds plus the shimmery warble of chorus – sometimes in glorious stereo – and the legendary Uni-Vibe effect, which can sound like all of the above going off at once.

Those, then, are the main pillars of modulation. But there are also some very interesting effects to be found beyond the vintage-correct basics – and they’re all covered below.

At a glance:

• Best pedal for chorus and vibrato: Mythos The Fates
• Best retro chorus: Ghost Note Audio The Swirls
• Best phaser: Beetronics Larva
• Best flanger: Walrus Audio Polychrome
• Best tremolo: Electro-Harmonix Nano Pulsar
• Best Harmonic Tremolo: Jam Pedals Harmonious Monk
• Best rotary speaker simulator: Neo Instruments Micro Vent 122
• Best Uni-Vibe-inspired pedal: ThorpyFX ER-2
• Best pedal for lo-fi wobbles:: Chase Bliss Generation Loss MkII
• Best mutli-modulation pedal: UAFX Astra
• Why you can trust Guitar.com

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Best pedal for chorus and vibrato: Mythos The Fates

Mythos The Fates

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It’s a miracle that chorus made it out of the 80s alive… and yet, having been overused so horribly throughout the decade of excess, it’s been having something of a revival in recent years. This simple but classy analogue effort from Mythos – based on the old Boss CE-2 – is about as good as it gets, bringing the watery wiggle in tasteful style.

And there’s more! The chorus effect is produced by applying a gently oscillating pitch-shift then blending it with the dry signal… so if you take that dry signal away, you’re left with pure pitch vibrato. With some chorus pedals this comes across as an afterthought, but the Fates – like the Jam Pedals Waterfall, which is a superb compact alternative – treats vibrato as a worthy modulation effect in its own right.

Need more? Read our Mythos The Fates review.

Best retro chorus: Ghost Note Audio The Swirls

Image: Press

Yes, the Swirls is another chorus – but the gap between this and the Mythos is so wide you could drive a 1984 Bentley Continental through it. For a start it’s stereo, and it’s digital… plus it’s actually two modulation effects in one (the second being a non-oscillating ‘detune’ shift), with a compressor thrown in for good measure. The overall result is what Ghost Note calls “an entire 80s rack in a pedal”.

And that’s exactly what it sounds like. A bountiful array of knobs and switches gives it supreme tonal versatility, but ultimately the Swirls is about one thing: gigantic, spectacular, shamelessly syrupy lushness. It’s worth buying a second amp just so you can set this thing up in stereo and bask in it until you feel queasy.

Need more? Read our Ghost Note Audio The Swirls review.

Best phaser: Beetronics Larva

Beetronics Larva. Image: Adam Gasson for Guitar.com

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When you buy a phaser you’re really getting two pedals in one box: at fast speeds it’s an agreeably pulsating wibble-wibble effect, but slow it right down and you have a gently sweeping frequency filter that arcs up and down in a uniquely musical way. The Beetronics Larva does both of those things brilliantly, and even lets you ‘ramp’ from one setting to another by holding down a footswitch.

Just note that, while most phasers set out for a degree of tonal transparency, this one has a preamp that colours the tone quite heavily. For some that might be an issue, but for others it’ll be a bonus – especially as, if you crank the gain, that preamp gets properly gritty, turning the Larva into a combined phaser and overdrive pedal. So I guess that makes it three pedals in one box?

Need more? Read our Beetronics Larva review.

Best flanger: Walrus Audio Polychrome

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Flanging is closely related to chorus in terms of how the effect is produced, but the result tends to be more like a phaser with an attitude problem. A flanger can swoosh like a jet engine, it can clang like grinding sheets of metal… and if you’ve got a good one that lets you keep the feedback in the circuit nicely controlled, it can also sound surprisingly pretty. The Walrus Polychrome is a good one.

An analogue flanger that sets out to do everything, with the added perk of having a cute lizard on the enclosure, the Polychrome covers all the classic 80s indie/goth tones but can also go deep into more hazardous sonic territory. It’s a blast – though it has a strong rival in the ThorpyFX Camoflange, which sounds different but also has a lizard on it.

Need more? Read our Walrus Audio Polychrome review.

Best tremolo: Electro-Harmonix Nano Pulsar

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There’s nothing basic about the cheapest pedal in this guide. In fact, compared to what the average tremolo pedal could do 20 years ago – and what a lot of similar-priced units can do even today – the pocketable Pulsar is a veritable multi-tool of modulation.

First of all, while some make do with rate and depth controls, this unit adds a volume knob – useful for boosting the output to compensate for any perceived level drop caused by the tremolo itself. And then you get the nifty combo of a triangle/square wave switch and a shape knob, allowing for complete control over the character of the sound. Oh, and if you use both outputs, it suddenly becomes a whole new effect: an automatic stereo panner.

Need more? Read our Electro-Harmonix Nano Pulsar review.

Best Harmonic Tremolo: Jam Pedals Harmonious Monk

Image: Jam Pedals

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Harmonic tremolo has come out of nowhere to hit the pinnacle of hipness, and the Harmonious Monk can take a slice of the credit for that. This pedal takes a simple idea – splitting the high and low frequencies of your signal and applying tremolo to them separately – and turns it into a wonderfully tangy effect, somewhere between standard trem and phasing.

If you really want to go to town on the harmonic bit, tweaking the crossover point and time lag between the two frequency bands for a rainbow of tonal coloration options, grab yourself the amazing Spaceman Effects Delta II; but for most people, there’s no need to look beyond the Monk. That is, as long as you don’t mind having a stompbox with a picture of Dan and Mick from That Pedal Show on the side…

Need more? Read our Jam Pedals Harmonious Monk review.

Best rotary speaker simulator: Neo Instruments Micro Vent 122

The rotary effect was never intended for guitarists: Donald Leslie’s original invention was designed for Hammond organs. But the harmonically complex Leslie swirl – created by the combination of a full-range speaker in a rotating drum and a high-frequency horn spinning independently – was just too lovely to be left to keyboard-clompers. Like a phaser, a rotary pedal sounds very different at fast and slow speeds; but unlike a phaser, it gets extra-swooshy when ramping between the two because the virtual horn and drum accelerate and decelerate at differing rates.

You have several great-sounding options in this category, most notably Neo’s own full-size Ventilator II and twin-footswitch Mini Vent II; but if you want a compact Leslie sim that runs off a standard 9v power supply, and are happy with mono-only output, the Micro Vent 122 is the undisputed champ.

Need more? Read our Neo Instruments Micro Vent 122 review.

Best Uni-Vibe-inspired pedal: ThorpyFX ER-2

ThorpyFX ER-2. Image: ThorpyFX

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The DeArmond Tremolo Control wasn’t technically a pedal, and the Leslie speaker definitely wasn’t… which means the Japanese-made Honey/Shin-ei Uni-Vibe of the late 1960s must surely qualify as the first ever modulation stompbox. Jimi Hendrix and David Gilmour famously used it, but what actually is a Uni-Vibe? Well, it’s a sort of phaser, but with a distinctively throbby quality, and it’s powered by a lightbulb inside an array of LDRs (light-dependent resistors).

This is another category where your list of options is long, and many of them sound superb; but the ER-2 might just be the one to get because, quite aside from its perfect vintage tones and ultra-rugged build quality, it has a vibrato mode – the Uni-Vibe’s more subtle setting, largely ignored by most players – that sounds much nicer than it really should.

Need more? Read our ThorpyFX ER-2 review.

Best pedal for lo-fi wobbles:: Chase Bliss Generation Loss MkII

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The Generation Loss MkII does things that go way beyond modulation however you define it – including extreme tonal filtering and the addition of gratuitous background noise. The idea is to make your clean tone sound like something that’s been rescued from an old VHS videotape – a fine example of digital tech being used to create an analogue feel.

But it’s the other part of that ageing process that interests us here: a range of lo-fidelity vibrato and chorus effects with an element of randomness that adds depth, charm and – if you’re old enough to remember the pre-digital age – nostalgia. The Gen Loss is an expensive pedal, and the word ‘niche’ hardly feels strong enough for it, but it is addictive. And you can easily turn the background noise off.

Need more? Read our Chase Bliss Generation Loss MkII review.

Best mutli-modulation pedal: UAFX Astra

Only got space on the pedalboard for one modulation unit and can’t decide which effect you need most? Ah, just get a bigger board. Or, if that sounds like too much fun, you could always compromise by investing in a single pedal that does the lot… or at least, most of it.

The Kernom Elipse is a strong contender here – an analogue pedal with digital control that lets you blend between different effect types and then dial in a bonus phaser – but Universal Audio’s compact Astra is probably a better bet. Yes, it has some annoying design quirks, but the bottom line is that UA’s digital chorus, flanger, tremolo and phaser sounds are simply unbeatable.

Need more? Read our UAFX Astra review.

Why You Can Trust Us

Every year, Guitar.com reviews a huge variety of new products – from the biggest launches to cool boutique effects – and our expert guitar reviewers have decades of collective experience, having played everything from Gibson ’59 Les Pauls to the cheapest Squiers.

That means that when you click on a Guitar.com buyer’s guide, you’re getting the benefit of all that experience to help you make the best buying decision for you. What’s more, every guide written on Guitar.com was put together by a guitar obsessive just like you. You can trust that every product recommended in those guides is something that we’d be happy to have in our own rigs.

The post The best modulation pedals: tremolo, chorus, flange, phase & beyond appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Neil Young has provided residents of Greenland with full access to his entire music catalogue for free as a gesture of peace.

Young’s decision to do so follows US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Greenland for “national security reasons”. Young, who often speaks out on political issues, is a prominent critic of Trump, and has previously taken legal action to prevent him from using his music at campaign rallies.

• READ MORE: The guitar gear used by Neil Young on the classic Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

Greenlanders who wish to take Young up on his offer will need to provide their name, email address and phone number to get free access to his complete archive for 12 months. In a statement shared via his Neil Young Archives website, the Canadian-American musician writes, “As a gesture of kindness and respect, we stand with you along with a strong majority of Americans.

“I would like to offer a free one-year subscription to all Greenland residents. I hope my music and music films will ease some of the unwarranted stress and threats you are experiencing from our unpopular and hopefully temporary government. It is my sincere wish for you to be able to enjoy all my music in your beautiful Greenland home, in its highest quality.”

He concludes, “This is an offer of Peace and Love. All the music I have made during the last 62 years is yours to hear. You can renew for free if you are in Greenland. We do hope other organisations will follow in the spirit of our example.”

Last year, Young played at Glastonbury Festival after originally withdrawing due to involvement from the BBC. He headlined its mighty Pyramid stage and brought out some of his most iconic instruments, including Hank Williams’ 1941 D-28, his Bigsby-loaded ’54 Goldtop and of course, his famous Old Black.

Find out more and sign up via the Neil Young Archives website.

The post “This is an offer of Peace and Love”: Neil Young gifts his entire catalogue to residents of Greenland appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

IK Multimedia partners with Heiga Studios to launch the Heiga Studios Amp Series

EBS has introduced two new lines of high-performance cables: the CurlySquare and Regular Square instrument cable.

The EBS CurlySquare coiled instrument cable features a bold design with jumbo-sized curls and square-shaped cable. The innovative shape performs an important function: its square shape prevents the cable from turning into a mess due to cable memory, and the heavy-duty insulation makes it extra durable and protected.

These cables feature a unique design by EBS called WaveGrip, which means the 1/4” contacts have annular grooves spaced along the shaft that lock the contact in the jack. That means the risk of stepping on the cable and losing signal because it pulls the plug out of the jack is eliminated.

The CurlySquare cables are available in two lengths: 4.6 m (15 ft) and 7.6 m (25 ft), and configurations with straight/straight or straight/angled contacts.

If you prefer a more discreet design but still want the heavy-duty insulation and square-shaped cable, pick the EBS Regular Square edition, a straight instrument cable version available in 3.8 m (12.5 ft) and 6.8 m (22 ft) lengths, with the same contact configurations as the CurlySquare cables.

The CurlySquare name and WaveGrip design both have pending patent applications in Europe and the USA.

For more information visit www.ebssweden.com.

Today at NAMM 2026, Shure introduced the SLX-D+ Wireless Microphone System, the next evolution in its renowned wireless portfolio. Building on SLX-D’s proven success, SLX-D+ delivers a powerful combination of advanced features and ease-of-use, now accessible to audio professionals and experienced volunteers in live performance, houses of worship, education, content creation, electronic newsgathering (ENG), broadcast, and video industries.

SLX-D+ empowers users with greater flexibility, reliability, and control, making wireless audio management easier than ever. With wide tuning across all components, users benefit from simplified setup, seamless deployment in any environment, and reduced inventory complexity. Remote system management, AES-256 encryption and automatic feedback suppression further streamline operation, ensuring clear, secure, and uninterrupted performance.

“As we introduce SLX-D+, we’re not just raising the bar for wireless technology; we’re empowering our customers to push creative boundaries by removing complexity from their workflows,” said Nick Wood, Associate VP, Marketing and Product Management. “By making advanced features like wide tuning and remote management accessible to a broader audience, we’re making wireless more resilient to the most common challenges, streamlining the path to great audio, and shaping a future where audio professionals and volunteers alike can innovate with confidence.”

Wide Tuning: Simplified Deployment and Inventory

SLX-D+ features wide tuning across all components up to 138 MHz*, enabling seamless countrywide deployment and minimizing inventory complexity. Systems can operate across multiple frequency bands, reducing the need to own several product variants.

ShowLink® Ease: Effortless Remote Control

The new ShowLink Ease technology, inspired by ShowLink® on Shure’s premier Axient Digital wireless system, provides real-time, two-way communication between receiver and transmitter. Once synced, the transmitter remains paired to the receiver every time it is powered on. This allows for automated radio frequency (RF) set up, and remote parameter adjustments, eliminating the need for physical proximity and streamlining live management from performance to performance.

Interference Management: Enhanced Operation with Continuous Connectivity

Should interference occur, the SLX-D+ system can automatically scan for a new, clean frequency and deploy it to both the receiver and transmitter without requiring user interaction, ensuring enhanced operation and continuous connectivity.

Digital Feedback Reduction: Reliable and Clear Sound

SLX-D+ integrates advanced digital feedback reduction (DFR) algorithms to automatically detect and suppress audio feedback, delivering clarity and confidence in any environment.

Mobile Management with Wireless Workbench Applications: Flexible, On-the-Go Control

With robust mobile management via the Wireless Workbench (WWB) Mobile app, users can monitor and adjust their systems remotely using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, which is available for the first time in SLX-D+ systems to improve workflow efficiency. Gain visibility and control over system gain, transmitter locking and unlocking, battery status, frequency scans and changes, and audio metering.

Backward Compatibility, Streamlined Design

SLX-D+ maintains compatibility with existing SLX-D systems and introduces a new half-rack dual receiver, supporting straightforward upgrades and flexible configurations.

RF Cascade and Audio Summing for Added Flexibility

RF cascading makes it possible for three SLX-D+ Quad Receivers to be linked together to create a twelve-channel SLX-D+ receiver system. This facilitates the ability to quickly scale up and condense the footprint of multi-channel wireless systems without requiring additional accessories.

SLX-D+’s audio summing feature on dual and quad receivers enables users to set and combine audio levels, then mix them down between one and two outputs, simplifying the process of managing wireless output levels and managing receiver outputs to best match open mixer channels.

Availability

Shure is showcasing the SLX-D+ Wireless System for the first time at NAMM 2026 in Anaheim, California at booth 15608. SLX-D+ components will be available in February 2026, with the option to select key wireless configurations for a variety of applications, including handheld bodypack systems and a portable system option. Rechargeable batteries and charging accessories are available separately.

*region dependent

It all started with a self-imposed time limit. Julian Lage, who at the relatively young age of 38 already stands near the pinnacle of artistry in jazz guitar, was preparing to enter the recording studio with producer Joe Henry and a formidable quartet of musicians: acoustic bassist Jorge Roeder, drummer Kenny Wollesen, and keyboardists John Medeski and Patrick Warren. He needed new original material for their two-day springtime session at Sear Sound in New York City, so he set a timer for 20 minutes and let his fingers do the fretboard walking, in concert with prompts from his personal spontaneous creative muse. When the timer beeped, the composition was done, for better or worse. Lage recorded a quick demo of what he came up with over the past third of an hour. Then he reset the timer and repeated the process again.

And again.

And again.

More than a hundred times.

At this point, Lage needs to clarify something. “It wasn’t always 20 minutes,” the soft-spoken guitarist explains via Zoom from his California home. “Sometimes it was 10. I guess it’s a way to have some parameter that’s different than, ‘Is it good?’ or ‘Is it bad?’ It’s more like, what can you do with this limitation? I’ve known many composers who do something similar, and typically it helps prevent you from dwelling on any one facet of the music, which I would say is beneficial if you’re trying to make a larger body of songs to pick from.”

Julian Lage's Gear

Guitars

• 1955 goldtop Gibson Les Paul
• Nacho/Gibson ’50s Les Paul reissue with Ellisonic pickups
• 1956 Gibson ES-225
• Nacho 1657 Tele-style with Ellisonic (neck) and Fatpups Blackguard (bridge) pickups
• Collings Julian Lage 470 JL
• 1932 Gibson L-00 acoustic (borrowed from wife Margaret Glaspy)
• Collings Julian Lage OM1A JL acoustic
• 1939 Martin 000-18 acoustic

Amps

• Austen Hooks Filmosound 385
• Standel 25L15
• Magic Amps Vibro Deluxe
• 1959 and 1960 Fender tweed Champs

Effects

• Strymon Flint tremolo and reverb
• Shin-ei B1G 1 preamp gain boost
• Sonic Research ST-300 Turbo Tuner Mini

Strings & Picks

• D’Addario Flatwounds (.011–.049) for electrics
• D’Addario Nickel Bronze (.012–.053) for acoustics
• Dunlop Tortex .88 mm picks

That was exactly what Lage was after. Over a period of several months, from 100 or so quickly assembled fragments of melody, harmony, and rhythm, emerged the nine evocative tunes that make up Scenes from Above. Of course, the guitarist himself would be the first to acknowledge that these nine tracks aren’t entirely his work. From the start, he was writing with particular musicians in mind—one of whom, Medeski (best known as a cofounder of Medeski Martin & Wood and a longtime collaborator with John Scofield, among many others), he’d never recorded with before, although they’ve known each other for years. In a manner similar to one of his heroes, Duke Ellington, Lage was intentionally underwriting, trusting his colleagues to flesh out the music as only they could.

“Individuality and freedom of expression are really paramount to the whole experience,” he explains. “It’s not so much, ‘Well, I wrote it, so you’ve gotta play it.’ I don’t feel that kind of attachment to this music, and I think that was reflected in how it went down. There were songs where I thought pretty quickly, ‘Yes, you could justify doing this if we had the time to rehearse and workshop it, but we don’t, so we’re gonna go for the ones that are clear from the start.’ And that’s a nice place to be, going into a recording date.”

“Individuality and freedom of expression are really paramount to the whole experience.”

As intended, that clarity is greatly enhanced by the contributions of the other musicians. This is apparent from the opening track, “Opal,” in which Medeski shades Lage’s wistful, unpretentious melody with ghostly layers of Hammond B-3 organ and piano, while Roeder and Wollesen establish a bottom so spacious that you feel it more than you hear it. The sense of effortlessness that runs through the piece becomes more remarkable once you learn what a struggle it was getting Scenes from Above made to Lage’s satisfaction.

“I had so many guitars at that session, man,” he recalls with a shake of the head, “and none of them worked. We were in midtown Manhattan, right near the Empire State Building, and for whatever reason it was just, like, hum central. I was planning to use my ’55 Les Paul goldtop with P-90s”—a guitar given to Lage by its previous owner, comedy legend and Spinal Tap co-creator Christopher Guest, emblazoned with Les Paul’s own signature— “but with the whole electricity situation in the studio, I just couldn’t use anything with single-coil pickups. And even amongst multiple humbucking guitars, the only one that was usable was a Nacho Les Paul”—a Gibson ’50s reissue brought up to period-correct specs by Spanish luthier/wizard Nacho Baños—“with Ron Ellis pickups. There was a lot of work done later to make that sound more single-coil, because it wouldn’t be what I’d naturally gravitate towards.” That later work largely involved re-amping Lage’s performances: taking the tracks he’d already recorded and running them through different amplifiers to capture new tones.

“We tracked everything with a black-panel [Fender] Deluxe Reverb,” Lage continues. “When we re-amped, we went through two amps. One was a Benson … and not a new Benson. [20th-century session guitarist extraordinaire] Howard Roberts had this guy [Ron Benson] years ago in L.A. who made him a few amps. There’s really not many of them, but a friend of mine has one, and I think it might be the one that Howard Roberts used on a bunch of film scores. Kind of like a Magnatone style, shallow body, 12" speaker, beautiful built-in tremolo, not loud, but we used it in combination with a 100-watt [Fender] Bandmaster head that [Two-Rock Amplifiers founder] Bill Krinard had done something on years ago through a Marshall half-stack. And that’s the sound, with those two amps running simultaneously, not in series. The clarity and the life force comes from the [Fender/Marshall combo], and the unusualness comes from the Benson.”

“People I studied with said, ‘Hey, have you really considered what it takes to play a note on the guitar, or are you just squeezing it for dear life?’”

From what’s in the grooves, however, you’d never suspect how much post-production tweaking went on. And even when Lage’s melodies are at their most circuitous, the music always feels direct. The album’s peak comes five tracks in, on “Night Shade,” a rootsy, soulful, slow-building ballad that’s highly reminiscent of the Band. Its focal point is a simple series of hammer-ons and pull-offs on the Les Paul’s high-E string, over G and C major chords. The first couple of times through, Lage alternates between a melodious seventh-fret B and an open E; the third time around, the B becomes a B-flat, creating a nasty tritone interval with the E that he emphasizes repeatedly, with obvious glee.

“That’s an older song,” Lage notes. “I think I wrote it for [2016’s] Arclight, and I used to play it in the trio with Kenny Wollesen and [bassist] Scott Colley as an encore. But I remember thinking, well, it’s kind of slow and we need more ‘up’ tunes. So that was always just sitting in the background. That feature of it, the pull-off/hammer-on business, I didn’t anticipate that it would have the impact it had. But in this group, I quickly realized that it’s a nice and super-guitaristic way to interrupt this steady groove. The quartet orchestration reveals that this feature is, in fact, a feature.”

A similar harmonic surprise lurks within the chord structure of “Solid Air,” titled in tribute to British folk great John Martyn’s 1973 song and album of the same name, but dissimilar to them in all other ways. Lage’s “Solid Air” is in the key of E major, and for most of its duration employs chords firmly rooted in that scale. Then, at the end of the head arrangement, with little warning, the music descends chromatically from E flat to A before rising back up to D—the flat seven of E major—and resettling on the tonic. This strange but gratifying move is the indirect result of some deep historical listening.

“When I think of someone like Willard Robison, who wrote ‘Old Folks’ and some other really cool songs,” Lage says, “or pre-1930s writers before the Great American Songbook era of Broadway musicals, or I listen to Nick Lucas’ ‘Picking the Guitar,’ or ‘April Kisses’ by Eddie Lang, they’re these pieces that have unexpected shifts to different keys. They happen all the time, and they’re not terribly subtle, you know? Now we’re here, now I moved up a half step, and now I’m back down a half step. Do I feel like going up a minor third? Okay, I’ll go up a minor third. There’s nothing clever about it. If anything, it’s rather inelegant—which can be really what the doctor ordered. Aesthetically, I’m drawn to that. The impact of it excites me.”

“It’s all a miracle. It doesn't feel like it when you can’t play like you used to. But it really is miraculous, what’s going on.”

Lage’s battle with the sinister forces of hum during the Scenes from Above sessions was certainly not the first time he’s faced major challenges with his chosen instrument. A little more than a decade ago, he basically had to relearn how to play the guitar. In 2013, after experiencing a scary succession of left hand and arm spasms, he was diagnosed with focal hand dystonia, a neurological disorder brought on, or at least worsened by, years of incessant practice from an early age (a child prodigy, Lage began playing when he was five). In sum, the connection between his brain and left hand had been overused to the point of burnout, and needed to be repaired.

“There’s so much sense of identity that’s wrapped into playing,” Lage acknowledges. “And if something interrupts that, there can be a tremendous amount of embarrassment or shame, or a feeling of, like, ‘I thought I was doing well, why is this happening now?’ It was the first time I had to consider that the techniques I’d been employing since I was a little boy weren’t appropriate for an adult-statured human. They could have been perfect for 20 years, but now you’re not that height, you’re not that weight. There’s a reckoning to be done, and a reconfiguration. When I started talking about it to people, I quickly became aware that I’m not alone, that a lot of people struggle with similar stuff. It could be focal dystonia, it could be tendinitis, it could be anything, but the point is there’s something going on with the material form that is trying to get our attention.”

Working with fellow guitarists like Jerald Harscher and Juanito Pascual and studying the Alexander Technique, a therapy developed to help treat stress-related chronic conditions, Lage gradually rewired his reflexes to be kinder. “People I studied with said, ‘Hey, have you really considered what it takes to play a note on the guitar, or are you just squeezing it for dear life?’ Entering into a dialogue about that was healing. I mean, how do you even talk about tension without just pointing to it and saying it hurts? Well, there are these mechanisms. The head/neck relationship dictates a lot of your reflexes. Are your knees locked? Are your hips locked? Are your ankles locked? Are you breathing? What’s your vision like? There’s a pretty holistic approach to how you can unpack an injury. So I just jumped in. There was no other choice, right?”

Looking back on this fraught time from 10 years onward, fully recovered and getting ready to hit the road with Medeski, Roeder, and Wollesen in support of Scenes from Above, Lage marvels at what it all took, and takes. “There’s this great quote by an Alexander teacher, Patrick Macdonald. He said that people often think their bodies are disobedient, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Typically, we’re not aware of what we’re asking our system. I was asking a lot of my system, practicing guitar endlessly, and my body was doing the best it could until it just couldn’t anymore. … I guess I’m saying it’s all a miracle. It doesn’t feel like it when you can’t play like you used to. But it really is miraculous, what’s going on.”

The tweed Deluxe circuit sets the gold standard in tone for many of us. And for good reason. It’s simple and responsive, with a warm, compressed, midrange-forward voice that’s perfect for jazz and country lines at low to moderate volumes—and a distinctive, saturated gnarliness in the upper reaches of its output that’s hard to beat for rock. If that’s the sound you hear in your head, many would say a vintage model is still the one to have.

If anyone could top that with a true “tweed killer,” I’d put my money on George Alessandro. That’s not just because his clientele reads like a Mount Rushmore of guitar tone—David Gilmour, Derek Trucks, and Warren Haynes are just a few who’ve cited Alessandro in current gear lists in PG. It’s the combination of his deep firsthand knowledge of the history of guitar amp circuits and his tireless quest to source the finest components that not only land him those rock-star devotees, but easily place his name among mythical amp wizards like Alexander Dumble and Ken Fisher, and make him the guy for the job.

I’ve had the good fortune to play one of Alessandro’s 5E3 copies, and it was so familiar, it felt like what I imagine one of those amps must have sounded like fresh out of the factory in the late ’50s. With his new combo, The Dane, he’s used that circuit as a jumping off point—with a nod toward Dumble as well—and optimized it for a modern pedal-using player. Not only does the 14-watt The Dane deliver the same sonic hallmarks as the 5E3, it offers more headroom and an even wider range of touch-sensitive response.

Do the Evolution

Despite all the tweed Deluxe talk, the Dane is no clone. Instead, it’s inspired by the 5E3 circuit and a Dumble Tweedle Dee—that legendary amp builder’s own tweed Deluxe mod—that landed on Alessandro’s bench for service. From there, Alessandro evolved the design, creating a unique preamp circuit, which uses a pair of ECC83MG/12AX7s. On the user end, the most recognizable change might be the inclusion of a 3-band EQ. Alessandro paired his preamp with a ’50s-style output section that employs a pair of 6V6s. Together, and in conjunction with Alessandro’s signature Eminence GA-SC59, they evoke a vintage vibe, achieving the tube compression and harmonic complexity tweed Deluxe players know well, but with more clean volume.

As a tweed Deluxe player who also loves pedals, I’ve often found myself a little bit conflicted. There’s a weird imaginary line I feel like I cross every time I plug a fuzz—or even worse, a digital pedal—into my 1949 5A3. But if I want to use my prized amp on as many gigs as I do, it’s a necessity. With The Dane, not only is there no conflict, it actually feels more welcoming to pedals. That’s not just about headroom, though that certainly helps—the 3-band EQ really goes the distance when it comes to shaping your sound.

Much like the dynamic interplay between the tone and volume controls on a vintage Deluxe, each of The Dane’s EQ controls seems to shape the whole of the sound. I found this to be especially helpful with dialing in dirt tones. Over the course of a few sessions with The Dane, I plugged in a wide range of gritty pedals, including a Klon KTR, Analog Man King of Tone, EHX Ripped Speaker (there’s some comedy here in using a fuzz that’s supposed to sound a little broken), and an Analog Man Sun Fuzz. In each, I found that I was able to shape their tones with the EQ more than I would ever expect from other amps. And that goes for using those to push The Dane into overdrive as well, which, as ruthlessly delightful as it is to do on a tweed Deluxe, is not especially sculpt-able. With the KTR adding some gain and heading into cranked volume territory, the mid control alone added a heft to my Creston JM-style that felt resolutely heavy and thick—much more so than I would expect from JM-style pickups. And at more polite volumes, I could use the pedal alone to get my overdrive, while still preserving the character and voice of the amp.

Full Control at Your Fingertips

While reviewing The Dane, there’s a quote that kept coming back to me from when I interviewed Alessandro a few years ago: “If I can make it a limitless journey, then I did my job right.” With The Dane, he’s managed to take the tweed Deluxe sound and remove the limits.

I think there are a lot of ways Alessandro gets there, and one of those is through his next-level component sourcing. With the fervor of a hi-fi aficionado, Alessandro has most of his components custom built, with quality control that goes well beyond the consumer-grade level.

The result is that The Dane, like every Alessandro amp I’ve played, responds like a performance sports car: It runs silently, has an ultra wide dynamic range, a broad frequency range, and is fast and articulate, all of which keeps control in the player’s hands. That might be daunting if you’re used to an amp that heavily colors your phrasing by limiting the window of control (though pedals can help with that). But if you want to keep that window wide open, The Dane will get you there.

What, exactly, does that mean? The response, dynamics, and EQ keep the controls in your hands. Playing intensity and attack have more noticeable results. Sustain is there when you need it. In short, The Dane is a thrill to play.

The Verdict

As a devoted tweed Deluxe user, I’m genuinely taken by The Dane. Alessandro has preserved the character of the original while opening it up with more dynamic range, control, and possibility. But it goes beyond that, because The Dane isn’t just a 5E3-style amp—it’s a solution. Whether you’re playing clean articulate lines (I didn’t have an archtop handy, but I can assure you this amp would be the perfect transparent companion for jazz hits) or cranking with abandon, The Dane has the harmonic range and firepower for the gig. Its 14 watts are not only bold and powerful, this combo maintains its composure through its entire output, making it fully usable at all levels. At $3,000, The Dane, handmade by one of the ultimate legends of amp building, is an unrivaled feat.

The intersection of heavy metal and guitar YouTube has proved to be a verdant ground for innovative new guitar companies to bloom. Alongside Rob Chapman’s Chapman Guitars, Ola Englund’s Solar Guitars has been another key success story in this area.

Now nearly 10 years later, Solar is a widely revered guitar company catering to the heavier inclined, but what prompted Englund – who was with Washburn at the time – to do his own thing in the first place?

• READ MORE: Guitar.com Magazine: how to get your copy of the January/February 2026 issue

As he explains in the new issue of Guitar World magazine, Englund felt disillusioned with the speed at which his designs with Washburn became available to the public, and was inspired to start his own brand instead.

“I had a successful model with Washburn,” he says. “I brought them my designs, they released it and it did very well. But being a social media, YouTube guy. I know the world moves so fast now and people’s attention spans are so short.

“I felt that Washburn’s business model; was too slow. There was a bureaucracy behind everything – the making of the guitars, selling to dealers and getting them to distributors.

“It’s such a long process before an actual customer gets to see the guitar – like, about a year – and I was so frustrated because I knew people wanted the guitars but had to wait a long time before they could get them.”

Englund – who has nearly 1 million YouTube subscribers, and also plays guitar in bands The Haunted and Feared – explains that upon the expiration of his three-year contract with Washburn, he was faced with a decision: either renew for another three years, or take matters into his own hands.

“After my three-year contract ended, I figured I could stay there for another three years, but I knew I could do so much better if I could find some people to do a new company with me,” he continues. 

“The guy I worked with at Washburn had just left the company, so I gave him a call and we decided to create a model that went straight from us to the consumer because we know exactly what the audience wants. They tell me.

“I took my designs out of Washburn, and we formed Solar. We launched in late 2017 and had 300 guitars to sell and ship immediately. We’ve grown very fast.”

In other news, Extreme guitar legend Nuno Bettencourt made waves in the guitar industry late last year when he followed in Ola Englund’s footsteps, ending his 35-year relationship with Washburn to start his own guitar company, Nuno Guitars.

The post “Washburn’s business model was too slow – I was so frustrated”: Why YouTube star Ola Englund launched his own company, Solar Guitars appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

Reader: Andreas Schwartau

Hometown: Hamburg, Germany

Guitar: Schwartocaster #1

1974. Picture a boy in his PJs in front of a black-and-white idiot box with eyes and mouth wide open, staring at the outrageous glittery costumes, risky platform boots, and over-the-top makeup of glam rock bands the Sweet, Slade, T. Rex, and Sparks. Today, when I watch these clips from the German TV show Disco on YouTube, I still get excited by the music these bands made and how they looked. I also understand why my parents were horrified and worried for the mental health of their 11-year-old firstborn. I imagine their faces when I asked for a guitar for my birthday as they considered how the urge to create these crunching, screaming, chugging noises on a shiny axe had gripped me.

Thanks to an intervention by my grandma, I was allowed to buy an acoustic, though I had to scrape together half of the 130-Deutschmark cost for a Framus Wanderlust, which I still play today! Just one year later, I had my first electric—a used and very worn ’60s Hopf Telstar Standard with an already badly warped neck. I played it for a few years, though the many pickups, switches, and pots confounded me. In an attempt to fix the neck, I tore out the frets, sanded the fretboard flat and played it as a fretless for a while, then left it lying around for almost 50 years. In the intervening years, Arias, Ibanezes, Fenders, and Gibsons came and went. Yet the ruined Hopf stayed and settled dust. I’m sure more than a few Premier Guitar readers can relate why I kept it, right?

“What a glorious moment it was when I first strung it up to ‘feel the noize’ of the still pickup-less body and neck for the first time in decades!”

Last year I decided to either throw it out or Frankenstein it. I can do some easy repairs on my own guitars and those that belong to friends, but I’m not a luthier by any stretch. Anyhow, I accepted the challenge. Removing the bolt-on neck was hard, because a previous owner had applied glue. I read Irish luthier Gerry Hayes’ recommendable newsletter and found out how to steam it off, which took days and a lot of patience. Everything else was relatively easy though. I found a sort of T-style neck from a flea market, some half decent tuners, and a pickguard blank. And because the original selection of pickups and switches was confusing anyway, I made the move to a single Seymour Duncan Mustang-style pickup, and two pots. A lot of measuring, sawing, and drilling ensued, and I’ll admit I drilled through the fretboard once. I also did a lot of manual sanding to fit the neck into the narrow pocket. I feared I would have to relocate the bridge posts since the Hopf neck was a shorter scale, but it ended up working fine. What a glorious moment it was when I first strung it up to “feel the noize” of the still pickup-less body and neck for the first time in decades!

Sure, the Telstar is far from a professional-grade guitar. The tuning stability could be better and the narrow spacing of the neck bolts—typical for German guitars of that era—makes the neck a bit wobbly. Maybe I’ll fix this at some point. But even now my Schwartocaster #1 is great fun to play. It’s lightweight and balanced, it intonates well, and the single pickup has a husky, jazzy voice. I still marvel at how I pulled it off, but I’m glad I tried, and I’m glad it worked out.

Several years ago, after releasing a trio of well-received stoner-doom albums, the core members of Blackwater Holylight—vocalist/guitarist/bassist Allison “Sunny” Faris, guitarist/bassist Mikayla Mayhew, and drummer Eliese Dorsay—left their hometown of Portland, Oregon, and took off for Los Angeles. News of the move filled some of the band’s fans with dread: Would the blissed-out, carefree Cali lifestyle result in a lighter and friendlier Blackwater Holylight? Would the band start writing—yikes!—happy music?

“Not a chance,” Faris scoffs. “I think our music is more depressing than ever.”

“We needed to get out of the physical gloom of Portland, but I guess we took a little bit of that with us,” Mayhew says. “It’s not like we came to L.A. and everybody went, ‘Yay, you’re here!’ We had to start all over in a lot of ways—meet a bunch of new people, find different opportunities. It was hard. It would have been easy to stay where we were, but I think we needed to grow to keep the band sounding fresh.”

“Fresh” might be a relative term when discussing Blackwater Holylight’s songs—there’s no frothy singalong choruses and nary a trending dance beat to be found—but there’s a looseness and a recklessness to their new album, Not Here Not Gone, that feels like something of a breakthrough. It’s there in the woozy, fuzzed-out guitar rhythms on bulldozers like “Bodies” and “Spades,” which come at you gritty and grimy, yet with a disarming playfulness to the dissonance. Another track, “Heavy, Why?” is rooted in thick layers of distorted sludge, but boasts plenty of kinetic sass and swagger—and when Faris swoops in with her ethereal, almost angelic vocals, complemented by former bandmate Sarah McKenna’s feather-light synth lines, the effect is transcendent. The capper to it all is the mini epic “How Will You Feel,” in which Mayhew’s scarifying, Iommi-esque guitar tones seem to take flight when the band locks in for a wicked, post-grunge jam.

“Our last album [2021’s Silence/Motion] was pretty much written and recorded during the Covid pandemic,” Mayhew says. “We couldn’t tour or go out that much, and we didn’t have a lot of time to work on material. With this album, we took a lot of time to write. Some of the songs were written years ago, so we had time to demo and play around with them.”

Kicking up Blackwater Holylight’s kind of apocalyptic racket (Mayhew calls it “sensually murderous”) means that neither Faris nor Mayhew is epoxied to a guitar or bass—live and in the studio, the two alternate instruments. “There’s no set formula,” Faris says. “I might write a guitar part and have a melody, and I’ll bring it to practice and Mikayla will play bass to it. And sometimes she’ll have a guitar part, and I’ll play bass and start singing to it. We’re flexible.”

Occasionally, a different scenario unfolds. “I might bring in a guitar part, and we’ll start playing and I’ll go, ‘You know, maybe I should play bass on this,’” Mayhew says. “I think our skills are pretty equal on bass and guitar, and nobody has a big ego about who plays what.”

The two share a love of “heavy music,” though their distinct influences differ wildly. Faris sings the praises of My Bloody Valentine and the Brian Jonestown Massacre, while Mayhew cites Nirvana, the Beatles, and Black Sabbath as her essential references. Asked to assess her bandmate’s playing style, Faris says, “Mikayla is a lot more forward in terms of lead lines. She’s better at being kind of noodly. I think that helps to balance us out, because she can do more of a shreddy, cruising-around-the-fretboard thing, and I can play more rhythm stuff.”

Describing Faris’ strengths, Mayhew says, “Sunny has more of a folky background, so she’s really good at fingerpicking, which I think is cool. She’s got the rhythm down, and her bass playing is great. Sometimes she plays guitar like a bass.”

Their amp preferences—and, significantly, how they crank up the walloping distortion—present more examples of sonic divergence. Mayhew relies on the vintage clean tones of a Music Man HD-130 through a 4x12 cabinet, with all dirt conjured via pedals. “My main one is a Fuzz War by Death By Audio,” she says. “I absolutely love that pedal. I also like to use a [EarthQuaker Devices] Terminal fuzz and a Big Muff. And, of course, I gotta use a Tube Screamer.”

For her part, Faris stands by her Sovtek MIG100H, a Russian-made amp favored by metal and stoner rockers for its Marshall-like high-gain firepower. “I borrowed one from a friend a few years ago, and I just fell in love with the sound,” she says. “They’re not too easy to find, but I did locate a guy selling one in Eugene, Oregon, and I was like, ‘I’m buying this!’”

She adds, “The Sovtek is a killer guitar amp, but we also use it for the bass. Normally, we run our basses through an Ampeg SVT, but the Sovtek really comes through. We like to flip-flop what we use.”

They do agree on one key aspect of their approach to ultimate heaviness: Standard tunings are out, alternate tunings are in. “I don’t remember how we got there. I think we started using alternate tunings by accident and they just sort of stuck,” Mayhew says. “We have a couple of tunes where we tune down to D, and we have a few that are in DADGAD. Most of the tunes on this record are in open C minor—that’s C–G–C–G–C–Eb—and we even go down to open B minor.”

Before recording Not Here Not Gone, the band had only performed “Heavy, Why?” live, but they promise that their upcoming spring tour will feature a healthy dose of new tunes. “We’ve got a lot to learn, but it’ll be fun,” Faris says. “I’m really proud of what we accomplished on the new album, especially the way we’re experimenting with dynamics and how things can be crushing and heavy, but also soft and beautiful. When you think about it, that’s what life is.”

Sunny Faris’ Gear

Guitar and Bass

Gibson SG Custom

Gibson SG Standard bass

Amp

Sovtek MIG100H

Ampeg SVT

Ampeg 8x12 cabinet

Effects

Death By Audio Fuzz War

EarthQuaker Devices Terminal

Tech 21 Boost RVB

Tark Audio Morty’s Fuzz Drive

Boss GEB-7 bass equalizer

Strings, Picks, & Cables

“I’m not sure what strings I use. They’re thick, though.”

Dunlop Tortex .73mm

“Cheap cables”

Mikayla Mayhew’s Gear

Guitars and Bass

Gibson SG Custom

Guild S-60

Gibson SG Standard bass

Amp

Music Man HD-130

Music Man 412 GS cabinet

Ampeg SVT

Ampeg 8x12 cabinet

Effects

Death By Audio Fuzz War

EarthQuaker Devices Terminal

Ibanez Tube Screamer

Electro-Harmonix Big Muff

Hologram Electronics Microcosm

Strymon Cloudburst

Tech 21 Boost RVB

Tark Audio Morty’s Fuzz Drive

Strings, Picks, & Cables

Ernie Ball Power Slinkys

“I can’t remember the bass strings. It’s been so long.”

Dunlop Tortex .73mm

Ernie Ball cables—“If I want to splurge.”

We recently traveled an hour from our shop to a small town (and down at least half a mile of actual dirt road) to the hilltop home of Buford, a man interested in selling a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Junior, a gift from his mother to his father back when it was new. We had seen snapshots, but were unprepared for the glory that awaited us when he opened the original alligator grain chipboard case. Even a spotlight couldn’t have made the glossy, unfaded, cherry-red lacquer finish shine much brighter. We have seen, played, and even owned a lot of Les Paul Juniors—single cutaway, double cutaway, 3/4, sunburst, cherry, TV yellow, refinished, lacking any finish at all, wraparound tailpiece, Bigsby, you name it. To collectors, they aren’t and haven’t ever been the brightest-shining Gibson star of the 1950s. While very well made, the variations of this model were built simply and offered at an affordable price. It has always been an underrated, championship-level workhorse, but once these instruments transitioned to being “used” guitars, they found their way to clubs more often than arenas.

But in addition to being well cared for and clean as a whistle, this particular guitar has a combination of specs many players (and collectors, who admittedly may also be players) want. This Junior’s six-digit serial number shows it was made in late 1959 (a stamped 9 xxxx with a space between the 9 and other 4 digits would have been done earlier in the year). The mahogany body is lightly and very deliberately contoured, unlike the slab mahogany with squared-off edges that this model would have had the year prior. It has a nice chunky neck paired with larger frets than would have been found on most made before 1960. Plus, it has a surprisingly robust “dog-ear” P-90, probably due to it saving up all its energetic magnetism for the 21st century. Unlike many Juniors, the bridge posts are tip-top straight, and the tortoiseshell pickguard is flat, with no cracks, chips, or even, well, picks. The buttons on the Kluson single-line tuners are still a stark white and every piece of metal looks virtually new. The red anodyne dye Gibson used back then reacts to being exposed to both light and hands, but the neck on this Junior is just as cherry red as the body. The vintage strings (a wound third!) didn’t even have the appearance of being played.

That all being said, just because a vintage guitar is in near-mint condition doesn’t mean it’s great overall. Some are super clean because they must have always been somewhat uninspiring. We’ve played stunningly beautiful bursts that didn’t have “the thing,” and over the years we’ve come to realize that some of the guitars that have been played to within an inch of their lives are like that for a very distinct reason: They brought out the best in the people who owned them.

In this case, it seems both Bufords were hardworking men who just plain didn’t pick up the guitar and play it. Buford Sr. kept it safe (it was a gift, after all), and then Buford Jr. did the same because it was his dad’s. Considering this particular Gibson era, Buford Jr.’s mother could have just as easily purchased a 1959, 1960, or even a “brand-new” 1958 Les Paul Standard. Seeing such a clean, glossy, bright cherry Junior gives us hope that one of those Standards is still waiting in a closet somewhere, barely played and awaiting its second life in someone else’s hands (and preferably not in their closet, or sitting unused in a display case). To us, uncirculated vintage guitars, and more particularly the stories from the people ready to part with them, really are the most interesting vintage guitars these days. The pleasant drives out in the country are a nice bonus, too.

When news of Rush’s 2026 Fifty Something reunion tour surfaced, prog fans were in a frenzy – the ‘rush’ for tickets lead to Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson expanding the sold-out tour within days, announcing a further 17 dates. Now, Rush are giving fans another reason to get excited: new music may be on the horizon

In a MusicRadar interview, Lee reveals that he and Lifeson have been brainstorming new Rush tracks. However, fans will have to wait until after tour before anything is finished. “My intent, before we got into this celebration of Rush’s history, was to put some music together,” he says [via Blabbermouth]. “I assumed I would be doing that on my own, not with Alex. When we started jamming, I started seeing the possibility of doing something. But that went on hold, because there’s too much work.”

• READ MORE: “I like grabbing something that I don’t think is the ‘right’ thing and seeing how that works”: Why Alex Lifeson still reaches for the $57 Japanese guitar his parents got him

“If we manage to survive the tour, go back to Canada, and have a rest, who knows what will happen,” he teases. “But I suspect some music will eventually come out.”

Following on from drummer Neil Peart’s death in 2020, it seemed the Rush days were over; Lifeson was adamantly “not interested” in a Rush reunion back in 2024. Hell, even last January Lifeson told Classic Rock that he didn’t want to reunite and tarnish Rush’s “legacy” by sounding like a “bad Rush tribute band”.

Considering how adamant Lifeson seemed to oppose a reunion, it made the news of the 50-year celebration an even greater surprise to fans – news of new music is just an extra cherry to top things off.

While Peart’s iconic shoes are impossible to fill, German drummer, composer and producer Anika Nilles is stepping up to the plate to join the remaining Rush duo on tour. And, according to Lee, she might even be involved in crafting new Rush tracks.

“It would be fun to see what [Nilles] can do in a creative situation,” he tells MusicRadar. “That would be fun. But it’s all speculation until it isn’t, so…”

When news of Nilles joining the band broke, Lee and Lifeson emphasised how challenging it was to find a drummer that would honour Peart’s memory. “Life is full of surprises, and we have been introduced to another remarkable person; an incredible drummer and musician who is adding another chapter to our story while continuing her own fascinating musical journey,” they explained.

“Her name is Anika Nilles, and we could not be more excited to introduce her to our loyal and dedicated Rush fanbase, whom, we know, will give her every chance to live up to that near impossible role… No small task, because as we all know Neil was irreplaceable.”

The post “If we manage to survive the tour, who knows what will happen”: Geddy Lee says new Rush music could be on the cards soon appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.

JBL has launched its new line of BandBox Bluetooth speakers/practice amps – and with on-board AI-powered stem separation technology, they might just supercharge your guitar practice sessions.

While the BandBox line – comprising the Solo and more powerful Trio – will no doubt find an audience among Bluetooth speaker fans and general audiophiles, onboard stem separation makes them an alluring prospect for musicians looking to upgrade their practice. Ever wished you could remove the solo from your favourite track so you can play along yourself? With BandBox, you can.

• READ MORE: Looking for an affordable floor-based amp modeller? This one from Harley Benton is now under £200

That’s the general principle, but let’s dive a bit deeper into the specs on offer with both the BandBox Solo and Trio.

BandBox Solo

Credit: JBL

Aimed at individual musicians looking for a raft of practice-friendly features, the 30W BandBox Solo features a single guitar/mic input, and allows guitarists to stream songs via Bluetooth, and use JBL’s Stem AI feature to reduce or even completely remove specific elements of a track.

The Solo also sports a built-in looper, pitch shifter, tuner and integrated LED screen, as well as a range of amp models and effects including phaser, chorus and reverb, all controllable via the companion JBL ONE app.

There’s also a headphone in for quiet practice sessions, plus a USB-C output for recording straight into your DAW.

BandBox Trio

Credit: JBL

The 135W BandBox Trio offers a more powerful option, with four instrument inputs, as well as a 6.5” woofer and two 1” tweeters.

Perfect for group sessions of band setups, the four-channel mixer allows you to balance levels while crafting tones and applying effects, while a replaceable battery means you can undertake longer practice sessions without fear of running out of charge.

As with the Solo, the Trio is loaded with a built-in tuner, metronome, looper and integrated LCD colour screen, as well as steam separation capabilities, JBL ONE app compatibility and a USB-C output for DAW recording.

“JBL BandBox is created with musicians’ needs in mind, and made possible by cutting-edge technology,” says Carsten Olesen, President of Consumer Audio at HARMAN, JBL’s parent company. 

“This is the first speaker to feature an on-device Stem AI algorithm capable of removing vocals or instruments, without the need for cloud processing or an internet connection. With this breakthrough, it’s easier than ever to practice, improve and enjoy playing music either on your own or with friends.”

Pricing and availability

Available from February, the BandBox Solo is priced at £199, while the BandBox Trio is £529.

For more info, head to JBL.

The post These Bluetooth practice amps from JBL have AI stem separation – and might just change the way you practice guitar appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.